Correction collar?

[diane silver]

I'm hoping for some guidance here. Emma is just about a year old (June 2nd), and is an absolute love; HOWEVER, she has a habit, only when excited and especially around children (my grandsons included), of jumping, nipping at their clothing, nipping at their hands, and just being very hard to control, especially if the child is running. Today at the park, she did it to a little boy and grabbed his hand - luckily, she didn't hurt him, but I was mortified. Some of the other dog owners suggested that maybe I should try an E-collar, and just try beginning with a "light" vibration/shock, which really upsets me :( Does anyone have any suggestions here? Thanks.

[Lynne B]

I don't believe in e-collars, I think that they can have a horrible adverse effect on the dog including making a sensitive, reactive dog turn from excited to aggressive. I know some people disagree with me, but I feel very strongly that they have no place in puppy training- maybe hunters can use them successfully for a long recall, but dang I just don't think it's a good idea to cause pain to a puppy to get it to listen to you
http://www.hollysden.com/say-no-to-shock-collars.htm#The_Use_of_Sho...

[Sessa]

I'm gonna approach this a bit differently...
just for the sake of doing so...LOL!

Doodles have retrieving instincts in them from both parent breeds...this makes them VERY mouthy dogs, its a natural thing....think of their mouths like another set of hands---they use it to touch and discover everything....when excited, they'll mouth the object, dog, person, etc.....as such, working with the tendencies, as opposed to trying to stop them altogether is just another route to consider....for example, does your doodle have a particular stuffy toy or ball that she really likes? if so, shove it her mouth!! LOL!! I'm not kidding---when around the young children, encourage her to keep the object in her mouth as it will prevent her from nipping and keep her otherwise engaged in play with you and not the children.

Good luck!!
With more training, patience and hard work (with any method you choose!), I'm sure you'll be able to get a good handle on this! And, DON'T forget---a 1 year old is STILL a pup, there's plenty of time to shape and mold the behavior you want out of your doodle! :) :)

[diane silver]

Thank you for your encouraging and level-headed response. I will definitely take what you say to heart and try using a ball or other object to distract her. I've gotten some very good suggestions and opinions here and appreciate them all very much. Believe me, I know she's a great dog and that most of this is very much a "puppy" thing, so I know that with patience (as you say), we'll get through it!!