how to stop puppy biting

Once again, it's important not to separate your puppy from his mother and litter mates too quickly (you should never take a puppy younger than 9 or 10 weeks home) as this is a very important developmental stage of a puppy's life. For example, when puppies are play fighting they will come to a stop when one of them yelps. This playful biting as a puppy is crucial as it allows the puppy to develop bite inhibition. They also learn socializing skills during this phase, which makes it less likely that they'll get into fights with other dogs later in life due to bad socializing skills.

To stop puppy biting it's important to first give the puppy time to inhibit the force of his bites before eliminating all biting completely. Follow this free three step process below to stop puppy biting completely.

(Alternatively, if you are interested in purchasing a top class puppy training course click here)

Stop puppy biting step 1 - Inhibiting the force of bites

The first step to stop puppy biting altogether is to stop the puppy from biting painfully and then to stop the puppy from applying any pressure at all. Whenever the puppy bites too hard while playing just let him know that he's hurt you by shouting "Ouch!", this is simulating the yelping sounds his litter mates make when they get hurt during play. Remember not to use any forms of physical punishment to stop puppy biting as this is a very ineffective form of training. If the puppy persists leave the room once you've let him know you're hurt and give him some time alone to reflect on what he's done. After a minute or two you can go back into the room, show the puppy you still love him and resume playing.

Once you've achieved this, you repeat the process but now you do it every time the puppy applies any pressure whatsoever.

Stop puppy biting step 2 - Inhibiting the occurrence of 'mouthing'

Once you've stopped your puppy biting, you need to train him to stop 'mouthing' whenever you instruct him too. In order to do this you use the "OFF!" command. This involves holding a treat for the puppy but making him wait 2 seconds before you allow him to take it. So while you're holding the treat you say "Good puppy 1, good puppy 2... " and then you give the puppy the treat. If the puppy tries to take the treat before you let him you shout "OFF!" and begin counting again. The puppy will soon learn that the fastest way to get the treat is actually to wait until you give it to him. Keep increasing the time period until the puppy can wait for 8 seconds.

Once you're puppy's mastered this you apply it to the mouthing problem. When you want the puppy to stop mouthing, say "OFF!" and he must stop until you reward him by letting him continue mouthing your arm. If he doesn't stop you can do the trick where you shout "OFF!" and stomp out of the room for a couple of minutes.

This is a VERY useful trick to prevent puppy biting as it can be applied to many other different types of obedience training (stopping a puppy from begging at the table, eating the cat etc).

Stop puppy biting step 1 - Keeping up the good work

Once you have the puppy biting under control it's important to make sure that this behavior is maintained. This means that every-so-often you should feed your dog out of your hand or brush his teeth or even play fight (as long as you make sure it doesn't get out of hand); basically any activities that keep your puppy used to someone putting their hand near/in his mouth.

NB: It is crucial that you don't stop puppy biting before he's had sufficient bite inhibition. If the puppy then grows up and one day gets his ear yanked by a toddler (for example) he will instinctively react by biting the toddler. If the puppy doesn't learn to control his biting pressure the results are potentially disastrous.

If you'd like a more in-depth puppy training guide there are several very good puppy training books/video courses available that go into much more detail about various types of training. I've selected three of the best:

Dove Cresswell Puppy and Dog Training (My favorite because they use videos to guide you)

Kingdom of Pets - Sit Stay Fetch

Potty Train in 7 Days