Excessive Biting in Puppies

Puppies biting is a natural phase of their social development. Most puppies bite because they want to play, others because they are teething. Some puppies bite out of boredom, fear or a need for attention. Teaching puppies bite inhibition is crucial because while cute and relatively harmless at the puppy stage, excessive biting in an adult dog is dangerous.

  1. Play Time

    • The first step in addressing excessive biting in puppies is to identify the cause of the biting. Puppies learn about the world around them by using their mouths. Puppies bite each other in play, so biting us is usually indicative of a desire to play. Inhibit excessive biting in puppies wanting to play by giving them adequate amounts of non-biting play time. Playing fetch, not tug of war, or hide and seek are two non-biting play activities. Biting people should never be allowed as a form of play.

    Teething

    • Puppies are teething for the first six months of their lives. Teething is uncomfortable and can cause a puppy to bite and chew. Inhibit excessive biting in teething puppies by freezing a wet wash cloth and allowing the puppy to chew on the frozen cloth. Supervision of puppies chewing on the rag is crucial so the puppy does not eat the rag.

    Boredom, Fear, Need for Attention

    • Excessive biting in puppies triggered by boredom, fear or a need for attention is something that must be discouraged. These puppies need adequate playtime, proper socialization and love and affection.

    Bite Inhibition

    • Puppies who bite excessively need to learn bite inhibition. When puppies bite their litter mates in play, the other puppies make a noise when the bite is too hard. Puppies learn from the noise not to bite as hard next time or have no playmate. Humans can teach puppies bite inhibition by making a loud noise when bitten so the puppy learns any bite hurts a human. The message is reinforced if the human walks away, refusing to play. Puppies are social creatures, so walking away and leaving the puppy alone is an effective training tool. More advanced training techniques may be required if the puppy fails to learn bite inhibition at this stage.