Puppies are learning all the time, whether or not you’re teaching. This section helps you steer that learning in the first months: softer mouths, a crate your puppy is happy to rest in, reliable potty habits and a calm start to life with people.
Puppy biting and mouthing
Almost every puppy bites. Puppies explore the world with their mouths, play-fight with littermates and go through teething, so mouthing hands, sleeves and ankles is normal developmental behavior, not aggression. The goal isn’t to stop all mouth contact overnight. It’s to teach your puppy that human skin needs a very gentle mouth, and to give that energy better outlets.
What usually helps most:
- Redirect, don’t wrestle. Offer a tug toy or chew the moment teeth touch skin, and praise when your puppy takes it.
- Make biting end the fun. If teeth land on you anyway, calmly stop play for a few seconds, then try again.
- Watch for tiredness. Young puppies need a lot of sleep, and overtired puppies often bite harder. A sudden “zoomies and biting” spell is frequently a sign it’s nap time.
- Avoid physical punishment. Holding the mouth shut, tapping the nose or “alpha rolls” can make a puppy more aroused or fearful of hands.
Our full puppy-biting guide will cover each step in detail, including what to do with children in the home.
Our step-by-step guide to stopping puppy biting is being written and fact-checked now.
Crate and potty training
A crate is a management tool, not a punishment. Introduced gradually, it gives a puppy a safe place to rest and helps prevent potty accidents, because most puppies avoid soiling where they sleep. Potty training works the same way as every other skill: frequent chances to get it right outside, a reward the moment they do, and supervision indoors so accidents don’t become a habit.
Guides to crate training and potty training are on the way.
The first weeks home
The first weeks set the tone. A predictable routine of sleep, meals, potty breaks, short training games and calm alone time prevents a lot of later problems. This is also the window for gentle, positive socialization: letting your puppy experience new people, surfaces, sounds and places at a pace they’re comfortable with. Talk to your veterinarian about how to do this safely around their vaccination schedule.
A sample puppy schedule and a socialization checklist are in progress.