My 6-month-old puppy mouths my arm. How do I stop this behavior?

Question

My pup is about 6 months old. He has a bad problem with putting his whole mouth around my arm. I know it's not aggression it's just like sometimes it hurts and I don't know what to do to stop it. Sometimes I can't pet him without him trying to bite me. It's very annoying. What do I do. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 5 months and 22 days old

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

Great question! You right to try to stop this behavior now. Dallas needs to learn that this is unacceptable. When he puts his whole mouth around you, say "no," remove your arm from his mouth, and turn your back on him. Ignore him until he is behaving appropriately, and then reward him with your attention and praise. You may have to get up and walk away. Whenever he is accepting love and petting appropriately, praise him verbally, but the minute he puts his mouth on your arm, you stop and ignore him. You are teaching him that he will get all the attention he wants when he behaves in an appropriate manner, and will be ignored when he doesn't. He will learn which behaviors gets him attention and praise, and biting you will lead to ignoring.

My 6-month-old puppy mouths my arm. How do I stop this behavior?

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