Need Encouragement... First of all I am working with a trainer already...but I'm still feeling a little down. But, the big one that tends to really make me sad is that when I tell Sebastian "no" and try to enforce any sort of rules (like not jumping up at me, getting off the couch, etc.) his immediate reaction when I reach toward him is to which his head back toward my hand and nip at me. He has never bitten down, but he puts his teeth on me, and it's not in a playful way. It really is affecting my relationship with him. He is so sweet 90% of the time, but if he feels like I'm trying to prevent him from doing something he wants to do he gets really nippy. I know this can only get worse. I've been working so hard to show that I'm the leader. But, maybe I'm just not feeling it enough inside for him to get the message. I could really use some encouragement and any advice you may have. Thanks! |
Place your index finger on the top of his nose with your thumb under his jaw...looking into his eyes...sternly say the word no. A breeder friend told me to use this method after one of mine decided it would be okay to snap at me while being groomed. Honestly I think I had to do it maybe twice. |
I have read that if you stand tall and act confident that it makes you seem like the leader. Never show them that you are worried, afraid, ect. They will see this as weakness and feel like they need to take over as pack leader. When you say no, stand tall and use a deeper voice to say no and say it was gusto. Like you really mean it. I usually point to Jack so he knows I mean him. Another way to help you establish leadership is to hold his food bowl when you give him food. And pretend you are picking up the food and eating it. It shows that you are the leader because the leader eats first and everyone else second. I hope this helps you. I will look around more to find ways to establish yourself as alpha. It will help him know what is not acceptable when he knows you are alpha not him. I think I must have got lucky and got a pretty submissive puppy. When I say no, he stops. Good luck and I will do some more reasearch for you. I hope this helps. |
I'm so sorry you are feeling down. It will get better with time. When I rescued Gabby she was pretty mean with my other 2 furkids and myself at times...with time & patience I was able to break her out of some habits. Just standing strong and being firm about things. She received timeout when she wasn't not so nice. 8 months later we've progressed but we still have a little bit to go. It will get better. |
Thanks for the encouragement! Things do seem to be getting better. It is just a slow process. He is MUCH less nippy with me. I just have to be very firm with him. It's been all about my tone of voice and attitude. I have no problem being firm with my toddlers, but for some reason when it came to my 6lb. Yorkie I would waver. All that has changed, and he has begun to change as a result. |
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worse.:( This is what I did that REALLY helped after I spent over $500 trying to fix her:( I thougth that because she was a "rescue" that all of my love would be rewarded with good behavior. :rolleyes: Nope~just the opposite. Treats and praise worked miracles. Keep a really good treat in your pocket. Cheerios worked great, learned it here from another YTer, I doubted it but WOW :eek: you would think I was handing out steak. If she was on the couch and I wanted her down: Pebbles down If she growled or nipped I would do AHAH (not sure how to spell that one) Pebbles down again until she finally got down Treat and praise like he's the very best dog in the world. This really has worked for us. She no longer jumps on people, when I tell her to get down she does, she will even come when I call her now. |
What always worked for Chip when he did something we didn't like was to put him on his back and hold him there until he stopped squirming. Now he'll just let us flip him over and he doesn't even move and knows who the leader is. |
I had this problem with TJ. He was such a little cutie that I am afraid I let him by with murder.. that didn't last long. When he did the nipping thing.. it was just in playing but it would hurt at times. So I used the same method that bchgirl did... thumb on nose and hold his mouth closed.. with a stern No. He would back off and only nip or put his teeth barely on my hand.. but I had to be consistent and not let him do that either. It took a little time, but he is not doing it any more. Good luck.. there are some great ideas to try here.. every dog is different so give them a try. Let us know how it works. |
This might sound ridiculous BUT when we were going through the biting problem, someone told us to bite him back. I tried it once, but the lil brat (I do love him!) bit me AGAIN! |
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Thanks again for all the great advice! There are several different situations in which he gets nippy and I find different things work in different situations. If he is playful and starts nipping at my hands then I say a loud, high-pitched "Ouch" and when he backs off I offer him my hand again and say "Kisses" and when he licks instead of nips he gets lots of praise! If he starts nipping at my feet and jumping at me like a maniac (when he's overly excited) then I grab a magazine or a book and block my feet while moving toward him saying "no", and he backs off every time. He has not nipped in response to me telling him to do something, or not to do something in a long time, so I really think we are making good progress. In response to that kind of nipping I did hold him on his back and say a firm "no". Sometimes I would have to do it 2 or 3 times (stubborn lil' thing ;) ), but he always backed off if I was persistent. |
I agree with the holding the mouth closed with your hand. It worked for me after the first couple of times. Good Luck this should work.:) |
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