Puppies' teething process beings anywhere between 6-8 weeks and can last up to 6-7 months! I know what you're thinking... that's 7 months of chewed up potentially destroyed furniture, gnawed raw hands, and cranking little clenched jaws to retrieve whatever gross, random object of garbage treasure found on the street and around the house. exhausting I know, however think about how your little one feels, and why they are acting this way.

Much like human babies, puppy teething is a gruelling painful period for little fluffs that just want to explore and have fun! Next time you see your pup biting something they aren't suppose to think about why they are doing it. If they are quite young and their teeth feel like sharp little piranha fangs, these are most definitely their puppy teeth (Adult dog's teeth are a lot duller since they make up for it in jaw strength). For teething puppies, a damp towel rolled up and stuck in the freezer will help a ton when given to them for supervised chewing.

Now don't get me wrong, there can be bad boy/girl bites that should not be allowed especially closer to the 6-8 month mark. Depending on the circumstance, biting could be a response of possession guarding, or other forms of reactivity, which should be addressed sooner rather than later.

However, if your puppy is within the one year mark, there are countless other reasons for their bites! When your puppy nibbles or mouths at your hands/clothes, it can mean a variety of different things: It could be an invitation to play, a way of communication, or a way to figure out what they can and can't chew. In any case, it is up to us to lead them in the right direction, and be firm but fair. We want to avoid them biting at our hands, etc. by trying a number of things. Just like how not all kids learn the same, not all puppies do either. You can try putting whatever it is all the way to the back of their mouths/throat (if it is uncomfortable they won’t want it to happen again, so they won't nip) or you can hold still and disengage with them (ignoring them is a form of negative punishment). Another tactic you can use for this is stop moving and yelp kind of like a small dog getting hurt. It doesn't matter if your pup stops out of guilt or by being startled, once they stop, give a lot of praise. Once you offer your hand again and they lick it instead of mouthing, give them a lot more praise!