Nippy Puppy

[Lori]

Hi All -
I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I didn't know where to look for it...
Anyway, Casper is 9 weeks old & is very nippy. I have 3 boys, ages 7, 5 & 4, and they do rile him up...then they hop from 1 pc of furniture to another to keep from being nipped. He pulls on their sleeves & is just generally very mouthy. I told them not to run from him...yeah, right! I also said they should always have a toy in their hands when they approach him. Does anyone have advice on the best way to tame the nippies? I don't want them to teach him that nipping is fun & a way to get attention. I also have some training books on the way from Amazon, one from the Monks of Skeet (?) Has anyone heard of them?
Thanks for ANY help you can give us!!!
Lori

[Adina P]

Not that you can't ask this question again...but here's how you find old discussions on topics. Go to the main forum (or click on View All to view all the discussions in THIS group only) and in the search box on the forum page type in a topic like: 'nipping' or 'nippy' or 'biting' or 'nips' and you'll likely run into lots of old advice. Be sure to try different terms/words in your searches as some pop up more than others.

[Amy K.]

Hi Lori, I read "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete, and it's really interesting... kind of Puppy Psychology 101. It goes through developmental stages and does give some advice about nipping I think. The Ian Dunbar series, which you can find a link to a a printable version on this site, is really good. It has very practical advice and how-to's.

We went through the same thing with our three boys and Oscar. Our youngest one actually was getting upset for a while thinking that he could never play with Oscar because he would grab his clothes, etc. Oscar even started to growl sometimes. The interesting thing was that he NEVER did this to my husband or me. After some reading and talking to the breeder, we decided that it was kind of "sibling rivalry" and he seemed to be trying to establish a pecking order, hence the worst nippiness with our youngest son.

We really worked with the boys on being calm around him, and getting each of them to get Oscar to sit eagerly on command. If he's overexcited, they do a "Sit" with a palm facing toward him, and he really calms down. If that doesn't work, we've given him a couple minute "time out" in a different room a couple times. Our breeder said also to not let the boys carry him for a while (she said carrying him would make him feel higher in the pack than them) and to always let the boys feed him and make him sit for his food (food comes from an alpha person she said).

All of this, plus Oscar maturing a little, has really helped. Oscar is about 14 weeks old and he's not very nippy at all now (knock on wood!) The boys can handle him easily, and I think the nipping has helped him in starting to develop a "soft mouth" with us. (knocking on wood again)

Good luck -- I'm sure he'll grow out of it with some coaxing!

[shelly]

Hi Lori! Yes! YES! YES! Tori nipped soooo much! I can see the jumping on the furniture all so clearly - also adding the yelling with giggling and screaming involved too.... We lost many a good shirt, sock, and even pants and shorts that way. All of which had tiny little holes in them. She also would nip and bite on hands when we went to pet her. Someone here once described it as an "alligator snap" . That's exactly what she looked like. We tried everything from turning our back on her with our arms crossed, while saying NO!, She'd jump up anyway, giving her treats, toys instead, nothing really worked any magic except good ole' time itself. It's amazing how their age changes so uch! hang in there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! (sometimes it just seems like a veeeeeerrrrrryyyyyy long tunnel - lol)

[Laura & Chewie]

I completely agree with Shelly. After being so excited to get him, the granddaughters (ages 6 and 8) were ready to send Chewie back the first couple weeks. They couldn't even walk across the room without him nipping at their legs, clothes, and anything else he could get those sharp little puppy teeth on resulting in fear and many tearful moments. This behavior lasted a very short time although I can't take credit for some miracle solution...like Shelly said, just time. Chewie is now 6 months and doesn't nip at the girls at all. Of course, there are a few other behaviors we are currently working on. LOL. It's just an ongoing process, but so very worth it!

[Lori]

That CUTE little puppy of mine ATTACKED me today! I am getting a spray bottle to see if that will help & I always give him a toy immediately when he starts...but it's really hard! The kids want to play with him & I have to tell them to stay away from him so much...when I know he is going to chomp on them. I LOVE him & I know it will all work out in the end, but this is definitely a hard part of puppyhood!
I also noticed, maybe you have too, that when he gets seriously nippy he has to GO OUT.
I am glad to hear that time will help. THANKS!!!