You’ve noticed that your puppy has a lot of energy. They love to play, explore, and discover new things. And you’ve also seen that this excitement can really reach another level where it seems like they can barely control themselves, right?

But sometimes these times of new discovery for your puppy wind up being too much, and they take things too far and bite. What’s going on here? Is your puppy a dangerous adult dog in the making or is this all a phase? What should you be doing, if anything?

Well, the good news is that your puppy’s biting is a very common issue and almost certainly doesn’t mean that you’ve got a dangerous dog in the making. Plus, there are some very easy solutions you can start using right away. Keep reading and we’ll answer “how to stop my puppy from biting when excited.”

How Do I Stop My Puppy From Biting When Excited?

To stop your puppy from biting when excited, you should immediately end playtime (or whatever you’re doing). Be calm, quiet, and give yourself some distance from the puppy. Never yell, scold, or hit your puppy.

If your puppy continues to be too aggressive despite you calmly removing yourself from the situation, the temporary solution is to put them in a time-out in their crate or somewhere similar. But when the problem persists and doesn’t improve (or gets worse) with age, then it’s more than “just being a puppy that’s learning” — you’ve got a budding behavioral issue.

Persistent biting and refusal to listen to commands is not overstimulation, but a sign that they are not respecting your leadership within the home.

Think about all of the things you know about dogs. One thing you’ve likely heard before is that dogs are pack animals.

Now think about what’s happening when your dog continues to not listen to the head of their pack, which is you. They’re essentially saying, “hey, I don’t have to listen to you because I’m the one in charge here!”

Let this thought continue to grow in their heads and things will only get worse as they become adult dogs. Nipping will become aggression and biting of you or strangers. Yelping will become non-stop barking at all times of the day. They may mark around the house, both inside and outside.

So how do you turn things around and get through to your puppy, and show them that you are in charge — that you are their pack leader? I’d recommend watching an excellent free video series by a renowned dog trainer named Dan which covers that exact subject.

Become your dog’s pack leader and you won’t have to worry about your puppy growing into an unruly adult dog. You’ll have the relationship you wanted when you first brought your puppy into your life — obedience, with unconditional love between the two of you.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. Don’t worry, he only uses 100% humane and loving methods — so you’ll never need to worry about being mean to your puppy. And his videos are made for regular people with no experience at these sorts of things, so he makes everything very easy to understand and gets right to the point.

Help your puppy grow into a wonderful, well-behaved adult dog by checking out Dan’s videos. In the meantime, remember what we discussed about why your puppy gets too excited and bites, and what should you be doing both now and as your puppy grows.

Why Does My Puppy Get Over Excited and Bite?

Your puppy gets over excited and bites because they are getting more stimulation from the world than they know how to handle yet. Remember that nearly everything — sights, smells, sounds, people — are new to them and it can get a bit overwhelming at times.

Dogs use their mouths to test out things in this new world, and nipping (very light bites during play) is how they do that. When there’s too much going on and they’re not able to control their reaction to all this yet, the nipping can escalate into a full bite — but that doesn’t mean your puppy is being violent, they’re just confused.

Here’s some of the possible explanations for your puppy’s over excited biting or nipping:

• They’ve learned that it makes you squeal or move quicker, which they interpret as a positive reaction to their play.
• They want to play by testing things out with their mouth, and your feet or hands were the closest moving thing to them, which caught their eyes.
• They like wrestling and nipping with other puppies, and those puppies enjoy it, so they assume that you also will.
• They’ve learned that nipping is something that soothes and calms them down.

When Do Puppies Stop Biting So Much?

Puppies stop biting so much when they are 3 to 5 months old. Some will take a bit longer but you can generally count on your puppy growing out of over excited biting or nipping by 6 months at the latest.

Good luck with everything, and thank you for reading our article “How to Stop My Puppy From Biting When Excited.”