Puppies can become hyper-stimulated. Often this type of behavior is due to too much free, unchallenging and unsupervised time. If your puppy has become wild and is nipping and biting at your ankles, hands or clothing you need to review the amount of time he’s spending out of the crate and what is happening during this time (for proper crate use review House Training).

This is similar to babies and children. Babies need plenty of nap time in the crib, otherwise they get over tired and cranky. Small children also need naps and structured time during the day, otherwise they become unruly and wild. Puppies are the same and require structure, boundaries and plenty of crate time.

Do a clock watch. Let’s say that you see this behavior begin to take place 30 minutes after you take your puppy out of the crate. The next time you take your pup out, put him back in the crate after 20 minutes for some quiet down time.

Make sure his time out of the crate is stimulating and interesting for him. Is there a challenge in place, something fun and exciting for him to think about and do? By motivating and properly supervising your puppy you not only preempt the development of wild behavior, you are wisely and effectively making use of your time together. Better yet, you will feel confident that you are putting your pup back in the crate when he is tuckered out and needs a rest. Both you and your pup will be happier because you are providing what is necessary for him to blossom into a great friend for life and you are setting your puppy up to succeed.

With a clock watch in place and every effort to keep your puppy successful you should see a decline in wild biting behavior. Isolated incidents may be solved successfully with the following suggestions.

• If your puppy is wild and biting you need to give him feedback to let him know this is not acceptable.
• Ouch in a loud, sincere tone works for some. For others it just gets them more wild and biting harder.
• Direct your puppy to an activity that is acceptable.
• Make a delicious chew toy available to him. Something more delicious than chomping on your leg or arm.
• Lure a sit or a down or both with rewards. It is less likely for a pup to be wild and rambunctious if he is sitting.
• A quick time out by folding your arms and walking away from the puppy may be the most effective solution. Only do this if it is safe to do so.

When it comes to nipping and biting there is no single, easy solution for all puppies. This type of problem solving requires you to be creative. You need to stay engaged with your puppy and set him up for success. It also means not putting any responsibility on the puppy, but rather, assessing each situation on an on going basis and coming up with an appropriate solution.

Have you ever been quarantined to the house? Maybe due to a bout of chicken pox, or measles when you were young? Or maybe you experienced being cooped up inside for several days during a severe snow storm. Do you remember what it felt like to finally get out of the house? Well, our dogs are the same. They need to leave the property. Not just for the sake of exercise but because cabin fever is a very real problem with dogs that never go further than their own backyards.

Dogs love to go places and it does not necessarily have to be to the park. A walk to an outdoor cafe, going with you to work when it’s possible, running errands in the car (when the weather is not too warm). These are all things our dogs not only need, but love to do!

All of these exercises should be done regularly during the first year of the dog’s life. Make a point to do these exercises once or twice a week during his first 14 weeks. Progress to once every couple of weeks and then periodically until the dog is sexually mature (see Your Puppy’s Development.) Even after sexual maturity, every now and again it is important to lay some of these exercises on your grown-up dog. Just like people, dogs can get rusty.