My biting puppy has stepped up the anti!!
The play is now turning to growls and snaps. This could just be play and its only been with me but i need to know how to deal with it before it gets out of hand. He also is totally ignoring his toys in favour of biting me or my clithes. Ive just told him no now and he jumped and snapped at me with a growl, im worried.
Is this agression or just another form of play and how should i deal with it? Should he be shut out or in his play pen or another way
Thanks in advance x

Is the whole family consistently following the advice given in The Bite Stops Here? Is the puppy being allowed to get over-tired/over-excited?

Sounds to me like he's overtired.

Rather than saying/shouting 'no', say nothing at all, just pick him up or direct him to his bed/rest area and give him time to settle.  Then you can resume play again after he's had a nap.  That way he learns that play stops when he gets 'over the top'.

HTH  :-)

he sounds like my first pup who had a food allergy - she seemed totally out of control and when I changed food (from puppy kibble) to tinned tripe and a mixer (not biscuit) it stopped instantly and only returned once when she helped herself to the cat biscuits and was wild for a couple of hours.

As has already been said, The bite stops here should be implemented all the time

But, we are talking about an 8 week old pup here.......

Pups are not solitary animals they would naturally be reared with their siblings they learn to play fight getting rougher and rougher  from 5 weeks old,  it is how they judge intelligence and braun and the natural pecking order of each pup and yes, it starts that young, if you watched how the litter play with each other you would understand your pup is doing nothing unusual at all. Young pups grab each other by the ears swing each other around, growl, bare teeth, jump on each other, drag each other around and bite hard until the other yelps, there is nothing gentle about puppy play it is rough and for any pup to play with a human that way it darn well hurts and we can wrongly view it as aggressive - it's not! :-)

By 8 weeks the litter of most breeds even with the dam keeping them in order are getting OTT for us humans, knowledgeable breeders will already be spending one on one time with pups to help them cope with playing differently with humans and helping them to calm around us, and socialise them to other things beside just their siblings, but often this is not the case and some pups will not have had that head start being slightly wilder than others.

Also some pups show themselves to get the upper hand on their siblings and often these pups are harder to calm playing with humans which is why The Bite Stops Here is so important to implement, please follow it's advice ;-) But, you must not get upset or think your pup is aggressive if it takes a while to click, he plain and simply does not understand yet that humans do not play like pups. He will learn.....

Pups need to play, they need to bite, (re: teething and everything is tested by the mouth just as with a human child) have patience and don't think anything is wrong, he is but a pup working by instinct only at this age.

Re: The sleeping, (from other thread) some pups sleep more than others, some are more active, they all have different characters and personalities along with energy levels, pups need to play and need company, they can get bored just like us, he's a baby and will find his way with your routines, he's very young right now and barely away from his siblings and mother, you'll become everything to him and play biting, growling, tugging is exactly how he connects with you, you need to transfer that to other objects and play with him. Protect your arms and legs as pups teeth and nails are sharper than an adults.

Please remember he is not being naughty or aggressive and should not be chastised, he is just being a dog. :-)

Very good post. Just what I was thinking, but couldn't find the way to say it.

Just to say that I went through this stage too - I read the advice given on here and adhered to it.  I have worked with my pup - he is now well focused on toys.  I get the odd little growl when I bend down to straighten a mat that he has just rucked up to chew - it is not aggression - best to just distract him.  He also has mad moments when he pounces on me and tries to play rough as he does with my older dog.  But he is learning bite inhibition and his bites are not hard now.  I ask him for a sit or down and calm him.  Or I ask him to go find a ball and play with him.  If he doesn't change his play I take him gently by the collar and send him into his crate/ pen for a bit of time out.  I was so worried that my pups little temper tantrums that he was having were going to signal an adult dog with aggression problems - but he is developing into a lovely little chap.  So pleased with him.  Stay positive! 

Make sure your not over exciting him when your playing, when my girl was a little pup I lurnt early on if I wound her up too much while playing I'd soon regret it, she would turn into something possessed lol. After a while I noticed she would start to pant fast when she was starting to get over excited so play would stop when the fast panting started.

Thank u everyone, some great advice which i will follow. I think he may need alittle more sleep and structure to no where he stands and wot is acceptable without having to be told off. Im going to re read all the links ive been given and implement it all.
This is a great place fir advice, thank u xx

My biting puppy has stepped up the anti!!

Just to also point out, remember when a pup first comes to you he isn't quite himself even the best socialised puppies are out of sync they are taken from all they know with strange humans (who they shouldn't be afraid of) but who they need to get to know, their surroundings are different, new scents, new sounds, new home, new routines, a pup should be confident but it is still very much out of its comfort zone, so his full character won't come out for a while. :-)

He's now feeling comfortable, knows his way around and is playing with you happily and with confidence, it just needs a little human adjustment to fit in with being a domesticated dog, and it will.... :-)

Happy reading the links and remember to stay consistent.

Thanks again everyone. I had to work a six hr shift today and got up at 6am and fed, toileted a d played with Barney ti i left at 6.55am. My dad came in at 10am to feed, toilet and play with Barney for half hour. I then got home at 1.30pm and got Barney up. I played with him quietly till about 3pm and he was totally different. I think he was tired and over excited. Lets hope im armed with the right knowledge now to raise him properly.