Hello new old english sheepdog owner here/puppy problems

Hello, well my husband and I got our first puppy 3 weeks ago, and we are struggling. She is an Old English sheepdog and is 11 weeks old. and what a nightmare.
we have decided to clicker train her, and are having many problems. toilet training going really well, she cry's when she want out. Its the puppy nipping we are having a huge problem with. I just dont know how to stop her from doing it. she has drew blood from two people now- luckly close family who understand. any help very much appreciated,

Hi!

Just going from my own experience, I used to say 'ow' (overacting and sounding sad) and stop playing immediately, if this didn't work then a time-out was given, just a short time, say five minutes in the hall. I know some say you shouldn't let pups mouth at all but I think it helps to train them how hard they can mouth when playing.

Your pup is just playing wth you like she did with littermates, you just have to teach her she can't be as rough.

If you have kids then make sure they know not to get her wound up and not to squeal - this seems to make things worse!

This is just what I did, you may get some other helpful suggestions. Don't get cross with her, she just hasn't learned how to play with you properly yet.

Welcome to the site, btw, I am fairly new too, lots of good advice and tips to be found here

Good advice - it's exactly what I did with my 9 month old pup, who keeps his teeth to himself now when he's being handled/played with. He used to look so disappointed when I folded my arms and ignored him.

Thank you!

Yep, no 'punishment' is more effective than the withdrawal of attention or five minutes alone to contemplate.

If you think about it from the pup's point of view they have been rough and tumbling with their brothers and sisters and have absolutely no idea that people have softer skins and can't be nipped and chewed.

I was thinking a bit more about this and I also taught the command 'gentle', it helps with giving food by hand too. Even my rescue SBT was able to learn this very quickly at two. She plants her bum and takes things very gently now. When I first got her she spent two weeks doing 'wall of death' around the sitting room and jumping full force into anyone's face who happened to be passing with a horrible habit of trying to hang off your nose.

My kids were not little but they were quite worried by her at first, she just hadn't been handled in her life and was just so darn happy to be with people. It came together, she will never be as dainty as my soft-mouthed pointer but at least she is not dangerous now and my nose is safe

It's very important for pups to mouth, as this is the way they learn bite inhibition.

If you give a resounding "AHHH" (it's harsher than "OW" and tends to work better) this should make your pup hesitate at least and maybe even stop.

Some say turn your back, but I only ever did that if I didn't mind being nipped on the bum

Time out is another good way if the "AHHH" is having no effect.

Above all, be consistent - repeat, repeat, repeat and reward the good behaviour.

Good luck

I bet you're glad you got that sorted! My Pointer has a lovely soft mouth too, don't you just love 'em!

I found a high pitched "yelp" worked really well, or even a "growl". If the puppy doesn't stop biting leave the room for a minute or two. This should reinforce that it is not acceptable.
Also you can try giving the puppy a toy as soon as it starts to bite you.
One thing that worked very well is to put something that tastes bad to the puppy on your hands. I believe you can buy specific products for this but something spicy or even garlic should do the trick as well.
The main thing to cut down on your puppies bad behaviour is lots and lots of exercise throughout the day so it doesn't get bored. Not long walks but just outdoor playing so it can have as much or as little exercise as it's body tells it it needs.
Hope this helps.

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