12 week old puppy nipping?

Question

He snaps his jaws and bears his teeth when he trys to bite or nip at me in attempt to play. Is it possible that he has a lot of pent up energy and he needs more time to play outside, when will he stop fussing at me? He looks aggressive, when he trys to bite, but he's only 12 wks old. How to teach him not to bite, plx help. He's very strong and I can't hold his muzzle when he does. He pulls my arms away with his paws~!! & I don't feel it's okay to smack his muzzle ~ am I misunderstood?

For a while I would roll him down to the floor and growl into his ear deeply "nooooo." every time he did it and it seemed to help. Please give any good advice. He's an American Staffordshire Terrier. Thanks~!

Answer 1

Get a professional training. You should be able to hold his muzzle closed and say NO loudly when he nips at you. Never let him nip or bite you even when playing as it confusses him to what is right and wrong. The alpha roll (pinning him on his back by his neck) and saying NO are another good way to show you are dominant and biting is not allowed.

Answer 2

In my experience, there are a few ways to handle the nipping problem. One way is to hold the muzzle and say BAD DOG and/or NO very clearly. A variation on this is to grab the top of the muzzle with your thumbs inside the mouth pressing in on the soft palette. This makes the dog unable to close his mouth and/or bite at all, and it is quite annoying, so it could curb the habit.
If you don't want to go the physical route, another option is to yelp when the dog nips. If you watch puppies play together, they can get very rough with one another, until one loudly yelps and pulls back/runs away. This signals "too rough" and/or "too much" to the aggressor, and play usually stops. You will have to make a committed performance as a hurt dog, and it may be repeated many times, but it usually works eventually, as the dog learns what is "too much" play. You have to yelp, pull back, look very hurt/upset, cower, and stop playing and paying attention to the dog. Turning him away from you will work, however you choose to do it. The biting=no play equation will stick, and the biting should stop.

Sturdy and safe toys (I highly recommend the KONG toys) will get that teething biting out of them without ruining shoes and limbs. You can try replacing your arm with a toy everytime he goes to bite. You will be sending the message that the toy is ok to bite, but the people are not. He may have lots of extra energy, and playtime is really important, so let him have his play, you just set the rules.

One last note: praise the dog when he doesn't bite during play. This positive reinforcement will teach him that being nice gets you niceness back. We have a HUGE English mastiff and we had to teach her very early on to be gentle and "play nice" because she doesn't understand that she is big and powerful. Tell him that he is "doing/being nice" and that you like that with hugs, treats, petting, and attention, and lots of use of the word "good." These words/actions will come to signal positive things for him, so start associating them with kisses over biting early and it will stick as well!

Answer 3

This puppy is baring his teeth and snapping. He is only twelve weeks old, but no mistake this is more than play or teething.
Don't 'scream' or make any high-pitched noise, instead use a deep tone and make a loud noise, make is sudden and explosive. Then get up and walk away. Ignore him for a while. You will have to take on the role of pack leader with this puppy, he obviously sees you as lower in the pack than him. Remain calm and in control, no hitting, holding his muzzle or 'dominance rolls'. You are the leader you make the decisions - when he gets attention, when a game begins and ends.

Answer 4

It's normal for them to be mouthy when young. When in their pack this is the way they treat each other. It you want him to stop you need to be the pack leader. Don't raise your voice at him. Find noise or sound you can make that is abrupt. When he bites, push him with your hand to get his attention and make the noise. You are distracting him from his goal (biting) You need to be steady. Do this touch and noise every time he tries to bite. He will learn this is not acceptable behavior. A very aggressive dog may need to be put into a complete down position so he know you are the boss. Don't hit, don't raise your voice, stay calm. If he is a large breed dog this could be a lot harder to stop when he can actually overpower you.
Stay with it. He's just seeing how far he can get and you need to make sure he doesn't get out of control.

Answer 5

That alpha roll that you're doing is not recommended - in fact, it is dangerous. Read here:
http://dogs.about.com/cs/basictraining/a/alpha_roll.htm
and
http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/Bouvier/Training/alpha-roll_no.htm
and
http://thebark.typepad.com/barking/2006/05/more_on_millan_.html

To stop the nipping, you can SCREAM! as loudly as possible whenever you feel teeth on skin (warn other people that you are going to do this) and then immediately leave the room. Do not scold or otherwise interact with your dog.
There are some dogs who become more stimulated when you scream. In these cases, simply leaving the room abruptly and immediately will teach the dog : "Wow. When I bite, the game's over."
Dogs learn by repetition and it's important for you to be fair and consistent. Be kind to your dog and take a class on positive training!
Good luck!
http://www.ccpdt.org/

Answer 6

first off, puppies nip. they dont know better. second, he's probably teething, and in pain and wanting to chew.

i agree on not smacking the muzzle, but if a firm tap is what its going to take sometimes, dont feel too bad. i had to do it to my pup once or twice when she got really out of line.

ever watch the dog whisperer? that shhh *poke* thing he does really does work. its just enough for them to be startled into forgetting what they were doing for a second. it mimics what mama would do in the wild. she can only stand to be chewed on so much! lol. the rolling onto the back thing works too, just make sure you arent stradling him, just gently hold him down with a finger or two on the neck, right by the back of the jawline. and make sure when you do that you tell him no, firmly but calmly. and dont let him up until he is completely calm, not pawing at you and trying to get up. if he nips again, do it again.

he probably DOES have some excess energy being that he's so young, but he's going to be testing the boundries for a while (it will get better once the new teeth come in, but then you'll get to go thru it again around 9-10 months old when he's acting like a teenager). just keep your actions constint and it will get better.

when its just too much to handle (i dont know if you can do this with your dog, but we do it with ours) and he's just being completely rotten, we pick ours up by the scruff (she's 1y/o now) tell her "no" then put her in her bed and tell her to put her head down. then she knows she was really bad. last time we did this was when she took off after a herd of deer, but it worked well when she was going thru the teen stage.

Answer 7

When my pup was 3 months old, I called him Puppy Piranha!
He is a shepherd and would try to herd me by biting at my ankles and anything else he could get his teeth on! Once his puppy teeth fell out, this behavior stopped. Just make sure he has plenty toys to chew on and plenty of exercise to work out his agression. Keep disciplining him even though it seems like it isn't helping. I don't like to smack my pups either. Make sure he has a collar on and give it a tug when you tell him no or lightly tap him on the side of his tummy. This will disrupt his train of thought without resorting to any heavy physical contact.Good luck to you and your terrier!

Answer 8

Grab the dog at either side of his muzzle and give him a shake you need to get him to sop this behaviour as it will only get once if you dont stop him now....You could also try getting a crate, and putting him in the crate with the word NO when he bites , ignore him for a while and then let him out repeat this again if it continues.

Answer 9

i have a lhasa apso and he does the same thing the only difference is that he's kinda small and fat lol even though he's little he's so strong... he plays a lot because your puppy is still little so what i do is before i go to school i take him for a walk... that way he gets tired... then he comes home drinks water and just chills when i get home i take him for a walk and do the same thing at night is when he gets really hyper but i just play with him a little more and let him eat and he goes to sleep haha try to point your finger at him and say no! get some newspaper and wrap it tap it on his butt when he's being bad.. not hard at all he just needs to kno he's doing something wrong... and when he does something good say good boy or yaaay the vet told me that yaay is a good way to let him know he did something good so i think it works. good luck with everything and get him a bone that way he won't get bored when you're at work or busy doing something

Answer 10

this could be just playfullness or it may be the beginnings of aggression!!

when he trys to bite you stand up and dont talk to him, if you shout at him this may encorage him even more as they think you are fighting back!!

as i was saying stand up when he does it , say nothing and turn your back at him.

dont look at him at all!!

if this doesnt work, stop him strait away by saying NO!!, make him sit down and keep your hand on him untill he calms down.

aggression has to be stopped as soon as it presents itself..before its too late!!

good luck