Puppy biting is a normal developmental behavior, but it becomes a problem when puppies aren’t taught clear boundaries early and consistently. Most advice fails because it focuses on managing the biting rather than teaching puppies how to control their mouths in real interactions. What works is addressing how puppies actually learn impulse control and social limits.
Written by John “Ask the Dog Guy” Wade, professional dog trainer with 35+ years of hands-on experience and 160+ verified 5-star reviews.
What almost never works
If you’ve been asking trainers, vet clinics, and scouring the Internet looking for solutions to your puppy’s relentless mouthing, nipping, and play biting and nothing has worked, I can almost guarantee it’s because you were advised to do what almost never works:
- Redirect your puppy’s attention to a chew toy
- Turn your back on your puppy
- Ignore your puppy
- Time-out your puppy
- Reverse time-out your puppy
- Pretend to be hurt by crying out (pretend?)
- Blame overtiredness or overaroused states
Additionally,
- You were quite possibly told that you mustn’t actually convey a clear cut, firm, but fair, “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. Cut this out now!”, (something every dog, wolf, ape and human being has heard from time-to-time from a parent) or your puppy’s self-esteem would be ruined forever more.
- You, (and everyone else told to stray from nature’s actual template) quickly discovered none of the aforementioned had meaningful impact.
- You may have noticed that the solution(s) very often escalated the behavior
- Now you may be worried that getting a puppy was a bad decision.
- Alternatively you may be thinking that they sold you the one mentally deficient puppy.😄 Stubborn Dogs – Fact or Fallacy
Why it didn’t work (It’s not you, and it’s not your puppy)
Most dog trainers mean well with this sort of advice, but they’re often caught up in ideology that they’ve been told, and now tell others is life-skill science, when it’s far closer to teaching tricks-science. They’re not the same thing. Unfortunately, they, and these ideas make up about 80% of the dog training community. It is slowly, but steadily changing, but it’s easy for a puppy owner to find themselves subjected to cool sounding advice that ironically is based more on marketing and principles that don’t occurr anywhere in the natural world when it comes to teaching and learning life-skills. This is a problem with “modern” puppy training, not with you or your dog.
This approach often uses terminology referencing variations on, “All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free/Never Say No/R+…’, treat, treat, treat” “science-based” training, and in many cases, crate training. Don’t get me wrong. They can point to science, albeit cherry-picked science perfect for teaching trick like behavior in non-fluid environments (training arena versus a regular home, yard, neigbourhood), rather than practical life skills like “Stay,” “Come,” and “Heel” – No Matter What. The same clarity and timing that fixes biting also matters in puppy potty training.
Things began to go south in the early to mid 80’s when cetacean trainers, more specifically Orca trainers started to show up at dog training conferences and writing books making:
Misleading claims made to puppy and dog trainers that shifted to pseudo-science base
- Orcas (killer whales) can be taught entertaining behaviors that they wouldn’t independently do.
- There are no leashes required.
- The approach was described similarily (“All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free/Never Say No/R+…’, treat, treat, treat” “science-based”)
- If such fantastic results could be achieved in this manner that ethically dog trainers should embrace the approach
The problem with these claims is that they conveniently leave out contradicting facts, and, or content that would otherwise require considerable modification of the claim (also known in formal logic circles as suppressed evidence or cherry picking).
Reality
- The aquarium is the leash. Attempting to teach similar unnatural behaviors in a natural setting is extremely problematic.
- The aquarium is unnaturally their entire world. Orcas are among the most socially complex non-human animals. Captivity severely reduces their social choices unnaturally impacting the focus on the person doing the training.
- Food deprivation, where the trainer becomes the main gateway to food is by no means all positive or force free.
- There is no science to support the approach for teaching lifeskills in natural settings. Tricks, yes. Lifeskills, no.
- If the approach is as powerful as described why is it that there’s only one recorded incident of a wild orca injuring (but not killing) a surfer (1972), in spite of daily proximity to surfers, swimmers, kayakers, scuba divers, etc. Whereas “highly trained” captive orca incidents and fatalities are well documented. Captive orcas have killed four people, and many dozen have been seriously injured.
- Unlike the average puppy and dog owner, people training captive killer whales do so as their full-time job, often with degrees in behavior.
Now consider the dogs you see in competitive obedience, something trainers that promote this ideology point to as “proof”. Yes, these dogs are, more often than not, trained using the “All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free/Never Say No/R+…’, treat, treat, treat” manner. Often, inarguably impressive on the surface. However, once the dog and handler leave the “theatre” where the “play” inaccurately called “obedience” was “performed,” cut the handler’s leash and steal their treats, and see what happens. 😄 For what it’s worth, I do use this approach when I’m teaching a dog tricks. It’s lots of fun, if done in moderation. You’ve probably witnessed, but not really thought about it, but I’ve found when this approach is overdone, the dogs involved are rarely calm. They often seem (around their owners) to be “jonesing”, much like an addict needing a fix.
For putting an end to puppy mouthing, nipping, and biting, not to mention teaching life skills such as Stay,” “Come,” and “Heel” – No Matter What one must look at actually applicable areas of behavioural science such as, ethology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, anthropology, psychology (eg. all four quadrants of operant conditioning – not the cherry picked version used by ideologically driven trainers) etc. These scientific discplines provide far better clues as to how higher-order social species life skills are learned and taught when there isn’t a human around attempting to reinvent the wheel. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the concept of “No!”, is part of what happens in the real world.
Long story short, there’s nothing the matter with your puppy. There’s nothing the matter with you. The problem is with the approach. Whatever they want to call it, “All Positive/Purely Positive/Force-Free/Never Say No/R+…,” this is an approach to behavior that not a single higher-order social species on the planet embraces to teach their youngsters life skills, and I don’t know about you, but if my mother had embraced that ideology, I’d be dead or in jail. 😄
Then what is a puppy owner to do about puppy mouthing, nipping, and biting?
The hidden reasons that you must quickly discourage puppy mouthing, nipping, and biting.
Why all puppies mouth, nip and bite
Puppy mouthing, nipping and biting is nature’s way amongst litter mates, and with their mother of figuring out who respects who. The same goes with their human owners.
Once they get to a certain age puppies will play quite roughly with each other for pretty much 20 minutes out of every waking hour. They learn from this interaction who’s faster, stronger, more agile. Who’s more “driven”. A good part of that is learned through the use of their mouths (mouthing, nipping and biting each other). Their jaws might not be strong, but by 3 weeks of age their teeth have erupted and are sharp enough for each puppy to take notice and in time, figure out who they should be listening to, and who should be listening to them.
Interacting with mom has a similar benefit. If she is to do her job (teach life-skills), mother dogs have to teach their puppies who should be listening to who before the lessons can actually begin. For the first few weeks of life though, it’s all oxytocin driven interaction and a pup really can’t do too much that would elicit an “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you!”, response from their mothers. However, Mother Nature nudges a mother dog out of the love only mindset when pups are about 3 weeks of age. Still nursing, but now even more vigorously, with erupting teeth (razor blades) if she doesn’t but an immediate stop to how they are using their mouths, she’ll end up too lacerated to nurse, and so she introduces what I call her “Ugly Mom” side.😄
As much as ideological dog training concepts would like, mother dogs obviously can’t sit down with their puppies to talk about their feelings or provide encouragement to “Use your words next time.”, etc. When a pup uses its teeth too roughly when engaging with its mother, this is the catalyst for the first lesson that all puppies learn from their mothers. That lesson is that mother dogs will offer tone and body language not only to indicate love but also to warn their puppies that they’re not asking; they’re telling, “No!” Puppies that ignore the warnings are subjected to (gasp) some level of physical discipline in keeping with the puppy’s development, further motivating the pup to at all times consider their mother’s tone and body language. How they respond to being ignored varies, but it’s not unusual for a pup to find it self flattened with a mother’s paw, or find their heads surrounded firmly or fairly by her jaws, or even be on the receiving end of a nip. For what it’s worth, there’s no recorded instance of self-esteem being permanently ruined or the need for a life-time of therapy. 😄 Mother dogs are certainly firm but fair and they’re never “all positive”, they’re almost always, positive.
Why for all puppy owners it’s critical that puppy mouthing, nipping and biting be addressed firmly, but fairly, and immediately
Well the obvious part is that who wants to live with an alligator? The less obvious is that Mother Nature put this behavior in place to save their mothers and you tons of time when it comes to actually teaching life skills like, “Stay,” “Come,” and “Heel” – No Matter What.
Doing what the ideologist dog trainers tell you to do and you’ll end up with a puppy that thinks you’re at best a room mate and you’ll need to become a treat dispensing Pez Dispenser to influence your puppy’s “obedience”. For puppies that don’t learn from their nipping, and biting who’s the teacher and who’s the student, ultimately “Come” means, “If you have a minute, check your daytimer and whether I have treats.” “Stay” means, “Don’t move until I’m out of treats.” Walking with their dog ends up making one of their arms longer than the other. Ultimatley this impacts a dog’s, their owners and whatever living beings they cross paths with. It ends up being more of a “house arrest” lifestyle and probably not even close to what the average puppy owner has in mind for their puppy’s future. For some, the outcome is even more serious. (See below: Bonus examples below of why you should avoid ideology.)
There’s another type of training approach you must avoid
There are still trainers that subscribe to the ‘Might Is Right’, Alpha, Pack Leader, Dominant (Yank and Crank) ideology. There’s a trainer that repopularized that approach that’s quite famous (I think he’s often referred to as the “Dog Shouter”, although I may have that wrong. 😄) This mindset and approach is how a bouncer alters the behavior of an unruly patron, and when used on puppies and dogs, it often gets the job done, but ends up with a submissive dog. The concepts of alpha, pack leader and dominant aren’t non existent in world of behavior, they’re just not the foundation of how you shape a youngsters behavior. For example, you wouldn’t after your encounter with the bouncer confuse that approach with how you would modify the behavior of a youngster. Why “Being Alpha” Is a Terrible Way to Raise a Dog (Or A Kid)
Properly (fully) balanced training instead (Nature's Template)
I use the qualifier of “properly” or “fully” balanced because I’ve found many of the puppy and dog trainers that advertise themselves as “balanced” also still subscribe to the ‘Might Is Right’, Alpha, Pack Leader, Dominant (Yank and Crank) ideology.
Properly or fully balanced training won’t be using force as a means to intimidate, or as a physical “correction” Force will be a minority aspect of their approach. It will in essence be almost all positive. See the chart below for a better idea of the role force plays in those “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you!” moments.
Puppy owners have nothing to fear from the behavior modification tools used in properly (fully) balanced dog training, whether the tool is the intelligent use of force, or the more common tools of postive reinforcement. The problems arise when there is a fool at the end of the tool. In the case of force when it’s used to intimidate, cause pain or anxiety. In the case of positive reinforcement, when it’s being used as the only tool (all positive).
Characteristics of the intelligent use of force in dog training (Nature's Template)
Intelligent use of force is always information, not intimidation
Feature
Observed Pattern
Duration
Extremely Brief
Intensity
Minimal force is required
Timing
Immediate and situational (“The Rule of Three”)
Outcome
Learning or safety restored
Afterward
Social contact resumes normally
In conclusion
In order to put an end to puppy mouthing, nipping, and biting in a manner that is effective and still reasonable, you should stick with “Nature’s Template.” Dogs are not the only species on the planet that lose their self-esteem forever when discpline is applied and there is no reason a puppy owner should have to wait until their puppy outgrows this distressing behavior, and there are several excellent reasons why they should not wait.
Long story short, pick your puppy trainer wisely. It’s an unregulated industry. Questions? Email [email protected] or book a local or long distance consultation.
- John “Ask The Dog Guy” Wade
35+ Years Experience | 160+ 5-Star Reviews
When the advice makes sense — but applying it feels uncertain…
If you’ve read this far, you likely recognize that puppy training that is actually going to make a positive difference in you and your puppy’s life shouldn’t be based on ideological concepts, and yet, pretty much everything you’re encountering in the unregulated world that is companion puppy and dog training is, when you think about it, pretty far from how any higher-order social species actually learns life-skill from a loving authority figure.
If so, you’re now thinking about finding guidance that is actually based on long-established legitimate behavioral sciences, that aren’t based on bribery or bullying, that actually harnesses:
- How your actual puppy sees the actual world we live.
- How twenty four hours a day, he or she makes connections that reveal to him or her, who will be the teacher and who will be the student, and this should be part of the training plan.
- How to find a balance between being firm but fair.
- How to create a learning environment that makes it easy to be all positive almost all the time.
- Understanding that there will be times when it’s essential to be firm, and learning how to do so in a manner that’s in keeping with your puppy’s individual personality with an end result that succeeds in conveying that he or she isn’t bad, and you’re not bad, but not stopping a behavior would be bad.
- How important it is to set reasonable age appropriate expectations for core life skills like “Stay,” “Come,” and “Heel” so you don’t set you or your puppy up to fail and can build on small successes until they’re “No Matter What”.
I work with companion dog owners locally and worldwide to translate sound scientific training principles into clear, practical next steps based on:
- Your puppy’s age, temperament, genetics, and history
- Your home environment and routines
- Your short and long term wishlist (along with my recommendations)
The goal at this point isn’t usually more information. It’s clarity and direction.
Choose the type of help that fits your situation
- I’m local and want in-home training. (Structured, hands-on guidance tailored to your home and daily life.)
- I’m not local and want a Zoom consult. (Focused problem-solving and education without geography limiting access.)
Once you choose, you’ll answer a short set of questions so I can understand your puppy, your goals, and if you have them, your concerns before suggesting any next step. Nothing is booked automatically. No generic plans. No pressure.
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Not ready for direct support yet?
If you prefer to continue learning independently, you can also explore:
•Practical training guides I’ve put together, (some free cheat sheets, 100’s of free articles) and eBooks
•Carefully selected tools and equipment for dogs giving their owners a physical run for their money.
•Ongoing education by email (newsletter – subscribe at page top (used sparingly, unsubscribe anytime)
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