Puppies play with each other by wrestling, chasing and biting. When puppies are separated from their littermates and taken to a human household, they will try to play with us in the same way. Play biting means puppies will bite at our hand, faces, hair, feet or clothing. Play biting is an exciting game for puppies, especially since their milk teeth are very sharp and we human often squeal and pull away, making us more fun to run after. As a puppy grows, the bites become incresingly painful and uncontrolled. Some puppies owner encourage puppies to play rough and tumble games, allowing the puppy to bite their hand and to hang on their clothing.

It is important for you to have a toy ready with you whenever you are interacting with your puppy, as puppy will try to get you to play. Keep your hand and everything else still, except for the toy moving. Try to ignore the bites and encourage the puppy away from your hands with the toy. If the bites are too persistent or too hard, yelp loudly enough to stop him in his tracks, then offer the moving toy instead. If this does not stop the puppy from biting, get up and walk away instead. End the game everytime puppy bites too hard.
Make sure the toy playing is fun and rewarding for the puppy. The toy has to be more fun than biting human. Provide many of these play sessions throughout the day so that the puppy learns appropriate ways to play and he no longer needs to play inappropriately.