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Why does my puppy bite me during play? How can I train him to stop?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 4 months and 2 days old | 104 lbs

Pilots getting in a bad habit of biting us because he thinks it's playing!!

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on May 16th, 2017

Biting and mouthing during play is completely normal behavior for a puppy this age :) This should resolve on its own as Pilot gets older, but there are a few things you can do in the meantime to help. Make sure that he has a variety of different toys to provide an appropriate outlet for his behavior - long floppy rope or fleece toys for tugging, plush toys for biting and carrying, and smaller toys or balls for chasing and fetching. He should also have lots of different things to lay and chew on, such as bully sticks, cow or pig ears, large rawhide chews, or puzzle toys such as a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter. If he bites you during play, just redirect him to one of his toys and use that to play with him instead. Never use your hands or clothing to play with him, or encourage him to bite on your fingers or sleeves, as this can lead to bad habits later on. Other than that, just be patient and consistent - the mouthing and play biting will go away when he's older.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on February 19th, 2017

    Since Blue is a young puppy, I'm going to assume that you mean playful biting and puppy mouthing :) This is a completely normal behavior for puppies this age - this is how they explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. It's a normal developmental stage that will go away on its own with age, but there are some things you can do in the meantime to help. Make sure that Blue has a variety of different toys available 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. He should also have lots of different things to chew on, such as bully sticks, large rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. If you're 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 settles down. Be patient and consistent - most dogs are no longer biting and mouthing much at all by 10-12 months of age.

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