 Barked: Wed May 9, '12 6:43am PST |
 | |  | | I agree with all the other suggestions. When Kodiak was a baby, he would often nip or gnaw at us when we were playing with him. From his body language, it definitely seemed to be puppy play rather than aggression, but we knew that he would grow big and that people might feel threatened by it, so we wanted to teach him not to from the beginning. The first thing I did was close his mouth for a few seconds and tell him AH AH! If he did it again, I'd get up and walk away and ignore him for a couple minutes (you don't have to leave the room, just don't look at him or interact with him at all). We also learned that when he's on his back having his belly rubbed or pawing at the air, he likes to chew a chewie. It's easy to feel mean or like you're overreacting, since you can tell he's just being playful, but try to remind yourself that teaching him not to nip could keep you from getting sued by someone who's never had a dog and doesn't differentiate between nipping and biting or having your dog end up in Animal Control because he nipped a kid. This is part of the socialization process, and you are doing what's best for him. |  |  | |  |
|
[notify] |
1
I would recommend walking away from him, just stop playing with him altogether when he does that. If you don't feel comfortable leaving him alone in that area for a bit, I would designate a time out area like a pen or something to put him in, or even a room when he acts up so he will learn biting = no play.
Remembering when they were little,what my pups would be as adults kept me from wanting to be soft on them,no matter how cute they are. Worked with my duaghter as well,and the grandkids,too. Disipline is not punishment it is teaching what is expected and appropriate.
