We adopted a 3 mos. old Shepherd mix from a shelter two months ago, and he has been a nipper since day one. We have tried every method to stop the nipping, but they all seem to lead to him escalating (even a redirect of throwing his toy leads him to run back and jump up and nip/bite). So from throwing the ball or the frisbee, we have to try to do calm things only. He can be well behaved, gets plenty of walks and is house and crate trained. We try to give him some freedom indoors to play but end up having to put the leash on him every time due to his nipping. Here's the real issue, when he picks up something during his walk or is corrected, he challenges us, more so myself than my wife. Try NO, nothing, snap of the collar, still trying and jumping, nothing except snarling, then a doubled level snap (per Ed Frawley's writings) and that seems to work most of the time. What also will work most of the time is putting my thumb under his tongue. We were hoping for some improvement by now but nothing.

Bought three videos that arrived today that we hope will help, Basic Dog Obedience, Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs and Establishing Pack Structure.

We have him enrolled in puppy class, we had private sessions for positive reinforcements training and still he nips/bites. I am quite tired of getting scratched and scraped up and my wife is too. He doesn't seem vicious, but he does escalate rather quickly.

Been reading up on people's experiences here and were hoping one of the methods recommended would work, but when they do its for about a day and then we are back to square one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Franco, Welcome to the forum.

You have a normal 3 month old pup. Knowing when your pup was removed from its litter would be interesting to know, since puppies removed too early do not learn some important lessons in regard to nipping and biting... Not that it would change anything, but would be interesting to know.

Keep tugs, old dish towels, etc... on you at all times and when the pup goes to nip, give him something to bite instead of yourself. There are some good soft puppy tugs on this site which would work great, but you can also roll up old towels or knot them and use those as well.

Walks for the dog are great, but a tired pup is a good pup, so make sure he is getting enough exercise. At that age, I had a long pole with a light rope attached with a stuffed animal (duck) tied to the end. I would run around the yard (yep, I looked like an idiot) but Falcon would run and chase me as long as I did that. It really burned off more energy than just walking. When he runs back to nip after chasing the frisbee, have that towel out to let him grab and play with that.

I personally would be careful about correcting a puppy this young and work really hard to "out think" and "out whit" this active guy. This is a process Franco - not an event. The private training and puppy classes are really to train YOU how to continue working with the dog every day, numerous times a day. At three months of age, your pup is just beginning to learn!

This is stage, and a frustrating one at that, but he will outgrow it. If you do a search on "nipping and biting puppies" you will find tons of posts which will have more ideas and suggestions. Hang in there!

I agree with Barbara 100%.

Unfortunately in the vast majority of cases like this, it is the human that is escalating the nipping into a frenzy unknowingly. Often times, people are lured into a wrestling match with their pups when the puppies get mouthy with them. Don't struggle, wrestle, or try to overpower. This just gets them even more amped up. Simply get up, walk away, and do something boring. Don't let yourself get pulled into his little mouthy reindeer games. Run your puppy's little fuzzy pants off at least 3 times a day. Get a chuckit, get a bite rag, get something to wear his butt out. Give him the means to satisfy his biting instinct with the bite rag or tug, that way he won't pester you with his teeth so much. But under no circumstances should you let him get you worked up into a fluster over biting. Be calm and intentional. End the game before it gets into a frenzy.

Ok, understood. We will try to rig up something to keep him entertained outside on his walks. Problem on his walks is that when he gets into something and told no and tugged away from a bad area (overgrown grass he desperately wants to get to that are full of ticks), he will struggle but then submit. Once he has submitted, a few minutes or paces and he will start jumping up to bite us, and using the leash to hold him off ends up with him dangling on the end of the leash as we try to remain calm. Any suggestions? We've tried to distract him with a toy or treat when he does that, but he is already wound up and has no interest in anything but biting at either of us (walking him at that time).

Interestingly enough, if its a new place he has never been, he will not do that. No matter how many times we have to pull him back from a shrub or back onto the trail.

There are numerous articles on this website that you might find useful:


http://leerburg.com/bitingpuppies.htm


http://leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm


http://leerburg.com/socializepuppies.htm

The rest of puppy articles

http://leerburg.com/articles.htm#PupSect

and the rest of it

http://leerburg.com/articles.htm

Try picking up the pace when you see him get interested in something. I don't let my dog nose around, sniff, or investigate on our walks. I want him trucking along at my side, ears back, staring at me or ahead. When I see him get "in the zone" I slow it down. Reward for eye contact. If he bites at the leash or starts to fuss, do a 180 quickly and march in the other direction to get him focused on the walk at not at gnawing on the leash or the hands.

Sounds to me like you've got a puppy that has learned to be pushy and demanding. I don't think he's aggressive, he's just plain too young. You need to get some discipline worked in to your daily routine. I would keep him tethered indoors, make him sit and wait for food, and otherwise control every aspect of his life. On the same token, since you've got such a driven energetic pup, you need to work in a heck of a lot of play too. This play needs to be on YOUR terms and not that of the puppy. For example, every time he gets mouthy, don't get out the tug or take him outside- that will just encourage it. You've got to squash this attitude right away.

when I replied to you at first, my dog was pacing, poking me in the butt with his beak, and driving me up the wall- it was a rainy day today and he REALLY needed to get out. In the time between my first response and this one, I took my dog outside and played Chuckit with him till his tongue was a foot long. Now he's laying flat on the floor in another room, minding his own beeswax. Problem solved.

Time to get military in your home I think! (But don't forget to play, play, play!)

Edited by Jessica Pedicord (06/09/2010 06:50 PM)
Edit reason: I'm just an idiot.

Yep - everything above. ALSO - MARKER TRAINING! Read, read again and begin implementing (IMHO). When he begins forging on walks and not listening, you can then say "touch" (after training this) and hold out your hand, redirecting his attention to you and getting a YUMMY treat for doing so. Pro-active. You have a strong willed pup which you can train/lure into a great, intelligent dog. Don't squelch it - train and redirect all that energy into learning what you WANT him to do. Marker training. Tomorrow.

 Quote: Franco Saiano

Ok, understood. We will try to rig up something to keep him entertained outside on his walks. Problem on his walks is that when he gets into something and told no and tugged away from a bad area (overgrown grass he desperately wants to get to that are full of ticks), he will struggle but then submit. Once he has submitted, a few minutes or paces and he will start jumping up to bite us, and using the leash to hold him off ends up with him dangling on the end of the leash as we try to remain calm. Any suggestions? We've tried to distract him with a toy or treat when he does that, but he is already wound up and has no interest in anything but biting at either of us (walking him at that time).

Interestingly enough, if its a new place he has never been, he will not do that. No matter how many times we have to pull him back from a shrub or back onto the trail.

He sounds bored, from this description.

 Quote: barbara schuler

Yep - everything above. ALSO - MARKER TRAINING! Read, read again and begin implementing (IMHO). When he begins forging on walks and not listening, you can then say "touch" (after training this) and hold out your hand, redirecting his attention to you and getting a YUMMY treat for doing so. Pro-active. You have a strong willed pup which you can train/lure into a great, intelligent dog. Don't squelch it - train and redirect all that energy into learning what you WANT him to do. Marker training. Tomorrow.

This is a 5 Star answer!!!

Greatly appreciate all the advice, definitely putting them into action. We were marker training but he was more interested in the treat than listening since he felt he was the alpha. Working on that, with the help of Ed's DVD. Also, today when he went to jump up, I didn't get loud or worked up about it, I told him not and used the leash to keep him away. After a few jumps he realized it was not getting him the reaction he was looking for and moved on. At first he didn't like the faster pace, but after a temper tantrum that quickly dissipated when I didn't react, he picked up the pace walking.