How to stop a Puppy from Biting

Amy Trumpeter
3 min readSep 10, 2020

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This week we got a comment on our blog that asked how to stop a puppy from biting….

Had my patterdale for 2 weeks he is now 10 weeks. He is quite the biter, loves to bite fingers, feet but will also bit face how do i stop him from doing this?

https://patterdaleterriers.co.uk/patterdale-terrier-puppies/

Of course, puppies bite — it’s a very natural thing for them to do. But their teeth are like needles and it’s important not to let them get into the habit of biting when they are young as if it continues into adulthood it will be even more of a problem when they have bigger teeth and more strength in their jaws. A small puppy nip may not hurt too much but a proper bite from an adult dog can be potentially dangerous especially when young children are around. They need to learn what kind of biting is and is not acceptable. Nipping fingers and especially faces is a no-no.

Many Puppies learn from their Mothers

Generally, puppies are taught how to control their biting by their mothers, but unfortunately a high number of puppies get taken away from their mothers too soon and so it is up to their adoptive adult parents to teach them not to bite.

Socialise your Puppy with Other Dogs

Socialising your puppy from a young age will help them to learn. It’s important in particular to socialise your puppy in the first three months of their life (unfortunately this is not always possible if you rescue).

Socialise them in puppy classes and also with well behaved and well trained adult dogs. Puppies quickly learn from their elders putting themselves in their place! They will quickly learn not to bite because they could end up in an unwanted fight.

Take them to Training Classes and Train them not to bite at home

Take your dog to a training class as soon as possible where e or she will get corrected for his or her behaviour. The longer it is…

Amy Trumpeter

Hi I’m Amy — travel blogger, dog lover, digital marketer. I write mainly about Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Getting into drones!