Take Control of Nipping

Day one is when you begin to take control of nipping.

Various techniques work for different puppies, but consistency is the most important thing. The family should discuss their approach to this lesson before the puppy arrives.
All puppies will go through a "nipping" phase; it's a part of their development. If they lived in a pack, teaching them this is unacceptable behavior would come from older dogs, but now it's up to you. It's not a pleasant experience when the puppy sinks those sharp little teeth into you, but it's even worse when they aim for the easy targets: your children.

A puppy naturally begins jumping on the kids whenever he sees them, treating them more like littermates than his superiors.

This behavior is frequently seen as affection by humans when, in fact, it shows the puppy's disrespect for the child as an authority figure. Innocent enthusiasm from a child will frequently trigger nipping. You want your kids to be excited about their new puppy, but play should happen only with your close supervision until the puppy learns to respect the little ones. Some time spent sitting on the floor and rolling a ball back and forth for the puppy to chase is better than allowing the puppy to chase your child. During a game of chase, the child will scream with delight – and all this energy will quickly rev up the puppy, resulting in jumping and biting.

During the initial training, the parents must step in and protect the kids, telling the dog that he must respect them. You must also explain to the children that you need their help keeping the puppy calm until it understands the rules. Older children will need assistance greeting the puppy and preventing nipping and jumping. The kids may be old enough to feed and poop scoop, but they're not ready to tackle the training without your instruction, supervision, and support.

You must follow through with your corrections.

Your corrections and their lessons are not complete when you say "no" and walk away. An effective way to train is to allow the repetition of the bad behavior, followed by correction until the puppy loses interest in the replay. Once they "give in," they are immediately praised like crazy and receive praise for good behavior, aka the submission. When you achieve the behavior you desire, the correction needs to stop. For instance, when a puppy approaches and is ready to jump up on you, say "ack, ack" and take a small step back so his feet land on the ground. He then steps forward with all four feet on the ground, bends down, pet him with one hand on his shoulders, and says, "Good boy."

Jim and I are a perfect example of how one way of training works and the other results in frustration. When Tula began nipping Jim’s fingers, his response was to say, “Stop that, stop biting,” and take his hand away. When she nipped my fingers, I would say “ack, ack” and lightly tap her nose with my index finger. (Do not worry; the tap was no more complicated than I would tap my nose and not blink. I would never condone inflicting pain for correction.) Then, I would immediately place my fingers back in front of her mouth. We would continue the cycle of her nipping, followed by my response of “ack, ack” and nose tap until she stopped, looked at me, and licked my finger. She showed her submission, and I praised her for being a good girl. Jim’s behavior taught her that she could win and be superior to him; my behavior showed her that I was superior to her. After two weeks, she continued to bite Jim. I showed him the difference in our approaches, and within two days, she’d stopped biting him.

I’m not saying my way will work in a day, certainly some puppies will be a bit more determined than others, but if you are consistent you will have a dog that listens and is a pleasure for everyone to be around.

The timing of your corrections is just as crucial as the method.

For example, your issue is the dog running after your kids and jumping on them. Put the puppy on a leash before he greets the children so you have control of him before the action begins. Gently keep one hand on the puppy’s shoulders, holding all four feet on the floor, then allow the children to pet him gently. By controlling the situation, your puppy learns how to properly greet the kiddies in return for their attention, and your children don’t become fearful of the puppy.

With consistency, nipping and jumping will quickly be in the past.