Most puppies bite. They grab hands, sleeves and trouser legs with surprising enthusiasm, leaving many owners wondering if they’ve adopted a tiny piranha instead of a puppy.

The good news is that puppy biting is a completely normal stage of development. The aim isn’t to stop every bite overnight, but to help your puppy develop good bite inhibition while learning better ways to play. Many owners accidentally make the problem harder to solve without realising it. Here are four of the biggest mistakes we see at CLEAR Dog Training.

Be proactive, not reactive

One of the biggest mistakes owners make is waiting until their puppy grabs them before producing a tug toy or chew. That can accidentally teach your puppy that biting is the quickest way to start exciting games.

Instead, be proactive. Have suitable tug toys and chews ready before your puppy reaches piranha mode, so the right choice is always close at hand.

Choose your moment

We often joke that puppies have two modes: cocktail-by-the-pool mode and ballistic-missile mode.

Calm puppies are ready to learn. Overtired puppies are far more likely to bite. Sometimes the best solution isn’t another game—it’s a nap.

Management isn’t cheating

Pens, baby gates, crates and sensible supervision don’t replace training—they make good training possible by preventing your puppy from practising unwanted behaviour.

The bottom line

The infographic highlights the simple ideas we use at CLEAR Dog Training to help owners survive the piranha stage. They’re easy to implement, and they can make a remarkable difference.