Many of us struggle with puppies that bite our hands and arms raw, and naturally want to get rid of the habit as soon as possible.

First of all, it is important to understand that puppy biting is a vital part of a puppy's education as it teaches 'bite inhibition', or pressure sensitivity. From the puppy's perspective: "How hard can I bite before it really hurts?" This will stay with the dog throughout its life, and may prove to be the difference between a bruise and an open wound if the dog ever gets to the point of biting someone. Knowing that, it is the puppy that doesn't bit, that one should be worried about, because if it doesn't bite, it won't learn this very important lesson. Such puppies should be encouraged to play bite during socialisation with both humans and other puppies.

A common approach to stopping unwanted behaviour, such as biting, is retaliation. Actions such as slapping the puppy on the nose, pinching or squeezing the nose or muzzle, or simply slapping the puppy, are common. They may even be effective at stopping the biting, but there is a down side as well. Since the human hand, and more specifically the owner's hand, is involved, you run the risk of making the puppy, and later on the dog, hand-shy. The other unwanted possibility is that the dog will learn to see the hand as a 'target' due to the nature of the slapping motion - fast approach to the face, fast withdrawal.

SO how do we break the habit? By giving the puppy feedback. Initially you give verbal feedback that corresponds to the intensity of the bite: "Ouch!" for a light bite, "OUCH!!" for a harder one, and "OOOOUCH!!!!!" for a really painful bite. Through this process the puppy learns how much pressure it can apply before we react.

Now, as the puppy learns what is painful and what not, we start overreacting to every bite. A bite that would initially deserve an "Ouch!", should now get an "OOOOUCH!!!!!" so that the puppy comes to believe that you are extremely sensitive. With consistent application, you'll get to the point where the puppy simply mouthes without applying any pressure, at which point you have won the battle.

If the puppy gets overly rambunctious, a good way of dealing with it is to 'throw a scene' and go off and 'sulk' for a few minutes, leaving the puppy alone. It mimics the behaviour a sibling would exhibit if it got hurt during play and conveys the very clear and unambiguous message that "this was too much". Then go back and make up by resuming play, showing that there are no hard feelings. Note that 'putting the puppy away, i.e. into confinement' is not the same as 'leaving the puppy alone', and does not have desired the effect.

All this also works well with adult dogs who need regular reinforcement. I would certainly not initiate this kind of play with an adult dog I don't know and trust, such as a newly acquired rescue dog or a dog with existing aggression issues. In such cases I would enlist the assistance of an experienced behaviourist.