I dont understand this. How are we a very similar species to dogs? We are a similar species to apes because we share a high percentage of DNA and we have some physical similarities.

AFAIK two species dont have to be similar to be in a symbiotic relations. They just have to benefit each other.

We impose our rules on dogs, they dont have any choice but to accept them .

Erm I'm a little confused now

Raising your voice does get your dogs attention but if your dog doesnt find this negative then his attention probably will be momentarily and he is likely to go back to what he was doing , you can use that moment to distract him with something or ask him to do something else.

If my dogs do something I dont want them to such as rough housing on the sofa, I tell them to do something else such as off or settle and I random reward. Its not necessary to say No first.



But you have a point and what is rewarding or punishing will vary depending on the dog and the degree of the reward or punishment.

lets not go there!


I've found clickers very useful in some circumstances but in others I dont have the patience and I dont like to see the dogs get frustrated when they cant work out what they have to do to get the click and treat.

I think we're getting too wrapped up in the word "no". If it works for your dog, so be it. If it doesn't, so be it too.

Because we live by the same rules ... We are both mammals of course, both live in packs ... Called families and tribes in humans ... I Won't carry on because otherwise another round if GNAshER bashing will start up and that is not fair on the op.

I'm sorry if its come over as "Gnasher bashing" . Its not . To be honest, i think you are using that as an excuse to avoid admitting that havent understood the terms .

You are making statements that are factually incorrect , thats not going to help anybody . If I get things wrong or misunderstood things , which I do , I'm glad when someone points it out in a nice way I hope. If other people believe what you are saying is true , you are misinforming them .

You know that rabbits live in family "packs" and are territorial ? Are we very similar to them . No of course not.

BTW this link explains what symbiotic relationship is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis

From wiki -

The similarity of species is judged based on comparison of physical attributes, and where available, their DNA sequences.


I'm not picking on you , i actually quite like you for some reason . It takes guts to admit you are wrong , if cant do that then just stop misinforming people.

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time"

Now I'm going to shut up and hope this thread has run its course and the Op suceesfully trains her pup not to nip .

Just abit of an update guys - thankyou for each and every reply i have recieved, i have taken everyones responses on board and working through different methods to find what works for us.

I must say, over the last week, jess has improved no end, and seems to be listening to me alot more. She seems to respect my authority a lot more and although she is still being abit 'mouthy', this has calmed down alot. I have been nipped on the odd ocassion through play, but i have said no in a stern voice, stopped play imediately, and then resumed once she has calmed down. This seems to be working, the other day she nipped be pretty hard by accident when she tried to take a toy out of my hand and misjudged where my fingers were as they were hiding underneath, however straight away she stopped, and licked my hand!!!

oh thats brilliant . Thanks for updating.
I havea JRT x and they are lovely dogs .

I am sure there will be more to update on over the next few weeks.. she is so lovely, shes already so affectionate - if i even pop upstairs for a minute, im greeted by lots of love and kisses as soon as I return

thays fabulous news Jess!!! I think the No's have it dont you ? After all the proof of the pudding is always in the eating