thank you, everyone! today, for example, while playing with her, she was very nippy, and i tried to redirect and it seemed like she just came right back at my hand. and, when i say 'ouch', she definitely gets more wild. i even tried holding her up in the air and saying 'no' like ed frawley says on his puppy 8 wks. to 8 mths. dvd...just started that today, and no results yet, but maybe eventually. i'll try more of the redirecting and see what happens. it's just crazy how wild and crazy she gets (even kind of gets growly)...i hope it's not something i'm doing wrong. i'm trying so hard to follow everything that everyone says on here as far as feeding, schedule, crate, pottying, etc., but i'm still nervous...i just have a decent-sized fear that i'm going to do something wrong...oh well. again, thanks so much for all of your help, guys!

Dear Diana: I just want to encourage you, that even if you do something wrong, it will be fixable. I used to worry alot myself, and I found out, being only human, I will make mistakes, but I can fix them and learn from them. The little pup is so adorable! I just love puppies!!! Anyway, I think you will do fine, just take one thing at a time and take your time, don't be in a rush and you will do fine.
May God bless you

Having dogs is a lot like having kids...you do your level best but you will make mistakes. And learning from those mistakes will make you a better owner/handler.

The nice thing about dogs is they are pretty forgiving of our errors and, unlike kids, you won't embarrass them, they're always happy to be seen out in public with you, and you won't have to hear later how you completely screwed up their life.

Hi. My GSD pup has very high prey drive and was a nipper extraordinaire. Never chewed up a thing in the house (thankfully) but would nip like a little devil. We tried the redirecting, the OUCH, the YIP, you name it, we tried it. Then I mentioned it to my breeder as she raises and competes in ScH. She told me do to the following since I have no intention of doing any bite training, and just want a family dog...and by the way, my dog is not SOFT as Ed would define...so this approach worked and took the drive right out of him:

First of all, our dog was always on leash (drag leash) in the house starting at 8 weeks - if you read Ed's stuff or watch his videos, you will know why and probably already do this.

When he nipped, I grabbed his muzzle in my hand and said calmly but firmly "NO BITE" and released him. Then looked away, aloof for a bit. I never engaged in play when he came to me for it. Only on my terms/when I invited the play. Once in a while, he would challenge my NO BITE by what I call "talking back" = nipping me back when I released his muzzle. I just knotched it up a level and repeated the NO BITE (held it a bit longer, crated him, and then really ignored him for a bit). That usually did the trick. He won't nip us now. Wouldn't cross his mind.

Final thought, I would highly recommend Ed's videos on raising your puppy 8 wks-8months, as well as his newer video on Pack Structure. They made a big difference for us and our working line GSD is now 14 months and on his way to becoming a fabulous family dog.

Hope that helps. Good luck and have fun.

oh my gosh! that is interesting to read! my husband and i were just talking about that tonight. he wondered what would happen if we grabbed her muzzle and said 'no bite'. i didn't know, and i wondered if it would damage her or something...well, he tried it tonight, and she seemed to respond very well to him. she was licking him afterwards. well, then i tried it, and it didn't go so well. she did what you were talking about, mel, where she came back at me and kind of growled and nipped...he says that i must not have the pack structure down and she doesn't look to me as a pack leader. is he right? makes sense, i guess. i have ed's puppy 8wks. to 8mths. video, but maybe it would be good to get the establishing pack structure video...hmmm...i guess i'll go order it! thanks for all the help!

I love Ed's eBook "The Ground Work On Becoming Your Puppies Pack Leader". It realy helped me with my puppie.

Hi Diana: It will always help to read more on establishing pack structure and/or order the video as well. The video does not address nipping back in pups, but Ed has e-books and other information on this site you can reference.

I'm no pro like some of the others on this site, but I can tell you what I would do if it were my pup: The second she "talks back" move your body towards her (claim space from her) as you grab her muzzle again (try to be calm/no anger/frustration) and firmly say NO BITE. Hold it a bit longer than last time (~3 seconds); she may even squeal although you are not hurting her. My pup always squealed like a banshee! If she doesn't talk back, stop playing anyhow, ignore her for about 15 minutes. She gets no attention from you (or anyone in family) if she nips like that. If she talks back/nips/growls again after the NO BITE correction, just pick her up and put her in her crate. Again, ignore her totally, remain completely aloof for longer this time. You are using the crate to control what she does when, to show that you will do things on your terms, as well as isolating her socially - these are all going to help establish your position.

Good luck. I was at such a loss over this very same issue when he was a puppy; and so worried, like you, that I would do the wrong thing and ruin him in some way! Just as the others here said, they are amazingly resilient even if you do make mistakes along the way.