Please forgive if my terminology is incorrect. My male rescued GSD, neutered approx 4-5 years old, has a habit of nipping with his teeny tiny incisor teeth.

This behavior is very situation specific. It always happens when I return home to my apartment after an extended (4-5 hour) period away. The dog will roll on his back, tail wagging and in every nuance inviting and eager for affection. I give him a few minutes of tummy rub/snuggling during which he sometimes nips, always on my arm or hand not on say, my face. My response is alway to pull my hand away and give an exagerrated "OUCH" after which he will "kiss" ie lick the area he was just nipping.

The nips never break the skin or even really hurt much. He is in now way a dog that has dominance issues with me. Is this a behavior that should concern me? If so, what do you suggest I do?

Thanks,
Brock

My 1 year old GSD does this when he wants something, I corrected this behavior when he was a young pup so he never nips at ME, but he'll nip at bed sheets, pillows etc n tug at them when he wants me to chase him, or wants me to play tug with him, or even when he wants me to take him out so he can go poop. When he sees my mother, he gets all excited n runs circles around her trying to nip at her legs, he's trying to get her attention to play, he stops the nipping when she picks up a toy and throws it for him to chase.

In my personal opinion, if he seems playful, odds are he just wants to play and is excited to see you, if you find this annoying, I solved this problem with my pup at a young age by immediately telling him "NO" and pushing him down to the ground and staring at him, once he gets the idea that he did something wrong (a few seconds), I continue loving on him and playing with him so he knows I'm not mad but his behavior was unacceptable. I only had to do this 3 or 4 times when he was 4 months old. If it doesn't bother you, then I don't think its anything to worry about, if you are worried about him doing this around young children, then correct him for it.