My 1.5 yr old female lab is generally very good and calm. Loves people: not an ounce of aggression. But when guests at the home aren't paying her attention, she gives them a small, slow nip/pinch on the knee or foot with her teeth. Annoying, and a little painful. I watch her closely and correct her before the nip when I can, and I remove her from the room when she nips. How can I teach her to settle near adults as they chat without demanding attention by nipping? (When guests arrive I give her a frozen stuffed bone to occupy her for 5 minutes. That works like a charm. But the nipping and whining starts when that is consumed.) Thanks!
Hi @Aharedog if she is doing it all the time then the value of the nip game must outweigh the negative punishment of removing her from the room. It's self-rewarding. I would remove her from the room at the outset. But you want her to stay in the room, presumably not in a crate. Why not then teach her to go to a mat located well more than a muzzle length from the visitors? Use a line on the dog in case she decides to eat one of your guests. Getting up from the mat means being removed from the room immediately. If she stays on the mat she gets a really high treat, as viewed by the dog.
The nipping, it sounds like, comes out of frustration for her - frustration that she is being ignored and not getting attention. The problem is that it is almost impossible for a guest to ignore a nip, so when she nips, the guest looks at her, speaks to her - and reinforces the behaviour. So what needs to be worked on, is teaching her to tolerate or manage her frustration, without resorting to nipping. And removing the reinforcement she gets, from nipping. How to do this? Personally, I would just crate her. With a Kong. Preferably in the same room as you and the guests. And when she finishes the Kong, I would just ignore any whining or noise - you are aiming at reaching the point where she just snoozes or relaxes in the presence of guests, in her crate. Once you have broken the habit through (guess what....!) PREVENTION - then you can see if you can maintain that, once she is out of the crate. You could use Michael's mat idea, at this point - reinforcing her for being on a mat...
Thank you! Your analysis is right on target. It is frustration: I can see in her that she just wants to *participate* in the visit, and every emotion she has comes out through her mouth! When I correct her, she's a bit confused ('what else.was I supposed to do? The guest wouldn't play!'). Not sure I can put a crate in the room (she's big), but I can keep her on a mat and short leash near me, rewarding moments of settling and giving her freedom once settling has become habit.
