Nipping puppy

[barb]

What is a good thing to do to get Jake to stop nipping when playing with him. I know that nipping is a puppy thing to do. I want to play with him without the nipping as much.

I am crate training and doing NILF...

[Tammi21]

I’m sure there is someone here that can give you better advice then me, but here is what I did with Jetta.
When I first got Jetta she liked to nip at my face.
Well I after the first few times she did it I knew it had to stop.
I sat down where she could bite me if she wanted.
Then I let her lick my face. then as soon as she bit me I gave a loud and firm “NO!”
I did this in brief sessions of five minutes for about a day. I don’t recall how many times it took but it wasn’t more then ten.
She doesn’t bite anymore.
I’m sure if the “No” doesn’t get your dog attention a spray bottle would.
Edit. When your training the dog not to this don’t do anything that the dog might see as playing. Like pulling away and fast movements.

[Laura]

Tammi, that was close, but let me tweak it just a bit .
Getting down on the floor with a pup is a no-no, that tells them that your an equal, a littermate, if you will. I always sit on my haunches if I have to get closer to a pup, it gives me the advantage of still being taller than the pup, and the ability to stand quickly if need be.
Puppy nipping is normal, since they have no thumbs, they have to explore the world with their mouths. But teaching them what's acceptable to mouth and what isn't is important. You can do this by immediately telling the puppy NO, and then redirect him to what's appropriate, like a Nylabone or a Kong. Correct, then redirect. Squealing like a puppy in distress when he nips is also a good way to stop it, squeal and turn your back on him, ignoring him and stopping play. This is what his littermates would have done to him, so you can too.
But teach him bite inhibition as well, Kona wrote some good stuff about that in this thread
dogden.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=Aggression&action=display&thread=1113946308
And remember, those puppy teeth are like needles, but they don't stay in for too long ;D.