So, lets take some time to talk about something I am contacted regularly about... Puppy nipping/biting.
Puppies are notorious for mouthing. When people hear "puppy" a few things probably come to mind: puppy breath, cute puppy snuggles, and... those needle sharp teeth. Puppies have super sharp teeth. It is a good thing too! Those sharp teeth mean it HURTS the Mom and littermates when they bite. When a puppy gets bit hard from a brother or sister, they yelp. Cause it hurts, dang it!
Puppies need to learn not to bite, they especially need to learn that hard biting is not okay. A lot of that learning happens with their mom and littermates. We can help them learn that in our homes as well.
When a puppy bites, a lot of people make a loud "ouch" noise. Let's be honest, at the age that the puppy comes to your home, this doesn't really do much good (except for the typical people pleasing breeds like some labs or golden).
To reward or punish... that is the question.
When they puppy bites a lot of people give it a toy instead. Now that I say that some folks might realize they are telling the puppy "good job for biting me, here is a reward," which isn't what we want. That is just going to make the puppy more likely to bite.
Some people teach the puppy to let go of their hand by teaching the puppy "leave it/out/drop it/etc"... well, this isn't the best choice because the puppy is still biting them in the first place.
Honestly, the first place I start with biting puppies is implementing a schedule.
Puppy wakes, goes out to pee (have a potty party), has a training session, goes out to pee (have another potty party), has a play session, goes out to pee (again, have a potty party), then goes back in the crate. They aren't normally out for more than an hour at a time and they are back in the crate for two hours to fully rest. If you don't have time for a schedule like this, you shouldn't get a puppy. I have made plenty of people annoyed by telling them this. I want the best for you and your dog and I will be honest and straight forward about it. There are a decent amount of dogs out there that are young, but not puppy young, that are available. If you don't have a good schedule for a puppy don't get one.
Mouthy puppies are overtired puppies most of the time. They need 18-20 hours of sleep every day. And I am not just talking an eight week old puppy, this goes for puppies that are up to 10 months old. Puppies are great fun, until they are tired. And puppies need to learn to enjoy being in a crate. By building a predicable and fair schedule for them you will help them learn about the world around them, and you will help them grow into good dogs.
When you first start this schedule it takes time for them to get used to it. So, give it time. For some dogs it can take a week or more. But you will both be happier in the end. After all, I would rather have a schedule like this than have to chase a puppy around the house that is wreaking havoc nipping and peeing.
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