Nipping

I hope that maybe this will help you. When Crazy got to our house all he did was jump and bite. I did the walk away thing when he was in the back yard, but it didn't work in the house. SOOO I went and bought a rope pull toy, when he starts on my arm, leg, shoe, foot. I would tell him no bite and kind of push the rope toy at him and play with him with that, he finally got the idea of bite arm no play, bite rope toy yes we will play. Pennies in a can didn't work for Crazy (I did use it on dog #2 and dog #3 and it really worked for them but NOT for Crazy) Good luck sometimes you just have to figure out what button needs to be pushed.
 
Wildman (aka Bacca) is also 7 months and I'm afraid I'm still pretty much at the same stage as I was...with small improvements.

The problem with most of the techniques I'm trying is that they only last for a couple of seconds and then he's back at it. His "stay" is not reliable yet. He'll stay only if I'm there keeping him at stay, but if I move away, he's right after me. We are working on "leave it" (meaning ME) and he will now drop back, but as soon as I move again, he's right back at it. Ignoring does NOT work, though I've locked myself in the bathroom a couple of times till he settles down! Boring for both of us! :rolleyes2:

Bacca will also lunge at my face but has yet to actually nip it. He will go for my hand. But if I say "leave it" and close my fist, he will resort to a gentle mouthing. Bacca will also make a sound in his throat which some may interpret as a growl, but its the same noise he makes when he's playing with his tug toy (yes, he plays tug-a-war with himself!)

The suggestion my someone in the thread to teach the dog that toys are for grabbing and not people is one that I've tried a few times with some success - I'm just cautious that I'm not reinforcing behaviour by making it ok to play when HE says, and not me.

The more I'm reading, the more I'm hoping that this really is just a phase - albeit a phase that has to be managed.

So it sounds like we're both going through pretty much the same issues....the only thing that concerns me about your post is the growling. If its true growling, then you're right to be concerned. But if its "play-growling" then it should be fine.

We're at puppy school now, so if I get any more tips I'll post to you directly.

Cheers and good luck to us both! :smile2:
 
BarbV I get the same thing, Jake will lunge at my face, I always say 'no' then 'nicely'. His nipping has never hurt so I guess he has some bite inhibitation, but as others its worse the he is really excited.

He's just coming up 6 months, and has all his adult teeth now.

Its tricky when they get the odd nip in when they are giving kisses, I dont want to get it wrong and feel Im correcting nice behaviour if I get the timing wrong, so in those instances I just get up and walk away for a minute.
 
Thanks for the tips and for sharing your experiences! Doggy adolescence can be such a pain (literally). I tried the walking away trick, but he'd just come at my ankles, so that's really a no-go.:rolleyes2: I will try to redirect him to a chew toy and see if that works, but I do see Barb's point that he might end up thinking "hey! If I give mummy a little nip she'll play with me!" So I might just push the toy to him but not engage him in play.

I don't think Romeo's growling is real dominance/fear growling and do think it's all play. I'm convinced he's showing his frustration at not getting what he wants. I will try to get a video clip of it to show you guys.

On a related note, I tried the pennies in a can to try and curb his barking. The barking and nipping are usually linked, so the one time I tried, he barked soooo much less, and went off to lie down somewhere and didn't nip. I hope (fingers and toes crossed :sadsmile:) that the nipping will diminish with the barking. Will keep all posted on developments!!
 
Romeo has improved!! I'm now no longer afraid of being nipped when I sit in front of the dresser getting ready for bed or work (that's when he's usually super bored). He's sort of transferred his boredom to his toys (and finding stuff around my room to play with/chew (he loves toilet brushes so I bought him his very own to play with but it's only available to him in my room when I'm home).

I used the pennies in the can thing and IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM! His barking would stop, and his frustration seemed forgotten (and with it the nipping) and he'd go off to look for something to do/chew/play with. A couple of times of this was all it took to calm him down a good deal. Then I ditched the can and would just put him in a down position when he comes close and has that "I'm so bored I should nip mummy to see if she'll give me some excitement" look. I'm so pleased! He's only nipped me like twice in the past week!! THANKS GUYS!!!
 
Glad Romeo is doing better!

You know, I forgot about the pennies in the can method. Sadie's whining has gotten drastically worse since the cold weather arrived, despite getting plenty of excercise. I'll have to try the penny in the can method again! Thanks for the idea!:smile2:
 
Bandit used to be a biter and it really hurt cuz his puppy teeth were sharp.

When he tried to bite me out of excitment i would get ahold of his lower jaw and loudly say "NO BITE". Course he would yelp to get out of the position, but it in no way hurt him, he was just faking it.
he stopped biting with in 2 days :cool:
I guess he was 3 1/2 months old when he stopped biting.
I havent had to do that to him for quite a few months now

The yelping method works too. Bandit will stop what he's doing when my mom uses that method.
 
romeosangiovese said:
I used the pennies in the can thing and IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM! !!!
Click to expand...

Remind me what you did with the pennies! I would be tempted to THROW it at Bacca when he does this, but I don't think that's what you meant?! :smile2:

Bacca's getting better but there are still mornings when he attaches himself to my pant lets as I walk down the hall. And I just love it when I'm at the mirror putting on mascara and he decides a good nip is in order! Nothing like a mascara wand in the eye to start your day off right! :eek2:
 
I tried yelping and acting like a complete fool (my mum said I sounded like a banshee at one point), tried putting my finger in his mouth to make it uncomfortable, but nothing worked. It just got him riled up more!

I found 3 things very important in the mornings - 1 kong filled with his breakfast kibble, a decent down (and stay sometimes) and a coin can (phased out after a few times)! Without these I probably won't ever get to work.

I give Romeo the Kong just before I sit in front of the dresser to do my face. That keeps him busy for awhile (you can put that mascara on without taking out an eye Barb!) I use the down whenever he walks near and has that NIPPING LOOK. I realise he only does it out of boredom. He's got nothing else to do, so why not see if nipping mummy can be fun! I've shaken the can just before he does his little lunge at my thigh. That stopped him short! Then I say Romeo Down! And he'll obey faster than you can say his name! Now he walks past me at the dresser and I don't tense up in fear that I'll get a teeth marks on my legs. Once in a while I'll still put him in a down position when I see that NIPPING LOOK.

He also nips while I'm in the loo (ok gross I know). I learnt to anticipate his nipping and making him lie down before he reaches my thighs/knees. I do it EVERY TIME he comes in to disturb me. Now, he just comes into the loo and lies down! HAH! Mummy can now pee in peace.

It seems the important thing is to not give the dog a chance to nip by distracting him with toys, etc to relieve his boredom or to anticipate when he's going to nip and just before he does it, make him do something else. Perhaps in their little brain, they make the association "wanting to nip = lie down"?
 
6 Year old Sheltie

Hello,

My Sheltie is 6 years old. He is great and friendly. BUT...when strangers come in the yard or house he nips them. Adults and kids. What is the best way to train him to stop? He also freaks at people walking and running by the yard too. But we have the invisible fence and he does not go past it.

He is a great dog... but the nipping thing needs to stop. Recently it has started to get worse.
 
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