Most puppies seem to chew on everything. This non-specific behavior includes chewing on the fingers of their masters. While some may think the motivation for this behavior is teething I believe it is an expression of exploratory behavior. In any case, this "innocent" behavior can lead to biting behavior as an adult and thus must be stopped early. There are virtually thousands of dogs that are destroyed each year due to acts of aggression that include biting their owners.

The quickest and most effective means to stop biting behavior in the puppy is to use punishment. While few owners enjoy punishing their dogs, I feel strongly in this case, that an exception should be made as the consequences of not stopping this behavior can be life threatening. My technique for delivering immediate and severe punishment while the puppy is chewing on the fingers is to insert my index finger under the tongue and push down hard until I hear the puppy scream in pain. This will result in an immediate spitting out of the fingers and the establishment of an avoidance behavior. If done correctly only a few repetitions will be necessary to stop this behavior permanently. Again, this is one of the few times that justifies the use of punishment early on in the puppy's life. If you love your dog please do the dog, yourself and me a favor and stop this behavior as soon as it is expressed so I don't have to destroy the dog later as an adult!

If the punishment is not delivered properly the puppy may learn to actually increase the biting behavior thinking it is a game the owner is playing. Thus the very behavior you are trying to eliminate becomes worse! Remember, the two criteria that are necessary for punishment to be successful are, the punishment must be immediate and it must be severe. The way you know that you are delivering enough punishment is that the dog will scream . Anything short of screaming is not effective and thus risks making the problem worse. Again, no owner likes hurting their puppy but in this case I feel it is necessary to avoid risking putting your dog to sleep as an adult for aggressive biting displays.