Thank you to all who read and responded to my post. I will try and describe my situation a bit more clearly. I am still in MN living in an apartment a few minutes from my daughter on the farm. I go there several times a day now to exercise and spend time with Elsa. Because of an unexpected hospitalization of my husband some days had passed when I was not there. My daughter and fiance cared for the dog but did not follow the same procedures that I did. She spent time playing with their dog and racing in and out of the house.
Before this summer, when I was in NYC I walked her for about 40 minutes in the morning. I worked on general manners on the leash, no pulling, sitting and waiting at the intersections. In the evening I took her to the Park on a long line and allowed her time to sniff and move freely and practiced some recalls. After the 2 nipping episodes I was somewhat nervous and kept an eye out for folks that might have wanted to reach out to her uninvited even though that is not what triggered those interactions. I am thinking that if I take her back with me I will use a muzzle when we are out so that I can relax and see how she reacts to people who are close to her. I have begun working with her to retrieve so that we can have some fun and she can get some more exercise. Our German Shorthair was able to go off leash with an e-collar as a back up during the hours when dogs are permitted off leash in Central Park-before 9:00 in the morning. I don't know if that is a realistic expectation for this dog in the future.
I think I am trying to decide how unusual these experiences are with young dogs and to gain a better understanding of how to manage and train so that the dog can have a happy life and that we continue to enjoy her. I think the use of the muzzle would go a long way to ensuring that outcome.

While the muzzle will provide you with a sense of security, I'm not sure that it will help Elsa to feel secure. If she does have some type of fear issue, I would work on fixing that.

I've seen people muzzle a dog and think all their problems were solved. Nothing could be further from the truth. They still wind up with skittish dogs that they can't trust.

To establish a strong bond with a dog and be a good pack leader, your dog needs to feel secure and protected.

Suzanne some of the ebooks (most are free) and dvds would be a great help to you. Check out the ebook on marker training.

This girl needs more exercise, structured exercise not just running around the farm, than she seems to be getting from your posts. She also will need more than you were giving her in NYC.

Being a herding/working breed she also requires jobs to do and mental stimulation. This can be achieved through daily obedience training, trick training, training her to help around the house/farm, the use of nilif (nothing in life is free), agility training etc.

I think using a muzzle (basket-style) would be a great idea especially if it allows you to relax and concentrate on training and desensitizing her. Dogs pick up on our tensions and body language and react to those. so if you're more relaxed and confident so will she be.

I don't think I would put a muzzle on her Suzanne. From what you describe, it doesnt sound like anything so terrible that you can't take care of it with some training and a little management.

Don't tie her out anymore. Thats been covered. I would just keep in the back of my mind that almost anything could be a trigger and handle her accordingly because its her perception,not your's. Thats how I would relax because then I wouldnt be spending every minute trying to figure out whats going on.

Don't put her in a position where some goofy little thing could make her feel threatened. You mentioned weak nerves. I think thats a good description.

A little distance from people, teach her to casually lay down, on leash but off to the side where she can relax. Ask people to please ignore her, you're working on manners. Teach her to not go foward to people. When they do that, they're deciding whether the person is a threat or a friend.

Dogs like her, or at least what she sounds like in your posts, are happy to have the attention of their owner and don't need everyone in the world petting them. She's only 10mos, I think you'll see some good changes in her as she grows up as long as you keep working with her.

Hello Suzanne,

I agree with Steve and I think I share his confusion? I don't really know if Steve is confused; but I am and I like company.

A 10 month old GSD "nipping" does not set off alarms which make me think muzzle, or putting to sleep. There is definitely work to do; needs of the dog to be met both physical and mental, boundaries set, obedience practiced and perfected. The typical stuff a young dog needs to know to respond appropriately and take her lead from you.

My confusion is; "Nipping" In my mind I am picturing your daughter walking by and the pup's prey drive is triggered and she can't help herself and goes for the ankles especially if your daughter was hesitant and going back and forth before she walked by her. That is a completely different scenario from her showing aggression by lunging, and growling with hair up either intimidating your daughter or after going for the ankle slinking away.

The man approaching her when she was tied out; is a bad scenario for any dog. I wouldn't condemn her for her response; just don't let it happen again.

And finally the finger "nipping" sounds pretty non-violent too; but not being there makes it difficult to judge what her motivations were.

I guess what I am getting at is if this is a simple case of a dog lacking confidence and not knowing the rules and actually just nipping as you describe; I'm in agreement with Steve. If however; the nipping is actually aggression followed by biting; I would say find a trainer who specializes in aggression not sure if the one you worked with originally did. You wouldn't want to work on it without help from a professional I believe that would be your safest and fastest way to getting the results you want.

I just want to say; I think she'll be fine; IMO you don't have an insurmountable problem. But you might if you don't post a picture of her

bump to current

 Quote: suzanne johnson

He had stopped to visit with a friend and when the man turned to go Elsa nipped at his fingertips.

My very hesitant daughter wanted to pass by and when she did, the dog nipped at her ankles.

Daughter told him to stop and go around. Elsa then nipped at his thigh.

From what I am seeing, in most of these cases, the dog nipped as people were retreating or walking away from her?

A dog that is fearful or lacking confidence in a situation and feels pressure will resort to nipping at something while it's retreating. Kind of like "yeah that's right, just keep moving buddy!!!"

before I go further, i want to make sure that's what is happening.
The dog is nipping at these people when they turn to leave or walk away?

Bumping again .... several people concerned about this thread ....

Just wanted to comment that I bet this can be an absolutely terrific NYC dog whom you can walk in Central Park and not be bothered by anyone. I bet she just has some manners and boundaries to learn and then she will be a great dog for your family in the city.
On the farm there is a little "go native" mentality, we chase cats, squirrels, the UPS mans
truck, all manner of things. Very empowering. Think adolescents alone on some adventure, at the beach, unsupervised, first year of college, parent free.
I think you can get her back under control and she can be a nice dog, a long term dog.

Well said Betty! And I wholeheartedly agree.