How to stop puppy biting: a week-by-week approach

Puppies spend much of their day playing, chewing and investigating, and they do almost all of it with their mouths. The RSPCA describes mouthing and play biting as a common, normal developmental behaviour, and VCA’s veterinary behaviourists call nipping, mouthing and biting in young dogs “generally a form of social play”. (ASPCA, RSPCA, VCA)

The sources give four everyday reasons, and the selector above covers each one:

• Play. Pouncing, wrestling, nipping and biting in play rarely escalate to aggression; a puppy is playing with you the way it played with its littermates. (Merck, AKC)
• Teething. Teething brings a strong urge to bite and chew, and chewing hard objects eases the discomfort. (PDSA, RSPCA)
• Over-tiredness. AKC names teething and being overtired as the two main reasons puppies nip, and says overtired puppies are often mouthier puppies. (AKC, AKC)
• Excitement and attention. Mouthing often happens when a puppy expects play: it may jump up, grab sleeves and try to start a game of tug. A puppy grabbing your legs is usually asking you to play. (RSPCA, AKC)

None of this means your puppy is vicious. AKC is clear that play biting does not mean that. The reason to work on it now is size: needle-sharp puppy teeth bruise and can break skin, and the PDSA points out that a puppy allowed to nibble you may keep doing it once it has strong adult jaws. (AKC, RSPCA, PDSA)

A fifth kind, biting when you pick up, groom or hold your puppy, is different. It can be a tantrum, but it can also be pain, fear or guarding, so it has its own section below. For where biting fits among everything else your puppy is learning, see the puppy first-year planner. (ASPCA, Merck)

Bite inhibition is a dog’s ability to control the force of its mouthing. AKC calls learning to moderate the force of a bite very important for all dogs, so the first job is a soft mouth, and only then less mouthing. (ASPCA, AKC)

Puppies usually learn it from each other. When one bites a playmate too hard, the playmate yelps and the game stops for a moment; the puppy learns that a soft mouth keeps play going. The same lesson comes from the mother dog. (ASPCA, AKC, RSPCA)

This is one reason VCA advises against taking a puppy home before 7 to 8 weeks: puppies learn to limit their bite mostly from littermates. The RSPCA notes that hand-reared puppies, which missed their mother and siblings, often find the lesson harder. (VCA, RSPCA)

The ASPCA teaches it to people in two stages, and our week plan follows the same order:

1. Soften the bite. Respond to hard bites first, so your puppy learns that pressure ends the fun. (ASPCA)
2. Reduce the mouthing. Once bites are gentle, respond to any teeth on skin, so your puppy learns that people are not chew toys. (ASPCA)

Playing with other puppies keeps the lesson going. AVSAB says puppies can start socialisation classes as early as 7 to 8 weeks, at least 7 days after a first set of vaccines; our guide on how to socialize a puppy covers how to do that safely. (AVSAB, AKC)

Most puppy biting is play. Some is not, and treating fear or pain as play makes it worse. The RSPCA notes that mouthing is often mistaken for aggression and that a mouthing puppy usually has a more relaxed body than an aggressive one, so look at the whole dog, not just the teeth. (RSPCA)

• Fear. Fear is the most common motivation for aggression in dogs. (Merck)
• Pain. Aggression can be a direct response to pain or discomfort, so a puppy that bites when one area is touched needs a vet check. (Merck)
• Resource guarding. Guarding is normal dog behaviour and young puppies are prone to it. Signs include standing stiffly over the bowl, freezing, growling, staring, snapping and gulping food. (ASPCA, Merck)
• Tantrums. A puppy handled or made to do something it dislikes may stiffen or freeze, pull its lips back and growl, and its bites hurt much more than play mouthing. Stay calm, do not yelp, and stop what you were doing. (ASPCA)

For guarding, prevention is kind and simple: the ASPCA suggests hand-feeding a new puppy and dropping treats in as it eats, so your hand near the bowl means something good. Never punish or intimidate a puppy for guarding, and never take food away to show who is in charge. (ASPCA)

Our dog body language chart shows the warning signals to look for. If you see them, start with your vet, then read the reactive dog guide for how management and reward-based training fit together. (Merck, AVSAB)

Yelping makes my puppy bite more

Drop the yelp. AKC notes some puppies get more worked up when you make a noise; walk away or calmly settle your puppy in its crate for a short break instead. (AKC, AKC)

The biting is worst in the evening

That is often an overtired puppy. Puppies usually sleep 18 to 20 hours a day; look at whether naps follow play, and offer a toilet break then quiet time when the frenzy starts. (AKC, AKC)

Time-outs are not working

Check every person is doing the same thing, every time. If they are, the ASPCA suggests a bitter-tasting deterrent on the clothes and areas your puppy mouths, used for at least two weeks, alongside the toys. (VCA, ASPCA)

My puppy only bites one person

Look at how that person plays: rough games and pulling hands away both encourage biting. VCA says all family members must avoid letting the puppy bite hands, feet or clothes. (VCA, AKC, ASPCA)

It was getting better, and now it is worse

Adolescence can start between 6 and 12 months, and nipping can return with frustration. The RSPCA advises a vet check first, because unwanted behaviour can have a medical cause. (RSPCA)

My puppy is not interested in toys

Make the toy move: wiggle it or roll it along the ground. Try a frozen stuffed food toy, and rotate toys so they feel new. (RSPCA, AKC, AKC)

Get help if biting looks fearful or aggressive, if you are not sure whether it is normal, if it seems unusually intense, or if you have not been able to moderate it by 6 months. (ASPCA, AKC, AKC)

For fear or aggression, the ASPCA recommends a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or a board-certified veterinary behaviourist, and says a certified trainer should have specific experience with fear and aggression. Start with your vet, so pain or another medical cause can be ruled out. In the UK, the RSPCA says aggression needs a full assessment by a qualified behaviour expert, because outdated methods can make it worse. (ASPCA, AVSAB, RSPCA)

For ordinary play biting, a reward-based puppy class is the right level of help. Look for a trainer through the certified directories below: (AVSAB)

Every figure and threshold on this page comes from the veterinary sources below, and each one is linked where it is used. Where no source gives a cut-off, we say call your vet rather than invent one.