Is this a sign of aggression to come?
It doesn't hurt as much as it is a shock. I told Brad that we can no longer lay on our backs near her and if she nips any part of me I scream or growl at her. Brad yells.  It makes her stop pretty quick.
But what I want to know is if this is aggression to come or just play? |
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| definitely play!!! You should see my folks cavaliers play- this is soooo typical for them! One will come over to the other, who is laying down- and grab his/her ears to initiate a play session.
Best way to handle- yelp very loudly, then get up and walk away. Completely ignore momo for a little while (I know this is tough). This is what her mom, or a senior pack member would do. Speak in terms she understands- body language. Reprimand with the yelp, then walk away, signaling that this behavior is unwelcome and will not be rewarded. She's still so little, it'll take a while to get over the nipping. She needs to learn that the teeth are not ok to use with people. Just be very consistent, and she'll get the message. I seriously hope you're still sleeping right now- as I see you wrote that at 5am- yuck!! Other than the attempting to get you to play via teeth, how is she doing? Karen  |
Thanks Irisk!  I'll keep doing what I'm doing then - and ignore her on top of it. Hopefully she'll get the message!  |
| Barney is from the same breeder (Leo and Shaggy) and went through the same thing until he got rid of his puppy teeth. Definitely not agression. I agree with Karen. Also playing tug o war seems to encourage this so I quit that. Have plenty of things for him to chew on: old socks tied together in a not; a rope toy, beef marrow bones are great. When he gets to be 3-4 months you'll start finding teeth laying on the floor. By 6 months Barney had all his permanent teeth and they're not needles like those baby ones. He still mouth's me every now and then when we're playing; when he does I'll yelp, say "no teeth" and ignore him till he settles down. |
| Boy, when I first found teeth, I freaked out! I never thought about them losing teeth-- it's been a long time since I'd had a puppy!
Clyde did it too. You're doing the right thing to whimper and walk away. Even now, when I'm playing, I have to be careful because I'll get down on all fours and play like he does with Lucy, our other dog, and he starts to play like he does with her, grabbing hair and mouthing my face. It doesn't hurt but I don't want him biting my eye by accident either! Clyde learned about good/bad biting from Lucy very quickly. It even curbed a lot of his teething biting because she would herd him away from places he should be. It was so cute! I don't know what I would've done without her! |
| Hi,
Good advice so far , puppy nips, you yelp, immediately have toy which you place in her mouth. Takes about a week and they eventually get the idea what's appropriate to mouth. Remember little ones are like teething babies and need to chew stuff..they aren't necessarily being mean. If the toy isn't available get up and ignore. When they mouth the toy...lots of praise. Be consistent! One thing George mentioned is rolled up socks which may be okay if you're living in an adult home. Egads!! If you have kids or planning on it...kids and socks left laying around seem to go hand in hand. You (future) kids will never have a pair of socks left which are wearable. My son made this mistake with Merlin as a pup and now Merlin sees all socks as playtoys. Same thing with old shoes! The dogs usually won't be able to differentiate which are okay to use and not. Sorry George but I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to start a new fashion statement with toeless socks. 
Congrats on little Momo and don't worry you'll do fine. Marianne |
| Thanks Marianne; us old geezers only have two pairs, one I'm wearin, the other he's chewin! But point well taken; good advice to all you families out there. Barney's a smart put. He only chews on socks with holes in them. If they don't have a hole in them he puts one in them, then chews on them |
| George you had me spitting out my coffee over your last sentence..Ha Ha!! Yuppers sounds like Barney is a one smart boy all right!!!
I should mention the smellier the sock the better..my son has some pretty wicked smelling socks as Merlin never touches mine! Hee Hee. I did warn my son about when Merlin grew up and not being able to tell the difference ...but NOOOOOO Todd didn't listen and now complains his socks go missing. (Shrugs) 
Marianne Thanks for the chuckle George and I'll now wipe up my keyboard of coffee. |
| Nice one, George! |
| ....Not to mention the recycled socks that you find after they've been "processed"!
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| Integra, I went through the same thing with Murph,as did George with Barney, it is puppy play, and wait till you go through the mouthing stage, not all puppies come well behaved you have to teach them what is allowed and what is not. The sooner you start obedience the better it will be. Just relax a little bit and enjoy your little Momo, and remember she is just a baby. |
| You've already gotten some great advice.... just remember they are a herding breed, so they are doing what comes naturally to them. We have to teach them that it is not natural, nor accpetable to us. They usually get it in no time. I really didn't have much of a problem with this with my girls. Not at all with Dancer, and very little with Sky. |
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