help, simon keeps nipping at me
- Thread starter Nina 05
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What kind of dog is he, and how old is he?
Get a squirt bottle and fill it w/ water. When he bites you, or gets up on the counter squirt him in the face and say NO. Most dogs don't like being sprayed in the face. Soon, he will learn what NO means.
To get a recall (come) on him, put a 10ft long line (rope) w/ a choker collar (the chain ones that tighten when you pull them) on him and take him out in the yard. Take his fav. toy or treat along also. Tell him to come here, if he doesn't listen, give a quick tug on the rope. Not a break his neck tug, but one that makes him uncomfortable. When he listens, and comes to you play like heck w/ him and his fav. toy, or give him his treat. Make a big deal when he listens to you. By big deal I mean say "good dog, that's very good, good boy" in that little kid voice and pet him like crazy. Make it worth his while to come to you. You are the comfort item. He'll learn that it's bettter to come when called than to feel uncomfortable.
As for him running the house, invest in a large crate for him if you don't already have one. If you can't watch him, or you leave, crate him.
Get a squirt bottle and fill it w/ water. When he bites you, or gets up on the counter squirt him in the face and say NO. Most dogs don't like being sprayed in the face. Soon, he will learn what NO means.
To get a recall (come) on him, put a 10ft long line (rope) w/ a choker collar (the chain ones that tighten when you pull them) on him and take him out in the yard. Take his fav. toy or treat along also. Tell him to come here, if he doesn't listen, give a quick tug on the rope. Not a break his neck tug, but one that makes him uncomfortable. When he listens, and comes to you play like heck w/ him and his fav. toy, or give him his treat. Make a big deal when he listens to you. By big deal I mean say "good dog, that's very good, good boy" in that little kid voice and pet him like crazy. Make it worth his while to come to you. You are the comfort item. He'll learn that it's bettter to come when called than to feel uncomfortable.
As for him running the house, invest in a large crate for him if you don't already have one. If you can't watch him, or you leave, crate him.
Ordinarily, I'd think the nipping was herding behaviour, but since Simon's a Labradoodle, there shouldn't be any herding instincts, so I'm going to go on the premise that this is a playing/pay attention to me behaviour, maybe with a little "I'm growing up and I'm going to see just how bossy I can be" mixed in.
Has Simon been neutered yet?
Keep in mind, too, that Poodles are a very curious breed. They want to see everything and know everything that's going on all the time.
It sounds like Simon needs some basic obedience training, especially "Sit." When he stands up to pilfer on the counters, tell him to Sit. He can't be up high enough to counter-surf when he's sitting!
Start working on the recall: I prefer a halter to a choker - I'd much rather not have my dog associate something unpleasant with being called! When you have him back at your side, give him "Sit" and when he's done that and held it for 10 seconds of so, lots and lots of attention - pets, hugs, whatever he likes best. Make it an attention party!
You'll need to keep some chew toys and whenever he bites, tell him to Stop or whatever command you want him to associate with not biting. (I don't recommend using "Don't bite" as someone who overheard you saying that to him might misconstrue and assume that you have an aggressive dog.) Then give him something that he's allowed to chew on. If you need to use the Sit command to get him to stop, use it. Sometimes that's the best thing to get a dog's attention.
Bimmer used to like to sneak up behind me and nip me on the butt when he was a puppy. He grew out of it after he was about 9 months old. Gotta admit, I kind of miss how much fun he had . . .
Has Simon been neutered yet?
Keep in mind, too, that Poodles are a very curious breed. They want to see everything and know everything that's going on all the time.
It sounds like Simon needs some basic obedience training, especially "Sit." When he stands up to pilfer on the counters, tell him to Sit. He can't be up high enough to counter-surf when he's sitting!
Start working on the recall: I prefer a halter to a choker - I'd much rather not have my dog associate something unpleasant with being called! When you have him back at your side, give him "Sit" and when he's done that and held it for 10 seconds of so, lots and lots of attention - pets, hugs, whatever he likes best. Make it an attention party!
You'll need to keep some chew toys and whenever he bites, tell him to Stop or whatever command you want him to associate with not biting. (I don't recommend using "Don't bite" as someone who overheard you saying that to him might misconstrue and assume that you have an aggressive dog.) Then give him something that he's allowed to chew on. If you need to use the Sit command to get him to stop, use it. Sometimes that's the best thing to get a dog's attention.
Bimmer used to like to sneak up behind me and nip me on the butt when he was a puppy. He grew out of it after he was about 9 months old. Gotta admit, I kind of miss how much fun he had . . .
We had a Golden at the kennels that was named Mooner..guess why? He was a classic bum biter..not hard, just enough to rip your back pockets off..it was his favorite way of playing while i tried to get my work done. how often do you take "play breaks" with your young dog? Vic can be good for about 2 hours, then he needs attention time.He is a year old now and pretty typical for that age. He use to bump my elbow but that is forbidden in an art shop so now he whines and "stomps" his feet to tell me his good time is used up. Since we have structured play he knows what to ask for, like hide and seek, or fetch. Once that is done I can go back to my work.