Ankle biting and lunging

[allenemarie]

My 3 month old puppy is a huge biter. He will go from 0 to 100 in seconds and bites on me, my 9 year old, clothes (especially drawstrings). It starts first thing in the morning and goes for almost an hour until his first nap. Spraying bitter apple on my legs and shoes helps, but I cannot figure out how to train him off this behavior. He lunges unprovoked at hands, fingers, legs, etc. and his bite is SHARP. Any tips?

 

[tombombidil]

@allenemarie For 3 months old, this is completely normal.

If it's first thing in the morning, you need constant redirection and playtime with OVERSIZED toys where your hands can safely be behind a large toy. Puppies are easily distracted by anything that moves, so make sure that thing is a toy. Put toys everywhere. If you cannot play right then, use a puppy play pen and put the puppy out of reach of feet/pants.

Most of this is just age. You aren't going to train it out really. It'll decrease over time with enough redirection and play. The other thing that can work is reverse time outs.

But part of this is your own expectations. Puppies aren't called land sharks for no reason. They are pointy. It's all how they play and investigate the world. So don't think it's "unprovoked". The puppy is not trying to be vicious or 'attack' you. It's just normal puppy stuff.

Head over to r/puppy101 for more resources.