Puppies are so cute and fluffy. Their happy-go-lucky demeanor makes almost every person fall instantly in love with them. Sometimes though, looks can be deceiving and it doesn’t take much to turn that lovable little fluff ball into an absolute terror!

The fact of the matter is that puppies are not toys. They are living beings that need to grow, learn their boundaries, and learn to function in this world. No matter how sweet their personalities are, they will test you at some point or another. Don’t be discouraged, though! The good thing about puppy behaviors is that they usually grow out of them very quickly. They naturally want to please you and will not continue a behavior that doesn’t give them a positive reaction or reward.

Disciplining Bad Behavior

Before we go on, I want to establish one very important thing: puppies don’t respond well to punishment. I’m not just saying this because I love our babies and don’t want them hurt. Actual research has been done to show that puppies that are hit and yelled at for undesired behavior don’t do well in life.

I won’t get into the science behind all of it in this lesson (for more information, I highly recommend the book: When Pigs Fly), but just know that it’s better to ignore bad behavior and reward good behavior at a young age. Please don’t hit, kick, or yell at your puppy.

Normal vs. Abnormal Puppy Behavior

Something to keep in mind is that most puppy behaviors, even ones we deem as “bad” are just normal ways for them to play, explore, and learn about their world. These are things like biting, growling, chewing, and rough housing. However, some puppies can develop behaviors that are abnormal for a puppy their age and should be addressed more seriously.

It’s important to learn the difference between a normal puppy behavior vs. a serious behavioral problem. We’ll touch on the differences a little in this lesson, however, if you are concerned about your puppy’s behavior, the best thing to do is seek the counsel of a professional trainer, veterinarian, or behavior specialist.

Biting

All puppies will go through a biting stage. It’s a natural play behavior and the way they explore their world. Unfortunately, it’s not fun for our soft human skin to have to endure.

The good news is that almost all puppies grow out of the biting stage eventually. Just because a puppy bites when they are young, doesn’t mean they’ll bite when they are adults. There is a big difference in a puppy’s play bites and aggressive adult biting.

While you’re waiting for your puppy to grow out of this annoying stage, there are a few things you can do to help. I’ll sum it up in two words: distract and distance.

If your puppy is biting your hand while you are playing with him, distract him with a fun toy or chew. You might have to literally shove the toy in his mouth to redirect him. I always advise to keep toys scattered throughout the house so there is always one within reach if you need to quickly distract from biting.

Another thing you can do to curb biting is just get up and walk away from him. Simply losing you as a playmate for a few minutes is enough discipline for him to realize that it’s not worth it to bite you.

Be watchful when your puppy is around little kids. When bitten, kids tend to freeze, shake, and make lots of noise. This is all great fun to the puppy and they’ll only continue to bite.

If your puppy is biting a child, distract with a toy, take him away from the child, or simply turn him so his face isn’t right in the kid’s face.

Aggressive biting

Play biting will usually be accompanied by a wagging tail and “happy growls”. If your puppy is cornered, tired, afraid, injured, or guarding something he loves, he may lash out and bite in a way that is aggressive. Aggressive biting usually will happen when his tail is between his legs, he’ll give a low, menacing growl, and the hair on the back of his neck could be standing up.

If your puppy bites in an aggressive way, try to figure out what the problem is. Is he hurt? Are you trying to take something that he loves? Is something frightening him? Is he overly tired and needing rest? If there is an obvious issue, address that first. If the problem continues, have him evaluated by a veterinarian or trainer.

Chewing

Just as with biting, chewing is a normal puppy behavior. Puppies chew to soothe their sore gums as new teeth emerge. It’s also how they explore and learn more about their world. Chewing can be calming for them (like sucking a pacifier for a human baby) and is actually very good for them.

However, in the human world, there are a lot of things we would prefer our puppies don’t chew on, like shoes and furniture.

Similarly to biting, the best things to do are distract and distance. If your puppy is chewing on something he shouldn’t be, give him something he can chew on appropriately.

If there is an object that he continually returns to to chew, don’t give him access to it. Put shoes away, block off wooden furniture, etc.

Some people will spray vinegar on things they don’t want the puppy to chew on. This gives mixed results and doesn’t always work, but if you don’t mind the smell, it might be worth the try.

Giving your puppy edible chews is a great way to redirect and reward your puppy, but remember, not all chews on the pet store shelves are necessarily safe. Refer back to the lesson on Treats, Chews, and Toys for help picking one out.

Growling

The first thing is to determine what kind of growling it is: play growls or aggressive growls.

Play growls are actually very normal and, as odd as it might seem to us, are puppies' way of saying they are having fun and "keep going!". Play growling does not mean the puppy is going to grow up to be aggressive. The differences between play growls and "real" growls are subtle and hard for people to pick up on. Play growls tend to be higher pitched and come in shorter spurts, though, to us it sounds absolutely horrible (especially out of a big pup like Argo). It will be accompanied by a wagging tail, play bows, running around like crazy, and tugging, shaking, and playing with toys. Often, the play growling (and overall nutso craziness) will increase as the puppy becomes over-excited.

This normal play behavior can absolutely be trained out of him (and will probably fade naturally as he grows, though big dogs tend to mature more slowly than small ones). If the growling happens because of play and over excitement the "fix" is calming things down and quieting the puppy. Sometimes just talking quietly and petting him gently will do the trick, but if he is in "play mode" he may need to be placed in his crate or somewhere dark and quiet with no toys. He doesn't have to stay there for a long time; usually, a few minutes is all they'll need to settle down. If he play growls mostly when playing with a person, as soon as the growling gets to be "too much", abruptly stand up and walk away. It may not seem like much, but that simple act speaks very loudly in the dog world. This is how adult dogs handle an out of control puppy. They get up and walk away. After doing this a few times, Argo will realize the fun stops when he growls and will stop doing it.

Now, be careful not to take this too far and stop playing with him altogether. It's good for puppies to play. Just do so in short, supervised spurts.

So just to re-cap play growling: it's totally normal, but can be discouraged by calming the puppy and taking away the fun.

Aggressive growling is another story. Aggressive growling can be identified as sounding low and long. It is accompanied by an arched posture, raised hackles, the puppy will be still (not running around), and will try to avoid contact with people. This type of growling in a puppy so young is usually because of fear. Even something that might not seem to us like it should be scary, might be to him. There also may be things that never used to scare him, that suddenly does. This is because puppies go through "fear periods" in normal development. These fear periods are a survival mechanism that helps them learn more about their world during crucial stages. I can't remember the exact times, but I believe they have a spike in fear around 4 months and 6 months.

The best thing to do, if fear is the cause of growling, is to remove whatever scared him. Then check to make sure he isn't injured in any way.

The good news is, puppies bounce back fairly quickly from a fearful experience and they tend to have pretty short memories.

He may also growl because of "resource guarding" (like when you reach for a food dish or favorite toy). This is a behavior that is not acceptable and should be addressed and trained out of him sooner rather than later. It's quite easy to work on. All you do is give him something he really likes (like a bone, bully stick, food bowl, or favorite toy). After he's chewed on it for a bit, take it away but immediately shove an even better treat in his mouth. Then give the bone, bowl, stick, or toy back. Do this several times in a row every day until he starts to react with excitement to you taking his toy away rather than aggression.

It is abnormal for a puppy to display truly aggressive growling at this young of an age. However, if you feel he is actually being aggressive you probably need to see a behavior specialist.

The good news is, the puppy stage won't last forever and if you keep working with him and loving him, you'll have an amazing dog very soon.

Resource Guarding

Resource guarding is what we call the behavior when a puppy is being protective of something, to the point of lashing out when it’s taken from them. This is a “bad” behavior that must be addressed early on to avoid future human and dog injury.

Luckily, it’s fairly easy to train out of them. Here are the steps you should take:

Give the puppy the thing he is most likely to guard (usually a food bowl or special chew).
Take the thing away with one hand and with the other hand give him an even better treat.
Then give the valued object back.

Doing this will teach the puppy that losing something he values isn’t a bad thing and could actually result in a better treat.

Keep practicing and reinforcing this as the puppy grows.

Other Undesirable Behaviors

We could continue to troubleshoot through many undesirable behaviors, but from here we’ll use what we’ve learned so far and a few extra tips so you know how to solve problems on your own.

When your puppy bites, barks or jumps, it is easy to react and give that behavior attention. Doing so likely encourages your puppy to repeat that behavior. For the unwanted behavior to change, we must focus on the ABC's of dog training.

"A" represents what happens right BEFORE the behavior (for example - dog sees a bird)
"B" is the actual behavior (for example - barking)
"C" is what happens right AFTER the behavior. (example - a bird flies away)

To change a behavior, we need to either

Change the "A" OR
Change the "C

CHANGE THE "A"

PREVENT your puppy from doing the unwanted behavior. Anticipate what they will do and give them a job to do BEFORE they can practice the unwanted behavior.
When your puppy comes to you on the sofa, looks at the counter, heads to the window or whatever, GIVE THEM A JOB TO DO. Sit, down, stay, etc. Mark "YES" and reward each good thing they do.
REDIRECT them onto a completely NEW activity. Change their brain channel so they don't go back to the unwanted behavior. (Crate time with a chew, game, training session, etc.)

CHANGE THE "C"

Your puppy already is doing the unwanted behavior, so create a DIVERSION using an interrupting sound (blow, No, Uh-Uh, kiss)
When your puppy comes over to check out the excitement, GIVE THEM A JOB TO DO. Sit, down, stay, go to bed, etc. Mark "YES" and reward for each good thing they do.
REDIRECT them onto a completely NEW activity. Change their brain channel so they don't go back to the unwanted behavior. (Crate time with a chew, game, training session, etc.)

So whether it is biting at your ankles, barking out load, jumping on your guests, counter surfing or many other under-desired and unwanted common dog behaviors, use the above steps as a way to help your puppy learn more and become better!

Where to get extra help

As much as I’d love to prepare you for every possible behavioral scenario with your puppy, that would simply take too much time and space (and would be beyond my scope of expertise). Obviously, the hope is that none of these issues become too much of a problem for you and your new puppy. If you do find yourself struggling with your puppy, the best thing you can do for your sanity and relationship with your puppy is seek help.

The online puppy school, Baxter & Bella have a library of information on how to deal with puppy behaviors written and curated by trained professionals. They also offer free video calls with their staff of training professionals to troubleshoot individual issues.

Puppy Behaviors