Nipping - Page 3

I totally disagree with the last two posts. If you have a soft dog then why are you titling it? For fun? More likely for breeding! You better be very good doing a soft/harder progression or you will create a monster you can't control. But this is just my opinion..To each his own.....

DR first off I've never bredd a dog. Secondly, are you saying it's better to over correct a dog?

Spook Stay cool and let's have good posts. Not meaning anything personal. All dogs are different and how you correct will be different. Some things I do not tolerate, and my dog biting me is one of them and/or trying to dominate me. I am suggesting that if male(and if I had a male he would be hard) nipped or bite me I would instantly correct him hard enough he would not ever do it again. While I would try to correct with the right amount of force if I did error it would be on the side of over correcting. I firmly believe serious problems can arise if you under-correct and the dog wins and/or wins dominance over the handler or owner. I have owned GSD's for almost 20 years and have never had one cowed or intimindiated from being over corrected. However, I have never had a timid or weak nerved GSD so you likely would not correc tone of them as hard as you would a strong GSD. Hope I am making myself understood on this...

DR, Not disagreeing with you on nipping it in the bud (no pun intended). Point one, KNOW your dog so you will know how hard to correct. Point two, KNOW why the dog exibited the behavior ( too little info was given by Arrakis). Point three, not all 7 month olds are solid hard dogs that can take a hard correction, in which case, if you have a soft dog then it is better to under correct as you can always toughen up the correction if he does not respond. Not knowing the motives, not seeing with my own eyes what was going on, I felt and still feel that Arrakis should seek out a good trainer IF, IF they are uncertain. If the nipping??? is serious ,life threatening, out of control and will lead to putting the dog down then by all means do what ya gotta do. But this information was not provided. You won't often hear me say "coddle the little guy". Just don't believe in coming down too hard on a 7 mo. old if I do not have all the facts.

I agree olskoolgsds..I did not make myself clear. Was not referring back to Arrakis post specifically. The age / maturity / temperment / nerves / hardness of the dog all have to be taken into consideration. Actually you just expanded in part on what I was trying to say. To be honest I spend so much time with any new pup that I have never had a problem like this even close to getting out of control. Plus I am used to owning very hard working dogs that are not in the least handler senstitive. But by basically imprinting them from a early age I have had good luck. I always use motivational training and about twenty years ago had a friend/trainer videotape me working my dog and I realized how loud I was being. I was taught and learned how with motivational training that I can now whisper commands to my dog and if I ever raise my voice they know it's serious. In closing being consistent is also very important.

Sorry for not joining in here lately but we are in the middle of lambing season and I've been too far away from a computer. This puppy isn't an issue. I didn't raise him from a pup, I got him one month ago. He's wasn't handled much but considering that he's been easy to socialize and picked up basic obedience surprisingly fast. He's from working lines and I would say he's of medium drives. Prefers food over toys but would LOVE to chase the fishing line into the lake. It's just this nipping and I watched him this weekend do it to one our ranch hands. It looks more like he's trying to bite fleas type of nip with his front teeth. The other nipping/biting thing with him is if you stroke your and down his back he'll turn around and nip or grab your whole had. I've been grabbing his muzzle and squeezing it hard and saying NO Bite. If this is wrong let me know please. I don't think this dog would take a hard correction. I am assuming that these issues are related to being not handled a lot as a puppy. I hope this makes things clearer. Thanks, Arrakis

Sorry, I'm sleepy this sentence should have read The other nipping/biting thing with him is if you stroke your hand down his back he'll turn around and nip or grab your whole hand. Arrakis

DR, I agree that this can escalate into a problem quickly if not dealt with properly and under correcting is often just nagging to the dog. My point is there is an art to correcting properly. I agree that knowing the dog is probably the key.

Arrakis... JUST ME, I would stop him from grabbing my hand/arm. Whatever it takes...

Been thinking about this... When he grabs your arm/or hand grab him on both sides of his head(below ears) and give him a good shaking; sternly and loudly in a deepest voice possible tell him NO!!!!!!! Then let go and walk away. See if after you do this a couple of times if he stops. Remember timing is criticial and the second he grabs you respond aggressively by shaking him, important to respond instantly. You can also have the ranch hand do the same thing...