# How to stop puppy from biting?



## Tipz (Aug 10, 2016)

I know this is a normal thing in puppies but it seems like he goes a bit overboard.
We can be playing with toys and things are great, or playing and petting him when suddenly he gets uber excited and starts biting... quite savagely. He'll growl and just gets super intense into the "game" We try to just not get him playful unless we have a toy around to distract him with but now he'll just go for our pant leg. He has his super sharp puppy teeth so it hurts a lot. I've tried not making noise and waiting it out but he still keeps doing it. I've tried letting out a yelp and he gets even more excited. (He used to stop but now he just doesn't care)
We've only had him for a week and he's 9 weeks old. Just general advice and suggestions would be helpful. Our hands and legs (and every other part of our body he feels like munching on) thank you!


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Oh, congratulations on getting a baby shark! Aren't they the cutest things. Biting you with sharp shark teeth is 100% normal for a puppy, so don't think you're doing something wrong. 

During play that gets too rough:

1. Yelp, "OW!" 
2. Get up.
3. Leave the room and go out of sight.
4. Count to 15, come back and play again.

The puppy will learn that biting too hard makes you go away. Every single person who interacts with your puppy must do this or the puppy will not learn. Biting makes the fun stop. This includes biting clothing. It really hurts when your puppy bites your clothes.

When you want to pet your shark, have a bully stick to give the dog to bite. When the dog bites you, offer the stick. Praise the puppy for biting the stick. 

Feed kibble from your hand. Your puppy will learn to be gentle with you. My trainer recommended hand feeding one meal a day to encourage gentle behavior.

And above all else, wait. This is a normal puppy phase and does not last. 

Good luck and enjoy your baby shark.


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## Tipz (Aug 10, 2016)

Haha dang. I thought I got a poodle but yeah it turns out it IS a baby shark! 
Just a question about the bully stick method... Wouldn't that encourage biting? Like he bites me and then he gets a treat? I'm confused because it makes sense to distract him as well but I just wondered if that's what I would be accidentally teaching him through it


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

You're just substituting a no for a yes. No, you can't bite me. Yes, you can bite the stick. No you can't chew my shoes. Yes, you can chew this toy. It's just a simple substitution and not a reward for biting. The reward comes while your puppy is chewing a stick, you praise for making a good choice. It's not a reward for biting, unless you only offer it after you get bitten. Offer it before you get chewed on, and praise for chewing it. 

And make sure you train the pup to give you a chew stick and not guard it. Kikopup on Youtube has a video about that, and just about anything else a new puppy parent needs. Check out her channel.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

I used chews and especially toys to teach Archie not to be mouthy. What you're communicating is "Don't bite this [my hand]...but DO bite this!!!" 

Biting happens for a few reasons in puppies (they do go through teething like babies do), but usually it's because they're excited and they want to play. And that's good! Puppies should play! But you have to show them how to do it the right way.

I never had good success with saying "Ouch!" (I think my ouch sounds too much like a playing noise or something), so instead I'd say "Nope" or "Nooooo" in a low, boring voice and then offer a toy. As soon as the puppy's mouth hits the toy, it's a big celebration and a super fun game of tug. Pretty quickly, the puppy learns that hands are incredibly boring, but there are better alternatives out there if they want to play.

You can do the same thing with bully sticks and other chews. You can also use the bully stick more as a preventative - give the bully stick before the puppy has a chance to reach for your hand, then pet them while they chew it. 

I'd advise never approaching your puppy without a toy or a chew for a while. Always have one within arm's reach, so the puppy has options.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I will add my vote to doing as Click-N-Treat and lisasgirl suggested. I never did too well with saying ouch either and found that disengaging completely worked better, especially with Lily who was a terribly mouthy puppy. We got lucky with Javelin since he was never a bad nipper. With him though I did a lot more hand feeding him when he was a tiny puppy. He got at least one meal's worth of kibble from my hand directly every day until he was about four months old.


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