Hi! (Puppy mouthing)

Hi there
I am new to the site and it has been a mine of information! I have had my wee puppy Alfie for 2 weeks, he is almost 9 weeks old now and is settling in great!
I am following Cesar Millans puppy book and it is fab, but I find I am doing things more instinctivly with Alfie. We are dealing with the mouthing/light biting at the mo and want to do it positively, but he does react to the raised tone of voice. The last thing I want to do is shout at a wee cutie pie like him but we do need to nip that in the bud as we have alot of young kids visit! Any tips would be greatfully appreciated!
Helen x

Hi Helen firstly I am not a fan of the 'TV entertainer' CM, very few people here are.

The behaviour you describe, mouthing/biting is normal behaviour in puppies, if a puppy doesn't bite there is something wrong with it . Puppies bite for a number of reasons, to explore the world around them/during play/and when teething. Teething puppies need lots of safe things to chew just as a teething baby does.

Your puppy is attempting to play with you just as it would with its siblings.
Watch any litter of puppies playing, they bite each other in turn/yelp/run away, they soon learn how much they can bite each other without inflicting pain and bringing play to an end.

When we take on a puppy we need to continue the learning process which was interrupted when the puppy left its litter mates . We need to curbed and channelled the play biting in the right direction. The puppy should be encouraged to bite ever more gently until no pressure is exerted at all , this is called 'bite inhibition'.

Teaching bite inhibition ensures that as the puppy grows up and develops powerful jaws, should he bite for any reason (say he is in in pain/at the vets being treated /gets accidentally hurt) he will have learnt never to sink his teeth into human skin.

Bite inhibition, learning to developer a 'soft mouth' is one of the most important lessons you can teach your puppy, however teaching it takes time and patience and success won't be achieved in just a few days . Also everyone in the household needs to adopt the same approach.


Link to teaching bite inhibition ..click here

Hi there
Thanks for your reply! The one thing I take from Cm is the positive calm energy pointers which work really well, the rest must be taken with a pinch of salt!
We have been letting him gentley mouth but on occasion it has become quite hard. We redirect him with teething toys etc. we understand he is playing and enourage it, its just when my 2 year old niece was in he went to do it and a gentle nip to us is a hard one to her so really its all about patience and teaching!
I have never had a dog before so i am trying to give him the best start. In all ways he is the perfect puppy and we woudnt be witout him now!