Re: Excitement Nipping I think you did the right thing by taking him indoors. He wasn't getting it with the 'no' and turning away, on the contrary it sounds as though he was getting more and more wound up. This is not biting - if he wanted to bite you it would feel very different. This is over-excited play nipping - but absolutely not acceptable and he needs to learn that. By taking him away from the situation you 'snapped him out of it'. I can't explain what started it - sometimes I can't explain daft things that my dog does, either - but if you keep plugging away at it, he'll work it out eventually.
Re: Excitement Nipping Karen you're right it's not "biting." Our trainer said the same thing and we always use bite but like you said, we'd know if it were biting!! When I think about him he is a very good dog but this just seems to overshadow all the good behavior. He is excellent on sits, downs, stays, retrieving, touches, placing and did great in his agility class!! We feel soooooo bad when he has an episode that we feel like we've done something wrong but maybe he's just a puppy who does a lot right but is just having a little trouble with this specific behavior!! It's what has been advised previously here so maybe I just need to relax and learn not to sweat the small stuff as they say and with time, things will get better!!
Re: Excitement Nipping I do understand though - I have the best and most wonderfully behaved little dog in the world - except for one weird little foible. Sometimes she just doesn't like someone we meet on a walk, and she goes into strange growly barky mode... We cannot explain what triggers this, and to us it is absolutely unacceptable. So, to avoid trouble, whenever we see someone ahead of us on a walk, we call her to heel and have her walk right next to us. That way the problem doesn't have a chance to arise. I use this example to say that you can't always explain what triggers an action. But you can work out strategies to deal with it. I'm sure you'll get this nipping under control, he sounds like such a great dog otherwise!
Re: Excitement Nipping Yes it may be a matter of adjusting things until he grows out of the behavior. We notice it can be random but also have seen a pattern begin to develop with his nipping/jumping. Not always but it's usually when we are headed back to the car after a walk. I think he senses his fun is about to end so like a young child can do, he'll start to pout or resist. We've been training on impulse control using the chill out game (I think I found that on here from pippa) and he does really well! Hopefully it's just dealing with this until he matures a bit more!! I think if we start trading for items he shouldn't have and rewarding as we approach the car or doing some quick obedience training as we end walks this can be fixed. Wow that sure was easy to type but the doing part is never quite as easy.....lol!
