Puppy biting

We got our 8 week old puppy from the breeder last week and just adore him. over the last few days, he seems to have gotten used to us and has become more active, running and playing harder. One thing that he has started to do is start biting while playing with us... we understand that he is teething, and have a bunch teething toys for him to play with. It seems that his play has become more aggressive over the last 2-3 days as well. we want to prevent any problems in the future. What can we do to stop this nipping? Is this a problem that will pass when he finishes teething?
Phil

• This is not a teething problem. It is a behavior problem. When he bites you, firmly tell him no and give him an alternative to chew on. My Maltese is young and has learned that biting is unacceptable. My mother's Maltese is 4 years old and they never broke this habit. You can not pet her dog without him trying to get your hand in his mouth. He does not really bite, he just wants to chew on your hand. Be firm with your no and if you are consistant this behavior will stop.
  ChrisL

• When we first got our puppy 3 years ago (he was 12 weeks old), he had similiar behavior. I bought him some of the hard plastic bones and hard rawhide and when he wanted to chew on one of us, we would immediately give him the chew toys to chew on. He soon realized the difference between the toys and and us. We were no longer his chew toys!!
  Denise Smith

• My NiNi is now three months old. When he was teething we had let him chew on our fingers because we had thought that it would soothe his gums. But after he stopped teething and actually had teeth it started to hurt. But i've found out a way to stop that bad habit. Everytime he tried to take a bite out of me i would yelp out like his bite had hurt me very much. After a couple of days he barely tried to bite or chew on my hands anymore. Every once in awhile though he would try to take a bite but it would be so soft you wouldn't have realized it unless you saw your hand in his mouth. But i still give a little "yelp of pain" and he immediately lets go. Hope it helps you.
  Linda/NiNi

We have a wonderful little pup, 3 1/2 months old, almost entirely housebroken. One problem. He bites us - not hard - just playfully. We have talked to him sternly, but he won't stop. My question is, will he eventually outgrow this?
Knut Heise

• He's probably teething, and if that's the case, he will stop... maybe. My Lucy is a year old, and she still "play bites." I never tried really hard to stop her, I might add. But her favorite thing to do is to try to bite my feet when she wants to play and I am moving around the house and not paying attention. So my answer to this is keep being stern about the no bite, and see if it subsides when the teething is over. I'm sure others will have better advice on actually stopping the biting. Lucy seems to think it's a fun game and I don't really mind too much. If I say OW really loudly when she bites a little too vigorously, she stops immediately, I might add. So, I know she is just playing.
  Cathy Brown

• I'm sorry to say but I do not agree with Cathy on letting your dog "play bite" because he is teething or waiting until he grows out of it. ANY biting should be taken VERY seriously. This type of behavior should not be tolerated at all. Can you imagion if your little dog decided to play bite your 2 yr old? Some dogs will get more excited because they see/hear a reaction from you and will actually get wound up and bite harder/again. True puppies do need to chew to work on getting their "big" teeth. So if your dog bites you, GENTLY grab your dog by the scruff of the neck and pull him back saying NO BITE! Next replace your flesh with a toy he can chew on and when he accepts it and starts to chew on it PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE your pup. Soon he will get the idea and you should be able to just use your voice saying NO BITE! He will stop and look up and you at which time you will praise again because he has stopped his nasty behavior.

  I know that maltese are cute and tiny and probably can't do as much harm as say a GSD (german shepherd dog) but you are not only looking as biting as an action, there is alot of psychological factors as well. If a dog is allowed to bite when it pleases it will think it is better or like us dog folk say more "alpha" than you. Soon he will start to growl because he doesn't want to be petted, you are too close to him when he is eating, you changed the channel, you are sitting on HIS couch. I have heard of owners not being able to get in their own bed because the dog will bite! Who wants to live like this??

  So I say for the safety of your children, or children that will visit, and for grandmas sake, correct ALWAYS for biting! If not you can expect more behavior problems to follow. I don't tolerate this type of behavior from my little pugs OR my shepherd/malamute mix. If I did I wouldn't be able to type this post :)
  Pug