Nipping??

Our new puppy wont stop nipping us, its usually after a play session or when she is getting excited... are we doing something wrong or is this to be expected?

(Btw, she is an 8 & 1/2 week old border terrier)

Its normal - but not to be encouraged

Mia even used to bounce up and nip my bum when overexcited

I just stopped any play when nipping starts, if they are too hyper to control themselves then a time out in a crate or another room

another good thing I have found is to teach some self control

Play an exciting game, then before pup gets too excited stop, freeze and ignore them until they are calm and then start play again
If you are teaching the 'sit' at the moment then you might find that they offer 'sit' as a way to get you to play again - thats really fab

It makes the pup have to think thru its overexcitment

But mainly its just a puppy being excited

I've read that tug a war games really incourage nipping, should we try to avoid these type of games?

The game itself dosent - its the fact it is a really exciting game so the pup gets over stimulated and is then more likely to nip

I think its a great game - but use it to train
Give a game of tug as a reward for a trick - like sitting or something
teach him to 'give' or 'drop' the tug - I just do this by tugging lots then freezing till they open their mouth (either bord or to get a better grip) say 'give' ' good boy' and 'tug' again as a reward

Tug can be a great reward for a fetch too - chuck the tug and then play with it when they bring it back, only to ask to give so you can chuck it again

I think its a great game, if you stop if he becomes overexcited then he will soon learn to control himself too - which is great

Hi Jessica The behaviour you describe,nipping and mouthing is normal behaviour in puppies, if a puppy doesn't bite there is something wrong with it . Puppies bite for a number of reasons, to explore the world around them/during play/ when teething. Teething puppies need lots of safe things to chew just as a teething baby does.

Your puppy is attempting to play with you just as it would with its siblings. Watch any litter of puppies playing, they bite each other in turn/yelp/run away, they eventually learn how much they can bite another puppy without inflicting pain and bringing play to an end.

When we take on a puppy we need to continue the learning process which was interrupted when the puppy left its litter mates . We need to curbed and channelled the play biting in the right direction. The puppy should be encouraged to bite ever more gently until no pressure is exerted at all , this is called 'bite inhibition'.

Teaching bite inhibition ensures that as the puppy grows up and develops powerful jaws, should he bite for any reason (say he is in in pain/at the vets being treated /gets accidentally hurt) he will have learnt never to sink his teeth into human skin.

Bite inhibition, learning to developer a 'soft mouth' is one of the most important lessons you can teach your puppy, however teaching it takes time and patience and success won't be achieved in just a few days . Also everyone in the household needs to adopt the same approach.


Link to teaching bite inhibition ..click here