puppy nipped at me.....now what????

[mmoose]

levi nipped at me for the first time ever this morning when i touched him while he was chewing a toy bone. i can not tollerate this!!! we have small children that come to the house and i can not risk one of them getting bit one day becouse they petted him at the wrong time.
what can i do to nip this int he bud. from day one i have pet him while he was eating and touched him anytime i wanted to let him know that it was OK and his food would not be taken away. i never wanted him to be sensitive to people touching him when he was eating or any other time.
he is 9 weeks old and these past cpl days i have noticed him being very defiant and somewhat agressive when playing. i am a bit worried. any help will be greatly apprieciated

[Doc E]

You need to do a "Dominance Roll" ANYTIME the pup tries this crap. Grab the skin on his throat, lift him up and roll him over on his back - then get in his face and GROWL at him (including a growling NO!) and look him straight in the eye. Hold him there until he relaxes and diverts his gaze from you (sign of submission). Then let him up and give him a LITTLE lovin'.

[BLKLAB]

Im with DOC E show him who is boss. Nip it in the bud.

[drgildy]

Doc E is 100% correct. You have to be the "alpha dog" in his pack! Also you must be right there when your kids or spouse try this too to refresh his memory if he needs it. I think he is at the perfect age to nip this in the bud. Good luck.

[Nevada Jim]

I rarely disagree with the most honorable Doc E on anything dawg related but ... I will a little bit on this one.

I would NOT grasp pup by the throat. Rather, I use the scruff of the neck to pick them up, flip them over on their back and then, using both hands, grasp the loose skin on both sides of it's face (so it can't bite you) and then straddle it (don't put weight on it) when getting up in it's face and yelling "No Biting". Please keep in mind that this event is VERY different from teething-biting which you will also be going through soon. This is an effort by it to test you and establish it's dominance or find it's proper place in the pecking order. And by the way, once you have established clear dominance, that doesn't mean pup won't test other family members. That's how it works with his canine family.

In the instance of teething-biting, I pinch their upper lips into their incissors enough to make them yike - but not too firmly - and again repeat the in-the-face "No Biting" concurrent verbal correction.

[jroot]

he is just testing his boundaries to determine where he fits in the pack, remember the alpha dog eats first. you're definitly right, you got to nip it in the bud.

when my dog was a pup he did the same thing. my initial reaction was to pull back my hand, but then i thought about it and touched his bone again. when he bit me i slapped him on the head and yelled at him and repeated this process about 10-15 times before he quit biting ...never had a problem since.

[Young Buck 76]

I would NOT grasp pup by the throat.

I Would use the by the throat method. In canine packs the alpha order is established very early using this exact same method. I have used it many times and it works great for several problems. Biting, jumping up on you, and it also aides in their formal training. If you become the alpha male then whenever you speak there is a difference in the way the dog listens and accepts your commands. They know that if they ignore them another check of order is coming. I have used this method on everything from labs to pittbulls and have been very satisfied with it.

[Doc E]

Jim,
I'm not suggesting to grab a dog by it's throat , but grabbing the skin on the front/sides of the neck/throat. If you grab up high (near the head/jaws), it'll prevent the dog from being able to bite ya.

Also, Jim, when's the move taking place?

[Nevada Jim]

Grab the skin on his throat

Sorry if I misinterpreted that Doc. I agree that the sides of the neck/face is the place to get a firm hold once pup has been put down, rolled over and you THEN need to control it's movement to avoid being bitten.

When folks talk about how older dawgs "correct" mischevious pups ... watch the interaction of a female with her pups. Annoying behavior including biting is dealt with quickly and decisively. It invariably incorporates the pup being grabbed by the scruff of the neck and sometimes shaken by a growling or even snarling mother. It's extremely unusual for that mother (or other older dawgs) to correct a pup by grabbing the throat area.

On the other topic Doc ... We're headed back down on July 1st to sign a contract with our home builder and another fella who'll be creating our training/shooting ponds on the 56 acre parcel.

[SWOSUMike]

mmoose,
check your pm... I sent it there cause it was long, but I have cured my 14 week pup of this, and I bet you anything mine was worse than yours