My parents brought a German Shepherd mix home from an animal shelter 3 weeks ago. He was listed as a Keeshond mix and having just lost their 13 year old Keeshond in December, my Mom decided to bring him home. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was primarily Shepherd. My mom was attacked by a Shepherd when she was a kid and is extremely frightened of them. (If I had known this, I would have told her I thought he was mostly Shepherd as soon as I saw his picture online). She almost rehomed him the first week. She decided to give it a try and he is definitely growing on her.
He is now 11 weeks old and has a big problem with nipping. He's constantly going after hands, feet, pant legs, etc. I recommended yelping and ignoring him which is what worked for my dog. My mom said it worked for her for a day, but doesn't seem to be working anymore. The vet recommended they hold his mouth shut, point his nose to the ground and firmly say no. This is not working and I think my dad is holding him like this too long. I'm afraid this is going to cause him to be aggressive, where right now he is just nipping because he is excited. My mom is at the point where she says if it doesn't stop she is going to have to rehome him. She is afraid of him growing up to be aggressive. (He's going to probably be about 90 pounds full grown, so we have to fix this issue while he is young.) They are now combining the holding his mouth shut and saying no with giving him time outs away from them when he is getting too overexcited. I think he would benefit from spending time with my dogs to get correction from them, but he is sick and they vet doesn't want him around other dogs right now.
Their last dog was very easy to train. The trainer they used with him used positive reinforcement. She is no longer training dogs. If anyone knows of a good trainer near Charlotte NC, I would appreciate a reference.
I've always gotten good advice here in the past and would love some input on how to fix this. My mom has been looking online, but I'm afraid of her finding bad info. This morning she was talking about reading something about alpha rolling him, which I personally don't agree with. She always comes to me for advice, but when it doesn't work for her right away it typically turns into, well that just won't work for my dog. Maya was never this bad about nipping as a puppy, so this isn't something I've had a lot of experience with. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me. He's had a rough start to life and I hate to see him have to go to a new home.
He is now 11 weeks old and has a big problem with nipping. He's constantly going after hands, feet, pant legs, etc. I recommended yelping and ignoring him which is what worked for my dog. My mom said it worked for her for a day, but doesn't seem to be working anymore. The vet recommended they hold his mouth shut, point his nose to the ground and firmly say no. This is not working and I think my dad is holding him like this too long. I'm afraid this is going to cause him to be aggressive, where right now he is just nipping because he is excited. My mom is at the point where she says if it doesn't stop she is going to have to rehome him. She is afraid of him growing up to be aggressive. (He's going to probably be about 90 pounds full grown, so we have to fix this issue while he is young.) They are now combining the holding his mouth shut and saying no with giving him time outs away from them when he is getting too overexcited. I think he would benefit from spending time with my dogs to get correction from them, but he is sick and they vet doesn't want him around other dogs right now.
Their last dog was very easy to train. The trainer they used with him used positive reinforcement. She is no longer training dogs. If anyone knows of a good trainer near Charlotte NC, I would appreciate a reference.
I've always gotten good advice here in the past and would love some input on how to fix this. My mom has been looking online, but I'm afraid of her finding bad info. This morning she was talking about reading something about alpha rolling him, which I personally don't agree with. She always comes to me for advice, but when it doesn't work for her right away it typically turns into, well that just won't work for my dog. Maya was never this bad about nipping as a puppy, so this isn't something I've had a lot of experience with. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me. He's had a rough start to life and I hate to see him have to go to a new home.