My 6-month-old puppy mouths my arm. How do I stop this behavior?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucy. At 6 months of age, most puppies are finishing up teething. Teething stimulates puppies to bite and chew as their teeth are erupting. Hopefully, this behavior will decrease as she should have the majority of her adult teeth by now. When she bites you, do not engage her, but redirect her attention to something positive such as a toy. Do not play with her with your hands, not even tug-of-war type toys. If she still goes after your hands even after you have given her a toy, walk away. She needs to learn that that type of behavior is not acceptable and she will lose your attention. I hope this information helps!

No, he will not outgrow it. If it is a behavior that was not corrected because he had puppy teeth and/or his antics were "cute," he learned that biting is an okay thing to do. It needs to be stopped right now. Do not pull your hand or arm away when he is biting, as he may believe you are playing a game of chase with him (your hand being the thing to chase). If he starts to bite, give a firm "NO!" and stop interacting with him until he has calmed down.You can fold your arms over your chest (and stand up if you need to--I am not sure how big this dog is). Leave the room if you must, and close the door so he can't follow. You need to give him the message that biting is not okay, but remember that if it used to be allowed and now it's not, this may cause some confusion in the dog. Be patient and firm, but not aggressive. Good luck with this!

Mouthing behavior is very normal in 8 week old puppies - just like babies they learn and explore with their mouths. Mouthing is different from biting in intent. If she's generally chewing on your hands and happy, that's mouthing. If she's frightened, lunges and bites, and then retreats and hides or bites and leaves punctures, that is very abnormal for such a young puppy and Angel would need to see a veterinarian behaviorist (not a trainer) right away to work on strategies to keep her mentally healthy. I'm going to assume that she's mouthing. The best thing you can do is not reward her mouthing. Any time she puts her mouth on you, disengage from play, petting, or talking to her. Think of it like a light switch - if she mouths, you just turn off and become super boring. Don't punish or try to scare her, she's being a normal puppy and needs to learn how to interact socially. Also, look for a puppy class to enroll her in. Having other puppies to learn and play with is helpful because they learn that biting can hurt. Finally, check out this free ebook from Dr. Ian Dunbar about early puppy training. It's a gem. https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/downloads/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf Good luck to you and Angel! Let me know if this information was helpful and post another question or set up a consult if you'd like more advice.

I see that Chance is still a puppy, only about six months old :) Biting and mouthing is very normal behavior in a puppy this age - this is how puppies explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. Chance is also teething right now, which often increases mouthy behavior. This is a normal developmental stage that will resolve on its own as he gets older, but there are a few things you can do in the meantime to help. First, make sure that he has a variety of different toys available to provide an appropriate outlet for this behavior - long floppy rope or fleece toys for tugging, plush toys for biting and carrying, and smaller toys or balls for chasing and fetching. He should also have lots of different things to chew on, such as bully sticks, large rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. If he bites you during play, just redirect him to one of his toys and use that to play with him instead. If you're petting him and he bites your hands, calmly stop petting and ignore him until he calms down. This behavior resolves in most dogs by 12-18 months of age, sometimes sooner - so just be patient and consistent in the meantime while he learns. :)

Play biting and being excessively "mouthy" is very common in puppies. (And at 9 months old, Floyd is certainly still a puppy.) I have not personally had luck with the techniques of saying "No!" or holding the muzzle. I that makes puppies more excited. My general rule for puppies is that you make a high pitched squeak (like a littermate puppy would do if they bit too hard), then walk away from the situation. More than anything, your puppy wants to play with you. If you walk away, it is negative reinforcement, so they are less likely to do that behavior again. Depending on the puppy, the goal is to get them to look away from you or start doing something else before you engage in play again. I found that a long rope toy made a good toy to play with my puppy because there was lots of toy for him to bite at without touching my skin. Especially if Floyd is biting down, it is vital that he NEVER puts his teeth on a person. If he does, then you need to walk away and the play session is over. It will take a while, but he will get it. I also found that allowing my puppy to play with other dogs was a great way for him to learn what is appropriate play. I took my dog to doggy day care twice a week as a puppy which really helped with his energy level as well as appropriate play technique. And finally, start a puppy class. A basic obedience class is so important for a puppy. They want to behave, but don't know what to do with their energy. And Floyd is a herding breed dog, so he is smart with a lot of energy, so he needs a good outlet for his energy. I hope that was helpful! Good luck! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Biting is normal puppy behavior but it is something you want to try to get under control quickly. There are a few methods to deal with biting and my favorite is to imitate another puppy. As soon as Apollo puts his mouth on you, 'yelp' and then walk away from him. Completely ignore him until he calms down. As soon as he does so, give him calm attention and encourage him to chew on something like a toy. If everyone is consistent with this behavior, most puppies learn quickly because they want their human's attention. That being said, not all puppies are cuddly. They are individuals just like people. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Congratulations on your new puppy! It takes some time for puppies to figure out what behaviors are appropriate and which are not. I recommend praising and reinforcing the behaviors that you would like Arjun to do, such as laying calmly or playing well. Negative reinforcement, or gently punishing him for doing things he shouldn't be should eventually help to stop the behavior. For example, if Arjun is biting the furniture, tell him "no" sternly and redirect his attention to a toy. Or, if he is biting you while playing, stop playing and ignore him until he is calm. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!