Biting is often associated with rough play that is to be enjoyed with your dog, but there is a distinct difference between biting in play and biting that turns into an act of domination and disrespect for the guardian.

Dogs are perfectly capable of being trained to grab enthusiastically and gently without crossing the line to aggressive biting behavior, a lesson that is naturally taught by their mother, littermates and other pack members. Young dogs bite each other everywhere and anywhere when they play. This is when they learn limits to their biting and learn control and boundaries to their play. If they are too rough with their playmates, they will find out by how the other dogs and puppies react to them. This is something that canines can accomplish and teach each other through trial and error, learning from their own experiences in the early stages far more effectively and efficiently than we can teach them. Because we take them away from this environment before this learning process is completed, it is necessary for the guardians to take over and complete the training.

If the dog happens to bite too hard during a play activity you can mimic its yelp or give a stern OUCH, and a NO BITING command, with a pause from the activity to let the dog know that it hurt. If you allow the dog to bite a bit too aggressively some of the time you will be sending an inconsistent message and biting will never be completely eliminated.