how to correct puppy nipping?

[jski711]

Goose will be 10 weeks old tomorrow and we have only had him a little over a week. We also currently have a 4 year old border collie how was an outside farm dog for almost 4 years. Since bringing goose home the bc does not take her eyes off him and is constantly pestering the pup to the point of amazement. The bc constantly is biting his ears feet and puts her whole mouth around his neck sometimes making him yelp. I know it's a border collie and they heard but this isn't the same thing and I'm worried it's going to affect the way goose behaves. We are looking for a new home for the border collie because she has already bit my son once and I don't trust her with the kids. On to my question.

I know pups are going to nip from time to time but there have been a few times where he yelped as though he was being hurt from my wife or I just gently moving him to correct him from chewing on something or trying to get him back in the house. It wasn't just a nip but a bit of a pissed off I'm not happy kinda nip with some yelping to go along with it. I'm pretty sure the constant pestering from my bc isn't helping any. Also knowing I have a presa I'm not sure if I'm over reacting but knowing the capabilities of these dogs is making extremely cautious about how he is being raised. The mom and dad were great around kids and pretty good all around. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

Jake

 

[musicdeb]

You've only had the pup a week so the BC is still curious. Generally, a younger pup with an older pup is good training on playing etiquette. It sounds like you do not trust the BC around the new pup. If you do not trust the BC, then I would keep them apart.

Are you sure he is not injured since he yelped when your wife moved him? What part of the body did she touch when he yelped? Maybe the other pup has hurt him without your knowledge.

You do want to provide a positive environment to the new pup and socialize, socialize and socialize some more.

How old are your children?

Do not allow children and pup on the floor together. Pup will see them as playmates and nip at them. Picture the pup playing with their siblings.

Keep the pup on leash while the children are on the floor so you can have control of the pup. Pup and children should not be allowed to play alone.

If you puppy is biting/nipping, then try the following. This behavior can sometimes take a lot of patience and consistency in training.

They bite because that is how they played with their siblings.
When they bite, tell them “OW” in a high-pitched voice and “NO” in a stern, calm voice. NEVER HIT OR YELL AT A MASTIFF. They will shut down on you and ignore you.

When the pup stops biting, tell them to sit and reward. Tell him “good sit.”

Have the children hand fed the pup and help with training, i.e. teach the pup to sit, stay and come. This helps the pup to see them as non-playmates but as people in authority.

Have you started training the pup?

Start basic commands. Train for about 5 minutes per day and slowly increase the training time. Teach one command at a time. Once they master one command, move onto another command.


Number one command is sit. Teach the pup to sit, by placing a treat in front of his head and move it to the back causing him to sit to get the treat. When the pup sits, tell them good sit and give them the treat.

Second command should be "focus/look" This will help you tremendously when the pup is over 100 lbs. Put the pup into sit. With a treat in your hand (let the pup smell it), put the treat up to your eyes and tell the pup to look or focus. They may only do this for about 1-2 seconds. As soon as they look at your eyes, tell them good look or good focus and give the treat. Generally, mastiffs do not like to look anyone in the eyes for long because that means a challenge to them. Titan is up to 55 seconds of looking me in the eyes.

Other commands are stay, come, leave it and drop it.

When you are training and when the pup does not do as you ask, then tell him no no no and redirect back to command in a normal voice. The only time a stern and somewhat loud NO should be used is when they are doing something that can cause harm to themselves or others.

For example, when I'm doing the look at me training with Titan. He will look at me and then his eyes will move to the left or right. I say, "no no no, look at me" and he returns to the look to my eyes.

When they do what you want them to do, get all giddy and excited and say, "Yes, good look!" I clap, giggle, and sometimes do a little dance. My dog looks at me like, really woman?

Mastiffs can be extremely stubborn and if you get frustrated with them, they will shut down. Mastiffs do not do well with yelling or hitting. Hitting can result in some unwanted mastiff behavior meaning fear aggression, which equals biting.

 

[jski711]

It's hard to explain but we have taken goose to meet my sister's pit/boxer mix and they play great together. My bc is literally biting his ears legs or neck constantly which is what concerns me. He is being pestered ALL DAY. Even when goose stop to go lay down the bc follows and continue s biting and harassing him. The bc was an outside dog for 4 years without any supervision at all and she doesn't know how to play nicely because she is used to killing smaller animals not playing with them. We are constantly having to yell at her to make her stop which I fear will affect goose. Either way the bc is finding a new home. Hard to explain over the computer though how she really acts.

 

[Hector]

It's hard to explain but we have taken goose to meet my sister's pit/boxer mix and they play great together. My bc is literally biting his ears legs or neck constantly which is what concerns me. He is being pestered ALL DAY. Even when goose stop to go lay down the bc follows and continue s biting and harassing him. The bc was an outside dog for 4 years without any supervision at all and she doesn't know how to play nicely because she is used to killing smaller animals not playing with them. We are constantly having to yell at her to make her stop which I fear will affect goose. Either way the bc is finding a new home. Hard to explain over the computer though how she really acts.

How come you can't leave the bc outside like she has been for 4 years? I'm just curious. You should crate the bc or keep them separated until you can figure some way to channel the bc's behavior into obedience or structured play for the time being.

 

[jski711]

She was on a farm with no fences and had free reign to go wherever she pleased. We left her outside by herself once and she managed to get out somehow. She is a good dog but just don't trust her with the kids or puppy. A new home will be best for her and us. It sucks but I think that is the best option.

 

[aresismine]

We pin our 13 weekold male. You are top dog, pin the puppy with your hands to theground until they relax, you can say settle or what ever. We say no. Dogs communicate like that, you should. Dogs want to know there place, and they want someone to be in charge. Its more stress to be in charge. That why when dogs do become in charge they act crazy. I recommend getting it fix before their size increases that will be much harder. I have two young kids and our puppy is poked and pulled on (I obviously stop my kids from doing it) and my puppy has no reaction, which is good. Good luck, no mouth play, no food aggresion, kennel train