Hi Mistimoss your little dog sounds lovely I agree with Ramble and the others who say ignore the nipping..it sounds as if your little dog is in this instance nipping to get your attention and to initiate play, by ignoring him you are not rewarding him with attention.
People often say this method doesn't work but it will if you are persistent and use it all the time, don't expect instant results and the nipping may get worse before it gets better (this is called an extinction burst and is rather like someone tugging at you sleeve to get your attention, if you don't appear to hear they tug harder )

I would add it may help to forget his age and previous training and start again from scratch as if training a puppy, this article may help..

http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=14526

Thanks for your advice...I will read the article...maybe it'll help with the weeing inside too... he is already improving with the nipping/biting...the ignoring definately works. )

Hi Mistimoss maybe no one has ever house trained this little dog. If he is urinating in the house again I would revert to puppy training and reinforcing required behaviour/teaching him to relieve himself on command ...start by choosing a word that means you wish him to relieve himself, this will be the word you will always use, I say 'be clean' .

Next you need to watch him for signs that he wishes to go out,things like sniffing the ground and circling /preparing to cock a leg and also take him out at the times he is most likely to want to go out this is after sleep/food/play/excitement and about once an hour.

Take him to the spot you wish him to use (you may need to put him on a lead,always go to the same spot ) and when he is in the middle of relieving himself say your chosen word so he associates the word with the action, the moment he finishes give him a treat from your pocket and lots of excited praise. This will teach him that relieving himself outside is a good thing to do and it brings a reward. He will get the idea very quickly.

Never scold your dog if he has an accident indoors , if you do he may become reluctant to relieve himself in your presence/ may even eat the evidence to avoid your displeasure/ go where he can't be seen . Instead clean up the mistake without a word ( wash the soiled area with biological washing powder and water to remove the scent ,remove the excess urine first by blotting with kitchen roll)

Just had to let you all know that Mac is slowly getting the hang of not peeing indoors (phew!). We haven't gone a whole day with no puddles yet...but it's definitely getting less. And the ankle biting/nipping is almost completely under control....What a lovely young fellow he is...I feel really lucky! Thank you all for your super advice, it has really helped. )

We just rescued a terrier mix from the shelter and I can get him to stop ankle biting by turning around and ignoring him and doing the "Cesar Milan" touch but not so much with my two girls. I know consistency is the key but with the girls he will just keep biting when then turn around unless i intervene..I need help to empower my girls to have the "alpha" mentality I have learned from watching Cesar for 3 yrs. Any thoughts? When they turn around, it is not immediate so I need some way to distract him. I will not treat or praise him at this time but I need to switch his focus.

I have a cairn terrior mix rescue dog that is about 4 years old that only ankle bites visiting people coming in or going out of house especially if they are walking fast. Once the visitor is in the house, he will sit in their laps but will go after their ankles when they go to leave.

Glad you've gotten a handle on the nipping/biting. I like the advice already suggested about ignoring him. Glad to hear it's helping.

With the marking/peeing inside, I would recommend keeping him on a leash while you're home, just for the first few weeks so you can catch him in the act and re-direct his attention. Then, reward like crazy when he pees and marks outside, where the behavior is allowed. Marking is a tough habit to break, but I think you can get a handle on it if you give him more supervision and less freedom temporarily.

Best of luck! Sounds like you love him already, and he's a great dog.

This original thread is 7 years old now

This was amusing me envisaging it. Until I got to the bit about going off to do laundry or dishes? I'd rather stand and be nipped by the dog!

Now that's amused me too!


Wonder if the dog has stopped biting the OP?


To be fair it is a new member wot's revived it again. And they put those suggestions for similar threads etc. at the bottom of the pages on here. Some of them are aeons old.