Sandy,
What was your change of attitude? Just to understand that he was going to nip you because he was a puppy, and to tough it out?

Fair warning... be careful of your fingers if she tries to jump and bite your hands-result when my gsd was 4 mo old and teething was 6-10 stitches on my fiance's pinky finger and 10 days house arrest for my dog, b/c animal control didn't think that proof of rabies and that the dog was ours was good enough(had to fill out a report in the ER, ridiculous, but we lived )

 Quote: heather mckenzie

Sandy,
What was your change of attitude? Just to understand that he was going to nip you because he was a puppy, and to tough it out?

No, actually that's what got me into trouble by allowing it. A mistake nip, accidental, no big deal. My problem with my GSD was tougher and became a big deal. You received some good suggestions and if they work for you, that is great. I'll just talk about my change in attitude, not other techniques.

With my pup Lear (now 11 mos old):
I was acting too soft for his temperament. I had to be totally confident, in charge and act in charge.

I had to be bold and not show apprehension about getting bit (more like getting ripped with those razor sharp baby teeth). It's empowering to a pup for their human to show apprehension in the face of their playful biting.

He had to be always on leash, outside and inside while I was addressing the biting issue.

I had to check my demeanor when being bit- was I nervous, apprehensive about being bit, moving my hands around (makes prey drive kick in so not something you want to do when being bit), empowering him by moving away or moving back instead of forward, did I show him boldness or did I back down, was I getting frustrated and showing him that, if so did it make him worse (the answer is YES, it makes them worse due to insecurity).

Our emotions have a strong influence on how a dog acts. Was I getting emotional ("getting my feelings hurt") when he would bite? Was I weak, was I strong? What was I portraying to him, weakness or strength? Equally important, what were his emotions when he would bite? Was he playing in prey drive, was he trying to get attention, was he unsure of our relationship due to my frustration? Yes, all of those. Was he at fault? Absolutely NOT. It was nothing more than handler error, my error, my fault.

It was me that had to change in order to effect a change in him. He was a baby dog, I was an adult human - not hard to figure out who's at fault. It was my fault that he turned the normal puppy prey drive into an issue of dominating me because I let it go on for so long. I changed what needed to be changed after evaluating myself. Part of this change involved getting a dominant dog collar, not something I would recommend with the age of your puppy (on Leerburg site). It was unfair to him because it was my fault and I felt horridly about it, but it was necessary after his dominance kicked in. At least it didn't take many corrections with that collar.

I really don't like to put all this out there in public cause it shows how dumb I was, but if it will help you or someone else, I'll take the chance of appearing dumb. I could get away with being dumb with other GSDs I had because they were different dogs, but Lear had to wise me up. By the way, he's a great dog, brave and fearless, strong and bold, and a noble dog...all those things he was born with and showing by his actions when he was a young puppy. Hindsight is a good teacher.

All of it could have probably been avoided had I never allowed him to bite me from the beginning. He's a tough dog so has not suffered for having to go through my completely changing a habit I allowed. Other dogs may not fare as well so the earlier the change in owner's attitude, the better for the puppy.

Sandy – good post on changing attitude according to circumstance.

And remember, you are only dumb if you realize it and don’t do anything to change.

I TOTALLY agree with the change of attitude. Attitude seems to be a big component in being effective. I had the same issues with my pup. He's always been a little OCD. He totally fixated on my every move and always trying to grab my hands, legs, arms....you name it. Exercise and training (as much as a pup can take, anyway) helped a lot, redirecting to a toy helped a little. What really worked was a strong "no" with me holding his collar and preventing his movement until he calmed down/quit nipping. But I really believe it was my attitude around the command more than the command itself that got his attention; kind of a 'GAME OVER' flavor to it. VERY good post, Sandy. I only have to look my pup in the eye now and he quits the nonsense. I would never think to put my hands in his mouth, since I like them roughly the size and shape that they are .

Sandy, thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. I notice that I am doing a lot of the things you were when Dori is trying to bite me. I act aprehensive. I back up from her and I definitely feel like she is more in control than I am. She has even jumped up and bit at my nose a few times. I guess I just don't know what to do to *make* her stop. Sometimes I will say "NO BITE" and hold her really still until she calms done. But then when I let go, she goes right back to biting. I have tried holding her snout, looking her in the eyes, and saying firmly "NO BITE" but then when I let go, she does it again. I have tried rolling her on her belly and holding her down until her body relaxes. The whole time I am holding her, her nose is all wrinkly and she is biting it my hands. Again, even after she relaxes her body and I let go, she does it again. I am trying to be "in charge" but she just wrinkles her nose and keeps biting!!

Heather - Sandy's absolutely right and explained it beautifully.

At 4 months old it shouldn't be too hard to get her under control. Have you tried grabbing her cheeks, lifting her front off the ground and forcing her to be still?
Don't let her go too soon - really hold her there until she calms down. It might take 30 seconds and it might take 2 minutes. Whatever you do, don't let her go while she's still squirming and struggling (or "wrinkling" her face ).
If you do, you're just empowering her dominant attitude by teaching her that if she fights hard and long enough, that she'll win.

Of course you need the right "attitude" along with the correction for the pup to respect your authority (what Sandy said). You may have to change the way you live with the puppy (make sure everything is done on YOUR terms, not hers and control everything she does).

Ban her from the furniture, from the bedroom, the kitchen etc. if you haven't already (those should only be earned privileges for a well-behaved dog). Don't give her free access to food or toys - make sure she realizes that everything comes from you.
In fact, don't give her free affection anymore. Make her earn everything she gets from you. Act aloof and superior around her and only give her food, affection, toys when she does something for you (sit or lie down or come on command).

Always have her on leash inside the home and supervize her - if you're not there to watch her, crate her.
Obviously, she should always be on leash when outdoors. A long-line works great for that. It's amazing how the most out of control dogs will learn to respect their owners when the owners step up and control EVERY SINGLE aspect of the dog's life.

That kind of structure, along with a strong alpha attitude should help a lot.

If you're not strong enough to correct/immobilize the puppy for biting you (or if she's really too wild), maybe you can introduce her to a prong collar. If it were me, I'd wait another couple of months before that... however if you just lack the physical strength to control her or are simply not a natural leader, a prong might be a good solution.

I'm not saying use the prong for obedience, for walks, for not paying attention etc. That's too much to expect from a 4-month-old puppy. But one good pop on the prong when she's wild and biting you WILL get her attention.

Just remember to always stay cool and not to get excited or annoyed when delivering a correction
Watch a program on how wolves interact with their young... that will give you a clear picture on how swift, strong and un-emotional a correction is supposed to be (and how effective it is when done correctly).

Good luck. Sounds like you have one fun puppy!
Are you trying to channel her energy and drives into training?

Working on building drive and focus should be great for your girl, might want to look into Ed's DVD on that!

Thank you so much for your helpuful response. I have tried the cheek thing, but she seems to start biting again as soon as I let her go. BUT.. I think I am letting her go too quickly. I only hold her there for maybe 20 seconds, tops. I need to hold her until she is calm and her face isn't all wrinkled and teeth bared! I will try that tonight.
I am working on her seeing me as the alpha. I am making her sit while I go out the door first, and I go down the stairs first too. But I had not thought about blocking off certain rooms, or giving her her toys. Right now they are strewn all over the floor! I am going to ask my husband to take a video sometime and maybe I can post it here and I can see what I'm doing wrong. Thanks again for your response; it was very helpful!
P.S. I'm glad YOUR dog doesn't have a biting problem Those are some sharp chompers!

Hehehe. Heather, my male also went through that stage when he was 5-6 months old

The good news is that it only took one prong correction to stop an "episode". After 3 or 4 episodes of crazy biting and being corrected he stopped. (I used a prong because he was already too big and strong at 5 months for me to immobilize effectively )

He's been an angel ever since and he's now 13 months old.

Trust me, you'll be glad to have corrected this early on and not when she's an adult and could potentially do more damage.

I can tell you that had I not gotten my male's "challenges" under control when he was 6 months old, I would have a hell of a hard time with him now.
He's 96 lbs, very powerful and when excited and in drive can barely feel a strong prong correction.

The early foundation work is why we have such a great relationship now. He's actually quite sensitive to voice corrections and it only takes a NO to make him stop whatever he's doing (including chasing after a rabbit, or trying to body-slam into my older female).


Anyway, good luck and have fun with your girl.

Yep, it takes quite a while of immobilizing before a pup that age will give in (especially if they're used to winning!!!).

I hope you have strong arms - you certainly will by the time you're done raising her!! Cute girl though, she looks so sweet in that photo