How to Stop a Puppy Jumping Up and Biting

As a new puppy owner, one of the top questions you might have is probably: how to stop a puppy jumping up and biting.

As the owner of a Mini Poodle, I know very well how you feel. When I first got Baloo I was determined to train him just like I would a big dog.

But man, those small pups are just 10 times more jumpy and nippy, it feels.

Well, luckily you can train your puppy to stop jumping up and biting, even if you own a small dog. In this article, I summarized the best tips to get rid of this behavior.

But before we can curb any dog behavior, it’s always important to first understand why your puppy is showing it in the first place.

Why Does My Puppy Jump Up and Bite Me?

Puppies are still super young and are trying to figure out how exactly the world works. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of this is that your puppy doesn’t necessarily know what good manners are.

Jumping up and biting you is one thing your puppy might do because he doesn’t know that he shouldn’t.

Bad puppy manners can be trained out of your dog. But before you get started with training, it’s always helpful to understand why your puppy is showing this behavior in the first place.

There are a few things that might cause your puppy to jump up and bite you.

But before we get into that, here are some related articles:

• My Dog Jumps and Bites When Excited – What Can I Do?
• How to Train a Dog Not to Jump on You or Others
• How to Stop a Dog from Biting the Leash
• When Do Puppies Stop Biting?

He Wants Your Attention

You mean the world to your puppy. And because of this, one of the things your puppy naturally wants the most is your attention!

Your puppy wants you to love him, play with him, and keep your focus on him. At the same time, because he may not know proper manners yet, he might not know how to ask in the right way.

Attention-seeking behavior like this is very common among puppies. And if you’ve been rewarding your puppy poor manners by granting him your attention, then that’s just going to make the problem worse.

If your puppy is attention-seeking in this way, then the best thing you can do is to ignore him.

He Wants to Play

Puppies love playing! After all, playing is so much fun.

Up until he came to live with you, your puppy only had his mama and littermates to play with. This means that he’s learned to play in a way that you might not be used to!

When puppies play, they tend to jump on and bite each other. So, when he comes to live with you, he might try and get you to play by doing the same thing! He may not know that behavior like this isn’t appropriate in his new home.

He’s Soooo Happy to See You

Maybe you’ve just come home after work. Or maybe it’s the morning and you’re letting him out of his crate.

Regardless of the reason, your puppy could be jumping up and biting you because he’s just so excited to see you.

When puppies get overexcited, they tend to forget themselves and their manners. It’s kind of like when human kids get too excited. They start acting in ways that they normally know are not appropriate. 

While it might be super cute that your puppy is so happy to see you, this isn’t behavior you necessarily want to encourage!

If getting super excited to see you tends to trigger the zoomies in your puppy, check out what causes puppy zoomies? for more information.

How to Stop a Puppy Jumping Up and Biting

Do puppies grow out of biting?

They can with your help! Knowing why your puppy is exhibiting behavior like this is the first step to solving the problem. Now let’s get into how you can train him to stop.

Yelp and Walk Away

If you’ve ever watched puppies play together, then you may have seen puppies jump on and bite each other. When playing, most puppies don’t mind a little nipping.

But if one puppy bites another a little too hard, you’ll notice that the bitten puppy will yelp and stop playing. This shows the puppy that bit that playtime is over if he bites too hard.

One of the best ways to help your puppy grow out of biting is by doing the same thing. If your puppy bites you, then let out a little yelp and walk away.

If he keeps biting, walk into another room and close the door for a few seconds. Then come back but completely ignore your puppy.

Bear in mind that this may not work for older puppies. They may associate your yelping with the sound of a squeaky toy. But for young puppies, this could be a good method to help prevent biting.

Ignore the Behavior

The best way to train a dog is through positive reinforcement dog training. There’s a lot to it, but essentially it means ignoring behavior you don’t like and encouraging behavior you do.

If your puppy is biting as attention-seeking behavior, then the worst thing you could do is give him attention when he jumps and bites.

Instead, ignore your puppy completely. It might be hard, but it’s the best way to show him what polite behavior is.

Reward Calm Behavior

Part of positive reinforcement training means ignoring behavior you want to discourage. But you can’t forget about the other half of this training method.

Showing your puppy what good behavior looks like is just as important as showing him what you don’t want him to do!

So you need to make sure you’re rewarding your puppy when he’s doing what you like.

For example, if your puppy is lying down quietly on his own, give him a treat for good behavior. Likewise, if you come home one day and he chooses not to jump and bite, make sure to give him some high-value treats for that.

Practice Proper Greetings

Practice makes perfect! It’s true for you, and the same is true for your puppy too.

You should make sure to practice what proper greetings look like often.

If your dog is over excited with visitors, then getting someone’s help to practice proper greetings is a great idea.

Give Him a Time Out

If your puppy just can’t seem to calm himself down and won’t stop jumping up and biting, then a time out may be in order.

This is one of many examples where crate training your puppy will come in handy. Your puppy’s crate is a space where he can go to settle down and relax.

If you haven’t started crate training your dog yet but you’d like to, here’s how to crate train a dog easily in 13 steps.

How Do You Calm Down a Hyper Puppy?

Having a super hyper puppy can be a frustrating experience—especially if you can’t get him to calm down!

The most important thing you can do is to model good behavior for your puppy. Stay calm yourself to show him what behavior you want.

You should also make sure your puppy gets the right amount of exercise. So how much exercise should a puppy get? It can vary from puppy to puppy, but once you find the right amount, stick with it.

Make sure you also check out this article: Why Is My Puppy So Hyper? 4 Tips for a Calm Puppy.

How to Stop a Puppy from Jumping Up and Ripping Clothes

If your puppy is always jumping up and ripping your clothes, that can be really frustrating.

The best thing to do is stay consistent with your training. Follow all the above tips to help train your puppy not to jump and bite.

But definitely never pull back!

That would just feel like play time to your puppy. Instead, ignore the behavior and if he really doesn’t stop, distract him with something else that he’s allowed to bite and rip.

In the meantime, while you’re working on training, make sure you’re wearing clothes that you don’t mind getting a little torn up.

How to Stop a Dog from Jumping Up on Strangers

The best way to keep a dog from jumping up on visitors or strangers is to practice as much as you can.

If your dog jumps up when strangers come into your home, get someone to come over to help you with training.

Get your visitor to knock on the door and come into the house, but make sure he knows not to come inside unless your puppy is calmly waiting.

Tell your visitors to avoid interacting or paying any attention to your puppy until he’s calmed down. This will help keep your puppy from getting riled up.

What can also be a great help is tethering or crating your dog when visitors arrive. Wait for him to calm down and then let him great your guests.

How to Stop a Puppy from Jumping Up on Furniture

Some owners don’t mind their dogs being up on the furniture. But many dog owners don’t want dog fur all over their chairs and couch!

The best way to stop a puppy from jumping up on furniture is by using positive reinforcement. If your puppy jumps up on your couch, get him to go back down and reward him for being on the floor.

This will teach your dog that he gets rewarded if he sticks to the ground.

Zak George has a great video that will help you with this process:

Conclusion

Puppies can show a lot of behavior we don’t like because they don’t know what good manners are yet. One particularly annoying thing your puppy might be doing is jumping up and biting you.

While this is super frustrating behavior, there are ways you can train it out of your puppy. Remember to focus on using positive reinforcement. Ignore your puppy when he’s jumping and biting, and reward him when he’s showing calm behavior.

With time and consistency, your puppy will learn not to jump up and bite you.