Once again...NIPPING

[Katie and Twinkie!]

So I know I have posted about this before, but I really need some help on the nipping situation. Twinkie nips constantly, she nips the most at my children, which just scares me. She is not being mean, or anything, its like she is just playing but it hurts. I started w/ the yelping like I was hurt, and it seemed to make her want to play more, I tried bopping her in the nose saying "no bite" which made her sad but didn't help much, I tried holding her mouth closed while saying "no bite" which she responds to well, but only for a very short time and then off to nipping again. I know she is just a puppy and I need to be patient, but I just think it's abnormal as often as she is doing it. PLEASE HELP w/ suggestions. This is really the only issue I have, as she is AWESOME otherwise. Thanks again.

[Mandy&Bailee]

you may think this sounds mean but it works - you know those aerosol cans of "air" for dusting/cleaning your computer, etc.? It's just pressurized air, there are no chemicals in there. I keep those strategically around the house - puppy does something bad - squirt of air on the shoulder, body, or butt - startles them and they don't like it, usually stops them cold in their tracks of whatever they are doing. it doesn't cause any physical harm and unlike using squirt guns with water this is much neater/cleaner and think more effective. you also have to give the verbal correction at the same time you squirt them so they learn that it is bad behavior. in my puppy's case it is usually an air squirt along with "OFF" for jumping, for you it will probably be "NO BITE"
also try putting like a dozen pennies in an empty water bottle and leave those around the house. they are very effective if the puppy is across the room and not paying attention to you and you need to correct the puppy for something naughty. no you don't throw it at the puppy ;) but you just shake it really hard and it makes a VERY loud noise and again, usually stops them cold in their tracks.
if she nips during playtime, etc I was always taught you should just STOP playing with them and ignore them until they settle down and stop nipping. definitely separate dog from kids if the dog is being too rambunctious at the time.

[Katie and Twinkie!]

I will definitely try the air! My vet told me to try the water, and Twinkie LOVES water, she doesn't care what it's coming from, or where it hits her! And I hate bopping her nose I feel bad, so I will be off to buy a couple cans of air and see how it goes. Thank you. I will keep you posted!

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

You can also try sticking a toy in her mouth whenever she gets excited/nippy. Our male doodle used to mouth us and jump on us when he was younger. So we kept his stuffed animals all around the house, so that we always had one to stick in his mouth when he got excited. It worked well- he couldn’t mouth us when he was holding a toy, and he didn’t jump on us as much either. (I guess he had to concentrate on holding the toy, hahaha!)

When we put the toy in his mouth we would say “Toy! Toy! Toy!” Now he understands and we can tell him to “Go get your toy” and he will. No more mouthing or jumping either. Also, look for those pre-nip "signs", like getting hyper, jumping, barking, etc, and give her a toy right away. Don't wait until she nips to take action. :)

[Holly St Pierre]

Katie,

I feel your pain. I have tried EVERYTHING that is mentioned so far & then some. Nothing works with Gunner when he is in a playful mood & he adds barking on top of it. He never barks except when he wants to play. It is very frustrating. The only thing that works is my husband saying NO sternly. Water doesn't, time out for 2 minutes in the crate, spraying something in the air, ignoring, walking in to another room where he can't see me, bopping in the nose, holding his snout firmly, treat reward for stopping, I mean nothing. He gets TONS of attention, proably too much so anytime you stop playing & he isn't ready to be done, the barking/biting starts. I have come to accept its a phase, that I hope he grows out of. We have no children, but it does hurt when he bites during play. He is now 11 months old, it started at about 8 months, so I am waiting for it to pass. The good thing is this is his ONLY bad habit, so I feel very fortunate. He has been a great puppy & brought us so much joy. Hopefully one of the things mentioned will work for your Twinkie. My sister's doodle who is now 3 NEVER did this, so each doodle is different.

[Lorraine Bromley]

Neely is bad for playing with us and having his mouth open, breathing heavy tossing his head and he catches us with his teeth. It hurts. He did get ahold of me the other day on my arm and bruised me. I bruise easily though. I walked away from him after saying no bad no bite and left him. He wouldn't have that problem at all if he wasn't played with ruffly with the boys and me wrestling and roughhousing.
We also taught him young to tap that. So he was to tap with his nose on our hand. then when playing we say tap that if he starts getting mouthy. It will help during rough play to re focus on touching with his nose not mouth.
For six months he is doing very well and generally has a soft mouth. You know the difference between a soft mouth and a real bite grip when you are playing tug and have your hand too close to his end when he goes and chomps dowm to get a better grip and youur hand is there!!! He immediately lets off but if he didn't it is amazing just how powerfull their jaws are.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

We tried the water thing, but Harlow thought it was great fun to have the water squirted in her mouth. Have you tried Bitter Apple? Our vet said to spray a little bit on your fingers or wrist where she likes to grab. It tastes really awful to most dogs. I am going to pick some today to give a try. I will let you know if it helps.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Wow, the Bitter Apple worked great. Harlow was play nipping yesterday and I sprayed some Bitter Apple on my fingers. She grabbed my fingers and immediately let go. She shook head and made a 'yucky' expression. She grabbed my fingers a second time, immediately let go and made the 'yucky' expression again. She didn't try nipping again.

[diane]

I have the same nipping problem with Ebony, my 3 month old. Where do I get the Bitter Appple? Just like Harlow, she loved the water.

[Adina P]

How old is she again?
Are you looking for one thing to do that will END nipping for good? If you are there really isn't much out there, it's a matter of finding something that will stop her even for 2 minutes and then being consistent and repeating it as often as necessary. The kids need to have a plan of action. Have you read either here or elsewhere the protocol for kids to "Be a Tree?" It can help a lot because if kids DON'T adopt "Be a Tree" they end up accidentally acting like a big flailing, running, squeaky toy and riling up the puppy more. I can try to find the "Be a Tree" description later for you or a google search will help.

She does NOT sound abnormal actually...but quite normal. Most likely it will subside regardless of what you do, but whatever you do (whether it's Yelp like she tore your leg off, hold her snout closed and saying NO, or spraying her with air...) it really helps if THAT is done VERY quickly (rather than drawn out so she gets attention) and ASAP she loses all her friends because suddenly, faster than she could blink (well relatively fast) she's all alone and behind a door or baby gate or in her crate. This teaches her that her behavior leads to THE END of attention and interaction and nipping makes all her friends go away. It can't be done casually where you just walk away and let her run behind you and jump at the back of your pants.

The "ignoring" needs to be super dramatic. Think soap opera without the talking. If you have a baby gate, YELP and walk through the baby gate, closing it behind you. OR utter a gutteral loud "NO" and walk through the baby gate close it behind you. Or just walk through whatever door is near and close it behind you. Then keep your back to her or get busy doing something else in whatever room you are now in. BUT...you don't leave her alone for long...maybe 30 seconds to 1 minute (you don't want her unsupervised and getting in trouble by leaving her longer). Then return and be prepared to repeat if necessary. Or just crate her without any fuss or scolding...make it fast and IMPERSONAL.

[Mandy&Bailee]

well said, Adina! The "Be a Tree" works for adults too ;)
a friend of my sister-in-law is a dog judge and trainer in TX and when I emailed her that we got a Labradoodle her response was not positive, I hate to admit - she did say that is the biggest issue she hears about these doodles is the mouthy nippy.
now I'm determined to work twice as hard to make sure Bailee becomes a gentle girl!

[Adina P]

I don't like Be a Tree for adults as much because an adult is capable of doing more than that and won't be as tempted to scream and cry and wave their arms like a kid. And dang I do NOT like standing there while my dog is allowed to jump and bite me. NOT okay. It didn't work for me with Rosco (who was JAWS incarnate), just gave me bruises.

With kids, though, it's better than what they do naturally (scream and run) and Mom (or Dad) can immediately swoop in and save them.

[323jfej66hz9c]

Hmmm....every puppy I've ever owned has been mouthy, it is part of their growning up I think...I wouldn't pin being mouthy as the "biggest issue about doodles "...they are just learning the rules about playing as they grow up...I think it is very normal behavior.