puppy nipping

[hjbartling]

I have a 6 month old purebred beagle. I thought we were past the nipping, but apparently not. Yesterday, while playing outside in my backyard....he started nipping at my pant legs. I couldn't get him to stop. He thought it was a game. I turned my back and tried to ignore him, but....he connected with my ankle...Boy did he! I was able to finally grab a hold of him and then carried him in the house and placed him in his crate for a short while for a time out. But....how can I prevent this in the future? What should I have done?

[Hee Yung Lee]

Was the bite painful enough for you to yell out a loud "ouch" or something? If it was then he may have understood it was too hard and he should start to learn to inhibit his bite. They say that whenever your puppy nips at you, you should yelp very loudly and give them something appropriate to chew on. I think it was a good idea to put him in his crate for a little timeout.

[Renee]

Try not to pick up a dog after it nips you. Picking up a dog might be viewed as a reward (by the dog), which will reinforce the nipping. By the time you picked up your dog, carried him into the house and placed him in his crate - the timeout is no longer effective. Your dog had no idea why he was placed in his crate....

I would also consider not using the crate as a time out...this can lead to dog who don't like their crate.

For nipping, remember to say "ouch", turn your back, take all the attention away from your dog when he nips. You need to do this every single time.

[Priscilla Cronholm]

I agree with not using the crate as a time out. I'm not an expert and in fact am a first time dog owner, but everything I have read says the crate should be their safe place and never to be used as punishment. Everything that was mentioned here I agree with, however, I have the same problem. My puppy (15 week old Akita/Border Collie Mix) has just started biting everything. He used to only nip at my husband, who just keeps playing with him even though I have asked him not to. When he bites me I yell OUCH!!! and give him something appropriate and leave the room. He doesn't seem to care about the lost attention and keeps doing it. Is this normal for a little guy? I've also read AKITAS are 100 lb termites, but since I'm a first time dog owner I don't know if this is normal.
I'm alway so afraid he is going to be an aggressive dog.

[Renee]

HI macaco67

I was reading your post, you said "He used to only nip at my husband, who just keeps playing with him even though I have asked him not to. When he bites me I yell OUCH!!! and give him something appropriate and leave the room. He doesn't seem to care about the lost attention and keeps doing it."

You and your husband are not on the same page - this is a big problem. The key here is consistancy. Your dog will never learn what you and your husband expect from him. Your pup doesn't care about lost attention because your husband is giving him attention for nipping - that is why it continues. I understand that Border Collie's (and BC mixes) can sometimes be very nippy - they have a stong "drive" when it comes to practicing many behaviors. This makes it even more important that you start off on the right foot and teach the dog what behaviors are acceptable and what are not. Many BC's and BC mixes are given up to shelters because as the dog becomes older, undesired behaviors become seemingly uncontainable. These "undesired" behaviors were "cute" when the dog was a pup, but a 1-2 year old B.C. mix that nips is no longer "cute", its annoying and can be down right scary. Plus this behavior can be self-reinforcing (chemically) if the behavior is allowed to continue into adulthood.

Try to get your husband on the same page with you. Say "ouch", turn around, leave the room (use a baby gate or close the door) and withdraw all the attention from the dog. The dog will realize that the "party" ends when nipping begins!

Good luck,

[imported_ohtm27]

Hello,

I was searching and found a site that was very helpful to me. It may not be to you or you may disagree. However, I have a 7 yr. old that keeps getting nipped by my GSD that is 5mo. The website is www.leerburg.com it states when a puppy is mouthy or nipping to grab them by the back of the scruff and gently shake and say "NO" or "NO BITE". The reasoning behind this is that the mother's to get a pups attention grabs by the back of the neck and shakes until the pup yelps. When the mother has had enough. I tried this and it helped alot. It may not be for every dog, but I found it very useful. The site also gives training hints, discipline corrections, health information. I was pleased to see so much information on one site.

[Eric Vecc]

I would be very careful about grabbing a dog by the scruff and "shaking", even if it is gentle. This method could turn a dog against you and will make him fearful of you. Now I am not 100% for strictly positive reinforcement but the corrections should not be fearful to the dog. I use timeouts, yelping or end of play. But they need to be used in the proper way. For example, if you are in your backyard and he nipps, you scoop him up, walk into the house, down the hallway and place him in the cage, he has now forgetten all about nipping you and has no idea why you look mad or why he is in the cage. (also, to make life easier for you, NEVER use your cage for timeouts. Use a bathroom or unused bedroom - 30 secs is all he needs - any longer, he will forget why he's there). Corrections need to be immediate. Yelping and walking away is the fasted response you can have. Immedietely seperate yourself from him - only for 30 secs or so. This is similar to a timeout for him. Always end the game when he does it. Connect this with the yelp so he knows why the game ended.

[imported_ratchford]

We're having the same problems at the moment, our 3 month old flat coated retriver loves to nip and chew on me and no matter how much I say "ouch" or ignore her, it makes little difference! She does top when you say "NO!", but it seems to have had little effect in the nipping to start with.
I've also tried grabbing her by the scruff of the neck ( but not shaking her), but I really don't want my dog to be afraid of me!


Someody told me I should bite my puppy on her ear, but agin i don't really feel comfartable wih this!

[Renee]

Hey guys-

I would avoid all the scruff shaking and muzzle grabbing - this is not a good technique for any dog! That is an excellent recipe for disaster. Puppies and dog who are treated in this way can become fearful and aggressive - I've see this happen time and time again.

Dogs don't see the world in terms of right or wrong - they are not cognitively capable of that. The see the world in terms of safe and dangerous. You will become a dangerous entity to them - not a very wise way to raise a dog. Dogs are fight or flight animals. By treating them in this aversive manner, they may very well bite you or become scared.

Also, ohtm27, you have a child in the house. If you continue to practice these types of methods, you are putting your child at risk of getting bitten...

I also looked at Leerburg website and I'm not very impressed. I don't see any credentials there - no education, no certifications. I also wasn't impressed with the training articles - they are poorly written. I think this person doesn't really understand learning, pack, dominance theories and really doesn't understand aggression. This person uses prongs on dogs with aggression - not very smart (worst of all, this person lives in my state)! Anyone who doesn't understand something as basic that, I have no words for...I guess that is why I didn't see any credentials on the website.

[Jody Hayes]

our Beagle is now 8months old and does not nip us anymore. I felt very foolish doing this, but...I started yipping very loudly like another puppy would whenever Ace nipped me. He didn't get that sort of playfulness w/ his siblings so he never learned his lesson in nipping others that he should have when he nipped others dogs. He doesn't nip anymore. Next time he nips you, yelp loudly, give him a toy to chew on, and quit playing w/ him for a bit.

[zok]

We did (and do) the yipping thing with our dogs and it works really well. When Piper nips we yell 'Yipe' in a high pitched voice and she stops immediately and just looks at us. When Ruby was a puppy, she used to lick where she had nipped as though she were trying to heal the boo-boo.

We found this technique on a website that provided training in association with ‘puppy psychology’ and we even instruct our guests to 'Yipe', when they visit, if Piper decides to nip (it works for them too).