Man, I wish I had a quick tip to solve your hyperactive puppy’s naughty habit of biting your hands, your shirt, and your toes, but I just don’t. We can absolutely just tell your puppy “NO!” or make a loud noise to signal our unhappiness with their actions. This definitely works for some puppies and is a common quick fix adopted by many trainers. But what do you do if it doesn’t work? What do you do if it amps your puppy up even more?! Well the good news is this “Not So Simple Solution” works for everyone because it solves the underlying issues that lead to what we call the “witching hour” for puppies.

• Rest. The first thing I consider for puppies is rest. Most puppies are not getting enough rest. I whole-heartedly believe that well intended owners are seeing their dogs as rambunctious teenagers that need more exercises while in fact they are actually cognitively still a new born baby. New born babies are not good at meeting their own needs, regulating their emotions, and taking naps when they would rather be playing. And when a baby gets tired, we know it. They fuss, they cry, and they cause stress because they are tired and don't feel well. The puppy version of this is excessive nipping, biting, chewing, and even snapping because they are tired and don’t feel well! The first thing I will coach my clients on is adjusting their puppies crate and sleep schedule to help overstimulated puppies feel their best. We usually start to see permanent results over a few days to weeks.
• Calming activities. It’s so easy to get carried away in fun activities for our dogs like tug, fetch, wrestling, etc. These are great exercise and relationship building but should be equally balanced out with calming activities like lick mats, trick training, snuffle mats, and place command/ tie back time. I have a few examples of this in my Yin Yang Activity Guide.
• Prioritizing tug over personal play. “Personal Play” is what we refer to when we use our hands to rough house with the dog, playing with them just like another dog would as well. I love personal play with my own dogs as well as client’s dogs. Funny enough, I do use personal play to teach older puppies what kind of mouthing is appropriate, and when to stop or slow down. But most younger puppies just do not have the impulse control yet for this level of play. When they start to get over excited, their go-to response will be grabbing hands and feet to try to initiate play even though they might know it’s not an appropriate time to do so. For this reason I prioritize using tug and fetch so they can learn how to play without mouthing hands to do so. 
•  Knowing when to redirect your pup to a different activity. This does go hand in hand with the first tip about overstimulation. But sometimes mouthiness and pushiness is our signal to replace that behavior and mindset with a more relaxed one. I do communicate my boundaries by telling puppies a strong, firm “NO!” but if I notice the puppy keeps returning for more or becomes even more pushy, I immediately go into a tie back/ place command exercise with a  decompression activity like the ones in the guide I talked about earlier. Calm puppies make good decisions. 

Hopefully this short guide helps you on your journey to having a calm and balanced puppy. And hopefully, save your fingers in the process too!