[Sidney]

I know that puppies are very playful. Just wanted to get that out there, but over the last week Sidney (2 m/o Formosan mix) has started nipping ankles (clothes) and now when I carry her she will nip my arms, hands, neck and oh yes my breast!

She just started doing this about a week ago, but I've only had her for two weeks. Could this be her trying to tell me something is wrong? (I've already brought her to the vet, twice. She is 'perfect'...)

Does anyone have tips or suggestions about 'nipping' this bad behavior in the butt? (:P bad pun)

[Yogi]

First and foremost you have a pup that was taken too soon from the dam. Had you left it, the pup would have been taught bite inhibition which is the job for the pups mother. At this point, you are stuck trying to teach it not to do this.
The teething process in a pup is to be expected and with this comes the mouthing, nipping and biting. I suggest you start replacing your body for teething toys.

[Sidney]

=/ hmm....
I'm not sure if it is the age. I adopted her so I'm just guessing she's around two months, but she is probably older because I've already been able to teach her 'sit' and 'come'. Her ears also keep standing up now and then so maybe I should say she is 2~3 months old?

I've never had this problem with previous puppies though.

[Marc]

Bite her when she does it. She'll stop.

[angiesample]

Well i dont know much about the breed ur dog is.. but my dog who is Aussie/border collie/ heeler mix. I use to have trouble with her biting my feet or pant legs when i would walk and i determined she was trying to herd me. I got her to stop by just stopping where i was and saying NO. She caught on pretty fast.

AS far as the rest of the nipping i had a lot of problems with this bc my dog is a rescue so she left her mom at 5 weeks. Her mom passed away I just made sure she had a lot of chew toys and would praise her when she chewed on the toys and not on me. I would say "no teeth" if she put her teeth on me and now she never puts her teeth on me. She'll lick me to death though...lol.

This might be dum but maybe ur dog is scared of heights? My dog doesnt like to be picked up no matter what. I learned that pretty early on and i just dont pick her up anymore.

I hope this helps adn good luck!

[Sidney]

Originally Posted by angiesample

Well i dont know much about the breed ur dog is.. but my dog who is Aussie/border collie/ heeler mix. I use to have trouble with her biting my feet or pant legs when i would walk and i determined she was trying to herd me. I got her to stop by just stopping where i was and saying NO. She caught on pretty fast.

AS far as the rest of the nipping i had a lot of problems with this bc my dog is a rescue so she left her mom at 5 weeks. Her mom passed away I just made sure she had a lot of chew toys and would praise her when she chewed on the toys and not on me. I would say "no teeth" if she put her teeth on me and now she never puts her teeth on me. She'll lick me to death though...lol.

This might be dum but maybe ur dog is scared of heights? My dog doesnt like to be picked up no matter what. I learned that pretty early on and i just dont pick her up anymore.

I hope this helps adn good luck!

Formosans are the native breed of Taiwan also known as Taiwanese mountain dogs. A very rare breed, it's not even on this site!! She's a mix, but I know she is mostly Formosan because her ears keep popping up.

You know those baby pouch/slings, well I use one of those to carry her around when I know I'll have her outside for more than an hour (she gets tired fast!)

I've given her a bunch of rawhides and spiky balls to chew on... When she first started nipping it was VERY rare and playful. Now, she leave red marks on me. I'm a teacher part-time and my younger students were shocked when they saw me. (Don't want to repeat.)

[cigwyllt]

Do you have any other reason to think that she is a Formosan? There are lots of breeds that have those ears - take a look at the pic of my dogs in my profile for example. She could be part collie/kelpie, GSD loads of breeds and multi generational mixed breeds have upright ears. Also of course, as Yogi explained a day or so ago when the dog is teething the calcium levels are all over the place and the cartilage in the ears does all sorts of strange things! Unless you have seen her mother and have been told that she is a Formosan there really is no way of knowing what she might be.

[DoggieVogue]

Nipping is an issue most all puppies struggle with. It's their form of playing and usually it passes with some training. Whenever my puppies nipped me I would take my hands away and ignore them so they realized its not okay to bite and they won't receive attention for it. Also, you could try making a sharp "ouch!" noise so they realize it hurt you. Also, like Angie said, you could always stop picking her up. I hope these tips help you!

[Sidney]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Do you have any other reason to think that she is a Formosan? There are lots of breeds that have those ears - take a look at the pic of my dogs in my profile for example. She could be part collie/kelpie, GSD loads of breeds and multi generational mixed breeds have upright ears. Also of course, as Yogi explained a day or so ago when the dog is teething the calcium levels are all over the place and the cartilage in the ears does all sorts of strange things! Unless you have seen her mother and have been told that she is a Formosan there really is no way of knowing what she might be.

I made a thread about what she might be here (sorry can't link it yet) it's under Taiwanese dog mix in All About Dog Breeds

Now I'm pretty convinced she is Formosan.
I live in Taiwan, so they are very common here because a lot of this breed is still free range. She has more than just the ears characteristics(curly tail/color), but now that her ears are starting to stand up more we're sure she is Formosan even if she is mixed it's likely she is. From what I have been told, Formosans are a breed that comes from the Pariah dog hundreds of years ago. Formosans were raised by natives to help hunt and are very loyal.

I know her ears won't completely stand up for months =) but this is a start. It's cute because it's just the right one that stands up, I even video taped her.

@Doggie Vogue The thing about her nipping is that it started a week after I got her. I have been picking her up this WHOLE time. That's why I wonder if she is trying to tell me something, but I've brought her to the vet already and they gave her a bill of good health.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

[cigwyllt]

That makes perfect sense then - I've never heard of them, I'll have to go and google it

Her behaviour will have changed because she has settled down. For the first days/week/10 days she will have been more reserved and less sure of you. Now she is ready to be a normal puppy with all the nipping and chewing that comes with it. Perfectly normal.

[Jacqueline]

Everytime your dog nips, be sure to firmly tell him NO all the while tapping your finger on his nose. Eventually he should get the message. If not, try obedience training. It's important to nip it in the bud at as early of an age as possible, or the dog will grow up thinking this is acceptable behaviour.

[cigwyllt]

Nooo! Tapping the dog's nose is an out moded method of discipline that can cause serious problems for the dog in later life. You should NEVER EVER hit a dog on the muzzle in that way. I don't care what you call it - hit or tap or poke - it is dangerous and wrong. The muzzle area is the most sensitive in a dog so even a slight tap can cause pain. The OP has been given lots of positive ways to understand and improve her dog's behaviour. Tapping the nose is not one of them.