My puppy keeps biting his leash and my hands. How do I stop this?

A puppy explores the world by putting things in their mouth. This goes for ok things like food and chew toys, to irritating things like leashes, as well as dangerous things like rocks and socks. Certainly getting a walking harness that attaches to the back (behind the shoulder blades) is one way to prevent Chloe from being able to access the leash while walking. You can also try using positive reinforcement (like giving her praise or a small treat) after a few minutes of walking without grabbing for her leash. Finally, there is a product called Bitter Apple that can be sprayed onto things you want Chloe to learn are not ok to put in her mouth. Like the name suggests, this product tastes bitter and will hopefully help Chloe learn that her leash is for walking not chewing. I hope this helps!

Young dogs can be quite voracious chewers, and it is unfortunate when they decide to chew on their leash! One option is to keep the leash taut enough to not allow any slack for Paddy to access so he can't get it into his mouth. You can also spray the leash with something (such as bitter apple spray) to make it taste bad. If he pulls a lot when walking, you can try switching to a no pull harness or a gentle leader. Good luck!

Instead of you walking away, "banish" him to another room whenever he bites. Don't use his crate, if he has one, for this. You can also spray a bitter agent, such as Bitter Apple or Phooey, on your hands, just remember to wash well before you eat or touch your face. Be patient, firm and consistent in your training. He's still young and has a way to go in learning good behaviors.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Oscar. Young puppies will commonly have trouble adjusting to the leash. Be consistent and use positive reinforcement for him, lots of praise and treats. He will adjust, it will just take time and patience. You can also try different options such as a leash and collar versus a harness. You may consider enrolling him in puppy classes to build confidence so well. I hope this information helps!

This type of behavior is usually either inappropriate play that was accidentally rewarded or it could be anxiety based. I would recommend working with a positive reenforcement trainer on appropriate walking behavior and general calmness. In the mean time, when she starts to get crazy on walks, stop, and just ignore her (it helps to count to 10 in your head) until she's calm, and keep going. You'll have to take short walks because this gets old fast! But it will help, especially if you can get some hands on help as well. Enjoy your pup!

It's likely that Darby is frustrated about not being able to get somewhere that she wants to go - you can help this problem by calling her name and encouraging her to go in a different direction, and rewarding with a treat when she follows you. Biting and mouthing is very normal behavior for a puppy this age - this is how puppies explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. Make sure that she has a variety of different toys 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. She should also have lots of different things to lay and chew on, such as bully sticks, rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. She will grow out of this behavior on her own as she gets older, but in the meantime, just redirect her to one of her own toys and use that to play with her instead. If she continues to get overly excited and try to bite, give her something to chew on (such as one of the options I mentioned above) to encourage her to settle down and relax for a while.

(more) Then, when he startles and turns to look at you or looks around, remove your hand. Either ignore him for 10 to 20 seconds or, if he starts mouthing on you again, get up and move away for 10 to 20 seconds. After the short time-out, return to your puppy and encourage him to play with you again. It’s important to teach him that gentle play continues, but painful play stops. Play with your puppy until he bites hard again. When he does, repeat the sequence above. When your puppy isn’t delivering really hard bites anymore, you can tighten up your rules a little. Require your puppy to be even gentler. Yelp and stop play in response to moderately hard bites. Persist with this process of yelping and then ignoring your puppy or giving him a time-out for his hardest bites. As those disappear, do the same for his next-hardest bites, and so on, until your puppy can play with your hands very gently, controlling the force of his mouthing so that you feel little or no pressure at all.