Why does my 10-week Bichon puppy bite and squirm when picked up?

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!

This can be frustrating, but is normal exploratory behavior at 13 weeks old. Like small children, puppies put everything in their mouths (hands included) as a means of exploration. Blesszuri is also beginning to teethe and can be expected to start losing her puppy teeth around 16 weeks of age. That said, she should not have a free pass to display this behavior just because she is exploring and teething. Whenever she bites or jumps on you, put an appropriate chew toy in her mouth, walk away and ignore her for a few minutes. When she interacts with you appropriately, praise her positive behavior with play time, belly rubs, or even a small treat. It can take a long time and a lot of consistency, but eventually Blesszuri will understand that she only receives attention and praise when she exhibits positive behaviors and interactions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You are likely describing teething which is basically a normal type of behavior when puppies are growing up and it is secondary to mouth discomfort as teeth are growing. I recommend that you get Lucy teething type toys which you can get at your local pet store or online. Anytime that he tries to nibble at you, you say no and give him the toy. This is likely going to resolve the issue. Puppies do tend to sleep for long periods of time and that is normal and expected so as long as she is not showing any other signs of being sick like vomiting or anorexia, it is ok to continue to monitor that. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there! Aggressive behavior (snarling, growling, etc.) when picked up or disturbed is not normal in a puppy this age, and is a very concerning red flag for future behavior issues. I would take this very seriously, and make an appointment to see a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Zelda in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on this issue while she's still young, rather than waiting for things to get worse as she gets older. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

At ten weeks of age this is still very normal behavior. If Safiro is getting too excited, taking a time out and stopping all play/walking away until he's calm again can help to teach him that getting too excited results in the fun ending, and that calm behavior is rewarded with more play time. Working on some impulse control training (such as airplaning treats, taking and dropping toys, taking treats nicely, sitting politely -- YouTube has great tutorials for all of this) can also help with over excitement and biting behavior.

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.

Is he being aggressive or playful when he bites? Some dogs do not like to be carried. So, this could be normal for him. If you really want to be able to carry him in the future you have to be persistent now on handling and carrying him. I suggest you work with a professional trainer. Puppies are sensitive at this age and if you try to do this on your own you may imprint some very bad behavior that will be extremely difficult to correct later on. Hope this helps. Best wishes.