Five Tips to Reduce Puppy Biting

1. Have your puppy on  leash when at home, unless the puppy is in the crate. The leash can be attached to you, a solid object or dragging on the ground. This will make it much easier to stop your puppy from biting you and redirect them to a more beneficial activity or training session.

2. Make sure that your puppy has a variety of toys/bones that he is allowed to chew on with a variety of textures and levels of firmness. Eg rubber toys, nyla bones, plush toys, rope toys, bully sticks, raw marrow bones. Depending on where he is in his teething, he might sometimes need harder objects and softer toys at other times. Experiment.

Nylabone Variety Pack
https://www.amazon.ca/Nylabone-Dura-Regular-White-Triple/dp/B00JZIDFKK

Plush Toy with Rubber
https://www.amazon.ca/AITIME-Convex-Points-Chewing-Squeaker/dp/B07XXBC82H

Bully Sticks
https://www.amazon.ca/Alberta-Bully-Sticks-Treats-Inches/dp/B07TYJ5V28/

3. Take note of times of day or situations when your puppy is likely to start biting and mouthing and schedule pre-fatiguing sessions before those times of day. Play tug of war for 5-10min before you think he is likely to start biting.

Tug toys are for interactive play only. Don’t leave your puppy alone with the tug, so that he doesn’t destroy it. This will also make playing with you and the toy more valuable. Dogs vary in their preferences. Some dogs really like rope tugs whereas others don’t. When you first introduce a tug toy, tease him with the toy by dragging it along the floor or running away from him with the toy.

Ball Tug Toy
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008APMKZA/ref=twister_B072Z2W7CF

Rope Tug Toy:
https://www.amazon.ca/MAMMOTH-Flossy-100-Percent-Cotton-20-Inch/dp/B000634LKG

French Linen (bite suit) Tug:
https://www.amazon.ca/Viper-Synthetic-Reward-Handles-Puppies/dp/B00TXUFO5Y

Fleece Tug Toy:
https://www.amazon.ca/B-M-B-L-Natural-Stretchy-Aggressive-Interactive/dp/B08T6N1XBP/

4. Practice handling exercises. For all exercises, say YES, the instant you complete the action, then feed. At first, start with very low criteria and ask more of your puppy as he gets better at not mouthing. eg. At first reward your puppy after holding on to his collar for 1s, then 2s and so on.

Do these exercises after your puppy has gotten some of his energy out, so he’s less likely to bite. When you first start, you need to quickly (but calmly) give him the piece of food before he has a chance to bite.

Pair the following with food:

ex: briefly handle paw -> YES -> treat

1. putting hand over and on either side of your puppy’s head and not touching him

2. grabbing onto the collar and harness

3. attaching and detaching leash

4. holding/manipulating/stroking your puppy’s head, torso, paws, tummy
brushing and nail trimming (do small increments)

5. Biting will increase if your puppy is overly tired or overly stimulated. Make sure your puppy is getting enough sleep (between 16-20hrs a day depending on age). Have them take a nap in their crate/pen in a quiet area after exercise/play/training. Don’t wait for them to get tired on their own.

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