Got Puppy Nipping? Take the Clicker Approach

Use the clicker to help eliminate puppy nipping.

All puppies engage in “puppy biting,” which serves a purpose or function. Puppies may bite due to hunger, needing to go to the bathroom, excitement, fatigue, or even tummy aches. Always consult your veterinarian before adding training to ensure there are no underlying health issues. Teething may also cause puppy biting, as puppies seek something to chew on.

Be curious about why your puppy is biting and mindful of their body language just before a nip. Are they wiggly and loose, wanting to play, or stiff with a tightly closed mouth and high tail carriage? Some puppies might engage in biting because it’s how they played with littermates. Understanding your puppy’s body language can help explain the “why” and determine the next steps. Avoid using punishment when your hands are near your puppy’s face for activities like tooth brushing or grooming, as you don’t want to associate your hands with anything scary or unpleasant.

Although puppies don’t realize it, their nips can hurt! The best approach is management combined with operant conditioning principles and patience. Remember, puppy biting is a normal part of puppy development.

• When you play, pet, or interact with your puppy, try to always have a puppy-appropriate chew or toy in hand. 
  
• When the puppy grabs you or your clothing, stop moving. The movement seems like play to the dog. The fun is gone if you are still.
  
• Have a safe and comfortable spot where you can leave the puppy when you cannot play with or watch him; an X pen with his bedding and some toys in it, or an area fenced off with baby gates. Nippy puppies go back to their own space for a while.
  
• When the puppy grabs a hand or sweater, for example, gently disengage him and provide a suitable replacement—a chew toy—instead. Keep a couple of chewable replacements for your clothes and hands handy in each room where the puppy spends time. Ideas: a carrot boiled in dog-safe bone broth that is frozen, a puppy-safe chew, or an old sock with a tennis ball in it. 
  
• Give your puppy something permissible to chew on while you scratch his back and belly. This helps him to learn that some things are OK to chew on. Many puppies have learned in this way to grab a chew toy before they come over to you, as a way of telling you that they know what the rules for safe play are! Reinforce that with the scratching and rubbing they want!

Hurry Up and Feed!

One common issue with puppy biting is that we often times overlook many behaviors that come before puppy biting. We might want to try feeding, playing, or reinforcing our puppy before the biting starts. Try to remember to feed your puppy for “stationing” or standing in front of you. Try to reinforce your dog for doing calm, stationary behaviors that might come before the puppy biting. Sometimes puppies will go from calmly standing in front of you to biting your hand as a way to get food or to initiate play. If we reinforce calm standing in front of us, that behavior will be more likely to occur than the puppy biting.

Teach “Open your mouth!”

• Prepare a dozen or more tiny treats—pea-sized bits of cheese or chicken, say. Or, for a very small breed of puppy (and sometimes they have very sharp little teeth) a dab of baby food meat on the end of a chopstick.
• Click and treat the puppy two or three times just for coming to you, so he knows that treats are available. Now offer the puppy something tempting to grab—a toy or a piece of cloth. Click when he grabs it, and hold out the treat. If he lets go to eat the treat, click again. Do not click him if he grabs something you do not want him to grab!
• Repeat this several times, until the puppy quickly drops the object when he hears the click.
• Now start saying “Open” just before you click. Repeat several times. This begins the process of putting “open” on a verbal cue.
• Next, say “Open” and pause. Hold the object quietly (do not pull) until the puppy lets go on his own. At the moment the puppy releases the object, click and treat. Do NOT click until the puppy releases! Remember, click as he lets go, and give him a treat. Repeat.
• Repeat this little lesson later in the day or the next day, until he will drop the object eagerly when you say “Open.”
• Keep dry treats and clickers handy whenever the puppy is loose in the room. If he grabs a hand or your clothing, become still then say “Open!” If he lets go, be ready to make a great fuss and give him a special treat. Everyone in the family can learn this cue and use it.

Teach “Close your mouth!”

• Watch closely for the moment he closes his mouth. Click, treat! Repeat whenever you get the chance.
• Start giving the cue, “Close mouth,” before taking your hands away.
• Then take your hands away; click and treat him when he closes his mouth.
• Once fluent, teach all family members to do the same. They feel safer when they can say “Close mouth” and the puppy does it. For the puppy, it’s a “Clicker Opportunity,” not a rebuke!

Note: This article was originally published on 06/01/2009 and last updated on 06/18/2024. We regularly review our content to ensure that the principles and techniques remain valuable and relevant. However, best practices continue to evolve. If you notice anything that may need updating, please feel free to contact us at editor@clickertraining.com.