I have a 14 week old american eskimo that is jumping and nipping at my 2 kids faces. I have him signed up for puppy classes but they don't start until next wednesday. I have also purchaed "sit, fetch, stay" and read about nipping on hand but his aggressiveness towards the kids is starting to worry me. My kids yell "ouch" and leave him, but we've been doing this for 3 weeks now and it doesn't seem to be working. A trainer at the kennel said he looks like he is shy and is aggressive because of this and his aggressiveness will probably always be an issue. Is there ANY suggestions that could help our family. We don't want to have to give him to another family, but his "nipping" worries me, I don't want my children's faces scarred. PLEASE HELP! Thank you
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Hi Kathie,[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Thank you for your post. The behavior of your American Eskimo puppy must be quite a concern for you, particularly when that behavior is directed at your children.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][/FONT] [SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I think it is vital for both you and your family members to read and start using the Alpha Techniques in the bonus book “Secrets to Becoming the Alpha Dog”. From reading your post, it sounds as though your puppy does not have the proper level of respect for you or your children, and he needs to be taught that he is at the bottom of your “pack”. This is quite common in families with young children, so it is important that both the adults and the children in the family begin to implement the various techniques. I recommend that you read the bonus Alpha book for more information. [/FONT][/SIZE] [FONT=Calibri][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Next, I think it’s great that you have enrolled your American Eskimo into puppy classes. Teaching your dog in obedience will also help reinforce your higher position in the pack, and will improve his responsiveness to your commands and corrections. If he is a shy dog, it should also help improve his confidence. American Eskimo’s are generally very intelligent dogs, and therefore should be easy to train in obedience.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Calibri][/FONT] [SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Please ensure that your dog is getting a good amount of exercise, as this will help him use up some of his excess energy. He is currently too young to be taken on long walks, but games of fetch in the yard, are a good alternative. You should also ensure that your puppy has lots of toys to play with. Sturdy chew toys are a must! [/FONT][/SIZE] [FONT=Calibri][/FONT] [SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]If you have not already, I strongly recommend that you start socializing your dog with lots of other dogs and people of all ages. The more exposure your dog has to all sorts of situations, the less shy he should be. If possible, organize lots of play dates, and introduce him to all of your friends and family so that he gets used to seeing lots of different faces. [/FONT][/SIZE] [FONT=Calibri][/FONT] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Correcting Nipping/Jumping: [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]There are two methods that I tend to recommend [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]1. The Time Out Method[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Every time your dog nips or bites you or your children, I want you to either put him outside, or in a spare room for a time out. Leave him for 5-10 minutes, then go and collect him again in a quiet and calm manner. Bring him back into the room and give him a toy to chew on. Praise him for paying attention to the toy, and therefore leaving your hands and feet alone.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]If he tries to nip at you again, following the same process. You may need to do this quite a few times before the message gets through to your puppy. It is important to be consistent with this method – as soon as he nips you, out he goes! Pretty soon he will figure out that if he wants to remain with you, and receive positive attention, he will need to stop the nipping.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]2. The Noise Redirection Method[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]When your dog tries to nip you or your children, you should make a high pitched squealing noise (this should be a more piercing noise than a yelp). In doing this you will hopefully startle your dog into stopping what he is doing. As soon as he does, this is your opportunity to praise and treat him. Therefore you are rewarding him for not nipping you. As with the above method, you may need to do this quite a few times before he starts to understand what you want from him. You may also need to help you children with this method. [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]You may even like to try a mixture of the two methods. For example, when he nips, you could make a high pitched noise, then give him a time out for a few minutes, giving him a toy upon his release from the time out. [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]As mentioned previously, the key to correcting this behavior will be consistency with your corrections. If you allow him to nip sometimes, but not others then you are not really getting a clear message across.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Finally, it is really important that no-one encourages this nipping and jumping behavior by engaging your dog in rough play. Games of Tug-of-War should also be avoided while this training is undertaken.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri][/FONT][/COLOR] [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]I hope this helps. Good luck with your training.[/SIZE][/FONT] [/SIZE]
