This mouthy, biting, even 'attacking' behavior is completely normal for most puppies. It is their way of initiating play. Puppies use their mouths the way human toddlers use their hands — to explore the world and to engage with the creatures they love. They learn bite inhibition naturally by playing with other puppies: bite too hard, and the other puppy walks away. We want to teach them the same lesson, without anger or punishment.

What NOT to do:

•       Do not hit, hold their mouth shut, or physically punish your puppy. This increases arousal and fear — and a fearful puppy is far more likely to develop aggression later.

•       Do not yell 'Ouch!' It sounds like a fun new game and will make the biting worse.

•       Do not scold them. They are doing something completely natural.

What TO do:

•       Use crates, gates, and tethers to separate yourself from the puppy when bitey mode kicks in. Always pair this with something long-lasting and yummy to chew — a frozen stuffed Kong, a bully stick, or a Nylabone. Reserve these high-value items for exactly these moments.

•       Leave a leash on the puppy while they are loose so you can quickly redirect them to a tether without grabbing or wrestling. Secure the leash to something sturdy, walk away calmly, and return in a few minutes. If the puppy is calm, reward with treats and release quietly. If they start ramping up again, say 'Uh oh' and walk away.

•       Be proactive. Bitey episodes are predictable — they almost always happen first thing in the morning or between 4 and 6pm. Get ahead of it by crating or tethering the puppy with a chew before things escalate.

•       When the puppy is calm with four feet on the floor, mark that moment with a cheerful 'Yes!' and follow it with a treat. You are teaching them what works.

Quick tip: The goal is to prevent the behavior before it becomes a habit. The more a puppy practices biting, the better they get at it. Management is your best friend right now.

Use the lowest-value treat you can get away with and still keep your puppy's attention. Since young puppies are almost always a little hungry and easily motivated, their regular kibble often works perfectly well — especially in a low-distraction environment like your living room.

The key is not to overload your puppy with extra calories. If you are doing a big training session before or after mealtime, reduce the amount you put in their bowl accordingly.

When you do need something higher value, here are my favorites:

•       Ziwi Peak dog food (Mackerel flavor) — nutritionally complete and very high value.

•       Vital Essentials freeze-dried mini nibs (duck, beef, or turkey) — I use the food, not the treats, so everything going in is nutritionally complete.

•       Smear a small amount of liverwurst, hot dog, or peanut butter into a cup of their kibble. The kibble picks up the scent and flavor, making it much more exciting without overloading their belly.

•       Nom Nom treats — save these for high-distraction work in Graduate Puppy class, they are very high value.

Quick tip: Keep treats small — pea-sized or smaller. You want lots of repetitions, not a full meal in one session.

For the first several months, I use a 10–15 foot long line and simply follow the puppy around the yard, a field, or a trail. This gives them freedom to explore while I keep the leash loose. Every time the puppy naturally wanders to my left side, I mark it with a 'Yes!' or a click and reward generously. Every time they hit the end of the line and pull, I stop completely and become a tree. Pulling never gets them forward. Being next to me does.

A few times a day I will also do short, focused leash training sessions — just 2 to 3 minutes up and down the driveway — with lots of reinforcement for staying close on my left side. By the time we venture onto the sidewalk at 5 to 6 months old, the puppy already has a solid foundation.

The goal for Puppy K is straightforward: teach the dog that pulling does not make them go forward, and build their ability to stay with you for 10 to 15 feet at a time. Anything more than that is generally beyond their developmental capability at this age, and that is perfectly fine.

Quick tip: Be sure to watch the Leash Walking videos on the Puppy Kindergarten Videos tab — Leash Training Part 1 (Week 1), Leash Walking Part 2 (Week 2), and the 3 Steps Forward 3 Steps Back video in Weeks 2 and 3.

Growling is communication, not aggression. When your puppy growls at being picked up, they are telling you they are scared or uncomfortable — and that is actually useful information. Never, ever scold a dog for growling. A dog that is punished for growling learns to skip the warning and go straight to biting.

Think about it from the puppy's perspective: someone much larger than you reaches down without warning and hoists you several feet off the ground with no visible means of support. That is terrifying! The good news is this is very easy to fix.

•       Give the puppy plenty of warning before you pick them up. Talk to them, let them see your hands, and approach from the side rather than looming overhead.

•       Feed the dog as you reach down, as you lift them, while you are holding them, and again as you set them down. You are creating a new association: being picked up predicts good things.

•       Hold the puppy securely — tucked between your arm and your hip like a football — so they feel supported rather than dangling.

•       Practice frequently with short, positive pick-up sessions so the dog builds confidence over time.

Quick tip: If the growling is intense or has escalated to snapping, please reach out directly. We can put together a specific plan to address it safely.

One of the main reasons I recommend puppies sleep in a crate in your bedroom is that it helps them sync to your schedule rather than the reverse. If the puppy can hear and smell you nearby, they are much more likely to settle back down after a middle-of-the-night wake-up.

For early morning waking, my go-to solution is a frozen stuffed Kong. When the puppy wakes and needs to go outside, I take them out, bring them back in, pop them in the crate, and hand them a frozen Kong. The puppy has breakfast, and I get another hour of sleep. After finishing the Kong, puppies often go right back to sleep.

As the puppy matures and their bladder capacity grows, the wake-up time will naturally push later — especially if no one else in the house is up and making noise.

Quick tip: Keep two or three frozen Kongs in the freezer at all times. Stuff them with canned food, seal the end with peanut butter, and freeze overnight. They last much longer than room-temperature treats and keep the puppy happily occupied

Barking is one of the most common complaints I hear — and one of the most misunderstood. Dogs bark for many reasons: they feel threatened, they are excited, they are bored, they want attention, or they have simply learned that barking works. Certain breeds are also genetically wired to bark more than others. The solution depends on why your dog is barking.

The alert barker (barking at things outside)

The simplest fix is to remove access to the trigger. Close the blinds, block the window with furniture, or use a baby gate to keep the dog out of the room with the view. Every time a dog barks at a passerby and the person keeps walking, the dog learns that barking works — they 'scared' the person away. The more they practice, the stronger the habit becomes.

The lonely or bored barker

This dog needs more enrichment, more social contact, and a more interesting daily routine. Food puzzles, training sessions, and regular exercise go a long way. If the barking happens when left alone, it may indicate separation anxiety — in which case, please reach out for a referral to a professional who specializes in this area.

The attention barker

This one is entirely learned behavior — and you may have accidentally taught it. If your dog barks and you look at them, talk to them, or even scold them, you have rewarded the barking with attention. The fix is consistent and complete: ignore the barking entirely, and walk away. The barking will likely get worse before it gets better (this is normal — it's called an extinction burst). When the dog is finally quiet, that is the moment to reward.

Note: Anti-bark collars that use shock are not something I recommend. They are inhumane, frequently ineffective, and can make anxiety-based barking significantly worse.

Running children are basically the most exciting thing in the world to a puppy. Movement triggers prey drive, and before you know it, teeth are involved. The key is to intervene before the puppy reaches full arousal — not after.

The most important thing you can teach your kids right now is to FREEZE and BE A TREE. The moment play starts getting too rough — not when teeth appear, but before — kids stop moving, fold their arms, and look down. Movement is what drives the chasing. No movement, no game.

At the same time, toss a handful of small treats at the puppy's feet or scatter them on the ground away from the kids. This does two things at once: it redirects the puppy away from the children, and it shifts the puppy's brain from high-arousal chase mode into calm seeking-and-eating mode, which changes their brain chemistry and genuinely helps them settle.

Above all else, when you cannot actively supervise, separate the dog from the kids. Crates, gates, and tethers with a frozen Kong are not punishment — they are smart management, and smart management keeps everyone safe.

Quick tip: Neither puppies nor young children have impulse control yet. It is your job to set the situation up for success, not theirs.

I avoid them whenever possible, and here is why. Electric fences rely on causing the dog pain to prevent them from crossing a boundary. That alone gives me pause. But beyond the ethics, there are practical problems that come up again and again:

•       If the dog does get out — and they will — there is no way for them to return home without getting shocked again.

•       The fence does not keep other dogs, coyotes, or wildlife out of your yard. Your dog can be trapped in their own space with no escape.

•       Many dogs learn to tolerate the shock in the presence of a high-value distraction (a squirrel, another dog, a running child) and simply blow through the boundary.

•       Dogs who get repeatedly shocked as they run toward people or other dogs on the other side of the fence can develop fence aggression — they associate the approaching person or animal with pain, and begin barking and lunging to make the scary thing go away before it 'bites them in the neck.' I have seen this happen.

If your property genuinely requires an electric fence — hilly terrain, historical restrictions, very large acreage — I have some recommendations: install it in the back yard only with a visual barrier to reduce fence frustration; use existing landscape features like stone walls and tree lines to help the dog identify the boundary; and make sure the initial training is done properly from the start, not gradually escalated as the dog pushes through.

In many cases, an inexpensive vinyl-coated wire fence does the job better, contains the dog more reliably, and does not require any aversive training to maintain.

Jumping up is almost always attention-seeking behavior — and it works, which is why dogs do it. Even negative attention (pushing the dog away, saying 'no,' looking at them) is still attention, and attention is exactly what they wanted.

The fix is simple in concept, though it requires real consistency from everyone in the household:

•       When the dog jumps, immediately turn your back, fold your arms, and look up at the ceiling. No eye contact, no words, no pushing.

•       The instant all four feet are on the floor, turn back around and reward immediately with praise and a treat. You are teaching the dog that four feet on the floor is what earns attention — jumping makes attention disappear.

•       Ask every member of the family — and every guest — to do the same. One person who thinks the jumping is cute and lets it happen will undo everyone else's hard work.

•       If the dog is jumping on guests at the door, practice door greetings on leash so you can calmly step on the leash (leaving just enough slack for the dog to stand comfortably) before opening the door. The dog quickly learns that jumping is physically impossible, and four feet on the floor is the comfortable option.

Quick tip: Never knee a jumping dog in the chest or step on their back feet. These methods can cause injury and erode your dog's trust in you.

Recall is the most important behavior you will ever teach your dog — and the one most commonly poisoned by well-meaning owners. Here are the most common mistakes:

•       Calling the dog to punish them. If 'Come!' ever predicts a scolding, a bath, nail clipping, or the end of playtime, you have taught your dog that coming to you is a bad idea. Your dog is not being stubborn — they are being smart.

•       Repeating the cue. 'Fido, come. Fido! FIDO, COME!' teaches the dog that the first few times you say it, you do not mean it. Say it once, clearly, and then go get them if they do not respond.

•       Only practicing when you need it. Recall needs to be practiced dozens of times in low-distraction situations before it will hold under pressure.

What to do instead:

•       Practice recall multiple times a day in the house and yard using tiny treats. Call the dog, reward lavishly when they arrive, and then let them go again. Coming to you should be the best thing that happens to them all day.

•       Never call the dog for something they dislike. Go get them instead, and save the recall cue for something you can reward.

•       Gradually increase distractions only after the behavior is solid. Start in the kitchen, move to the backyard, then a quiet park, before ever trusting the recall off-leash in a distracting environment.

Quick tip: If your dog blows off the recall entirely, resist the urge to chase them — you will lose that game every time. Instead, run the other direction and call in a high-pitched, excited voice. Dogs almost always chase what is running away from them.

The crate is one of the most valuable tools you have — not as a punishment, but as a safe, quiet den where your puppy can rest and decompress. Dogs are den animals by nature, and most puppies actually come to love their crates when introduced positively.

As a general guideline, puppies can hold their bladder for roughly one hour per month of age, plus one. So a 3-month-old puppy can reasonably be crated for about 4 hours at a stretch during the day, occasionally. Overnight, most puppies do better than that because their metabolism slows during sleep.

What makes a crate feel like a den rather than a prison:

•       Always put something wonderful in there — a frozen Kong, a bully stick, a chew toy the puppy loves.

•       Feed meals in the crate. The puppy learns that the crate predicts food, which makes it a very desirable place to be.

•       Never use the crate as punishment. If the puppy goes in after getting into trouble, the crate becomes associated with your anger, which is the opposite of what we want.

•       Cover three sides of the crate with a blanket to create a cozier, darker space. Many puppies settle much faster in a covered crate.

Note: A puppy that screams in the crate is usually telling you they need more time building positive associations with it before being left alone. Go back to basics: feed meals in the crate, toss treats in throughout the day, and practice short departures before working up to longer ones. Please refer the the first section of the on line training manual for more details on how to correctly acclimate your puppy to their crate.

Chewing is completely normal puppy behavior. Puppies explore with their mouths, they chew to relieve teething discomfort, and boredom or to help them settle if they have excess energy. Your job is not to stop the chewing — it is to redirect it to appropriate outlets and prevent access to everything else.

The golden rule: a puppy cannot chew what it cannot reach.

•       Puppy-proof ruthlessly. Pick up shoes, tuck away cables, close doors to rooms you cannot supervise, and use baby gates to limit access. If the puppy can get to it, assume it will be chewed.

•       Provide a rotating variety of appropriate chews — frozen Kongs, bully sticks, Nylabones, antlers, raw carrots — so the puppy always has something satisfying to put in their mouth. If you give the same chew every day, they will lose interest. Rotate them to keep things novel.

•       When you catch the puppy chewing something they should not, calmly redirect them to an appropriate chew and praise them for taking it. Do not scold — they do not understand why the shoe is off-limits but the rubber bone is fine.

•       Manage, manage, manage. When you cannot supervise, the puppy should be in their crate or a puppy-proofed area. Unsupervised time is when destruction happens.

Quick tip: If a piece of furniture has already been chewed, apply a pet-safe bitter spray to deter further chewing. It will not undo the damage, but it makes the spot much less appealing going forward.

Housetraining regression is very common — especially after a move, an adoption, a change in schedule, or a stressful event. Before assuming it is a behavioral issue, rule out medical causes first. A urinary tract infection, digestive upset, or other health issue can cause sudden accidents in a previously reliable dog. A quick vet visit is always worth it, young puppies especially are prone to urinary tract infections which can cause frequent urination.

If the vet gives a clean bill of health, go back to housetraining basics completely:

•       Take the dog outside more frequently than you think is necessary — every 1 to 2 hours during the day, and immediately after waking, eating, drinking, and playing.

•       Go outside with the dog and reward them generously the moment they eliminate outdoors. Do not just let them out and walk away.

•       Limit unsupervised indoor freedom until reliability is re-established. Tether the dog to you or use a crate when you cannot watch them closely.

•       Clean any indoor accident spots thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner. Standard household cleaners do not fully break down the odor compounds that dogs detect and return to.

Above all, do not punish accidents after the fact. Dogs do not connect punishment to something that happened more than a few seconds ago. Punishment for accidents only teaches the dog to hide from you when they need to go — which makes housetraining much harder, not easier.

Quick tip: If regression is ongoing and there is no medical cause and no obvious environmental trigger, reach out. Persistent housetraining issues sometimes have solutions that are not obvious from the inside.

Fear in puppies is not something to wait out. The socialization window — the period during which puppies are most open to forming positive associations with new experiences — closes around 14 to 16 weeks of age. Fear responses that are not addressed early tend to get stronger with time, not weaker.

That said, 'addressing it' does not mean forcing the puppy to face their fears. The single most counterproductive thing you can do is push a scared dog toward the thing they are afraid of — whether that means carrying them toward the stranger, letting the puppy 'work it out' with other dogs, or telling them to 'just relax.' This teaches the puppy that they cannot trust you to keep them safe.

What actually works:

•       Create distance between the puppy and the scary thing until the puppy can notice it without reacting — this is called working below threshold.

•       Feed extremely high-value treats the entire time the scary thing is visible and below threshold. The goal is to pair the scary thing with the best food in the world so the puppy begins to associate it with good things.

•       Let the puppy set the pace. If they want to approach, wonderful. If not, do not push.

•       Celebrate small wins. A puppy who looked at a stranger and then looked back at you for a treat has just made enormous progress.

Important: If the fear is significant — freezing, trembling, lunging, or hiding — please reach out sooner rather than later. Fear-based behaviors are much easier to address early than after they have become ingrained habits.

Please do not. I know this advice is common, but taking items away to 'establish dominance' almost always makes resource guarding worse, not better — and it can escalate to a bite.

Here is what is actually happening: the dog has learned that when humans approach, good things disappear. So they guard to keep the good things. If you respond by taking the item away, you have just confirmed their fear. They will guard harder next time.

The goal is to teach the dog that a human approaching their resources is actually a really good thing.

•       Approach the dog at the food bowl and drop a high-value treat in without taking anything away. Then walk off. Repeat this every day. Over time the dog learns 'human approaching bowl' means something better is arriving, not something being taken.

•       Practice 'trade' with toys: offer a treat in exchange for the toy, then give the toy right back. You are teaching them that giving things up to you is worth it and safe.

•       Do not put your hand in the bowl while the dog is eating. There is no training reason to do this — it is provocative and unnecessary.

Important: If your dog has snapped or has a history of escalating quickly, please contact me directly before working on this. Resource guarding can be addressed very successfully — but it is one of those things that benefits enormously from professional guidance rather than trial and error at home.

bed causes behavioral problems or makes your dog think they are the boss. The dominance theory that underlies that advice has been thoroughly debunked by modern behavioral science.

That said, there are some practical considerations worth thinking through before you decide:

•       Housetraining: a puppy loose in the bed overnight is a puppy that can slip off and eliminate on the floor at 3am without waking you. A crate next to the bed is safer until housetraining is solid.

•       Sleep disruption: puppies move around a lot. If you are a light sleeper, you may find that a crate nearby lets everyone sleep better.

•       Future logistics: a 10-pound puppy in the bed is adorable. If that puppy is going to be 70 pounds, it is worth having a plan.

•       Separation: dogs who sleep in the bed from day one sometimes find it harder to settle alone — in a crate, a hotel room, or at the vet. Teaching comfortable alone-time early saves a lot of stress later.

My recommendation for new puppies is to start with the crate in the bedroom. Once housetraining is reliable and you have a sense of your dog's personality, you can always make the transition to the bed. It is much harder to go the other direction.

Quick tip: If your dog already sleeps in the bed and you want to change that, please reach out. It is very doable — but it requires a plan, because going cold turkey usually leads to a very long, very loud night.