How to Stop a German Shepherd Puppy From Biting

Knowing how to stop a German Shepherd puppy from biting and nipping is an essential part of German Shepherd ownership.

You bring your adorable German Shepherd puppy home and everyone is so excited to help it settle in. Then suddenly you have the puppy from hell!

It’s chewing on everything in sight, biting at your ankles and nipping you every time you make the slightest move.

I feel your pain! My female German Shepherd Dog, Bella, pictured above showing off her pearly whites was just the same. Ankles were her favourite target but she was also partial to a hand or two if the mood took her.

She is now the sweetest loving German Shepherd Dog you could ask for. So don’t worry it’s a common problem and the good news is, most problems are easily solved with plenty of things you can do to put a stop to them.

So let’s make a start on saving you from that little land shark’s razor-sharp needle teeth.

Why Does My German Shepherd Puppy Keep Biting

The first thing to understand is why your Geman Shepherd puppy is biting. The most common reason is that your puppy is simply going through the German Shepherd Puppy Biting Phase.

So What Is The German Shepherd Puppy Biting Phase

When German Shepherd puppies bite it is usually because:-

They are exploring the world
They are teething
They are a bit tired and grumpy
They are practising being a German Shepherd

All these things are what a German Shepherd puppy will go through as part of its normal development. This period in their lives is also often referred to as the German Shepherd Puppy Biting Phase and will last until they reach about 8 months old.

Knowing these reasons will help you understand why your puppy is biting which will then help you decide which method to use to stop it.

The German Shepherd Puppy Explorer

Puppies explore the world with their mouths. They are born deaf and blind so are limited to finding their way to food using just their nose and mouth. As they grow older they begin to explore more and more things in their environment using these same senses.

If your puppy comes across something new they will usually sniff it first. If it passes the smell test they will move on to stage 2 which involves putting it straight in their mouth.

This is normal behaviour and part of your puppy’s development but they do need to learn what is acceptable to put in their mouth and what is not.

The German Shepherd Puppy Teething Stage

Teething is something that all puppies will go through. The good news is that this will stop when your puppy gets their adult teeth which is usually around 8 months old.

There is nothing we can do to prevent a puppy from going through this teething stage. But it does not mean that we have to put up with being bitten or having our possessions destroyed by their chewing.

Provide The Teething Explorer with Plenty Of Chew Toys To Gnaw On

When the reason your puppy is biting is that they are exploring or teething then just giving them chew toys can stop them from biting.

In these cases when your puppy bites you, they are simply trying to explore their environment and figure out what everything is. Chew toys give them something else to focus their attention on besides your fingers or clothes.

They also help relieve any pain or discomfort that might be causing your puppy to bite. If you give them a chew toy every time they bite you, they will eventually learn that biting is not how they get attention or anything else they want.

They will also start to associate biting with getting something to chew on, which is much more pleasant for everyone involved.

So if the cause of your puppy’s biting is just that they exploring the world or teething then giving them chew toys is a great place to start.

The Tired And Grumpy Puppy

Many puppies can become grumpy when they are tired. Some may also try to tell you they just need to rest by growling or nipping too. Whilst this behaviour is not acceptable it is also a sign that they are being overstimulated.

Give Them A Quite Place To Sleep

Grumpy puppies who are biting need to go and have a nap. Give them a quiet place away from any stimulation to recharge those batteries.

Tell the kids to let the puppy sleep off its grumpiness and hopefully, your puppy will wake up nice and refreshed ready for another round of fun and games.

Practising To Become A German Shepherd

Another reason puppies bite is because they are driven by their natural instinct to herd. This is probably the most important reason to recognise as it is not something your puppy will just grow out of. These instincts need to be channelled into behaviour that is appropriate for the world your puppy is going to grow into. If you don’t do anything about it then it could become out of hand later on.

German Shepherd Dogs are a wonderful breed and make great family pets. But you need to remember their origins which is they were bred to herd livestock. It is in their DNA to have certain instincts that enable them to perform this job well.

Herding dogs round up the sheep by staring them down and nipping them when they don’t move in the right direction. This is a natural instinct that has been bred into the dog. When the dog is working all the farmer or shepherd is doing is directing them to use their natural instincts in the right way to fulfil the job at hand.

Before your puppy comes into your home it will have been learning everything about the world from its mother and siblings. During this time their whole development has revolved around learning to be a German Shepherd Dog.

They start to develop their natural German Shepherd instincts around the age of 5 weeks old. They put them into practice with their siblings through play fighting and nipping at each other. This is also a crucial stage in their development as they start to learn bite inhibition.

This means they begin to learn how to control the force that they put into a bite. If they bite one of their siblings too hard then that sibling will let out a squeal and stop playing. This teaches the puppy not to bite quite so hard next time as it spoils the game and play stops.

When your puppy comes into your home you become the replacement for its siblings.

There are 2 problems here one is that in the human world people don’t go around biting each other for fun. The other is human skin is not as tough as that of a puppy covered in fur.

It is your job to teach your puppy that biting is not acceptable behaviour in the human world.

Teaching bite inhibition

We should teach bite inhibition as opposed to prohibiting it altogether. The reason for this is that we want our dogs to be able to know how to gauge and control the pressure of their jaw.

To do this we just need to take over where the puppy’s litter mates left off.

Here’s what you need to do.

The aim is for the sound to startle them into letting go but you must also instantly stop playing with them too.

This is mimicking the behaviour they are used to happening when playing with their litter mates. Provided you are consistent with this every time they bite they should soon start to realise.

What you are teaching them here is if they bite hard and hurt you playtime stops.

Your puppy should start making some progress with this by the time they are 5 months old and they should be about there by the time they are 8 months old.

Teaching Them To Be Gentle

This is similar to the above but it is actually teaching them to take treats from you in a gentle way without snapping at your fingers.

To do this offer your puppy a tasty treat but don’t let go of it. This will encourage them to lick at the treat rather than snatch it from your hand or bite your fingers. You can also use the “ouch” technique above if they are biting you.

When they begin to lick at the treat gently say a command word to associate with it. I use the word “gently” but you can also use words like “no bite” and give them the treat.

German Shepherd Puppy Biting Ankles

This behaviour comes from the natural herding instincts explained above. It is a very common problem with German Shepherd puppies, particularly those from a working line who have a high prey drive. I personally experienced this with my female Bella who I briefly mentioned above.

Having a high prey drive doesn’t mean they are blood-thirsty hunters it actually just means they are attracted to movement.

They have a very keen eye for anything that moves and a strong herding instinct. A puppy with a high prey drive will focus on tiny movements in the grass as an insect moves. They love to play chase games and they have extremely quick reflexes enabling them to react fast when required.

As well as herding livestock these types of dogs also do really well in military and police officer roles where fast-acting instincts are a must.

To these puppies, if it moves it becomes a target and that target then becomes the object of a fun game. Unfortunately for you as you walk around your ankles are the line of sight target and object that your dog impulsively wants to catch.

They are not being aggressive they are simply practising their instincts by playing what they see as a really fun game.

Whilst these instincts are part of your dog’s DNA biting ankles is bad social behaviour in the human world. It is your job to teach your puppy to redirect these instincts into a game that is acceptable. To do this we need to teach our puppy impulse control

Teaching Impulse Control

Just using the bite inhibition method above with puppies that have a high prey drive may not be enough. They are acting out of impulse and sometimes a loud shriek or movement of your hand can actually make them more aroused to play harder.

If you find that your puppy comes back with even more excitement and force. Or if they lunge at your hand when you take it away from them then you are likely dealing with a puppy that needs you to take a different approach.

Dogs are not born with impulse control it has to be learned. Instincts drive them to do something impulsive so when we are teaching them to control this we need to give them commands that will stop them in their tracks. Easier said than done but commands such as wait, leave it and stop are used when teaching a dog impulse control.

The bite inhibition method alone with Bella was not working. In fact, she was getting worse and we were all black and blue from puppy bite scratches on our hands and ankles. It wasn’t a fun time at all I can tell you.

No one dare move as we knew she was waiting to launch at our legs as soon as we did. I actually wore boots in the house in the middle of summer just to protect my poor ankles from being attacked.

Once we understood that she was making a fun game out of an impulsive instinct it became easier to think of ways to redirect her fun onto a different object.

We had to be persistent and patient but we achieved it in the end by playing a well-known dog game with her.

A Game Of Fetch Can Work Wonders!

Fetch is a classic game played with dogs but we needed to do it at the right moment for it to be effective. The aim was to keep up the fun for Bella but by giving her a different moving target to chase our legs may be saved.

All we needed to do was to get Bella interested in a KONG toy before we moved by showing it to her in an exciting way. You can use any type of toy for this it doesn’t have to be a KONG.

We then asked her to wait for a few seconds before we threw the toy a short distance ahead of where we were going to walk. This way she focused on the moving toy instead of our moving feet. We then encouraged her to come back to us with the ball which we exchanged for a treat and threw it again.

At first, she did not bring it back but as the aim was for us to be able to move without being attacked it had done its job. She was focused enough on the KONG for us to move a bit further.

When we got to her we exchanged it for a treat and threw it again. Sometimes she came back without the toy too so it’s a good idea to have a few reserves in hand when your start out.

So If Your German Shepherd Puppy Is Biting Your Ankles Try Playing A Simple Game Of Fetch

Here’s how to do it

Tip – have a few toys on you in case they don’t bring the first one back. The aim is not to let your puppy focus on you moving but instead focus on the toy.

Other Things To Try To Stop A German Shepherd Puppy’s Biting

Using Command Words

Teaching your German Shepherd puppy the command word “leave it” can also help to stop them from biting.

This command is useful for a variety of different situations, but it can be conducive when your puppy is getting too rough with its biting.

Patience, consistency and reputation are key to the success of training your German Shepherd puppy. Just keep going you will get there in the end.

Indulge Them In Exercises

If your German Shepherd has too much energy, it may be more likely to bite out of excitement or frustration. Jumping up and nipping your hand or biting the leash is a common example of this type of biting.

You can help tire them out by taking them on long walks or runs, playing fetch with them, or even just letting them run around in the backyard for a while.

If biting the leash is a problem for you then you need to read leash training a German Shepherd puppy.

Suitable Puppy Toys That Can Discourage Biting Behaviour

We have already discussed above how chew toys can help especially when your puppy is exploring or teething.

There are a variety of different types of chew toys available, so be sure to find one that your puppy enjoys. If your puppy has particularly high energy or prey drive, you may want to consider a puzzle toy. These types of toys require your puppy to use their brain power to figure out how to get the treat inside.

Other than that, you can give him a Kong toy which is a classic chew toy that most puppies love. Whichever toy you choose, make sure to supervise your puppy while they are playing with it to ensure they do not choke on any pieces.

Whatever type of chew toy you choose, make sure that it is durable and safe for your puppy to use.

When To Be Concerned

Occasionally German Shepherd owners are presented with much more serious biting issues. Thankfully most German Shepherd puppies get a good start in life and grow up to be well-mannered mature dogs. There are however a few less common reasons why a German Shepherd puppy may be biting which I will discuss below.

Lack of Socialization

Lack of proper socialization can also be a reason why a German Shepherd is biting. This type of biting is much more serious than the ones mentioned above and it can develop into a significant problem if you don’t address it early on.

The bite will be intentional and aggressive and it is usually done purely out of fear. It does not have to be a hard bite that draws blood either even a simple nip done through fear is a sign there is a problem.

You can usually tell by the expression on the dog’s face whether it is playful or fearful. Their pupils will be big and their ears usually flat or low. Their posture will also be very tense with a low tail and most likely their heckles will be up on their backs too.

The Fight Or Flight Instinct

You may have heard of the fight or flight instinct well this applies to dogs too. If a dog is fearful it is going to do one of two things run or lash out in the form of a bite.

Sadly many dogs are put to sleep simply because they instinctively reacted to a fearful situation. What upsets me is that this could have been avoided if they had been properly socialized.

German Shepherd Dogs are also very protective by nature so they will have an instinct to ward off anything they believe to be a threat. If they are not properly socialized how are they supposed to know what is a threat and what isn’t?

Prevention Is Key

This type of biting can be prevented by making sure your puppy is socialized from the minute you bring them home.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to get them used to the environment they are going to be living in. That is introducing them in a positive way to people, children, other animals, sights, sounds and anything else they are likely to come across at some point in their lives.

Your puppy needs to see and experience all these things for them to be comfortable. They need to know that the things around them are just a normal part of life and that there is nothing to fear from it.

A puppy’s initial socialization skills are taught by its mother. Puppies at risk of developing fear anxiety are those who have left their mother and litter mates too early or those whose mother suffers from fear anxiety herself.

Other puppies at risk can be those who have suffered a frightening life experience. For example, they have been attacked by another dog or those born in puppy mills.

The best way to avoid getting a puppy with fear anxiety is to ensure you socialize them properly and don’t put them at risk of being attacked by other dogs.

Don’t ever buy from puppy mills and always ask to see your puppy with its mother so that you can see that she does not have any issues.

Socializing Older Dogs

It is much harder to socialize an older dog as they have already had some life experiences and will already have formed a view on what they think of them.

This is seen a lot in cases of abuse and dogs that have come from puppy mills. Many of these dogs may never have seen the outside world before and any human contact they experienced is likely to have been cruel too.

These dogs are not beyond hope but they will need some very special care and professional help which is far beyond the scope of this article.

If your dog is biting intentionally and aggressively through fear then you must seek professional help urgently. This is something that will only get worse if not handled correctly and it could quite literally be a matter of life or death for your dog.

Irresponsible Breeding

German Shepherd Dogs bred to the breed standard are not aggressive by nature. The temperament of a German Shepherd dog that breeders are judged on are that they must be:-

Steady of nerve, loyal, self-assured, courageous and tractable. Never nervous, over-aggressive or shy. (source)

Unfortunately, if there is money to be made there will be organised crime and irresponsible people wanting to make a quick buck.

Responsible breeders take time in researching the genetic history of dogs they intend to use as breeding partners. They care about the puppies they are going to bring into this world and want them to go to loving family homes.

Criminals that operate puppy mills don’t care about the dog’s welfare at all. They really couldn’t care less if the dogs they are breeding are cruelly treated, and unsocialized. Many puppies are also taken from their mothers way too early. This deprives them of the essential social skills they need to learn from her and their siblings.

Irresponsible breeders may not necessarily be cruel but they are generally ignorant or don’t care about the German Shepherd Dog’s breed characteristics or reputation.

These people either breed purely for looks without paying any attention to temperament. Or they just put two dogs together without knowing if there are any genetic flaws that may be enhanced in their offspring.

If you have a dog you believe has an aggressive temperament then again this is not something to ignore. You will need to obtain some professional one-to-one help from someone who can provide you with a proper assessment and come up with a tailor-made solution for your situation.

The best way to avoid buying a puppy with an aggressive temperament is to buy from a reputable breeder. The fewer people who buy from these bad organisations the less demand they will have to continue their operations.

So To Summarise How To Stop A German Shepherd From Biting

By following these tips, you can easily stop your German Shepherd puppy from biting.

The Final Word

Just remember to be patient, consistent, and firm with your commands. The German Shepherd puppy biting phase doesn’t last forever and with a little time and effort, you’ll have a well-behaved pup in no time!

If you would like to share any of your own tips on how to stop a German Shepherd puppy from biting please feel free to do so in the comments below. Thanks for reading.