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My puppy is 4 months old and teething. How do I stop his biting?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | 66 lbs

Hello. I have a Pitbull who is 4 months old and his teeths start to fall. Now the problem is is that he bites me like crazy and I cannot stop him unless I punish him(no agressive punishment just for the record). And my question is how can I stop him from biting me? Thank you for your help! :)

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on November 23rd, 2016

It's very normal for puppies this age to want to bite and use their mouths a lot - as you said, he's teething right now. This behavior will go away on its own as he gets older, but there are some 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 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. You should also provide lots of options for chewing - things like bully sticks, cow or pig ears, rawhide chews, and puzzle toys like a Kong 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. If you are petting him and he bites your hands, calmly stop petting and ignore him until he settles down. In most dogs, this behavior diminishes quite a bit after 6-7 months of age - so just be patient and consistent right now while he learns.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 22nd, 2019

    That is normal behavior for puppies. The best way to teach her not to bite is to act like another puppy. As soon as she put her mouth on you, ‘yelp’ and then completely ignore her. You can give her calm, positive attention once she calms down. If every one is consistent, Daisy will learn quickly that if she puts her mouth on you, that the game stops. Daisy wants you to keep playing with her so she will stop biting. I also recommend to pick up a few books about dog training and learning to read their body language. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 22nd, 2018

    While it is a common behavior, it's not ok for Tobi to be biting and it needs to be stopped now. It may not hurt now, but if this behavior continues as he grows, it put him down, turn around, fold your arms, and ignore him. Puppies prefer negative attention (ie saying NO) to no attention at all. In order to show your puppy that biting is an unrewarding behavior, you must remove your attention from the puppy when he bites. As soon as he is no longer biting, reward with calm praise and gentle play with a toy. I hope this helps!

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on July 27th, 2017

    It's completely normal for Chester to be constantly biting and mouthing at this age - this is how puppies explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. He will grow out of this on his own as he gets older, so you don't need to worry about training him not to do it - it's just a normal developmental stage :) You won't be able to completely stop this behavior until he gets older, but there are some things you can do in the meantime to help. Make sure that Chester 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 lay down and chew on, such as bully sticks, rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. If he gets excited and bites you during play, 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 calms down - you may only be able to pet him right now when he is calm and sleepy, which is perfectly fine. All of these things will improve as he gets older, so for now just be patient and consistent while he learns.

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