Puppies love to play, and it is important that you spend play time with your puppy regularly, especially in the early stages of your relationship as the bond between you is forming. Some good advice, however, comes in handy when learning how to play with your puppy properly.

Many people do not realize when playing with their puppy that they are reinforcing bad habits that can come back to “bite” them later. What seems like a playful nip now can turn into a painful bite as the puppy grows.

You must teach your puppy early on that you are not his chew toy. If you reinforce his biting behavior, he will think it is something he should continue to do to please you.

Biting is a natural instinctive behavior to a puppy. Puppies playfully bite each other in the very early stages of life, and it is perfectly natural for them to do so. Puppies use their mouths to learn about the world around them by tasting, touching, and so forth. As the puppy matures, however, he must be taught what he should and should not bite or chew.

Training a dog effectively does not require harshness or violence. It is not advisable to abuse any animal either physically or verbally. Puppy training advice involves helping your pet to understand behaviors that are, and are not, acceptable.

If your puppy bites you during playtime, then playtime must come to an end. After this happens a few times, he will come to understand that biting and play are not associated behaviors.

There are some games pet owners enjoy with their puppies, such as tugging back and forth with a toy, or placing a sock on their hand and allowing the puppy to bite them. The sock is used to keep the nipping from hurting as much. While these activities may seem fun now, they are teaching your puppy bad habits that you’ll have to break later.

If kids are present in the home, they also must learn not to play with the puppy when the puppy bites. They should be instructed to leave the puppy alone when he bites, and he will slowly come to realize biting causes playtime to end.

It is easy when a puppy is young to offer him a finger or your hand to nibble at, but that is the wrong thing to do. Not only do they think biting is okay in this instance, they think you are encouraging them to do it, and to them that is a sense of reward.

The best puppy training advice regarding biting is do not encourage it, do not reward it, and cease playtime when the puppy bites. It might take a few play sessions for the puppy to understand, but if you are consistent, he will catch on.