News Alert! Puppies Bite Fingers and Gnaw on Hands!

It’s true. All puppies use their mouths, especially when adult teeth begin to appear around the age of three months, continuing up to six months. Puppies use their mouths constantly in the beginning! From gnawing on our fingers to chewing the corner of a favorite rug, a puppy is very busy with their mouth.

Here are my top five tips when it comes to biting and chewing.…

Pick up anything you do not want chewed off the floor. It’s your responsibility, not your puppy’s, to know what they can and cannot chew. You’ll want to keep shoes and underwear off the floor (they’re puppy chew magnets). Cover access to electrical cords and put away remotes – this a popular item to chew because of your scent on the device.
If you do not want your puppy to bite on your hands, keep your hands away from your puppy’s mouth. This happens all the time – we move our hands all around the puppy’s face while saying, “Stop biting my hands!” Instead, offer them a long toy to play a gentle game of tug with you or provide an edible chew. Is your puppy extra bitey? They could be hungry, thirsty, or just plain tired. Make sure those needs are met to help reduce biting.
Never close their mouth, bop them on the nose, grab their muzzle, or hit them. This will confuse your puppy about hands coming towards them, often increasing their biting at fingers in their face.
Be mindful of how often you touch, pet, and pick up your puppy. Too much handling can often result in more biting to keep hands away. Puppies need their space too, and can often get overstimulated, which may result in more biting.
Have plenty of puppy chew items on hand so your puppy has appropriate outlets to use their mouth. The Redbarn product line has great edible chews! My favorite is the Collagen Chew, which is much easier to digest for puppies than rawhides. Alternatively, you’ll find KONG rubber toys can satisfy the need to chew and are reusable! So, if your puppy is chewing on your fingers and hands, give them a chew instead!

Want to learn more about puppies? Join us April 27th at Farm Supply Company for our FREE Puppy Love Clinic 101. Click here to register!

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Based on 62 reviews

Bobbie Cunningham

2024-08-16

Ellen is the absolute BEST. She is so kind, patient, and extremely receptive when it comes to dog behavior. I honestly noticed a difference after one session with Ellen. Our 2 year old rescue pup (shepherd mix) had food anxiety, was very jumpy, was a runner, and was destructive out in the yard. Ellen taught us some simple games and commands to give her, and she was so eager to learn. I love Ellen's philosophy on training, and making sure it fit within our family's schedule and capacity... no mandatory daily walks, 3-5 min of training/games per day. It was all so easy once Ellen explained what our dog needed. THANK YOU ELLEN!!! You are incredible.

Kahye Yu

2024-08-16

Ellen provided us the tools, skills and knowledge to help my dog with her reactivity. She gives a good balance between theory and practical skills/exercises and is always willing to answer your questions (which I had many of) during your sessions, or even outside of your sessions. What stood out to me the most was her ability to support and empathize with you. She was kind and patient with me as I was struggling through all the aspects of reactivity and now I feel more sure of myself as an owner of a reactive dog. I look forward to building my relationship with my dog using everything we learned from Ellen.

Ashley Madden

2024-06-30

Ellen is great at working with reactive dogs and their owners. Before each session she spoke to us on the phone to let us know what to expect and how to prepare our dog. She is very observant, really honing in on small body language cues that signify anxiety, frustration, or even signs of pain. She helped us understand how our behaviors could be having a positive or negative affect on our dog. And she let our dog determine how a session would play out, stopping a little early if he became too stressed or pushing ahead a little more if he seemed ready. I would highly recommend her.

Tamara Wise

2024-06-12

Ellen was great in helping my daughter (10yr old) train her 4 month old puppy. Our puppy (chihuahua) now comes when we call her as well as sits and stays on command. My daughter has a lot of fun taking the techniques she learned from Ellen and continuing puppy training. I think it is great to teach children how to train as well as interact with dogs at a young age. I would highly recommend this training course when starting your child out with a new puppy. Thank you Ellen! I would love to get a “how to train your teenage dog” class as well!

Gianna Rea

2024-06-02

Ellen is attentive to all of her clients and really took into consideration all of my dog’s sensitivities. Trust the process. In a world of instant gratification, working to help your dog overcome fears, anxieties and previous trainings, takes time and patience. After all the knowledge and take aways from our sessions, I have seen a change in Flynn’s behaviors. He’s not perfect, but we’re working one day at a time to make each day better than before.

Gretchen G

2024-06-01

Ellen was referred to me by my dog’s vet. My dog has pretty severe fear aggression towards people she’s not used to and Ellen was so willing and excited to work with her. She is incredibly knowledgeable with behaviors and also physical aspects that may be affecting behaviors. She provides so many tools that complement her training sessions and sets a up a personalized google classroom you can always access with videos she takes during the training which is so helpful. Her training/ teaching and tools / recommendations she made helped immensely with my dog. Ellen’s prices are vey fair and she is such a pleasure to work with!

lizzy sorce

2024-05-05

Ellen is absolutely wonderful. She is extremely knowledgeable, honest, and helpful. I specifically reached out to Ellen for her experience working with senior dogs and new behaviors, and she is really helping me understand what might be causing some behaviors, and how to manage them. I highly recommend reaching out to her if you have any questions or needs regarding your dog's behavior.

Rita Flores

2024-01-23

I was searching for a local trainer for our puppy and luckily found Ellen. The package of puppy lessons is the best money I spent thus far on our little buddy. He loves Ellen and she has great insight on how to adjust our human thoughts to be more in touch with our dog, Bernie. Her lessons have helped us earn trust with him and are shaping him into a very loving part of our family. Thank you Ellen!

patricia stirling

2024-01-12

Ellen is simply outstanding! She has made an enormous difference in the lives of our two great pyrenees and helped us to understand their unique needs and challenges. Her use of positive reinforcement makes each training session great fun for both the dogs and for us. We cannot thank her enough and recommend her wholeheartedly patricia and richard stirling

Fred Poole

2024-01-03

Ellen provided us with great advise for our very reactive dog. She provided us with the tools to help our senior rescue dog adjust to a new home and owners. This included suggesting other local professionals, appropriate supplies, and obviously the proper technique to help our dog adjust to a new environment. Her knowledge of all things regarding dealing with a pet was amazing. Her insights proved to always be on target. Ellen's personality makes training a comforting experience and she builds confidence in both the dog and the owner. I willingly recommend her services to anyone seeking assistance with their dog.

News Alert! Puppies Bite Fingers and Gnaw on Hands!

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