Hi all! I have a 14 month old GSD that only thinks about playing and is so mouthy! I am sick to death of it! Everytime he is in the truck, and I go to get in, he nips at me (never to hurt, only to play or, I am beginning to think, because he wants me to stick around him longer). He only does this very good naturedly, but he does it to me and my husband, (not to my little girl though?), and pretty much anyone who wants to pet him!

Any ideas on why he is doing this and what I can do to stop him? I have used an E collar in the past, and even that did not work. When he is inside, he is always in his crate (and always has been). I don't even have to tell him to get in, he just goes. Yesterday, he spent the whole day with me (since the power was out for over 10 hours, and I got a little scared after all the batteries died and it was just black) in the house and didn't nip at me once. He is calm in the house (oddly, since he is never calm, lol!). He laid on the floor by the couch and stayed there. But sometimes, even though he nips good naturedly, he can nip to hurt. It really hurts sometimes. Or other times he just snaps his jaws and makes that horrible sound. He has never ever growled at me, or my husband or any other human being for as long as I have had him (since 8 weeks old). He is the friendliest most outgoing dog I have ever seen or known. He just loves people and especially kids. But like I said, he'll nip to play with us but he'll let my 18 month old sit on him like a horse and he just lays there, so good. He has never mouthed my baby. I don't know what the deal is. Sorry this is such a novel, I just wanted to let you all know that he is very good natured all the time, and I have spent the entire time he has been here with me building his prey drive. Did I overdue it? I am going to use him as a SAR dog (he is an amazing tracker!!!) as soon as we get certified.

Thanks so very much for all of your help!!

Katrina Cleveland

Sounds like he's being obnoxious and telling the pack leader when he wants his attention. A pack leader would never tolerate that.
When he's being demanding, I would verbally correct him and place him in sit stay or down stay. Act aloof and then only pet him after he is calm and when you choose. The longer he is impatient, the longer he stays. Pet him calmly upon the release or while he is still in the stay. Making a big fuss over him will make him that much more anxious for atttention.

Let him know nothing is for free and nothing comes when he says. Make sure you are also practicing good pack leadership. Good luck!
Alison Voore

Thank you! That has been helpful. I do practice good leadership, I believe. I let him out, I never go out with him, though. He is never ever around my other dog under any circumstances. He eats in his kennel, which is where he sleeps, as well. He has never been in any of our bedrooms (only the living room), and has not been on the couches or anything like that. Once I feed him, I never take it away from him. I can, he wont growl or anything, a couple of times I have had to (like cleaning his kennel out for a trip) and he is very tolerant of it. I feed him again immediately after I clean his kennel.

Usually, when he goes to bite me, I hit him on the nose and yell at him. I can place him either of the stays and he he will still nip even while lying down. He doesn't usually nip while lying down, but he becomes very mouthy then (while lying down). He will lay on his back when I yell at him for it. He comes from very good working lines and for a very long time I thought he would outgrow it. His parents are from Germany and going back several generations they are all working dogs in Schutzhund or police dogs. I know that this can affect him, but he should've outgrown it by now. I have been working with him every day for the past week and the more time I spend with him, the more mellow he becomes. He is really a good dog, though. This is his only flaw in him. He is so perfect! Well, he is cryptorchid, too, or monorchid, or whatever it is when he only has one teste. His other one didn't just drop, it is not there. I will neuter him at 2 years old, to prevent the cancer.

Thanks again guys!

Ditto the pack leader thoughts. You and your husband don't have his respect as pack leader - and he won't "outgrow" that! Would you let one of your kids walk up and slap you? Would you expect them to outgrow that behavior on their own? Since he clearly doesn't understand his rank in the pack, it's only a matter of time 'til he "playfully" nips the kids and bites other people when he's excited. I know. I had one of these "teen-agers."

Got my current GSD from rescue when she was about 1-1/2. I called her the "drive-by nipper." When we first got her, she loved to nip/snap when playing and excited. She'd go for whatever was close - hands, arms, pants, heels, etc. I just kept working with "No Bite!" and corrections to teach her that was unacceptable behavior. Playtime and excited activity came to a halt if there was any nipping, and there'd be a time out. It helped to have a short lead on her to grab for corrections as invariably the biting came when she was running around and excited and she hadn't learned "Come" yet. Trying to chase her around for a correction was useless and would just get get her more excited. And, if it's part of playing, you can redirect some energy to a toy. It'll also help some to burn off as much energy as possible with daily long walks or runs. Yelling doesn't work as he doesn't understand English - or German. I wouldn't resort to an e-collar for this problem, either. A calm consistent approach to timely corrections will take care of it.

Mike

Since he still nips at you while under obedience commands...the little stinker!... Grab his collar and take him away from you then ask for a stay and let him sit over there and control himself. Go back to your original seat or place away from him and ignore him until you choose to pet him.
Yelling is still attention, so if he "delights" in it, try being silent or using just one stern, verbal sound. (I never use the word "no" since we humans say it so much, so I use a loud "ah-ah" sound- seems to work better too.) Also, physical corrections, like smacking the nose, I find don't really work well enough in this situation. I would concentrate on retraining him rather than punishing him.

To also help, call him over randomly through out the day and ask him to sit, then love him up with all the petting, or brush him. Before petting he has to sit and remain polite, plus it will fufill his need for attention. If he starts nipping out of excitement, verbally correct and end the fun by putting him out or ask for the sit/down stay "control yourself" routine.
Alison Voore

Thanks guys, it helps a lot. I will try to keep in mind what you've said. Another thing, he is very obedient in the other categories. He sits and stays under distractions, blah blah blah........ It's usually only when we are walking away from him and I guess he doesn't think we should.

How do I gain his respect as a pack leader? Usually my husband is not the one to deal with this problem, he is my dog. I deal with him only, usually. I know that sounds bad, but my husband is not into dogs like I am and doesn't care about training that much. He is more into hunting and stuff.

Thanks again, guys! It is highly appreciated!

Here's a "crash course" in pack leadership...

http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

This routine can be done with a new dog OR with an older one who's getting out of hand in some dominance-related areas -- it's basically a non-confrontational protocol & works wonders <:-)