Puppy behavioral question - Page 1

Hello,

A little background information on Sophie my beautiful Malinois.  We rescued her from PAWS when she was approximately 3 or 4 months old. She was starving and weighed 15 pounds. Some jerk left a litter to die in an alley and Sophie was the only one that survived.  She is now 6-7 months old and 48 pounds:) We have a 3 year old husky and 4 children that range in age from 1st grade to junior in high school. We have always had dogs and love them.  Sophie is a sweetheart and loves the entire family and Ayla the husky as well. We took her to obedience school and she is super smart.  Now behavior that started literally a week ago.  My high schooler's friend came into the house and Sophie went to nip her.  Not growling but nipping. She did this again when my father in law came in the house.

I have read about stopping this behavior and what I have been doing is that when someone knocks on the door, I have her on the leash with her choke collar, snap it up and yell no. If she does not stop barking, I tap her snout.

My question is, is this the correct way to rectify this new behavior?  I used to own a Chow that we would have to put in a cage when people came over because of his behavior. I am hoping because she is still young we can rectify this quickly.  Is this normal behavior for a Malinois? I have read that they can have these tendencies and I just have to stop it quickly.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We love Sophie and will not give her away, we want to help her. 

Thanks

Here's a picture of my sweet baby girl
 

My reply has nothing to do with your question, but please take the choke collar off of her if she is ever unattended. Put on a safety release snap nylon sort of collar and if you must use "hanging" tags put it on that collar. It's better to get tags that have the rivets so nothing can get caught up. I see so many people leaving these metal choke collars for lack of better word on their dogs. We did too many years ago!   Thank God nothing happened but it's not safe.

Good luck with the issue that you posted about. I'll leave that to the people who have raised Mals.

I agree with the previous post.....get that training (choke) collar off unless you are with he,
r actively training. Second, don't yell and don't hit her on the nose. Having her on a leash when people are first coming in is a good thing. Try having the person give her a small yummy treat ONLY AFTER SHE ACTS APPROPRIATELY when they enter. Mals are high energy dogs that need constant mental as well as physical exercise. Also sounds like she needs more socialization. Don't let her think that her status is equal the humans in the house. Mals are very smart and will make their own decisions if you, the owne,r has not consistently set the ground rules.

I appreciate the feedback on the choke collar. As I explained before we have had dogs for years. I took the picture when we came in from training outside. That collar is only on her when I am training her and the reason the tags are on her is because she is outside being trained in case she gets loose. The dogs do not wear collars when they are in the house.

I read about the snout from a breeder which is why I asked for the feedback to see if it was a technique anyone used. I guess I will just continue with the choke collar and leash to correct the behavior when someone enters the house.  I like the idea of the dog receiving a treat when they behave correctly from the person that enters the house.

Thanks

I personally don't like the idea of tapping the snout. The choke collar should be enough to get her attention. The key is to correct the behavior when she is first thinking about it, before she acts. I agree with the socialization and treats. What is her body language when she nips (tucked and tense or playful)? The key to fixing the behavior is to figure out what is causing it, and go from there.

That's the odd thing. I think she is nipping out if excitement not aggression. Sophie is exercised 3 times a day morning lunch dinner. My husband works from home so the dogs are always supervised. She is also socialized. We take her with us everywhere a dog can go. She doesn't act like this outside of the house only when someone comes in. I will work with her on the leash and with treats. Any other suggestions?

She isn't growling or snarling just goes to nip

I also have no idea if she's mixed with another breed. The vet doesn't seem to thinks so

Update**** I used the choke collar and leash correction with a treat after she had good behavior.....IT WORKED!  She did so well.  I think part of the reason is that I have to let her calm down and let the person come in the house and get settled before she approaches that person.

Thanks for your suggestions