Bite inhibition is the most important thing a puppy learns. You cannot teach a dog never to react to extreme provocation. You can teach it to soften its mouth, and then to keep its mouth off people and clothing.

People annoy and frighten each other. Dogs get annoyed and frightened too, often by children and by clumsy handling. The realistic goal is the same one we expect of people: the disagreement does not become an injury.

Stopping all puppy biting feels like a relief, and it is often a mistake. A puppy that never mouths may never learn that its jaws can hurt. If that dog bites as an adult, the bite is more likely to be hard. The puppy has to bite, gently, and get an answer.

You do not need to hurt or punish it. Say “ouch.” If it stops, praise it and return to calmer play. If it ignores you, make the “ouch” bigger and end the game. Wait a minute or two, then ask for a come and a sit before you play again. Puppies already know this from littermates: a hard bite loses the playmate.

When the mouthing no longer hurts, pretend it does. The pressure should drop from a bite, to mouthing, to little more than gums. Do not let the puppy mouth hair, scarves, shoelaces, or gloves. Those cannot feel pressure, so the puppy learns to bite harder, right next to skin.

Only when there is no pressure left do you cut how often it mouths. Hand-feed kibble and teach “off.” Gentle mouthing is allowed until the word, and then it stops. Some dogs learn this on their own. Mouthy dogs need it taught. A few weeks is usually enough. The lesson only lands if the puppy bites and the person answers.