Puppy biting and chewing is normal puppy behavior: puppies explore with their mouths the way toddlers use their hands. Your puppy may grab your sleeve every time you walk past, treat your ankles like a toy, and chew a phone charger or the corner of a rug. It still hurts, and it gets dangerous when the thing being chewed is a live cord or a sock.
The aim is not to stop your puppy using its mouth. It is to teach it what is okay to bite and chew, keep the house safe while it learns, and spot the cases that are not ordinary puppy behavior.
Rule out medical causes first
Most puppy nipping is behavioral, but a vet check is worth it, especially if something seems off:
- Teething. Puppies lose their baby teeth and grow adult teeth over the first several months, and sore gums increase the urge to chew. Ask your vet to check for baby teeth that stay put as the adult tooth comes in.
- Pain elsewhere. A puppy that snaps when touched in one spot (ears, paws, belly, hips) may be sore there. That is not play biting.
- Eating non-food items. A puppy that swallows stones, fabric or dirt should see a vet. This can have medical causes, and it can block the gut.
Go to a vet right away if your puppy has chewed an electrical cord (even if it seems fine, since mouth burns and breathing problems can show up later), swallowed a sock, string, toy piece, battery, medication or anything toxic, or is vomiting, drooling heavily, pawing at its mouth or straining to pass stool. Our pet first aid guide covers what to do on the way.
Why puppies bite and chew
- Exploration and play. Puppies play-fight with littermates using their mouths. Your hands and feet are the nearest substitute.
- Learning bite pressure. Play with other puppies teaches a puppy that biting too hard ends the fun. Puppies taken from the litter early may have had less of that practice.
- Teething. Chewing soothes sore gums, so it often ramps up for a stretch of puppyhood.
- Overtiredness. Many puppies get bitier in the evening or after a busy day. Like toddlers, overtired puppies have less self-control, and young puppies need a lot of sleep.
- Boredom and under-exercise. A puppy with nothing to do will find something, often your furniture.
- Attention. If nipping reliably gets a big reaction (squealing, running, pushing the puppy away with your hands), the puppy may learn that it starts a great game.
- Fear. Less common, but a puppy that bites when cornered, lifted or handled may be scared rather than playful.
How to tell what is going on
Keep a simple log for a week: when the biting or chewing happens, what happened just before, and what happened after.
- Time of day. A spike in the late afternoon or evening points to overtiredness. A nap may fix more than a lesson.
- What came before. Rough play, visitors, a long gap since the last walk, or you getting up to leave the room.
- Body language. A loose, wiggly body and play bows mean play. A stiff body, whale eye (whites of the eyes showing), lip licking, freezing or growling while being held suggest fear or discomfort, which needs a different approach.
- What gets chewed. Things that smell of you, like shoes and remote controls, are common targets. Chewing at doors or windows when left alone may point to distress about being alone; see our guide to separation anxiety in dogs.
- While you are out. A phone recording of the first 20 to 30 minutes after you leave shows whether your puppy settles or paces and chews.
A step-by-step plan
1. Puppy-proof the house
Management prevents practice. Every time a puppy chews a shoe, it learns that shoes are chewable.
- Tuck cords behind furniture or cover them, and unplug chargers when not in use.
- Keep shoes, socks, kids’ toys, remotes and laundry off the floor.
- Store medications, cleaning products, batteries, chewing gum and foods that are dangerous to dogs out of reach. Use a trash can with a lid.
- Check your houseplants, since some are toxic to dogs.
- Use baby gates or a puppy pen to limit where the puppy can go when you cannot watch it.
2. Provide the right things to chew
- Offer different textures: rubber toys, rope toys, plush toys, and edible chews your vet recommends for your puppy’s age and size.
- A rubber toy stuffed with part of a meal and frozen can soothe sore gums and keep a puppy busy.
- Rotate toys every few days so they stay interesting.
- Skip anything hard enough to break teeth or small enough to swallow whole. Supervise edible chews and take away pieces that get small.
3. Redirect in the moment
When your puppy bites your hand or clothes:
- Stop moving. Hands that flap around look like prey.
- Offer a toy right away and play with that instead. A long tug toy keeps hands farther from teeth.
- Praise and keep the game going when the puppy grabs the toy.
If your puppy is chewing the wrong thing, trade: offer a chew item, and when the puppy takes it, calmly remove the other object.
4. End play calmly when teeth hit skin
If your puppy keeps biting skin after you have offered a toy:
- Say a calm marker like “oops” in a normal voice.
- Stand up, fold your arms and turn away, or step behind a baby gate for 10 to 30 seconds.
- Come back and resume calm play.
The lesson is simple: teeth on skin makes the fun stop. Stay boring. Shrieking or pushing the puppy away often winds it up more. If biting keeps escalating after a couple of tries, your puppy is probably overtired. Put it in its pen or crate with a chew toy for a nap, as a reset rather than a punishment.
5. Reward calm behavior
Notice when your puppy is lying quietly or licking gently, and reward that with a quiet word, a treat or slow petting. Owners often pay attention only when the puppy misbehaves, which teaches it that misbehaving works.
6. Build a routine
- Several short sessions of play, training and sniffing walks a day, suited to your puppy’s age
- Regular naps in a quiet spot
- Some meals from food puzzles instead of a bowl
- Short training sessions: sit, down, “leave it,” “drop it” and hand targeting give the puppy’s mouth and brain a job
Most puppies bite and chew less as they mature, but a clear difference often takes weeks, and everyone in the household needs to respond the same way.
Puppies and children
Children move fast, squeal and wave their hands, which excites puppies. Always supervise puppies and young children together, and separate them with a gate when you cannot watch. Teach children to stand still like a tree with arms folded if the puppy nips, and to call an adult. Children should not be left to train the puppy on their own.
When mouthing in an adult dog is different
Mouthy play is still common in adolescent dogs. In an adult dog, these suggest something other than play:
- Biting with growling, a stiff body, lifted lips or a hard stare
- Biting when touched in certain places, moved off furniture, or approached near food, toys or a resting spot
- Bites that leave marks or break skin
- A sudden new habit of mouthing or snapping, especially in an older dog
These can signal pain, fear or guarding. They need a vet visit and professional help, not play-redirection tricks.
What not to do
- Don’t hit, pin, scruff or hold the mouth shut. The AVSAB position statement on humane training warns that aversive methods can increase fear and aggression. A puppy that learns hands can hurt may bite harder or become more defensive later.
- Don’t use shock, prong or citronella spray collars. They work through pain or fear and can damage a young puppy’s trust in you.
- Don’t punish chewing after the fact. If you find a chewed shoe an hour later, your puppy cannot connect your anger to what it did. Pick it up and review your puppy-proofing.
- Don’t play hand-wrestling games that teach the puppy hands are toys.
- Don’t rely on bitter sprays alone. They can protect a few items, but without chew alternatives and supervision the puppy just moves on to the next thing.
When to get professional help
Start with your vet if biting seems linked to pain or handling, if behavior changes suddenly, or if your puppy eats non-food items. Then look for a veterinary behaviorist or a certified trainer or behavior consultant who uses reward-based methods if:
- Biting is getting harder or more frequent, not less
- Your puppy growls, freezes or bites when handled, groomed or approached near food
- You have young children and are worried about safety
- Your adult dog bites with warning signs or has injured someone
Sources
- AVSAB Position Statement on Humane Dog Training (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, 2021)
- 2015 AAHA Canine and Feline Behavior Management Guidelines
- Merck Veterinary Manual, behavior section
- ASPCA guidance on mouthing, nipping and play biting in dogs
- ASPCA guidance on destructive chewing
This guide is general information and not a substitute for advice from your veterinarian or a qualified behavior professional.