Puppy Training Plan: Redirect Puppy Biting

Redirect puppy biting! In other words, prevent puppy biting people!

It's a fact of life that puppy's bite. Dogs use their mouths to explore the world around them. It is completely unreasonable to think that you can stop a puppy from biting. The goal in early puppy training is not to stop puppy biting but to redirect the puppy from biting YOU to biting something he is "allowed" to bite.

Here are some quick tips to get that puppy's mouth away from you, your skin, your clothes and your guest, and onto something appropiate.

Tip: ALWAYS have one of these items on hand at all times so that you can quickly and easily redirect your puppy's biting.

Tip: If you do NOT have one of these items on hand and your puppy decides to bite you in a manner that is too hard, he loses all attention, playtime, and fun. If he bites you, you and anybody else need to stand up, completely ignore him (no eye contact, no physical contact, no talking, no nothing!) until he settles himself.

• Nylabones! These are rubber bones that come in all shapes and sizes. I love having these WITH ME whenever I am around puppies because when a puppy gets in that "crazy" stage, pulling out a "new" toy (or something he hasn't seen in a day) is the most exciting thing in the world to him. He will gladly take that bone from you and go chew on that. He will forget that he was having a blast eating your finger and he will walk away. 
• Stuffed toys. Yes, your dog will rip them up, leaving stuffing and squeakers all over the house but look what happens after the destruction:
  
  ...totally worth it! (Personally I buy the stuffed toys offered at the Petsmart checkout that are $5 and proceeds go to charity. They are very big, have a squeaker and my dog loves ripping them up!). You can find much cheaper ones all over though. SAFTEY NOTE: always supervise your dog if he tends to rip up toys. You do not want him swallowing stuffing or the squeaker.
• Freeze a wet wash cloth and give it to your pup to suck on. This is the perfect pain reliever for sore puppy gums!
• Take a Kong stuffed with peanut butter, bananas, fruit, or dog food and put it in the freezer for a few hours. The cold helps alleviate the pain of teething while the treats help keep your puppy engaged in the toy. 
• Bitter Apple Spray can be used to keep your dog from chewing on items you wish he wouldn't bite. Such as his leash, furniture, doors, and more.
• Always keep hand sanitizer with you. Put it on your hands before playing with your puppy. It tastes gross to puppies. Nobody likes to bite something that tastes nasty!

How do you keep your puppy from biting your hands?