The joys of bringing home a new puppy: The puppy breath, the playing…and the biting. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have ever had a puppy, you know what I’m talking about.

My 4-month-old Chihuahua mix Cush chews and bites on everything and everyone. He bites on the couch, my shoes, my toes, the cat, and my roommate’s 4-year-old pit bull.

A puppy doesn’t know that biting hurts, so their intention isn’t to harm anyone of course. So, how do puppies learn that biting is bad?

I’ve found that saying, “OW!” when Cush bites me is very effective at stopping him. This does two things: It gets his attention and my tone lets him know I’m not happy with the biting.

Also, if he bites when we’re playing, I stop the play immediately. Bentley, my 3-year-old cat, has a different method to stop Cush’s biting–she bites back.

Cush learned the other day that the cute fuzzy cat can in fact hurt him when he bit her too hard and she retaliated—not surprisingly, he’s much gentler with her now.

Though he’s a handful at the moment, I know that the puppy stage won’t last much longer and I should try to enjoy it while it lasts…biting and all.