Piranha Puppy! - Stopping Puppy Play Biting and Nipping

Why is my puppy biting?

Puppies explore their environment with their nose and mouths. Just like babies, puppies will put anything and everything in their mouth: this includes human skin. Puppy biting is done playfully (your puppy is not trying to hurt you). However, those needle-sharp teeth can be very painful! It is important to control their biting before their jaws become strong.

When puppies play together they often wrestle and bite each other for fun. If a puppy bites too hard, their playmate will give them immediate feedback with a loud yelp and will end the play session. The puppy learns that if he wants to continue to play, he will withhold hard bites.
When humans play with puppies and the puppy bites, our reaction is often to yell NO! and hit or grab the puppy on the snout. Even though, as humans, we think this feedback is clear, our puppy is confused by our behaviour. As a result, it is an ineffective way to teach the puppy not to bite. In addition, studies have shown that it may make the biting increase in frequency and intensity as well as lead to aggression.

Put your puppy on his leash and position both of you in front of an open door to another room. Initiate play that will cause your puppy to bite you.
As soon as your pup's teeth touch skin or clothing, yelp OUCH! in a loud voice, quickly put the puppy in the other room, and close the door while loosely holding your puppy's leash on the other side. Please make sure your puppy has enough leash to sit comfortably on the other side of the closed door. In fact, you do not need to apply pressure of any kind.
While the time-out should last no longer than 30 seconds, only open the door when your puppy is quiet.
After the 30 seconds is up and your puppy is quiet, bring him out and act as if nothing has happened.
Re-initiate play with your puppy and as soon as he bites you: repeat the process.

Puppies love to bite when they play. Simply teaching your puppy not to bite at all will be an uphill battle because it is a behaviour that comes so naturally to them. So instead of stopping it all together, teach your puppy about acceptable outlets for their biting.
TOYS: Chewie and squeakie toys are great outets for rough biting and playing. After you take your attention away because your puppy bit you, bring out a toy and priase your pup for biting the toy.
OTHER DOGS: Letting your puppy play with other dogs on a regular basis is crutial for healthy personality development. Furthermore, puppies can play rough with eachother which releases their energy. This will result in less rough play with you.

PRACTICE OFTEN: For your dog to learn not to bite quickly, practice the time-out technique 5 to 10 times in a row every day for at least 2 weeks.
BE CONSISTENT: For the time-out technique to work the play time-fun must immediately end every time your puppy bites. Moreover, all family members must follow the plan. As a result, children that are too young to understand the exercise should not be allowed to play with the puppy unless there is close supervision.
REMEMBER: If you give your puppy any kind of attention (for example, talking, yelling, touch, petting, or even rough handling) when they bite they will continue to bite you because they are getting what they want: play time with you! By reacting through interaction with your puppy you are participating in the puppy's game.
THEREFORE: If biting results being ignored, the puppy will soon abandon this mode of initiating play with you because it doesn't work. Puppies learn very fast what gets them what they want and what doesn't!