Playing or is he just being visious

A hard one really, but how can you tell if Bailey is playing or just being visious ?

After a while of playing with toys he starts to turn on me and the wife, biting our hands, arms, legs feet and toes, then trying to jump up at our face to have a nip ... is this all part of play and getting a little over excited or is he trying to attack for some reason ?

Also how can we get him to stop the biting but at the same time not have him feeling punished for playing with us and his toys ?

Bailey is a bouncey boy now 9.5 weeks :jmp:

Any advice or others experiences would be very appreciated

Gary B.

If it was me I would just withdraw my attention and ignore him (they hate that), that's punishment enough. If he jumps up turn away and break eye contact. If he settles down and behaves, praise and treat him. Ignore the behaviours you don't want and praise and reward the ones you do. He probably is just a normal out going pup getting a little too carried away with play.

Also you could give a yelp when he nips you like another dog might do if he was playing too rough. It sounds like he is just excited. One thing I tried when mine got wild like that was to stop the play before they reached that level of excitement.

Both really good pieces of advice. I yelped....loudly and sharply....when Jake would nip and, sure enough, he stopped doing it. Shelby never nipped I would also reward him for good behavior and walk away from bad behavior. If he was chewing on something he shouldn't I just substituted something he was supposed to chew on and praised him for it.

I used to get concerned with wondering the same thing when we Got Mrs.Beasley. Learning that if they are wagging their tale they are happy. If they were being aggresive they would not. Once we get into "full play" mode, she's starts to get a little crazier. Like biting the hand too. I assumed it part of the puppy biting but at the same time wanted to stop that habit before it got too out of control. When she did it I simply tell her no biting in a very tone, pull my hand way, then stop the play for moment. Now adays when I saw no biting she eases up on her mouth grip right away. I don't think they're really trying to actually bite you especially since they are a pretty non aggressive dog. I think it's just rough play. Beasley stops mid play, jumps up at my face which used to scare me at first. I quickly learned she was coming up for a kiss! Enjoy your little one!

I used to get concerned with wondering the same thing when we Got Mrs.Beasley. Learning that if they are wagging their tale they are happy. If they were being aggresive they would not. Once we get into "full play" mode, she's starts to get a little crazier. Like biting the hand too. I assumed it part of the puppy biting but at the same time wanted to stop that habit before it got too out of control. When she did it I simply tell her no biting in a very tone, pull my hand way, then stop the play for moment. Now adays when I saw no biting she eases up on her mouth grip right away. I don't think they're really trying to actually bite you especially since they are a pretty non aggressive dog. I think it's just rough play. Beasley stops mid play, jumps up at my face which used to scare me at first. I quickly learned she was coming up for a kiss! Enjoy your little one!

Puppies are never vicious. This is normal playing and how he would play with another dog. There are some good suggestions on training a pup to have a soft mouth. For more detailed guidance I strongly advise downloading this great (and free!) book, which will take you safely and wisely through the entire puppy stage -- there are critical dos and don'ts at this age and how you manage things now will give you the adult dog you want. It will also answer loads of questions with professional advice.

Your dog is just playing. I take my pup out for a potty break when he gets too rambunctious.

Thanks for the rapid replies folks but the most effective is the ignore one ... works a treat ... he really does hate to be ignored

He is learning rapidly with this method as we can see an improvement in 1 day :*nana:

THe hard part is when they are that young and cute it's sooo hard to ignore them!