# Nipping - yes, again :(



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I don't know, nothing worked for Timi either - until she got to the age of 6-7 months and really began to care about my disapproval. Before that, it was just one big game to her...


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## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

Hans definitely more fired up if we yelped or even said no. I'm not so sure that it was because he took that to mean we wanted to play. He just seems to think that any attention, even negative attention, is still attention and therefore better than nothing. The only thing that worked for him was standing perfectly still, ignoring him, no eye contact, and no talking. Initially, he'd continue biting, but eventually he would get bored. The time it took for him to give up just got shorter and shorter. Now he is 12months and still occasionally forgets his manners if he is really excited, but if we freeze and ignore him he stops almost immediately.

Fortunately we don't have kids and we were both willing to stand there long enough for him to quit no matter how long it took. I think if we would have stood there for a bit and then given in and reacted it would have made him worse in the long run.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

My SPOO, at nearly 5 months is getting better, but we are not through this phase yet. Lily CD calls it the "land shark" phase. The ones that interact the most with the puppy are in for the worst of it. Sometimes the only thing way to stop it is to leave the room. That is BIG punishment for a Poodle. I always wear long sleeves and old jeans, am never without a distraction or treats and I make sure Buck gets plenty of exercise, chew toys and bones. I've never used a spray bottle because Buck would probably be delighted at another opportunity to get wet! I have put a leash on him in the house, but it's usually more effective to use his flirt pole, another game or a run through of his short list of training commands. Good luck!


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

First, as others are telling you, this phase will pass once he is older, but you want to do something right now to make it better.

A leash is still a good suggestion for you. Use a chain leash that he cannot chew up. You can get a cheap one for a few dollars sometimes at your grocery store. Tether the dog to you when you are walking around slowly and it won't be able to get to your children.

If the leash and tethering really aren't your thing, then for sure use a collar that you can grab. You need to have some control. Even if you are just holding the collar and giving him a command, like, sit, leave it, drop it.

May I suggest another command: Out. This is different from drop it. Drop it means drop on the ground. Out usually means give the object to your hand, but in the case of grabbing your daughter's clothes, I think Out is more appropriate than Drop It. Out is the opposite of Take. I used a raw hide bone to teach my puppy this command, one of those rolled skinny ones. Put in front of puppy's mouth and say Take. If they don't take it, press gently until they do. Keep working on take for a while, rewarding with praise. 

Then work on the Out command. Give rawhide, say Take. When removing, say Out. Repeat: Take, Out. Take, Out. Reward with praise. After teaching Take, you can work on Hold if you want to take it further. 

All of these commands--Take, Hold, Out, Drop It, Leave It--are good for training a puppy to let go of your daughter's clothes and shoes. Using a chain leash and/or collar to help you remove or control the dog is immensely helpful. Tethering the dog to you on occasion will further enhance the idea in your puppy that you control him, he does not control you.

Remember to reward with praise and treats when he does good. That and a lot of exercise will help while he is growing up and grows out of this awful behavior.

I had a nightmare puppy that I used all of these techniques with. She is a very, very good dog today (see Neeka below).

PS - Also have your daughter work on the Take and Out commands with your puppy, starting with the rawhide, which the dog will naturally want to take into its mouth.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Have you tried redirecting him to an incompatible behavior. See if you or your daughter can tell him sit or down and have him stay as a mini time out that happens with no hands on him. As others have said this will pass, but I do understand that you want to manage it well asap.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

When we went through the alligator stage with previous pups, I found it helpful to make several inexpensive "leashes'' out of clothesline and a snap. I made the clothesline about a foot long and left it on the "gator'' whenever the kids were within reach. This short leash enabled me to make a quick grab and enforce the "sit" or "down" command. I did not worry about the cost of the leash as I made up about six at a time, just in case the gator managed to chew them. For some reason, some pups are over stimulated by physical contact to their body, but a gentle tug with this short leash was very effective. Like others said, keep desirable chews nearby so you can substitute it for forbidden items. Not that this helps you, but the Dynamic Duo that were just split up ( Jacknic littermates, 4 months old) never nipped us humans. I think it is because they took it out on each other... and on the rare occasion when one pup bit too hard, the other let him know right away that it was NOT nice!


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## nataly (Jul 31, 2014)

Thank you everybody for your suggestions. I think I will try Charmed's suggestion first. It seems the easiest. I think I see some small improvement just from getting my daughter stay quiet when Chaplin starts nipping and she is also getting better at standing still...
Things are developing fast though, while I was thinking how to deal with the nipping, Chaplin started lifting his leg to pee. I have never had a pup to do it at 12.5 weeks old. I was concerned at first, but I googled it and it seems some boys are early like that. I actually haven't seen him do it, but my husband, daughter and nanny saw it over the course of the day yesterday. He doesn't do it everytime. He also started humping my leg the same day. He also learned to climb on a chaise lounge outside and then he stands tall and barks there - it's pretty funny - but he is probably trying for a high rank pack position  Oh, I am going to make him work extra hard now...
At the same time he is still such a baby. He was really scared by a big unfriendly dog barking at him and lounging on a leash from a safe distance.
Today he is getting his first pro grooming from a no cage grooming shop. He seemed to be really happy to play with the doggies there before bath/clip, they were a friendly bunch. I can't wait to see what he looks like. I will post some pics later. Before the clip his hair was a little over 2" long!


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