how can I stop a 6 month old puppy from nipping???

[sparklymieow]

we have a staffy, and he gets very excited when the kids come home from school, he jumps up and starts nipping with his mouth, how can I stop him doing this as the kids get upset.

[LadyTophamHatt]

when our dog did this (and she did loads, very excitable x breed. Still very bouncy at nearly 5yrs old) I would push her down/away with a firm No...go to you bed"
She got the no biting thing quickly but would still be very bouncy (still is etc etc) so we totally ignore her when she's excitable. I mean totally.....don't even look at her, don't touch, talk to her or even acknowlegde that shes even in the room. Within a very short time she's slinks off to lay down.

HTH

[sparklymieow]

we do the 'off, go to bed' and even take him there if he doesn't. I have just started the ignoring thing, but the kids start screaming and shouting whne he does it. He get put into the extention and there is a stairgate across the door, but he can jump it now.

[LadyTophamHatt]

The ignoring thing really works well but it is hard when the children are little and scared.

What about asking the kids to walk in the room with there hands in pockets, or arms folded or even above their heads and then he won't be able to nip their hands so ignoring might be easier for them.

[magnolia1]

Agree totalyy with the ignoring. But I know exactly what you mean about the kids screaming. Our staffy puppy is also 6 months and very much still a nippy jumping b*gger


The kids have been told to make no noise if she jumps or bites and to fold their arms and turn their back to her. It is working well and she is learing that if she sits she gets a belly rub

They are well known for jumping at peoples faces and having spoken to a few staffy owners I think it's something we all go through but it doesn't last forever I hope!!!

[TwoIfBySea]

Our gsd pup got out of the habit when we started yelping each time he got too teethy. Now he is 5 months old he has a very gentle mouth.

What we would do is give a yelp, as close to a pup (their littermates) as we could no matter how daft we sounded, then turn away from him, stopping whatever we were doing for a few minutes. He'll get the idea pretty quickly!

[Angeliz]

We had a water spray. Just an old spray type bottle full of water and whenever he nipped dp would give him a squirt.
DP seemed to like it rather too much and i recall a few arguments about it but it's quite effective without being aggresive

[Squarer]

If its any consolation Sparkly, my MIL took to walking round the house with a hula hoop round her ankles. It was the only thing that stopped our Staffy Pup from tearing her trousers to shreds

We used to put him outside the back door if he got over excitable. Have you got a secure back garden? The water spray also works brilliantly with Staffs as very few of them like water.

[Aero]

Was going to suggest the water spray too. Worked well for my friend's dog.

[susiewoozy]

i have a 6 month old springador and he still nips..gets excited and jumps up with his mouth open..ive tried ignoring him it work for a miniute when i go to sit down he statrts nipping and gnarling again ..ive yelped he looks at me and carries on nipping again..mostly he is ok with just me but as soon as he sees the kids or we have visitors he jumps up for about 10 mins trying to nip before he calms down..we use his cage for time out but when we try to get him in there he lays down submisivly and we end up pushing him across the floor because he wont get up..then when trying to pick him up to get over the ledge of the cage he shows his teeth and nips..im at a loss..i feel ive tried everything..im now looking at a training muzzle for him

[bunnygeek]

Please don’t use spray bottles or other kinds of negative reinforcement :( it will either excite him more or make him fearful.

Being excited when family comes home is normal, being a nippy pup at 6 months is also normal. You need to find safe ways to contain it and channel into positive behaviour you want him to do instead. And also the kids need training too haha!

There’s lots of tips here:
www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/training/

[bunnygeek]

Just seen the original post is soooo old. Just noticed it’s a zombie thread. @susiewoozy you need to speak to a behaviourist.