My 8 month old puppy is trained and all but is still biting certain people. How do we tell if he's play biting or agressivly? And how do we stop it?
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Play biting is more mouthing, nippy and seems like he is a bit more careless in his approach. Aggression biting is more precise & targeted. You'll find clues as to his intent in the moments before he goes in for the bite. If he is more bouncy, playful he is more likely play biting. Being stiff, rigid, locking his eyes and then going for the bite is more from aggression. That's a very rough explanation as body language is VERY complex and minor subtleties can completely change the context. I would be happy to do a private consult with you to help determine this if you like.
As for stopping it... It would be really helpful to know what is happening when he goes to bite, for example, on a walk passing someone, meeting them for the first time, being loose in the house with company etc.
He is still a puppy and may just be at the end of teething so at time point in time you need to do two things for him. 1) Allow him to be able to chew. He instinctively needs to chew and have that natural satisfaction. So allow him to have access to appropriate (key word, here) things to chew on: bones, toys, antlers are really great. 2) You need to work on training to gain control of the situation when this behavior is not appropriate. You can very easily redirect him but offering a correction (stern) "NO" and then immediately offering him an appropriate toy to chew instead. Your pup will continue to be quite mouthy still for the next several months but using these tools to mold the behavior into something positive you will be much better able to manage.
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