A temperament training program has 3 stages: 1) teaching bite inhibition; 2) socializing the pup with all sorts of people, so that the dog likes the company and actions of people and would not want to bite them. 3) teaching a puppy that regular grooming is to be expected and is a positive bonding experience when they behave themselves.

The pup must be taught to inhibit the force of its biting behavior so that it develops a soft mouth. It must also be taught to inhibit the frequency of its now gentler mouth, so that the adolescent dog learns to keep its jaws to itself and never mouth any person or their clothing. Ideally, all dogs should be taught never to respond aggressively to any kind of provocation, including grooming. The exception to this is when a dog is put under an incident of extreme and unexpected provocation. A puppy's needle sharp teeth and its often rapacious penchant for biting are essential for the establishment of bite inhibition and the development of a soft mouth. Puppy biting hurts but seldom causes appreciable harm. In fact, puppy biting behavior is the way a young pup learns its jaws can hurt. It is important puppies learn to inhibit the force of their biting before they acquire the blunt yet formidable teeth and strong jaws of an adolescent dog. Although the abrupt and total curtailment of biting (if possible) offers immediate relief to most owners, it often refects only a short-term gain and does not always augure well for the future. If the puppy is forbidden to bite, it will not have sufficient opportunity to learn that its jaws may inflict pain. Thus, if it is ever provoked to bite as an adult, the resultant bite is likely to be a hard one, causing sever damage. Certainly puppy biting must be controlled, but only in a progressive systematic manner, whereby the pup is taught to inhibit the force of its bites. To inform the puppy that biting hurts, it is not necessary to hurt, frighten, punish or even reprimand the pup; a simple "Ouch!" is sufficient. If the pup acknowledges the "ouch" and desists, praise and resume playing but in a calmer manner. If the puppy ignores the reprimand, emphasize "OOOUUCHH!" and exit pronto. As when playing with their littermates or mom's teats and tail, puppies quickly learn hard bites lose playmates. Return after one or two minutes time out and make up by having your puppy come, sit and calm down before resuming play. Once the pup's mouthing no longer hurts, pretend it does. Greet harder munches with a yelp of psuedo-pain. The puppy will begin to get the idea, thinking, "Whooahh! These humans are super-sensitive. I'll have to be much more gentle." The force of the puppy's biting will progressively decrease until biting becomes mouthing and eventually, mouthing succumbs to gumming or slobbering. It may seem paradoxical, but puppies that are mouthing maniacs and/or puppies that grow up with children are much more likely to develop gentle jaws and a soft mouth as an adult. On the other hand, shy, reserved and/or fearful dogs, which often do not play as much and therefore seldom roughhouse or bite their owners, seldom present much of a puppy problem to their owners and therefore do not receive sufficient feedback concerning the power of their jaws. In short, your feedback to the bite helps them learn the lesson they need for not biting.

When grooming be careful not to give a dog that is misbehaving sympathy. I have seen owners who say, "That's okay" to a dog that is biting. That behavior is not okay. A firm "NO!" is more appropriate. Be sure to give lots of praise for good behavior! Spend time everyday handling your pups paws so he gets use to what it feels like to be groomed.