Ouch! My puppy is biting!

Help! My puppy is biting – and it hurts!

This is a very common issue with puppies. They explore the world with their mouths, like we use our hands, so its very natural for a puppy to be mouthy. Also, puppy baby teeth can be like needles! If your puppy is doing this now just remember what’s cute in a wee pup is no longer so cute when they get bigger. The first place to start in addressing painful nipping or mouthing is to consider the needs of the puppy.

Is your pup over-tired? This is one of the most common reasons for painful biting as that immature brain just cannot cope with too much stimulation with not enough sleep to process it all. Puppies need a LOT of sleep, usually more than we realise. Their behaviour can go a little silly without it. Different dogs will vary but between 8-12 weeks old puppies might require anything from 16 to 20 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. Puppies will play hard and then need to sleep hard.

Is your pup hungry, thirsty or needs to go to the toilet? It’s not that puppies mistake our hands for a steak, but when their physical needs are not met they can lose a bit of control. A healthy puppy has a natural bite inhibition learned first from playing with its mother and litter-mates. Any play bites that are too hard will get corrected so they are soon aware that they can’t just chomp down hard. With their humans, puppies continue to develop that understanding - but if their physical needs aren’t met they can lose some of that self control.

Is your puppy scared? If play has gotten out of control and the pup feels cornered or threatened they may nip to protect themselves. Time to calm things down and give the puppy space.

Is your puppy over-excited? Have you noticed that people just love to hype up your pup with exuberant play? Sometimes children, with their high-pitched shrieks and quick darting movements can over-excite the puppy (some adults can do this too!) This can turn the puppy’s prey drive on so it’s like its chasing a fleeing, shrieking animal. No wonder the puppy can lose a bit of control.

Is your puppy teething? From around 3 months puppies start to lose their baby teeth and gain their full set of 42 teeth from around 6 months on. Just like human babies this is painful and they will chew to relieve the discomfort – maybe on you! A good chew-toy is a better option.

Understanding the puppy’s needs helps us to address the puppy-biting. Check the above points for clues as to how to respond. Once those are ticked off, if mouthing is continuing to be a problem then directing the pup’s attention to a toy or puppy-safe chew (not human skin) usually works. If you find that the pup just won’t stop regardless of what you do, put it in a safe area like a pen and don’t pay it any attention. The puppy will learn that nice play continues, but bitey play stops.