Help with nipping, leg, sock biting!

[magsmom 0]

Well we love our new puppy Maggie, except for the constant nipping. We do the yelp "ow" and then ignore but she just comes right back at us! I have even held her muzzle while saying "no bite" and this is the only thing that seems to work (I hate having to do it though). She is constantly grabbing at our jeans/feet while we walk around the house. We yelp, and then ignore her but she is usually attached to our leg(her teeth are sharp) so it is hard to stand there to ignore her

She really liked to attack my DDs, age 7 & 12. We have tons of toys around (nylabones, kongs, cuz, other chewy things) and do try to give her one after the 'attack".

The hardest thing to deal with is the attack of the legs-she hurts my kids and they have a hard time ignoring her during this! I starting having them put her in a "time out' in her crate but I am not sure if this is ok?!

We do try to reinforce her when she is chewing on her toys vs. us! Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

Edited October 9, 2009 by magsmom

[Cackle 144]

yep, she's a puppy alright. She's getting new teeth and they itch and hurt. A little tap on the nose when she gets too rough along with a NO won't hurt. Then distract her with a toy to chew. They love socks. I get old socks and make a ball of one, put it right down the bottom of the second sock and then tie a knot in it, so it's kinda like a ball in the bottom of the sock. Mine love them.

[NickyPhyl 1]

One member on here told how she freezes a wash cloth and gave that to her pup. Maybe try that...

[magsmom 0]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I am going to try the frozen washcloth. I was also thinking of having a water bottle handy for my daughters to mist her-she really goes after them!!

[mr.coffee 364]

I try to avoid it, but Harley definitely responds to time-out. He started begging at the table after he finishes his own food, and nothing seemed to be working, so I started responding with one warning, then a time-out in his crate, around the corner and out of sight. He doesn't care much for that, and the begging is tapering off pretty quickly. I think the key is making sure you respond quickly enough that they begin to associate the unwanted behavior with being separated from the family.

I haven't had any experiences with water bottles either way, but I've heard it said it's not the way to go. In particular, it seems to me with as many grooming products come in spray bottles, you might not want to associate that with a negative experience. Harley is finally getting to where he doesn't wig when I spray his coat with conditioner....I wouldn't want to take away from that progress.

-m

[debo 1]

Your baby is precious!

Oliver was pretty nippy when I first brought him home. He liked ears and noses the best! I would clap my hands loudly and say, NO BITE! in a louder, stern voice, then give him one of his chewies and praise and pet him for chewing on that. If he was in my lap I would also put him on the floor. If I was on the floor with him I would get up and sit on the couch. He would usually persist once or twice, but by the 3rd time he always got the message. Within a week he had stopped.

He loved/loves bully sticks and flossies and would rather chew on them than anything or anyone!

[Kae+Gizzy 5]

Gizzy was also a nipper, we tried pretty much everything but nothing seemed to work lol. We were all covered in scratches from those tiny sharp teeth. Luckily he grew out of it. If he got really silly we would just plain old ignore him, he hated that more than anything and would quit after a while.

I like the washcloth idea as it would be cooling on the gums :)