How do I stop my puppy from biting hands, legs, and furniture?

Playful biting and mouthing are very normal at this age - Piper is still quite young, so she is still learning how to control herself when she gets excited. You are doing the right thing by redirecting her to a toy or some other object to chew on when she starts to bite. To increase the chances of this tactic working, make sure that you have a variety of different toys to use when you play with her - long floppy rope or fleece toys for tugging, plush toys for biting and carrying, and smaller toys or balls for chasing and fetching. Experiment with different toys and different types of play to see what she likes, so that you know how to engage her effectively when she gets excited. You can also help by learning to recognize the signs that she is starting to get overly wound up, so that you can switch to a calmer activity (such as training, or giving a chew item like a bully stick or a Kong stuffed with peanut butter) before she starts to bite you. I do not recommend any kind of punishment for this behavior, as it often makes the dog more frustrated and worsens the problem over time. Instead, be patient and continue to redirect her to toys or other activities when she starts to get excited. She should grow out of this behavior as she gets older and more emotionally mature.

Hi, I totally understand you chewing ca be a bit of a problem during these early months. You need to try to be consistent and not to give up and play with your hands. Even during normal play, interrupt play and ignore him if suddenly starting to play too rough. You should try to praise calm behaviour and when he manages (eventually) to sit and be focused. As times goes by, he will get better and better and hopefully grow in a well balanced adult !

Chewing on lots of things, including human hands and clothing, is completely normal behavior for a puppy this age - this is how puppies explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. She will grow out of this behavior as she gets older, but there are some things you can do in the meantime that will help. Make sure that your pup 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 chews and long-lasting treats to chew on such as bully sticks, large rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys like a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. You will need to keep your belongings put away out of her reach for now, just like you would with a toddler or small child. For furniture or other items that can't be put away, you can use Bitter Apple spray to make them taste bad, which should help to discourage her from chewing on them. If you are playing with her and she bites you, just redirect her to one of her toys and use that to play with her instead. If she bites your hands when you pet her, calmly stop petting and wait for her to settle down. I would not recommend restraining her against her will, or pinching her ear to punish her for this behavior - these techniques often make things worse by causing frustration, and do not help her to understand what you want. In addition, doing things like this may cause her to be afraid of being picked up or handled, since she associates pain and discomfort with these things. Just be patient and calm, and redirect her to appropriate things to chew as needed - this behavior will go away on its own with age :)

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!

No, please do not cut your puppy's teeth - this would be very painful for him, and could also cause infection and other serious problems. Biting and mouthing during play is very normal behavior for puppies, and will resolve on its own with age. In the meantime, make sure that Pocholo 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 for chasing and fetching. It can also be helpful to provide lots of different items to chew on - things like bully sticks, cow or pig ears, rawhide chews, and puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. If you are playing with him and he bites you, just redirect him to one of his toys and use that to play with him instead. If he bites your hands when you pet him, calmly stop petting and ignore him until he calms down. You may only be able to pet him when he is sleepy right now, which is fine - just be patient and consistent with him as he grows, and the mouthing will stop on its own.

I recommend getting him into a puppy kindergarten obedience class. The trainer can help you guide his energy into less aggressive, destructive paths. Also, make sure he is getting lots and lots of exercise, going for long walks, take him for a jog, throw the ball for him, get a tug toy and let him play tug of war with you or another dog, get him out for play dates with other dogs (best left after his vaccination series is finished, at about four months of age). A tired dog is a happy dog, and one less likely to get himself into trouble with boredom. When you play with your puppy, let him mouth on your hands. Continue play until he bites especially hard. When he does, immediately give a high-pitched yelp, as if you’re hurt, and let your hand go limp. This should startle your puppy and cause him to stop mouthing you. (If yelping seems to have no effect, you can say “Too bad!” or “You blew it!” in a stern voice instead.) Praise your puppy for stopping. Resume whatever you were doing before. If your puppy bites you hard again, yelp again. Repeat these steps no more than three times within a 15-minute period. If you find that yelping alone doesn’t work, you can switch to a time-out procedure. When your puppy delivers a hard bite, yelp loudly. 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.

Keep in mind that it is perfectly appropriate for a 9 week old puppy to be exploring his world by chewing everything in sight, and for most dogs it is a phase that will resolve as long as you don't unintentionally encourage the behavior. You should have plenty of appropriate chew toys (rawhides are okay as long as he isn't biting off large pieces) to give him whenever he is chewing on you or something he shouldn't. If he nips you, make a loud high pitched noise, give him an appropriate chew and remove your attention. If he keeps trying to bite at you he may need to go somewhere quiet. It will seem like you're not making any progress for awhile but eventually he'll catch on.