Q&A for How to Stop Puppy Biting

Wait until you think your puppy is about to bite you, then say "no" or "no bite." If he doesn't bite you, reward him with praise and a treat. If he does bite you, stop playing and ignore him for a few moments. This will help him learn that being gentle is rewarded while being rough is not.

Most pups jump up and bite out of excitement. Try to avoid getting the pup overexcited by stopping the game and having time-outs every 15 seconds, until the pup has calmed down again. If an excited puppy jumps up and bites as a greeting, distract him with a treat, lure him into the sitting position, and then give the treat to reward the sit.

Yes...but this doesn't mean it's desirable. Play biting is a normal part of puppyhood. However, during a game, the squealing of the other puppies helps the biter to understand they are being too rough. This is how puppies learn to have a gentle mouth, so play act plenty if the puppy play bites you.

The most common reason for an adult dog biting (provided they are sweet-tempered and not aggressive) is they never learned bite inhibition as a puppy. Without the latter, the adult dog doesn't appreciate that teeth on skin hurts and instead thinks it's OK to bite roughly.

This depends on how consistently you teach the puppy not to bite and the pup's temperament. Left to their own devices, a pup may grow into an adult and never learn to stop biting. To avoid this, use the strategies described in this guide, and enforce "time out" when the puppy gets so over excited that he loses all self control. How quickly he learns is impossible to say.

Avoid games that involve the puppy playing with hands and feet. If your pup does play bite, then you need to squeal (as if hurt) and let your hand go limp. If the puppy keeps coming, then ignore him, get up and leave the room. The message you're sending is that if he bites, the fun stops.

If your dog bites you, yelp as if in pain. Dogs react to actions and sounds better than words and commands.

Buy some Bitter Apple, a bite deterrent for dogs, and spray some on your hands. Your puppy would probably won't like the taste of it and stay clear of your hands. If you can't find Bitter Apple, mouthwash is fine. Just don't spray it directly into your puppy's mouth.

Since it's a puppy, it doesn't know any better. Whenever the puppy bites you, be overly dramatic in your reaction to it. Pretend to be in pain and be an actor. This way, the dog will feel bad and stop.

It's how you train your puppy that determines whether it's a "messy" dog or not. Dog breed doesn't have much to do with it, though more energetic breeds may be harder to train.

Probably not. Its a bit loud for a puppy's sensitive ears, it might just scare him. A sharp yelp would be just as effective.

Maybe try not to yelp. It's probably a trigger noise for the dog, since yelps tend to be a bit more high pitched and are suggestive of another dog to play with.

Try keeping the two dogs separated from each other, and while you do so, go and have your puppy socialize with other dogs. Once the puppy has learned to be gentle with other dogs, you can see if they will behave with the older dog then.