My 6-week puppy bites. How to stop it & how long should she walk?

Question

My puppy is 6 weeks old and is biting too much. What can I do to avoid it? And for how much time should I take her for a walk? Pet's info: Dog | Doberman Pinscher | Female | 1 month and 12 days old | 2 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

Congratulations on your new puppy! Play biting and being excessively "mouthy" is very common in puppies. I have not personally had luck with the techniques of saying "No!" or holding the muzzle. I that makes puppies more excited. My general rule for puppies is that you make a high pitched squeak (like a littermate puppy would do if they bit too hard), then walk away from the situation. More than anything, your puppy wants to play with you. If you walk away, it is negative reinforcement, so they are less likely to do that behavior again. Depending on the puppy, the goal is to get them to look away from you or start doing something else before you engage in play again. I found that a long rope toy made a good toy to play with my puppy because there was lots of toy for him to bite at without touching my skin. I also found that allowing him to play with other dogs was a great way for him to learn what is appropriate play. I took my dog to doggy day care twice a week as a puppy which really helped with his energy level as well as appropriate play technique. And finally, start a puppy class. A basic obedience class is so important for a puppy. They want to behave, but don't know what to do with their energy. As far as walks, you listed Zoey as only 2 pounds. If that is the case, then you will want to keep her walks fairly short. I would probably limit them to 5-10 minutes right now, but they can be quite frequent. I hope that was helpful! Good luck! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My 6-week puppy bites. How to stop it & how long should she walk?

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