"Pat" wrote:
Amazingly enough nipping does stop.
It is just a puppy thing.
All mine have done it and stopped it naturally.
The trainers seem to want to stop it at all costs.
If however the dog was doing it aggressively that would be something else.

Many puppies do grow out of the nipping stage all by themselves. But some
don't. I have an eight month old in a class right now who was never taught to
mind her toofers, and so she's still doing quite a bit of nipping. The owners
cry, "Don't, stop, hey!" and push at her with their hands. So after 8 months
of this fun game (I nip, they bark and play along), it's going to be a lot more
of a bear to break the habit than if it had been addressed in the beginning.
And since they've always "played along" (in her view), she doesn't inhibit the
pressure she uses very well. She doesn't draw blood, but she hurts.

Think of the principle behind getting control of puppy nipping. You're
teaching bite inhibition on humans. You certainly want to start that lesson as
young as possible.

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