Nipping for attention

[FeliciaMaida]

Hi, I have a 6 month old rescue from Aruba. He has always been mouthy but we thought once his puppy teeth fell out he would get better. He did not respond to the “ouch” or redirection at all. Now when he gets excited or he wants something he nips/mouths at us and on any body part (bum,ankle, arm,hands). He also does this with company.  How do I get this behavior to stop?  He does not hurt or puncture skin but no one likes his teeth in them. 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

First of all, it's so great to hear that you have rescued a dog!

To better understand your situation, I would like to have some more information.

What breed is your dog?

What type of redirection other than the "ouch" have you tried so far?

Do you have children in the home?

Can you please provide more details on exactly when the behavior occurs? Like what specifically makes him excited (grabbing the leash to go on walk, preparing his meals? getting up in the morning? coming back home?) and have you figured out what he specifically wants when you said he bites when he wants something? (food, being taken out, being played with?)

How is his bite inhibition (when she bites does she break skin?, leave teeth marks? )

Is the biting ever accompanied by growling?

Has he received any training so far?

Thanks for the extra info.

[FeliciaMaida]

He is a mixed breed. They call them Cununcu’s from Aruba.  When he had his puppy teeth we tried everything!  Saying “ouch”, giving him toys, telling him “no bite”, putting him in a different room, keeping him on leash amd pulling him away. You name it we did it! Now that he is older when he gets excited he will bite us anywhere  he can. (Hands, ankles, pants, shorts, bum)   Especially when we come home he jumps and bites.  He does not draw blood and there is no growling he knows how hard to bite and I believe it is to play or for attention. So we can redirect him for the most part but with company after he greets them (no biting) and he is comfortable he will just go up and bite. Again I think for attention which he gets plenty of!  My kids are 24 & 21. So when he does it to them they can tell him no and redirect but I really need to figure out how to stop him doing this period.  He went to a puppy class and did great. He knows all the basic commands (sit, down, wait, look at me, still learning re call, touch, place, leave it, he is smart but I am seeing a little regression right now,Teenager? and working hard to continue with his training) but he is very high energy! We play and walk at least 2 miles/day. So he does get energy out and has plenty of toys to boot!!!  Hoping this helps and you have some suggestions on how to stop this behavior 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the extra details, very helpful!

At 6 months, yes, your pup is in the adolescent stage, a time where things can get a bit challenging. You can read more about the changes occurring during this time here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

It is great that your pup does not draw blood and that he is controlling the pressure of his biting. This tells us that he has attained a good level of bite inhibition.https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/  It is also good that you don't have young children, as young children often end up overstimulating dogs, revving them up which contributes to them becoming more mouthy, creating a vicious cycle. 

I am not too familiar with this type of dog, but from what I am reading they are descendants of the Iberian Hound and were often crossed with feral dogs of the island. With a history of being used to hunt small game, I can imagine their high energy levels. 

While some excitement is expected when young dogs greet owners coming home or when they get to meet guests, too much excitement leads to dogs who become too overstimulated and nippy. It's important to help dogs learn how to relax and cope with their emotions. Most dogs as they mature become more adept at mastering these skills, but it's important providing them with guidance. If we allow them to rehearse overly excited behaviors for too long and it too many contexts, it risks becoming a dog's default, programmed response to such situations.

In these circumstances, a dog's cognitive functioning seem to be gone and your requests to calm down may seem to go to deaf ears as if his brain shuts off. This description may seem like an over exaggeration, but there is some truth to it overall. Here's the thing: An overstimulated dog can get so caught up in his emotions that his brain shuts down and he cannot rationally think clearly enough to respond to your cues leading to what seems like a total loss of control. In training terms, we like to call this a dog who is "over threshold." https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

When in this reactive state mind, a dog cannot control his instinctive reactions such as jumping and biting and is unable to respond to known cues, such as your requests to sit or lie down.  "But he knows what "sit" means very well! He always does it at home and responds most of the time!" True, but he struggles in applying this in distracting environments because he's waaay too overstimulated.

You may therefore notice this scenario happening in face of overly stimulating situations such as when guests present at the front door or upon returning home. As much as dealing with an overly excited dog who bites sounds frustrating, in many cases, us humans aren't much different after all. Many of us fall apart when dealing with too much stress or excitement. Soldiers hold extensive training for emergencies to learn how to keep cool and react in a way that is needed to survive. Public speaking may induces nothing but terror in some people causing their minds to “go blank.”

I think in a case like yours, your pup will benefit from a multi-pronged approach tackling the issue from a variety of angles, for a sort of "holistic" approach.  In simple terms, the dog needs to be brought into a thinking state. This needs to be done gradually and systematically. The good news is that, the more we allow a dog to enter a thinking state, the more the thinking state establishes, paving the path towards a dog who learns how to cope better with his emotions and remain under threshold.

It goes without saying that the change doesn't occur overnight, but the more you are consistent and persist, the more quickly you'll start noticing improvements. Here are some tips/ideas that comes to mind:

-Avoid Physical Methods It can be very tempting to correct a dog who bites when excited by scolding the dog, pushing him away or maybe even delivering an alpha roll, muzzle grab or a scruff shake. These methods though are very likely to back fire, exacerbating the arousal or even turning a dog from biting from play or excitement into a more serious, more difficult to treat form of biting: biting for defense. So anything physical or any approach based on intimidation should not be used and if used before they should be stopped. 

-Prevent Rehearsal of the Overly Excited Behavior Just as actors rehearsing a play get better and better in performing, dogs get particularly good at acting overly excited the more they get to practice the behavior. "Practice makes perfect" goes the saying. Therefore, try your best to prevent your dog from rehearsing the overly excited biting behavior as much as you can. Management goes a long way in these cases. The purpose of management is to prevent rehearsals and can be used for those times when you do not have time to train or when you are in the early stages of training, but your ultimate goal should be training your puppy to engage in alternate, more desirable behaviors and reinforce those heavily so that your puppy chooses to engage in these behaviors more and more. 

This means, when you have guests over, don't let him interact with them until you have worked on training a solid response. If your dog gets overly excited and nipping when meeting people on walks, don't let him greet them until you have worked on training a solid response. If he gets overly excited when greeting you at the door, keep him confined to a separated area to give him some time to calm down until you have worked on training a solid response. 

In other words, avoid putting your dog into overwhelming situations that evoke the undesirable behavior. This sets your dog for failure and allows the behavior to put roots, become ingrained, and therefore, more and more difficult to eradicate.

-Create Systematic Set Ups

Dogs who get overly excited to the point of biting benefit from a plan that involves desensitization. Desensitization is a behavior intervention strategy that entails presenting stimuli or situations to the dog in such a way that they don't evoke the problem behavior. You can read more about it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

In other words, the dog is not exposed to overwhelming situations known for triggering excessive excitement, but rather he is exposed to less intense forms so that the dog is under threshold and in a better "learning state." It's sort of like inviting people with a phobia of speaking to the public to a Toastmaster's Club where they are instilled confidence by a supportive environment and are trained to speak to the public gradually.

It's all about baby steps, breaking down tasks into smaller, easier to assimilate ­components and then practicing in more ­manageable chunks as things get better. "Be a splitter, not a lumper," is a common saying among dog trainers.

So back to dogs, this would mean exposing the dog to triggers or situations at a distance that don't evoke the overly excited behavior so that the dog learns how to better cope with his emotions. This could mean keeping the dog confined behind a pet gate when guests come over with something desirable to chew to keep busy during the visit or walking the dog at a distance from people that doesn't trigger the excited whining, jumping and mouthing or keeping him confined to a separated area when you come home, ignoring his hyper behavior and giving attention once he is in a calmer state. 

This is very important because here's the thing: just as rehearsing hyper behaviors makes them stronger, it’s equally true that rehearsing calmer, less hyper behavior makes these stronger too, which in this case, is exactly what we want!

-Train an Alternate Behavior to Focus On Once your have found that sweet spot where your dog is calmer, it's time to put that brain to use. Arm yourself with the tastiest high-value treats and offer these contingent upon the dog practicing a desirable behavior that your dog was previously trained to a fluent level. Remember, training starts in an area free of distractions and then distractions are added very gradually always ensuring the dog remains in a good thinking state. 

For example, when you have your guests over and your dog is at a distance behind the pet gate, ask your dog to sit and maybe do even a trick and feed him treats for complying. With the guests farther away, his brain should no longer be stalled, so he should be in a better thinking state. 

If your dog jumps and bites when meeting people on walks, practice several steps of attention heeling (dog walking by as he looks up at you) as you walk by them at a distance, and lavishly praise and reward him every few steps.

If you dog bites when you come home from work, let him focus on the floor, by tossing several tasty treats on the ground in a treasure hunt fashion and telling him to "find it!" Keep the treats handy by the entrance or keep them in your car and carry them in your pocket as you are ready to come come home. Here is how to teach the treasure hunt game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

This training at subthreshold levels is very rewarding for both you and your dog. Your dog in a better thinking-state and therefore learns to stay calm, while you are rewarded with finally some results. It's just a matter of taking small, baby steps.

-Gradually Raise Criteria "Slow and steady wins the race" goes the saying. This applies as well in training and behavior modification. We want to start with easy-peasy baby steps and progress very gradually, always working at the dog's comfort level. Going too fast in the process may cause the behavior to break apart and lead to setbacks (dog reverting to the overly excited behavior).

While a setback can be frustrating, it won't harm too much if you quickly remedy the situation by taking a few steps back and presenting the challenge into smaller subs-steps. It also helps to make a mental note of what may have triggered the reaction so to avoid presenting an increased level of challenge that the dog isn't yet ready to face.

If your dog get overly excited and nippy when guests come over, but has been more responsive when kept at a distance behind a pet gate, you can move the pet gate closer and work on asking him some cues from there.  Afterward, you can practice with your dog on leash with you sitting at a distance from the guests who are also calmly sitting, and then finally you can practice off leash having the guests take turns asking your dog to sit for treats and maybe even do some fun hand targets (which work great to teach dog an alternate way to interact with hands rather than biting). Here is the guide on hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

There are also fun games you can play with your dog to keep his mind busy and away from acting overly excited. For instance, when guests are over, you can toss treats or hide them around the room in a treasure-hunt fashion to keep him busy searching for them or you can offer him a bottle filled with kibble to work on getting out. The key is to keep him busy so that he's less attracted to acting out.  https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

-Keep it Brief and Fun As always, make sure to not put your dog into situations that may trigger once again the excited behavior. He may not be ready yet to face them. Think strategically and preventively- sort of like defensive driving, scanning for problems before they even have a chance to occur.

For example, when guests come over, you may have better results if you don't have your dog greet them when they come through the door. Keep him behind the pet gate for the first few minutes until your guests are seated and he is an a calmer state. Then let him out, ask him to perform a few behaviors, maybe a few hand targets, reward them and let him scavenge for a few treats/kibbles tossed around the room to allow him to rehearse a calm thinking state and then place him back behind the pet gate with something to keep him busy and happy for some time. 

Keeping the encounters brief and rewarding will help your dog succeed and lower the chances that your dog may revert to his old antics. Don't give a chance for a setback to cloud a nice progress. For example, I know some dog owners who are eager to get their fearful dogs to meet other dogs. These dogs do well the first few seconds of the encounter, and then at some point, they either get stressed, or the other dog does something that they do not like and this causes them to growl. If only the encounter was kept brief, both dog and owners would have come home to a pleasant experience,  rather than a negative one. 

-Encourage Calm Activities Dogs who get overly excited benefit from learning how great it feels to feel calm. These dogs benefit from learning the perks of lying calmly on a mat. Here is guide and video demonstration on how to train it: how to train your dog to lie on a mat.

It also helps a lot to train dogs how to better cope with their frustration and learn to control their impulses. Here are some ideas: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

Brain games, clicker training, foraging opportunities, nose work are all great activities that help dogs practice calm behaviors.

-Something to Consider With Nippy Puppies If you are dealing with a puppy who bites when excited, consider that your puppy may be getting too overstimulated and cranky. Puppies need sleep and they also need to learn how to regulate their emotions. Prevent your puppy from getting overstimulated or cranky. 

I hope this helps! I know you mentioned not much stops him, but most pups will not give up a treasure hunt or a  a game of chasing tossed kibble/treats (you can train the smacking sound to redirect him at a moment's notice and then toss treats/kibble https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/, or a Kong stuffed with some peanut butter placed on a mat, or a Licki-mat to lick with some meat-based baby food (with no onion or garlic) smeared on it, or if your pup is very toy-driven, a flirt pole can be very attractive.

The goal is to keep him occupied on something else and create a new routine that replaces the undesirable one. Think about this as a way to "rewire his brain." His brain is stuck on the automatic mode "gotta start biting when excited/in need of attention". You will need to therefore find ways to re-wire his brain to seek other forms of engagement that compete against the reward he is getting from biting (engagement/attention/interaction). You can start with the easier games that provide food without much thinking involved (smacking sound followed by treat toss, treasure game, bottle game -most pups can't resist this game-, muffin game), and then gradually move to games that require more thinking (hand targeting, going to the mat, grabbing a toy on cue etc).

Keep me posted on how things go!

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne 

 

[FeliciaMaida]

Morning,

We have been working on keeping him busy with games,treats, etc and I have  been keeping up with the games you have mentioned above. The problem is it does not seem to be working.  For instance as soon as I let him out of his crate in the morning and try to pat him to say hello he starts right up with the nipping. He settles when I say “let’s eat”. He can be eating his food and someone will come into the kitchen , he will stop eating jump up and start nipping, after telling him “off” and throwing his food down he will then go back to his food and finish. Then ofc he wants to play when he’s done. Which we do, then we will be playing a game of tug of war (with me) while my daughter is watching, she will leave the room then he will immediately stop playing with me and run after her and nip at her.  Thoughts on why or how to get him to not do this?  This is what seems to be his MO with most things (even after a long walk and we get home, my husband will walk through the door and again he jumps and nips) happens mainly when he is excited or wants attention and what I need to stop. Going back to the morning routine, it doesn’t make sense to put him back in his crate seeing that he was just in there for 8 1/2hrs. Would love some more suggestions. 
 

Thanks,

Felicia

[JimmyFulton]

I also have a dog guilty of this nipping behavior.  It is a five and a half month old male german shepherd.  He is a VERY loving, wonderful pet, EXCEPT when he gets "spun up" which happens when he doesn't get his way.  This time, I told him "leave it" while he was digging in the lawn.  Usually we will redirect him to a sandpit I made for him.  Felicia, I read your advice above and know that the best solution is to mitigate it before it starts which is a work in progress.  Good news is his bite inhibition is excellent.  I need him to stop this though since I suspect it would be terrifying to uninitiated visitors!

My ask is if you have time to watch this very short vid, you may have some insights into what I might do differently once we are already too late/over threshold.  Any observation/guidance would be awesome!  

Thanks,

Jimmy

[Adrienne]

Hi Jimmy, thanks for the video and welcome to the forums!

It is great that your pup has great bite inhibition, I see him mouthing quite gently which is very nice. I think what's needed here is some tweaking by offering activities that make biting your hands, arms and legs less appealing because the activities you are offering are far more rewarding to engage in. 

With puppies like this, I like to carry around toys and kibble/treats so that I can use them at moment's notice. I would therefore carry a tug toy in one of my pant's pockets (I love pants with lot of pockets!), some balls in my other pockets, and possibly, even a flirt pole (I carry it laying around my shoulders or like a purse over my shoulder so I can use it when needed) and let the pup vent with these rather than rehearsing the nipping of human body parts. I would also keep kibble/treats in one of my pockets or treat bag. 

If the biting mostly occurs in some specific contexts, like when out in the yard, or when the pup is frustrated about something, you have the advantage of predictability. When we can predict when a behavior is about to happen, we are in power as we can control the situation by being prepared and changing the outcome by offering alternate activities. 

 I would therefore ask for some sits and downs and mix in even some hand targets, and reinforce those by tossing a treat/kibble at a distance from me before the puppy has the chance of even thinking about biting. Tossing the treat, versus hand feeding gives me time to "reset the dog' so to say, gaining some distance and precious seconds, so when the pups returns to me, I can quickly offer some activity or keep asking for some behaviors before the dog thinks about going into "bitey mode. " It also provides pups with a work-out as they keep running back and forth.

When I am done, I would end things by asking one last behavior and then may toss several kibble in the yard "treasure hunt" style to give the pup time to do something while I leave the area or I would have the pup latch on the flirt pole toy and gently tug the pup back inside the home. 

If I were to be caught off-guard, like say I had no kibble or toys to use to preempt/redirect the behavior, I would try to turn into a lamppost. In other words, I would cross my arms and stand as stand stationary as possible totally ignoring him. This is difficult to do with pups who have a poor bite inhibition, but if your dog is overall gentle, you can try this approach when caught off guard. Most dogs lose interest after a few attempts of biting. As I watch the video, I see how his behavior escalates the more you move around and say no bite. Around second 14-18 as you are dangling your hand low, he seems to calm down for a bit. 

I emphasize though the importance of preempting the behavior from occurring in the first place. Once again, by providing alternate activities. Initially, it could be just tossing kibble the moment the dog approaches if the dog is too over threshold to listen. After ward though we can incorporate some training with sits, downs, hand targets. We just don't want to have a behavior pattern to establish and become ingrained (when I can't do something, I will start biting) as rehearsal of behavior causes it to put roots. By providing an alternate activity instead, we can get "when I can't do something, my owners offers me to do something else and I get reinforced for that too! Win-win!"

Your puppy did a very nice down at the end, too bad there was nothing to reinforce that like giving a kibble/treat or access to toy.  The science of positive reinforcement tells us that behaviors that are reinforced tend to strengthen and repeat. I am a big fan of using a dog's kibble for training if the dog likes it and when training in low-distraction areas. With just a portion of the dog's daily meal, you have loads of desired behaviors to reinforce.

I would not recommend nose bops or anything physical as that can trigger defensive biting. Hand targets are fine, but they need to be reinforced to make them more likely to happen and become a preferred activity over the nipping. Here's the guide for hand targeting:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

Finally, 'leave its' need also some type of reinforcement to keep the response strong. Reinforcement can include kibble, treats, play with a toy, tossing a ball the opposite side when the dog stops digging and listens to "leave it", encouraging the dog to dig an another area (I use my feet to dig in the area and most dogs will rush and start digging to join in the fun).  Keeping the response strong through reinforcement is important as we want to build a strong foundation that will pay us back that day the dog is about to do something potentially harmful or get ahold of something potentially toxic. 

Of course, all the tips above apply as well, such as providing outlets for the need for exercise and mental stimulation, training better  impulse control  ad frustration tolerance, https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/, encouraging calm behaviors and reinforcing them. 

I am providing a link of a video I just uploaded. I made it a while back for my GSD clients, it talks about German shepherds pups who nip and how to encourage different forms of interaction and making them fun and reinforcing so that the pup chooses to engage in these more and more, eventually outranking the nipping.

Before doing this training, this pup nipped on almost all occasions. Nipping was his default behavior to use when around anyone. He didn't like to be touched and the owner told me that her vet told her to alpha roll this pup when he nipped, but this only made matters worse as this pup went from playful nipping to wanting no hands near him due to negative associations.  Fortunately, we were on time to work on this and make a change for the best. 

 I hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Happy training!

 

 

[Adrienne]

6 hours ago, FeliciaMaida said:

Morning,

We have been working on keeping him busy with games,treats, etc and I have  been keeping up with the games you have mentioned above. The problem is it does not seem to be working.  For instance as soon as I let him out of his crate in the morning and try to pat him to say hello he starts right up with the nipping. He settles when I say “let’s eat”. He can be eating his food and someone will come into the kitchen , he will stop eating jump up and start nipping, after telling him “off” and throwing his food down he will then go back to his food and finish. Then ofc he wants to play when he’s done. Which we do, then we will be playing a game of tug of war (with me) while my daughter is watching, she will leave the room then he will immediately stop playing with me and run after her and nip at her.  Thoughts on why or how to get him to not do this?  This is what seems to be his MO with most things (even after a long walk and we get home, my husband will walk through the door and again he jumps and nips) happens mainly when he is excited or wants attention and what I need to stop. Going back to the morning routine, it doesn’t make sense to put him back in his crate seeing that he was just in there for 8 1/2hrs. Would love some more suggestions. 
 

Thanks,

Felicia

Hi Felicia,

Nipping unfortunately is something that takes time to tackle, but the good news is that if we work diligently on preventing rehearsal and encouraging alternate behaviors that are fun and reinforcing, we should see a decrease in the biting and an increase in engagement in these alternate behaviors. Of course, not all cases are the same, and some pups may be more challenging to work on. With a pup who has been rehearsing nipping for a good six months, of course, it will take longer, than with a puppy who was trained much earlier. Puppies of herding breeds can be more challenging and so can pups with high levels of energy and in great need of lots of mental stimulation.

From what I read, Cunucus are rare and very agile dogs as they were bred to hunt lizards/iguanas. With such agile dogs, we need to be very quick in redirecting so it's best to always be prepared (carry kibble/ treats in your pockets, a tug toy, ball or flirt pole with you, so that you can engage him before he has a chance for biting). 

You claim that the games, treats etc do not seem to be working. Is your dog refusing to engage in the games or training? Is he not eating the kibble or treats? A dog who is playing the games or responding to training is good as we are encouraging alternate behaviors to engage in. You should see an increase in choosing these games rather than nipping.

Improvement starts at baby step levels. It starts with the dog choosing to hand target, play tug or go on a treasure hunt, play a bottle game rather than nipping. Over the course of time, steadily, you should see a growing desire to interact in these ways rather than biting. We measure improvement very gradually. How much was the nipping happening over the course of the day initially prior to the training? How much nipping is occurring since introducing the games, training and preventing rehearsal of the problem behavior as much as when we can? There should be a very gradual, but upward trend with the engagement in alternated activities slowly outranking the nipping episodes. If the dog went from nipping most of the time and now is nipping only in certain particular circumstances, that is progress and you want to embrace every little sign of it. 

I see that you are particularly struggling with the nipping in certain circumstances. Then, we need to carefully evaluate what is happening in these circumstances, and work on those systematically. Knowing when the behavior is likely to happen gives us power as we can predict it and take steps to prevent it from happening and offer something else to do that doesn't involve biting us. In other words, it gives us the opportunity to have a plan in place. 

If I were you, and the nipping happens first thing in the morning when you let him out of the crate, I would do the following and track over the course of several days how it goes.

Firstly, I would be prepared. Since he is in the crate, you can keep by the furniture nearby all your "ammo" so that you are prepared. Have kibble/ treats in your treat bag or  carry several balls or have a flirt pole ready, so that you can engage him before he has a chance for biting.

Secondly, I would avoid patting him to say hello if that evokes the nipping. He is too excited in the morning to accept affection. Leave the affection for only when he is calm. You don't want him to rehearse this morning nipping behavior forever, you want to establish a new routine. 

*Please note: You may need to work on creative positive associations with touch if he tends to nip when touched even when calm. In the video I have provided Jimmy above it has a game known as touch and treat which aims to create a positive conditioned emotional response: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ 

Thirdly, I would do any of the following and see what works best:

-After you open the crate, start tossing his kibble in front of you as you walk, one kibble at a time, make it fun praising him as he eats the kibble. A dog busy eating kibble cannot bite because his mouth is busy. You can use a portion of his morning kibble so to put it to good use rather than just serving his whole meal in a bowl. You can do this every morning until you take him to the yard where he can drain some more energy until he settles. Many dogs are overly excited in the morning, but it often lasts just a few minutes. 

-After you open the crate, you can toss your dog one ball far from you which he should chase, once he gets that ball and he is coming back in your direction, toss another ball, far from you, once he gets that too, toss a third one. With him running after the balls and keeping his mouth occupied catching them, his mouth should be too busy to nip.

-After you open the crate, wiggle the flirt pole in front of him and let him catch the toy at the end. Gently let him tug at it while you are walking out to the yard where he can go burn a bit more energy. use the flirt pole only for when you need help he most. If your dog sees it too often, it may lose it's appealing value. 

Notice how I haven't added any obedience exercises in these games. There is no asking for sits, hand targets or lie downs. This is because we may want to start really easy-peasy with your dog, in case he's struggling, as dogs who are too excited in the morning may be too over threshold to think well. You should aim though to train hand targets, sits and downs, when he is calm and then start gradually adding these gradually to distraction-based settings such as in the morning.

This way, as your dog learns more impulse control, when you open the crate, you can ask your dog to sit before you toss the kibble, sit before you toss a ball, sit before you let him play with the flirt pole. By putting his mind in working mode (operantly), we can reduce his excitement. 

If someone coming into the kitchen is causing him to jump and start nipping, your pup needs to eat in a separate area until he is better under control or you should keep the dog tethered or on leash with you to prevent rehearsal of the jumping and nipping behavior. Then, when you have time for training, you can organize set-ups with guests but in very gradual systematic settings as explained in the first post. 

Children are often very overstimulating for young dog. How old is your daughter? Would you be able to erect a baby gate so that your daughter can leave without your dog running after her and nipping? This at least until he attains better impulse control and learns to engage in calmer behaviors such as going to lie on a mat when you ask him to. As mentioned, the more the nipping occurs the more habit forming it becomes. 

If your dog bites and jumps when you husband comes through the door, once again manage by keeping him on leash or behind a baby gate until he calms down a bit when you can't train. On days your husband has time, you can then practice something similar to the exercise below. The goal is to make it clear that jumping/nipping makes the person leave, while calmer behavior makes the person enter and even toss a kibble /treat or two (keep them handy by the entrance of you can be the one tossing it when your dog behaves) to reinforce those calmer behaviors. 

Please note: I am acting exciting in the video below. I would suggest your husband ignore your dog as he enters (no talk, no touch, no eye contact) to help your dog succeed.  When your dog jumps or nips, you hubby turns around, and even leaves if the behavior persists. Rinse and repeat until you can obtain calmer greetings. As time goes by, you should be saying calmer greetings and your dog will look forward to his treat/kibble tossed when he comes home. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-practice-greetings/

I hope this helps! Keep me posted on how things go. 

Best,

Adrienne 

Disclaimer:  If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional (DACVB, CAAB or dog trainer specializing in aggression) who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

[FeliciaMaida]

Thanks for the information above. I will work on your suggestions. Although you suggest when I have company to keep my dog away until he settles. Yesterday we had a small get together for my daughters graduate school graduation.  My parents and my in laws came over, both in their 70’s.  Needless to say my pup was super excited. (This is the first time he has met them due to covid) I kept him on the leash and told him off and offered him treats. As soon as he was done eating the treats he went back to repeating the same behavior. As this was not working (thinking I can’t just stand there and feed him) I then removed him from the situation and put him in his crate to see if he would calm down. He was crying and barking, he was in the house, we were outside and we could hear him. After about an hour he still did not settle down and when I let him out he was just as excited, if not even more because he was stuck in his crate.  He was extremely thirsty (from all the barking) so I let him have a drink and brought him back outside with the treats. We walked around the yard staying away from my guests and when I wouldn’t let him near them he started jumping up and nipping at me. I could tell he was very frustrated that I would not let him near them. How do you handle a puppy that cannot settle down even when taking him out of the situation?

Felicia

[Adrienne]

How do you handle a puppy that cannot settle down even when taking him out of the situation?

Did you provide him with something to do when in the crate? In such cases, I suggest giving dogs something to keep occupied when placed in a crate so not to cause dogs to feel as if they are being punished or socially isolated. A stuffed Kong or a long-lasting edible chew can help keep them busy. I would aim to provide things that he wouldn't normally get on these occasions.

It may help to keep such things on a high shelf, table, that the dog cannot reach shortly prior to the guest's arrival so to increase motivation to have those and providing those contingent upon placing the dog in the separate area once the guests are over. However, I feel using a pet gate  and giving something that will keep the pup busy as suggested in my earlier post above may have worked better than the crate so that your puppy doesn't feel left out (with the pet gate he can still see through, hear the guests and feel more part of the family) yet, he is prevented from acting boisterous, jumping and nipping. 

Another option would be to keep him tethered. You can do this by screwing an eye-bolt into something sturdy enough to withstand your dog if he manages to pull with his full weight (like screwed to a beam, wall) in the same room, but at a distance from where the guests are so he cannot nip/jump on them. You then attach one clasp of the tether to the eye bolt and the other to the back clip of a harness your dog is wearing.

Or you can use the tether to loop around some heavy piece of furniture. Make sure it's sturdy. As always, provide your dog a stuffed Kong or some long-lasting chew that can keep him busy. Young dogs tend to get bored and frustrated quickly so giving them something to chew/vent can help. Always supervise a dog when tethered. 

We walked around the yard staying away from my guests and when I wouldn’t let him near them he started jumping up and nipping at me. I could tell he was very frustrated that I would not let him near them. 

Was he able to take the treats when on leash with you? Did his jumping and nipping at you, coincidentally start when you finished the treats? With cases like this, we need to have a good supply of ammo (split treats into many small pieces to increase the opportunities to reward non-nipping behaviors) and end the session before we have exhausted all ammo. An outdoor tether/pet gate could have come handy too in this case, so you could have placed him there at the first signs of frustration, always offering something there to keep busy. Be generous on what you offer, we are working to compete against the pup's excitement and fear of missing out.  Licki-mats with a bit of canned dog food smeared on it, Kong Wobblers filled with Kibble -if your dog loves his kibble-, frozen Kongs stuffed with peanut butter are great options. 

I can understand how frustrating this can be. I used to foster a dog like this, and it felt like it took forever to calm those  hyper-arousal levels. This foster dog, like yours, would redirect on me when frustrated, nipping and scratching from not being able to encounter people or dogs on walks. She was a 1 year old Lab mix who was a stray and was never really trained in her life and she wasn't used to be on leash so it frustrated her. At the shelter, she couldn't be walked by some staff due to her hard nipping. We had little history of her, but it seemed like she lived free and wandered the streets according to reports, and that explains why she had little frustration tolerance as she never learned  boundaries.  She had the peculiar habit of chasing and eating cicadas. They must have been a part of her diet!

 

It took some time, but progress came steadily over time. It starts with the dog being able to engage in easy-peasy alternate behaviors (like eating tossed treats, playing with a flirt pole, tugging a real rabbit fur tug toy) and then gradually things start clicking as the dog gets into a better thinking state and starts gradually getting more and more responsive. 

 

The more people my foster dog saw, the better.  Seeing many people lowers their saliency, but they have to be the right type of people initially. That is, people who ignore the dog and don't reward hyper behaviors with attention. Trips to the city where there lots of people and several reps  of organizing "guest'" setups with the right type of volunteers willing to take directions, helped a lot. 

Challenges with Visits from "Real Guests" and the Whole Covid19 Situation

Things  can get challenging when we have "real" guests over rather than volunteers in organizes set-ups. We want to attend to the dog, but we must also talk to our guests and it's hard to multi-task. We may forget to keep track of how many treats are left in our treat pocket or miss body language of the dog starting to get frustrated and over threshold. It's not easy. 

The whole COVID19 situation has added further challenges. We aren't seeing people as often as we used to. Dogs get de-socialized: under-socialized dogs risk getting reactive, excitable, while social butterflies risk getting too hyper-aroused and revved up. Such scarcity makes people much more salient to dogs, paving the path to overreactions. I know a trainer colleague of mine who has even found a new niche for her business: helping new owners of COVID19 dogs cope with the impact this pandemic has had on their dogs making it her area of specialization. 

Here a few extra tips that come to mind:

-Organize many set-ups (COVID19 permitting) where you receive " fake guests" (people pretending to swing by and act like guests) but only for a short period of time and with people who are willing to help and follow your directions (family members work great for this). Start with just one guest at a time.  

-On the visit day, ensure your pup had a good night's sleep and opportunity to nap prior to the fake guests' arrival. Sleep-deprived dogs have a lower threshold and are much quicker to get over stimulated and cranky, which leads to more nipping. 

-Walk your pup, play, do several brain games/training sessions at home using kibble. Anything that helps drain some energy prior to the guest's arrival. 

-Prepare goodies that your dog doesn't normally have and reserve them exclusively for these scheduled "fake guest setups." Keep them in places where your dog can see or smell them, but not access them a few minutes prior to the guest's arrival to increase eagerness to have them.

-Have some back up plans. I like to call these "what if" plans. For instance, what if the goodies aren't enough to keep him busy for the length of the visit? Have some others ready to provide. What if, he starts barking non-stop? That would require a different plan. A remote training tool like "Masters Minder" or "Pet Tutor" may help reward the dog for not-barking. 

-Set a video recorder to where your dog is and start the recording.

-Have your guest call you (no doorbell or knocking) announcing when they are about to arrive. Keep your door unlocked so he/she can just come in. Place your dog behind the pet gate or tether him, but do not provide any goodies yet. Wait for your guests standing next to your dog while holding the goodies that you have prepared for your dog to have (stuffed Kong, a new chew toy, a long-lasting chew, the more the better so he can choose what to do). Your dog by now should be waiting in trepidation hoping to have them. As soon as your guest enters, provide your dog with the goodies, have your guest sit down and calmly chit-chat totally ignoring your dog, making sure your guest talks in calm voices and don't make too many movements/ hand gestures.

-Keep an eye on your dog. When he is about to finish his goodies, have him/her leave. 

-Watch your recording. You will have some valuable feedback there. You can see for instance, what goodies your dog selected, which tells you what is able to compete against the saliency of the guest's presence and win his attention. You can see whether he was focused on the goodies, or whether he was distracted every now and then and by what (louder voices, laughing, talking in a certain tone). 

Rinse and repeat the same setting several times, with different guests, and gradually up the challenges or take a few steps back based on how your dog does and watching the recording. The more guests you have over that ignore him, the better as they will stop evoking too much excitement anymore. 

 

Guests on the Couch Exercise: You can do this once your dog is calmer and better trained around distractions. So once your dog is calmer, and the guests are seated, you can have your guests hold treats in their hand behind their back. You can then bring your dog out on leash, and have them ask for sits and hand targets and reward for those. If your dog tries to nip or jump on them, you can always make a quick about turn and increase distance and then try again until you get the desired behavior. After several reps, his excitement should dissipate and he should learn how to reap reward by acting calmly. Do several reps and then place your dog back to his area, preserving the success (once again, don't over do things).

 

Tether/Pet Gate Games: 

 

Many dogs get more excited when people advance to meet them, rather than the dog meeting them. So this is an extra challenge. When your dog is tethered or behind the pet gate and he is calmer, you can instruct your guest to approach and ask him to sit and deliver a treat for sitting. 

 

If he tries to jumps or nip, your guest should move away out of reach and  then wait for him to sit. When he sits, guest can approach and deliver the treat. If he jumps, guest stops and moves away again. If he jumps as the guest is delivering the treat, he should move the treat away and hide it behind the back waiting for another voluntary sit. 

 

Practice with other guests, different ages, sex, ethnicities and then you can even move the pet gate/ tether closer to the guests, until your dog gets calm enough. The more people over, the more your dog will generalize the behavior and improve. 

 

I hope this helps! Keep me posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FeliciaMaida]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I did find that giving him something to chew on/ eat was helpful. But when he finished he went back to the same behavior.  I don’t feel that feeding him the whole time my guests are present is a positive thing. Also I have to attend to my guests and can’t “play games with him”.   The problem I have with a tether is he will chew on the leash out of frustration and he can jump gates. So my only option is the crate. I’m feeling defeated with all of your suggestions and do appreciate your help. I’m just not sure this kind of training is helpful for him. I am hoping once he gets neutered he may calm down a bit

[Adrienne]

 I did find that giving him something to chew on/ eat was helpful. But when he finished he went back to the same behavior.

If it was helpful, that was a sign it was working! Embrace these little improvements and you should gradually see more and more. Baby steps. Practice often, practice makes perfect. The more people he sees, the more they start getting ho-hum boring or at least they lose their saliency if you can keep him focused on not acting hyper. Have you practiced any more since last time? How is he doing when hubby comes home? How about when you open the crate and walk? 

Back to working around guests, it's important to take him back to the enclosed area, before he has finished eating or you should provide something that is longer-lasting to buy you some extra time, (bottle game, treasure hunt, play with a flirt pole-this can work great with nippy puppies) and then as soon as you notice he has finished the food or he is getting tired of the game, take him back before he has a chance of thinking about reverting to the problematic behavior. Set him up for success! Easy-peasy tasks that are brief, rewarding and that engage his brain. 

This whole chewing things/eating without asking for behaviors is only temporary. We are finding ways to engage his brain and prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior.  We are trying to re-wire his brain and get him into to engaging into alternate activities. Once we obtain a thinking mind, we can then start asking for behaviors like sits, lie downs, hand targets and we should work our way up to where we can can keep him on a mat when guests are over or at least tether him  so that he can stay on a mat calmly chewing on something valuable while the guests are over. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

 I don’t feel that feeding him the whole time my guests are present is a positive thing.

Are you worried about calories? If so, I can provide many suggestions on how to limit those. Will your dog take kibble in the presence of guests? Then, that's wonderful as we can use that so rather than having the dog just wolf it down in seconds for free, we can put it to good use and use the kibble to work with the dog.

Food is a primary reinforcer, it one of the fastest, simplest ways to train a dog or involve a dog in behavior modification. It offers a win-win situation because it prevents dogs from rehearsing the problematic behavior, it helps the dog stay focused on something other than the problematic behavior and it also impacts the dog's emotions, creating positive associations with guests (many dogs who are overly hyper/ overstimulated can have some anxiety going on too). 

You do not need to feed your dog the whole time your guests are present, only when you get him out to practice calmer behaviors around them. Then you can put your dog away, (when he goes back to the area, you can give something to chew on that your dog likes and is safe), give him a little break and get him out a few more times. If your dog is very toy driven, you can even try using a flirt pole or a long tug toy to get him distracted. 

Also I have to attend to my guests and can’t “play games with him”. 

When you need to attend to your guests, then you do not train, you keep your dog in his own area. We cannot keep him out and allow him to nip and bite and act hyper, that's just allowing him to rehears the problem behavior and making things worse. When you have just a few minutes of time, you take him out and practice. It can be on your own terms if you want. Just do it when you can, it's better than nothing. 

The problem I have with a tether is he will chew on the leash out of frustration and he can jump gates.

There are indoor tethers that are made of chew-proof material such as heavy duty vinyl coated wire rope or plastic coated heavy duty steel cable, like a tie-out, but lighter and more flexible. On top of this, when he's tethered and you provide with something to chew that is far superior to chewing on the tether (bully stick Himalayan chews), he should easily make a good choice. Of course, you'll need to keep an eye on him every now and them. 

I really think a tether may work best for you, so that your dog can be kept out of the guests' reach so he can't nip and jump, but at the same time he reaps the benefit of being around company and learning to act calm. You can use it to even train not to jump as mentioned previously where your guests can approach and turn around when he tries to jump and come back and reward when he has all four paws on the floor.

As for gates, I know of some very tall gates purposely crafted for jumpers. Some dog owners even get creative and attach a gate over another to make it extra tall. 

 I’m feeling defeated with all of your suggestions and do appreciate your help. I’m just not sure this kind of training is helpful for him.

I am sorry to hear you feel this way. Some dogs can be much more work than others. It can feel very frustrating. I understand your feelings.

There is another type of training, but I have to say there are risks and one may end up with more problems down the road which can be far more troublesome than just hyper arousal/ excitement. I am talking about punishment-based methods. As a cross-over trainer, who has used such methods in the past, I must say that yes, they can be effective, but they come with a price and studies have backed this up. 

Studies have shown that dogs who were trained using aversive, punishment-based methods have a higher chance for becoming aggressive. The study conducted by Meghan Herron, DVM, DACVB, Frances Shofer, DVM and Ilana Reisner, DVM, DACVB, of the Matthew Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania,  found that when dog owners resorted to harsh confrontational techniques, dogs responded with aggression. These methods also impacted the dog's level of trust in the owner and there were risks for dogs becoming stressed and developing fears and phobias. There are countless studies proving all of this, here are just a couple:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201217095536.htm

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300357

This is why large organizations such as the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) advocates that vets work along with dog trainers who focus on reinforcing desirable behaviors and removing the reinforcement for undesirable ones.

 https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dominance_Position_Statement_download-10-3-14.pdf

I am hoping once he gets neutered he may calm down a bit

In general, neutering removes behaviors that are hormonally-induced like urine marking, roaming in search of a mate or hormonally-induced competitiveness/aggression towards other male dogs. Calmer behavior comes with reinforcing calm behaviors (even simply capturing and rewarding them as they unfold, like praising and rewarding  when a dog lies down, walks calmly, chooses to sit rather than jump), providing dogs with a stress-free environment and exercise, training, brain games, sniffing opportunities, puzzle toys and impulse control/frustration tolerance games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

Many dogs tend to also get on the calmer side as they mature. I have seen some very hyper pups (who were on medications by a veterinary behaviorist) start getting much calmer around the age of 3 to 5 years old and no longer needing meds.

I am hoping you stick around, yet, I understand if you are feeling frustrated from not seeing the results quickly as you were hoping for. I am always here if you need any help and will be more than happy to do more troubleshooting. 

Best,

Adrienne 

 

[FeliciaMaida]

Good evening,

Need some advice on how to stop the nipping that happens out of the blue?  We play tug of war, we hide treats, we ask him to “leave things”, we have him go to his bed ( he still gets up without waiting for his cue 🙄), and then we will just be standing in the kitchen whether it be cooking or doing dishes and he just comes up from behind and starts nipping. Also when my husband is sitting in his chair at the end of the day the dog will go and bite his toes just out of the blue.  He’s not excited or crazy he just walks over and bites. Needless to say this is extremely frustrating and we really need some one to help/guide us on how to stop this. Any suggestions are welcome as we don’t know what else to do. 

[Adrienne]

Hi Felicia,

Glad to hear you are playing tug with your pup, hiding treats and training him to leave things and have started the mat (or go to your bed) training. That's all good stuff and keeping his mind and body busy is fundamental at this teenager stage.

Also, around this age, all the permanent teeth are in, but the molare are still finishing up cutting through the gums and therefore there may still be some residual teething pain and a strong need to chew, sort of like it happens when humans get wisdom teeth. Some call this the "second teething stage" and it can be more destructive since, by now, dogs have stronger jaws, so be sure to provide plenty of sturdy chewing toys!

I will be tackling the two issues you have mentioned in two separated posts. 

For nipping in the kitchen:

Unless you have been providing people's food in the kitchen and he's nipping to ask for more or he's trying to herd you out of the kitchen if right after eating/cleaning that's when he's fed his meals, this behavior can be simply be a way to seek interaction or he may be a bit cranky from being over tired. In any case, good to know when this is likely to happen so that it can be prevented and redirected.

Cases like this often just need to be tweaked a bit so to prevent establishing a new routine of "every time my owner is in the kitchen or doing dishes, it's game on!" Here's the thing: what happens when he nips like that? Most likely he gets some type of reaction, whatever that reaction is, there's some reinforcement going on otherwise, he wouldn't keep on repeating it. 

So it could be you just saying "ouch!" and turning around or it could be you getting irritated or sending him out of the kitchen. Dogs who are seeking attention will be happy with any type of attention even attention of the negative type (scolding the dog, pushing him away). Dogs who are seeking interaction, come to see our responses (even saying "no bite") as signs of us participating in play. 

So what's  to do in such cases? We have several options:

1) Management. This is the easiest solution. It stops the behavior in its tracks. It works well for when we don't have time for training. It can be a temporary or permanent solution. Management prevents a new routine from establishing and it prevents rehearsal of the problem behavior. So in this case, it would entail again either erecting a super tall baby gate or using an indoor tether specifically designed for potent chewers. Alternatively it could entail having somebody keep the pup busy out in the yard when you are cooking/cleaning or taking him on a walk. 

2) Give him something else to do. Before you start cleaning/cooking strategically pre-empt the nipping behavior by giving something long lasting for him to do to stay occupied. This can be stuffing a Topple with some peanut butter, doing a bottle game https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/, scattering some things to search for on a snuffle mat, engaging him in a Nina Ottoson or other type of puzzle or anything safe that keeps his mouth busy and mind entertained. If you do not want to use food, you can give him a special toy that keeps him busy and that you use only for this selected time. The toy needs to provide some type of interaction to encourage independent play. A real rabbit-fur tug toy to shake and carry around can help or there are now tug toys that can be attached to something to encourage independent play. Rotate these toys to keep the interest alive and make sure to check on your dog every now and then for safety.

3) Ignoring the behavior. In other words 'turning into a tree." This can work with some mild attention-seeking behavior, although I am not a big fan of it.  In other words, the moment he nips, you would tuck your hands away, cross your arms and stay still without looking or talking to your dog. Be forewarned though: when you do this, you may get an extinction burst, that is, the behavior intensifying before getting better. Your pup may nip harder or may try biting somewhere else just to get a reaction. If you can endure all that (wearing some extra layers of clothing can help), your puppy should give up, but if you struggle and end up moving, you will have reinforced persistence causing the behavior to become more ingrained rather than better. 

4) Ensure all needs are met. I know how hard this is, but dogs of this age can be really demanding as they're hyper and there are moments of regression in training. Indeed, it's not a coincidence that most dogs relinquished at the shelter are at the teenager stage. So loads of mental stimulation. Actually many dog behavior professionals recently now recommend more mental stimulation than actual exercise as exercise makes dogs more fit which makes them need more and more exercise. Lots of sniffing adventures, nose work, training, brain games (use his kibble if he likes it), clicker training, puzzles and chew toys of a variety of textures.

[Adrienne]

For the toe-nipping behavior:

I feel again that this is the pup's way for seeing engagement/interaction or attention. Toes are fun to play with. I don't think it's a coincidence that it happens when your husband comes home and would like to relax. The evening is often the time when pups are full of energy as they get those infamous post-prandial zoomies, they come to expect some type of interaction to get rid of that energy. With nothing else to do and craving attention, he has therefore decided to start playing with your husband's feet.

Add to this the novelty factor, if we wear closed shoes most of the time and now we suddenly wear sandals or opened slippers, a puppy will surely be drawn to the toes because of the  whole novelty factor.

Here's the thing: we may not be aware of this, but every time we wave our toes or feet as the puppy nips, we are rewarding the nipping behavior. The pup is playing and interpreting  our movements as engagement in play. Even if we say things such as 'no bite' or push our puppy away with our foot, he still thinks we are playing. Actually, with time, a pup may come to think that 'no bite" or pushing him away is a sign of our active participation in the game. 

Also, as mentioned, for many attention-seeking puppies, any form of attention is better than no attention at all and that even includes attention of the negative type such as scolding the puppy with a deep voice or getting up and trying to move him away. 

So what's  to do in such cases? We have several options:

1) Avoid physical methods. This is worthy of repeating for those reading this. Puppies mostly bite because they are wanting to play and seek engagement/interaction. If we get angry or frustrated with them and engage in harsh methods such as scruff shakes, pinning the puppy to the ground or gabbing their muzzle, we risk making them move aroused or may turn playful biting into defensive biting which is a much bigger problem that is more difficult to resolve. 

2) Out of sight out of mind. When there is little time to train or are very busy, you may find it best to just manage the behavior. In other words, have hubby avoid the biting from occurring in the first place by wearing closed shoes. With toes out of sight, the puppy should be less propense to biting. Alternatively, keep pup in a separated area or tethered at a distance. 

3)  Provide more exercise and mental stimulation. Teenage pupsters can be a handful, they are full of energy and need constructive ways to disperse it. Brain games, food puzzles, "sniffaris" (walks for sniffing,) socialization opportunities, scent games, chew toys, play with other dogs (if he does well with them) training and games should help keep the pup busy and out of trouble.

Food for thought: If you can sit down in the evening and relax reading a book and your pup leaves you alone, you know your pup has had enough activities and mental stimulation during the day. 

4) Pre-empt the behavior. If the nipping behavior happens at a certain time of the day, it's important to provide the puppy with activities at that time before the pup has an opportunity to engage in the nipping behavior. In other words, provide the puppy with something that will keep him occupied such as a Kong Wobbler filled with a portion of his daily allowance of kibble, a Snuffle mat studded with treats, or a Kong stuffed with some peanut butter. 

5) Train your puppy alternate behaviors and reward those. Hand-targeting can be a great way to divert the pup's attention from toes to your hands. Toss the kibble/treat at distance to keep him busy. Praise and reward for every successful hand target. Mix in some sits and downs and tricks.

For breaking the stays on the mat: 

When training your dog to lie on a mat, you are likely to incur some challenges. Lying down on a mat is not simply an operant exercise, it's teaching your pup to learn how to settle and stay calm. The most common challenges are encountered with dogs who can't stay on the mat for too long. With young puppies or dogs who are very hyper and unable to stay still for long, this can take some time to master. Be patient.

It's important to progress at your dog's pace and watch for signs of frustration. If your dog yawns, starts sneezing, or has a sudden itchy fit during your training, take this as a sign that you may be asking too much and your dog needs a break. These out of context behaviors are known as displacement behaviors. Pay attention to them and adjust your training plan accordingly.

If you find that your dog gets off the mat frequently before being released, consider re-evaluating your training plan. Most likely, you are progressing too fast at a level of proficiency your dog isn't ready for yet. Take a step back and practice more on the challenge splitting it perhaps into easier to assimilate steps.

If you are getting frustrated, take a break and evaluate whether your dog is breaking the cue too often because he's not ready for training at that level of proficiency. To play it safe, the best consequence for breaking a cue is to bring the dog to the original spot in a calm, neutral manner, and repeat the exercise, making sure to make it easier.

Tip: Putting a dog in a "stay" is mildly aversive (most dogs do not like to stay still), and it's important to provide reinforcers (rewards) at least initially, even though being released is already a reinforcer on its own. As you build duration, it's best to add an element of surprise. Ask your dog to "stay" for 3 minutes, then 8, then 5, then 2, etc.. This way, your dog will not be able to anticipate the added challenge to the exercise which could trigger the onset of displacement behaviors. For longer stays your dog cannot hold yet, make sure to provide your dog with something to do while on the mat. 

Hope this helps you!

Best,

Adrienne 

[FeliciaMaida]

These are all great suggestions that I believe will work!!  Thanks you so much!!! I am especially happy to hear you are not a fan of the “tree” so many people have told me to do that and that is exactly what he does, he bites harder and jumps and he bites anywhere he can if we turn our back and ignore him. I will keep you posted  

 

[Adrienne]

Yes, please keep me posted. Also, don't forget about capturing calmness! When you catch him doing a nice sit, shows calm behavior like lies down, acts chill, make sure to praise and reward that. By capturing these little moments of calm, we should see a gradual yet steady increase in these calmer, less hyper behaviors. I am always here to do any further troubleshooting if needed. 

Best,

Adrienne 

[FrederykBlot]

Quote

If I were to be caught off-guard, like say I had no kibble or toys to use to preempt/redirect the behavior, I would try to turn into a lamppost. In other words, I would cross my arms and stand as stand stationary as possible totally ignoring him. This is difficult to do with pups who have a poor bite inhibition, but if your dog is overall gentle, you can try this approach when caught off guard. Most dogs lose interest after a few attempts of biting.

Hello,

this thread is very interesting, and I find very useful even if my situation is not the exact same

The part I quoted speaks specially to me, because my pup happens to start ankle-nipping, socks-nipping, sweatshirt-nipping when he becomes tired of fetch. At some point during fetch, he has enough running to get the toy, just stays here, and prefer to attack my shoe / ankle / sweatshirt. This is very frustrating. I go get the toy trying to switch to a tug, but it is worse as now he has a moving target... I quite lose patience over this particular point because I'm caught off-guard, and I'm a little lost what to do at that point... I even pushed away, even pushed him on his back, and I regret it now the more I read the site and your replies.

Would the lamppost be an adequate response in this case ? Also, at some point, when ignoring him, he tried to jump and hump... is the lamppost also the way to go in that case if I have no treat around ?

From what you say, the lamppost says "I don't care about what you do, you won't get anything from me with that attitude mister", but I'm worried it can interpreted like "ok, you can go like that as much as you want"

Thanks for the help 

[Adrienne]

With dogs, here's the thing: we can't use a cookie-cutter approach with all dogs. There are too many factors to consider. There are pups who nip for attention, there are pups, pups who nip for frustration, there are pups who nip for engagement/play there are pups who nip for exploration (mouthing), pups who nip because they are teething, pups who nip because they are cranky and in a dire need a nap. I don't like to lump all nipping in one category, although it is true that most puppies nip because they're playing but it is also true that play can incorporate a variety of feelings.

When we are not entirely sure why a puppy is nipping, we can try different methods and see which one works best. When we do so, we need to keep track of the behavior over time. I like to use a graph to collect data. Is it increasing, decreasing or staying the same? Even a small decrease often means that we are heading in the right direction.  If it is increasing, we need to evaluate whether it can be an extinction burst. If it is staying the same, chances are that the pup needs a different approach or the pup's needs aren't satiated enough, but there can be other factors at play. 

Nipping behavior in pups are one of those things that take time to work on because it's so deeply ingrained (that's what puppies do) and it takes time to teach the pup other forms of independent play that don't involve biting our body parts and other behaviors he can gain reinforcement from which will begin outranking the nipping. 

The becoming a tree method is a behavior intervention method that can work in certain cases.  It can work for mild cases where the pup is seeking attention or is particularly drawn to movement. It can cause a pup to lose interest in the best case and learn that "biting makes my owner freeze and become boring" but it has the extinction burst component that can be difficult to endure and most people struggle with that (understandably!). 

If a puppy is biting from frustration or overstimulation and the puppy "vents" his frustration overstimulation by humping, that can be become reinforcing enough to establish if it happens over and over in a behavior chain fashion, so it won't help if that's the case. This is one of the reasons I am also not a big fan of this method as it can work for some but not all. 

[Adrienne]

 At some point during fetch, he has enough running to get the toy, just stays here, and prefer to attack my shoe / ankle / sweatshirt. This is very frustrating. I go get the toy trying to switch to a tug, but it is worse as now he has a moving target... I quite lose patience over this particular point because I'm caught off-guard, and I'm a little lost what to do at that point... I even pushed away, even pushed him on his back, and I regret it now the more I read the site and your replies.

I know exactly what you mean. A pup I had not too long ago over for training, had a similar habit, only that this pup would play tug of war with me and then decide out of the blue that grabbing my arm was more fun than grabbing the tug toy. With these dogs, I have found the following helpful:

-Offering a Higher Value Toy

There are toys and toys. If you offer your puppy a toy that is always around and that your puppy sees on a daily basis, it wall fall short when it comes to competing with your hands.  Hands will always beat that toy because they move around quickly (nobody can withstand those puppy teeth for long!), are unpredictable, and puppies in many cases are more likely to seek play with humans and other puppies rather than with toys because pups love physical play and this is what they are naturally drawn to do. 

In this case it therefore will be helpful to hold in your pocket or fanny-pack, a toy that your puppy isn't used to seeing much around. Toss it on the opposite side of the room and let your pup have fun with it. Rotating your puppy's toys is always a good idea so that they remain "fresh" in your puppy's mind and keep him interested.

-Ending the Game

If you are playing with your puppy and you puppy finds it more rewarding grabbing your hands or sleeves rather than your tug toy, you may want to put a consequence to this behavior. The moment he "misses" the toy and goes for your hands, say "oops, too bad!" and get up and end the game. This makes it clear to your pup that tooth contact on your skin ends the game.

You can then resume the game after a minute, and if he keeps tugging at the toy continue playing, if he does though happen again to bite your hand, get up again, say "oops, too bad!" and end the game. Rinse and repeat, but if a third strike occurs, get up and leave the area completely.

-Offer More Mental Stimulation

Puppies are very prone to biting and they often do this out of play, but it's important providing them outlets for their needs of being "mouthy" without overly depending on us humans. Encouraging independent games that don't involve nipping us at various times of the day can turn helpful.

For instance, rather than just offering meals in a bowl for free, put the kibble in a Kong Wobbler so that your puppy has to work to get it out. Or keep the kibble in your treat pouch and give a kibble for each desired behavior your puppy performs. For instance, you can toss your puppy a kibble for doing a sit, then for obeying your request to leave alone your slippers and for looking up at you rather than chasing the cat.

-Consider Tiredness

Sometimes puppies get tired of playing, but are too overstimulated to recognize it. When puppies get tired this way, they get cranky which often leads to more nipping/humping/barking. In such cases, it helps to pre-empt the behavior by stopping the game before the puppy even thinks about biting. Do only a few fun sessions, then leave the area or take your pup to a quiet place to chew on something and nap. 

Hops this helps!

 

 

[FrederykBlot]

Quote

If a puppy is biting from frustration or overstimulation and the puppy "vents" his frustration overstimulation by humping, that can be become reinforcing enough to establish if it happens over and over in a behavior chain fashion, so it won't help if that's the case. This is one of the reasons I am also not a big fan of this method as it can work for some but not all. 

I'm interested about the "behavior chain" thing, it seems to make a lot of sense, because I may have notice that doing the lamppost on humping, then rewarding after he goes "sit" seemed to make him hump like 2 or 3 strokes (while it was more like 7-8 before), and then sit to get the reward. The decrease of strokes is the sign that the lamppost method works, or a sign that he's doing behavior chain with reduced time on the first part ?

I'm actually wondering if it is something frequent.
For example, lately he managed to get on the garden couch, usually when he's tied in the yard and me not looking.
When I see that, I order / lure into "descends / pattes au sol" (we're French) which are "Get down / legs on the ground", and rewarding when he's down.
Is it the correct way or am I inviting him to get on the couch, then get down to get a reward ? Maybe I should add a "sit + stay" ?

Same for every kind of redirection : if he does to biting my ankle, or clothes, I get a high value treat, goes for sit+stay or leave it + sit + stay, and reward. Will he dismiss the biting part ?

I also try redirection using "target" sometimes. If I have treat on me and I sense beforehand he's going for the leg, ankle and clothes, I try quickly a sit+stay (for impulse control) but if I'm not quick enough, is it still the way to go ?

I must be wrong, but the concept of "behavior chain" makes it look like every redirection can be an addition of a bad behavior, instead of a replacement

Thank you for the explanation

[Adrienne]

I'm interested about the "behavior chain" thing, it seems to make a lot of sense...

The topic of behavior chains is certainly interesting. It's not very commonly talked about and therefore deserves more attention. 

I may have notice that doing the lamppost on humping, then rewarding after he goes "sit" seemed to make him hump like 2 or 3 strokes (while it was more like 7-8 before), and then sit to get the reward. The decrease of strokes is the sign that the lamppost method works, or a sign that he's doing behavior chain with reduced time on the first part?

I think what is likely happening here is that he is learning to reap the rewards of sitting and the perspective of these rewards are outranking his desire to hump. The less he humps, the quicker he can sit and gain access to reinforcement. At some point, you should be able to get him to sit the moment you see him approach your leg without humping being part of the equation. 

For example, lately he managed to get on the garden couch, usually when he's tied in the yard and me not looking.
When I see that, I order / lure into "descends / pattes au sol" (we're French) which are "Get down / legs on the ground", and rewarding when he's down.
Is it the correct way or am I inviting him to get on the couch, then get down to get a reward ? Maybe I should add a "sit + stay" ?

Same for every kind of redirection : if he does to biting my ankle, or clothes, I get a high value treat, goes for sit+stay or leave it + sit + stay, and reward. Will he dismiss the biting part ?I also try redirection using "target" sometimes. If I have treat on me and I sense beforehand he's going for the leg, ankle and clothes, I try quickly a sit+stay (for impulse control) but if I'm not quick enough, is it still the way to go ?

Because of the potential for behavior chains, is the main reason why I am big fan of catching the dog and getting him to perform a desired behavior *before* the undesirable behavior happens. This prevents a chain from forming. So dog approaches? I ideally like to ask for target/sit right there before 

Adding a delay between the undesirable behavior and delivery of reinforcement can help in hopes of extending the chain and confusing the dog a bit considering that reinforcement, in order to be effective, is suggested to be delivered within 0.5 seconds of the desired behavior. So a stay can come handy here. 

Also, preventing the inappropriate behavior from occurring in the first place, in other words " antecedent control" is something that is often underestimated, but yet very powerful. 

If a dog gets particularly nippy at a certain time of the day, then address the overarousal and evaluate whether there is some need not being met (need for nap, need for play, need for mental work/ engagement/interaction?). By interacting with our dogs/fulfilling a need *before* they start engaging in a problematic behavior we can preempt the behavior from happening and therefore avoid it from becoming a pattern. We can get good at this as we learn more about our dogs and their personal needs. 

[FrederykBlot]

Thanks for the explanation, it's very clear.

 

I'm gonna be a bit of the devil's advocate there, despite I try some "antecedent control" when he was rushing on my leg and that worked kinda good (only with high value treats though), but I'm wondering how can he learn then that the behavior he wanted to do is a bad behavior that need correction ? 

I mean, if we "intercept" any humping / biting and go to a target / sit beforehand, he wouldn't know that we're not ok with humping / other bad behavior, isn't it ?
While as you mentioned just before in the quote before, the sit and the reward associated would outweight the humping behavior 
With antecedent control, aren't the bad behavior still inside, just waiting to catch us off-guard when we miss the anticipation 

(I'm not trying to contest, or demean this, I'm just putting myself in the "critics" position to have better understanding of how it works, to get the best out of it)

[Adrienne]

No worries, it's always good to engage in critical thinking. I even once took a course on that, so I am used to questioning everything myself 🙂

I'm wondering how can he learn then that the behavior he wanted to do is a bad behavior that need correction?

The main problem with correction-based training is that it works on suppressing the behavior, rather than tackling the root cause. Sure, we can correct the mounting behavior by pushing the dog away, scolding the puppy in an angry tone or even delivering a harsh correction such as a scruff shake or alpha roll, but these don't address the underlying emotions.

When we suppress a behavior, especially those that occur naturally like barking, digging, nipping and mounting, we also pave the path towards creating a "vacuum activity." A vaccum activity is a replacement behavior, that as the name implies, fills the "vacuum' and sometimes it can be worse than the behavior one was trying to suppress.

For instance, some dogs may become stressed if they are corrected for barking repeatedly as it can happen with bark collars. This suppression can cause enough emotional turmoil that the dog stops barking but starts some other stress-induced behavior (anxious pacing, excess licking or chewing) which can even become compulsive. 

I used to be a balanced trainer years ago and used corrections. Corrections that aimed to suppress behaviors. Modern training and behavior modification though is straying more and more away from these methods because there is potential for side effects. These fall-out effects have been backed up by studies. Even something as simple as pushing a puppy away with our hands can lead to increasing the dog's arousal levels, defensive aggression, hand shyness, handling reactivity (dog doesn't like to be touched) and mistrust.  

The aim is therefore to fulfill the dog's needs or address any potential overstimulation or stress/anxiety so to tackle the underlying cause.

With antecedent control, aren't the bad behavior still inside, just waiting to catch us off-guard when we miss the anticipation?

We perceive behaviors like mounting as "bad" when in reality this behavior is carried out mostly as a way to play, overstimulation or even as a displacement behavior due to stress/anxiety. Before it used to be thought dogs would mount because of dominance, but research has revealed a whole different story. The mounting behavior is bad from our perspective, but to a puppy it is a totally normal behavior. 

When an unwanted behavior is suppressed through correction-based dog training methods, it creates a void that will likely be filled with other problem behaviors. For example, if a bored dog is punished for chewing in the yard, he'll likely start digging and barking because he's not provided an outlet for his needs for mental stimulation.

Modern dog training focuses on tackling the issues at the root cause. Behavior is not just behavior, it's a sign of something going on internally. Identifying the underlying internal turmoil can help us tackle it correctly so that the root cause is addressed. 

For example, puppies who hump out of a desire for interaction and play, may benefit from being taught other forms of play and interaction, and making engagement in these activities far more rewarding than the humping. For example, you can teach your pup to tug on a long tug toy or you can encourage some play with a flirt pole. 

Puppies who hump due to excess energy, benefit from more mental stimulation, brain games, structured play, sniffing adventures (sniffing is a tiring activity) clicker training etc. Play with other vaccinated  puppies can also be a great outlet. 

Puppies who hump as a way to get attention, can learn that their humping is unsuccessful by getting up and walking away. Time after time, the puppy should learn that the behavior is not working in garnering the attention the puppy wants. If the puppy persists, one can even walk away and leave the room. 

Puppies who hump due to overstimulation, may benefit from being  removed from the area and placed in a quiet area for some chill time with some chew toys. Such puppies can drag a light leash or wear a leash tab so that one can move him away should he be persistent without using our hands. 

Puppies who hump due to stress, if one can recognize the contexts in which the dog gets stressed, it helps habituating them to stimuli or situations in a step-by-step fashion though a systematic desensitization and counterconditioning program.

Training an alternate behavior is very helpful. We often tell dogs what not to do, but rarely show them what we want them to do instead. In this case, the moment we notice a puppy's intent to hump, we can pre-empt it by asking the puppy to perform a different behavior. It is hard for a puppy to hump a leg if his rear end is on the ground. 

In this latter example, one is reinforcing a response that is incompatible with the undesirable responses differential reinforcement of an incompatible response (DRI). Response substitution can therefore become a winning strategy. 

Will the behavior remain inside? Well, for some time it can, but with training and preventing rehearsal as much as we can, we can extinguish it to a good extent from the dog's behavioral repertoire so that it becomes scarcer and scarcer. The more a dog rehearses a behavior, the more it puts roots and establishes.  

If we want to add a consequence to an undesired behavior without incurring into too many risks, on top of positive reinforcement, we can also use what's called negative punishment. That is removing access to something that the puppy wants, to reduce the behavior. For instance, in a puppy humping for attention, we can have them drag a light leash or wear a leash tab so that one can move him away should he be persistent.  After a couple of strikes, the puppy can be taken to to a time-out area to chill with some chew toys. 

With antecedent control, preventing rehearsal of the problem behavior, tackling the direct driving force of the behavior and reinforcing alternate behaviors, we should see a gradual, yet steady reduction in the mounting behavior overtime. It's important to keep track of the behavior so to monitor progress. Progress is usually slow initially, but should follow an upward trend.

[FrederykBlot]

Hello

 

I'm reposting back on this thread because I've spoken about this topic here before : it is about getting on my clothes

 

We definitely have progress here : 

- I try my best to avoid too much fetch or too much tug, so I do limit a bit the over excitment that would appear from that

- when a bit above threshold, treasure hunt helps him cool down a bit while having mental stimulation

- we started the ball pit game... He goes with the paw instead of grabbing with the mouth... But still works to get the treat right 😂

- we rotates toys. New isn't always best, so this is an area of expérimentation... But it's better than when it was always the same toy

With him getting stimulation while being under threshold, we saw improvements

 

But (and a big but), there still have some point of out of the blue attack, usually targetting my sleeves. For example, he'd seem calm at first, I go get the last poop in the yard, and booom, few seconds later, I have a pup tugging of my sleeves with all I have in the hand is a bag of poop...

Several questions here :

- when tugging of my clothes he sometimes growls. Should this be a concern ? For me it's not, as I read they build confidence like this, they act all fierce and mighty, but this is still play. A growling in a fear context would be problematic, but in a play context it's just him being a "big guy wannabe"

- only avoidance méthod is walking with a high value toy and redirecting I guess ?

- am not sure at all about the lamppost method here. I'm sure I can endure even if he touches the skin, but with him nipping and tugging, I'll have Swiss cheese instead of a sweatshirt... Or maybe the lamppost is the way to go, and I should just get a cheap sweatshirt when with him, and sacrifice it for the greater good until the behavior is over ?

- I tried the "getting away from the scène", but with his tugging, he has a good grasp, and I end up tracting him. Also, when leaving, it excites him a little more until I pass the door, as I would walk away and he would go on the feet then, or even try jumping during my walk and I wonder if that do not reinforce...

 

For me that's his worst problem, as it appears unexpectedly, when I off guard, and I usually feel lost at the moment, which cause huge amount of frustration on my side, not mentioning me being pissed with the increasing number of holes in my sweatshirts...

 

Thanks in advance for the help