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My 9-week-old puppy is nipping and biting my child. How to stop?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Goldendoodle | Female | unspayed | 2 months and 6 days old | 8 lbs

Our puppy is only 9 1/2 weeks old but when we got her a week and a half ago there was no nipping and biting and now it’s a struggle every day and it’s making my 9yo daughter scared! Our puppy is very responsive to training and can sit and is pretty potty trained. Any advice?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on December 14th, 2018

Nipping and chewing and exploring the world with their mouth is very normal for a puppy of this age. A few things you can do (and your daughter can do) are to stop play completely when Clover gets too excited and starts to nip. Once she is calm and settled down, play can resume. High-pitched squealing or yelling "ouch!" can also help teach her that she is nipping a little too hard. Offering her a toy that is appropriate to chew on and praising her for that can also help redirect her chewing behavior to those items as well. Since you have young kids, I also highly recommend teaching stuff such as "Leave it", and a soft mouth or "taking treats gently" to avoid accidental nips. Once she is old enough, a puppy kindergarten class is also a great way to help teach some new behaviors and bond- something your daughter can do with you to help her gain a little confidence!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on July 6th, 2018

    Mimi is very young, and being away from her mother can be stressful, however chewing and nipping is very common in young dogs, especially when they are teething! (getting their baby teeth and again at about 6-7 months of age when their adult teeth come in.) Here are a few things you can try: 1) Every time she nips yelp OUCH! In a high-pitched loud voice. This can mimic a litter mate that was being played too roughly with and may help soften or stop the nipping. 2) Get up and walk away when she becomes too excited and wait until she is calm to interact again. This can help teach her that being too excited and nippy stops the fun and attention. 3) Replace your hands with a toy instead! Placing a toy into her mouth and praising her for chewing that instead of your fingers can help teach her what is appropriate to chew on. 4) Looking up some videos on teaching a soft mouth and "no bite" can also help get her better about nipping and chewing. If she is screaming and biting as if she is angry or upset, and not just normal puppy biting, that is very concerning at such a young age, and talking to a behaviorist or trainer in person is a good course of action to ensure this behavior doesn't continue into adulthood. If you are in the US you can find a behaviorist by following this link: http://www.dacvb.org/about/member-directory/

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on January 30th, 2018

    Hi there! Mila is certainly very cute :) Constantly biting and mouthing is completely normal behavior for puppies this age - this is how they explore the world, and how they instinctively want to play. Holding on and growling is often part of normal play behavior, so I suspect that this may be what you are seeing; however, if you're concerned, it would be best to have a trainer in your area evaluate her in person to make sure. She will grow out of this behavior on her own as she gets older, so there's no need to punish or correct her for it now. Instead, focus on providing her with a variety of different toys and chew items so that she has an appropriate outlet for this behavior. She should have long floppy rope or fleece toys for tugging, plush toys for biting and carrying, and smaller toys or balls for chasing and fetching. She also needs lots of different things to lay and chew on - try rawhide chews, bully sticks, cow or pig ears, or puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. When she bites you during play, just redirect her to one of her toys and use that to play with her instead. Same for when she wants to chew her potty pads - just get her attention, and give her something else to chew on. If she enjoys ripping and tearing things, she might enjoy doing this with a cardboard box or old newspapers rather than her potty pads.

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