Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

My puppy is hyper, biting, and barking. Is this normal puppy behavior?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pembroke Welsh Corgi | Male | unneutered | 2 months and 13 days old | 12 lbs

My 9 week old Pembroke Corgi is suddenly getting very hyper. He bites alot and gets aggressive with objects, he also has started barking for no apparent reason. Is this just the normal development of a young pup?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on December 26th, 2017

Sounds like a possible case of the puppy zoomies! This is when a puppy gets very excited, runs around a ton, and may bark or hop at things exciting to them. This is a good opportunity to offer toys such as something stuffed or tuggable to play with to help him get out that energy on objects you don't mind him chewing on, rather than things such as shoes or household items! If he's barking randomly, looking up how to teach "quiet" may be useful. 9 weeks is the perfect age to start some basic training obedience. Often times, teaching things such as "speaking" on command AND "quiet" together can help with barking issues. Searching on YouTube for both should give you some ideas. (PS Bento is an adorable name for a corgi)

Vote icon

4Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 29th, 2018

    This is typical puppy behavior and he will likely continue this despite going outside and socializing. For the biting, you can use a spray bottle filled with water and lightly spray him in the face while saying "off". For the biting, if you hold your thumb under his tongue for a few seconds every time he bites it may deter him from biting. Provide plenty of toys such as long toys filled with treats to keep him occupied and lots of play time. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My little st. Bernard always bite me and has a loud bark. Is it normal?
Hi there! He is adorable! What you are describing as biting I am assuming is teething as he is just a pup. Teething is normal and expected in puppies as they start developing their teeth. You can get teething toys at your local pet store. Discourage teething on you and when observed hand him the teething toy. This usually works. Loud barking is expected in a big dog puppy like him. Have a good day!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
We brought our 8 week old Brittany Archie home Saturday he was pretty calm no biting he has had lots of excercise and attention everyday but he is bitting and jumping like crazy and running mad every once in a while is this common ?
Sounds like Archie has a case of the puppy zoomies! Being mouthy, jumping, and having periods of just "running around like a maniac" are all very common for puppies. Looking into basic obedience about how to stop jumping up behavior and biting/chewing can help start Archie off on the right foot. As puppies explore the world with their mouths much like toddlers do, there are a few things you can do to help turn this into a more positive behavior. The first is to yelp "ouch!" any time Archie gets a little too nibbly, and get up and walk away. He'll quickly learn that what he is doing hurts and doesn't get him any attention. You can also reward him by giving him lots of praise when you spot him chewing on an appropriate toy. If you catch him chewing something he shouldn't, replace it with the correct toy instead and give him praise if he continues to chew on it. Looking into a basic puppy kindergarten can also help get both of you used to each other and establish some "house rules" in a
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is not sleeping and is always barking and biting me
This is normal behavior for puppies. Here are some helpful links: https://www.petcoach.co/article/puppy-biting-nipping-of-hands/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/puppy-biting-when-does-it-stop/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/new-puppies-sleep-tips-for-bedtime/ I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
10 week old pittie. We had been getting much improvement on biting, but seems like we've had a setback. Yesterday began biting my hands & legs in a much more aggressive way. I'm concerned as hes growing quickly & bites hurt.
At ten weeks of age this is still very normal behavior. If Safiro is getting too excited, taking a time out and stopping all play/walking away until he's calm again can help to teach him that getting too excited results in the fun ending, and that calm behavior is rewarded with more play time. Working on some impulse control training (such as airplaning treats, taking and dropping toys, taking treats nicely, sitting politely -- YouTube has great tutorials for all of this) can also help with over excitement and biting behavior.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
Hello there, My puppy barks at me and sometimes tries to bite me when i touch him. Also he barks at me and growls at his toys. I can’t take him out yet as he has had his second vaccine just yesterday. Is it because he cant get out and is in the same
This is typical puppy behavior and he will likely continue this despite going outside and socializing. For the biting, you can use a spray bottle filled with water and lightly spray him in the face while saying "off". For the biting, if you hold your thumb under his tongue for a few seconds every time he bites it may deter him from biting. Provide plenty of toys such as long toys filled with treats to keep him occupied and lots of play time. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
Hello! We have a beautiful bouncing baby corgi. She is 3.5 months old. She is bright, loving, inquisitive and a bit too fearless. Our issue is her barking. We are told corgis are notorious barkers. I don't accept this as an answer. We have tried man
You say you have tried many things that don't work. Do these include telling her "no," throwing a can of pennies in her direction, and other such interventions? If so, you may be encouraging the very behavior you want to stop. Dogs seek attention in various ways. When they want it, even negtive attention (scolding, etc.) is better to them than none. If you are certain that all of Juniper's needs have been met, and she has been vet-checked for a possible undiagnosed condition, then you must ignore the barking. Totally. Completely. Every single time. No matter how long she carries on! If barking has worked so far to get your attention, she is going to continue to do what works. But, as Dr. Phil says, "You don't reward bad behavior." She may even get worse temporarily, because if you always responded to the barking before, she may try the "more, longer, louder" approach. This does not mean that the treatment isn't helping. On the contrary, it means she has noticed a shift in the response
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 4 month old Shiba Inu chews a lot and not just her toys. Sometimes it is me. Is this just normal puppy behavior? Is there something I should do? I usually hold her to my chest and restrict her from biting and sometimes she will calm down. My
Chewing on lots of things, including human hands and clothing, is completely normal behavior for a puppy this age - this is how puppies explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. She will grow out of this behavior as she gets older, but there are some things you can do in the meantime that will help. Make sure that your pup 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. She should also have lots of different chews and long-lasting treats to chew on such as bully sticks, large rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys like a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. You will need to keep your belongings put away out of her reach for now, just like you would with a toddler or small child. For furniture or other items that can't be put away, you can use Bitter Apple spray to make them taste bad, which
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
My miniature schnauzer puppy who is going to be 3 months in a few days, has spells of going completely wild and biting everything in sight, running, barking/growling, and we can’t seem to even get his attention when he’s like this! We’ve tried everyt
This is normal puppy behavior. I would increase the exercise outside and leave him alone when he’s doing this. You don’t want to encourage biting or not listening so just let him run around and make sure he has his own toys available when he does this. He’s burning up excess energy and will outgrow this phase in a few months. Again take him for lots of walks and play with him in the yard until he’s tired and you will see less of this behavior. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Ozzy.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
Hello, my dog Winston is a Malitpoo and is very energetic. When he is in the house, he is always barking at me and my family for no reason. My father said that there is something wrong with him if he is doing that and that he should not be doing that
Winston is still a puppy and it sounds like he could benefit from additional training. These links may help. Remember to be patient. Training is typically slow and it must be consistent: https://www.petcoach.co/article/puppy-biting-nipping-of-hands/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/puppy-biting-when-does-it-stop/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-stop-excessive-barking-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/excessive-barking-a-common-behavior-problem/ I hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
New Pet
Puppy gone wild. Jack is unusually aggressive tonight... biting, nipping, not stopping when I say no. He’s very... vigorously... humping his ‘cuddle puppy’ toy. Panting some (I was hot myself so turned on the air, figured maybe he was too). So much e
How cute! Yes he’s becoming a teenager. I recommend increasing the daily exercise. Take him for longer walks, more time in the yard and play with him inside. I like to teach them to fetch so I can sit and wear them out throwing the ball or toy. He’s just starting to get more male hormones at this age so that may also be contributing to this behavior. Be patient this phase will pass. Remember a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Jack.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored