help with a nipping pup please

Our pup Milan is 10 weeks old now, we got her when she was 6 weeks old. I'm concerned at the moment of her nipping, i have read on here in other forums that this may be due to taking her home so young and teething and i am going to try some of the things suggested like, frozen carrots and yelping when she nips. However, i could really do with some advice with regards to her nipping my children, i have a 6 yr old and a 2 yr old, she nips them both when playing and i'm worried my 6 yr old is becoming scared of her. I have also noticed that Milan's attitude towards both children is different, she tends to be quite aggressive towards my 6 yr old often barking and snarling, where as she allows my 2 yr old to practically jump all over her. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

I would advise you to sit everyone in the house down and discuss the rules and training methods. This brings consistancy and that is what a puppy needs to learn. They are exploring the world with their mouths and that is also how they get attention and induce play. The best method is to turn around and ignore them completly. Yelping is okay as well and a can or bottle with metal or rocks inside to shake is also usefull. Make sure everyone knows what to do and stays consistant and she will learn.

She is a little young to be teething. Make sure she is getting exercise as well as short training sessions every day so she doesn't have saved up energy that she has to get out.

will get everyone together after school, thanks

i think all pups go through the nipping and chewing especialy when they atart teething. right now i would say the boundaries are being tested a little. they will behave like a dog playing with another dog and we need to teach them how to behave around humans. when the nipping starts give a firm no and lightly push the pup away from you. training isnt an over night thing but the message will reach home eventualy. keep plenty chewtoys and edible chews around and distract her attention when any unwanted behaviour starts

Here is a link that will help as well

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/stopyourstaffypuppybiting.html

Thanks Julie thats excatley what we have been doing, so i guess its just a matter of persevering, defo gonna introduce the stones in a bottle to as i know she does'nt like loud noise, she runs to her bed when the hoover is on bless her.

Thanks jstaff the link is really helpful

6 weeks is a bit young for her to be taken but you have to work with what you've got.
Among themselves, staffie pups will bite, snarl, jump on each other and more, all in play. They use their mouth a lot because that's what dogs do.
What you have to do is lower the level of excitement so that the pup can understand what's acceptable play and what is not.
If the dog gets over excited and you want her to calm down, the first thing to do is to stop playing her game yourself.
Gently block her from jumping and biting and by your whole demeanour and attitude let her know that the game is over, that you're not playing any more.
Never shout or hit the dog. You don't want to scare her and noise, especially shouting, will add to the excitement.
Show your pup that you want her to calm down by being calm yourself and expecting her to do the same. Be patient, be gentle, be firm.
Try to do this as silently as possible.
Be consistent.
As Jstaff says, all the family have to be together on this.
Make sure that she has plenty of excercise. They have incredible amounts of enery at this stage and if you don't release it, it will burst out somewhere.
Make sure that she has plenty of safe toys to chew. All pups have to excercise their jaws, and staffies, with their huge jaw muscles, need it even more.
You say that she behaves more gently with your 2yo than with your 6yo. This shows that she is already capable of learning, she knows that she has to be more gentle with the younger child and she knows that your 2yo is more vulnerable. That's a very good sign that she's capable of being a kind, gentle dog when she grows up and has learned her place in your family.
She's not being agressive with your 6yo, not at ten weeks, she's just looking for an outlet for all that rough-play energy that she should be releasing with her litter-mates but it can certainly turn into dominance if she thinks that she can push your 6yo around and that will lead to problems.
6year-olds can make a lot of noise in this sort of situation and that will add to her excitement.
As soon as you see her misbehaving in this way, step in, separate them, and once again, let her know that the game is over by blocking her calmly and waiting for her to get the message. Patience and consistency always works if you can remain calm yourself, but you have to give it a lot of time at first.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/stopyourstaffypuppybiting.html

I wish that I'd read this before I hunted and pecked out my previous post.
Exellent stuff.

good luck and let us know how it goes

Thanks oclasticon,

I have been putting some of the suggestions into practice today and just putting her alone with no toys seems to be working with myself, however she has been nipping the eldest still. I think though it is as you suggested due the eldest childs tone with her, after watching them play today it does seem my eldest makes her hypo with the way see plays with her, which is very loud and in her face.

And thanks lynne i will keep you all posted, also i have decided to get some support from an experianced trainer, just waiting for a call back. I have always intended to take Milan to puppy trianing school anyway but have to wait another 2 weeks until she is clear to go out. so this way the trainer can come to our home for an hour and teach us some basic things. £25 for the hour which i don't think is to bad really, considering Milan is our first dog, we want to get it right.

Oclasticon wrote:http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/stopyourstaffypuppybiting.html

I wish that I'd read this before I hunted and pecked out my previous post.
Exellent stuff.

The web site has lots of good advice on it

cheers

Is she improving?

She's doing fantastic, i'm amazed at how well she is doing, all she needed was the right guidence from me. She is still trying to push the boudries a little bit but i think she is just getting confused (mixed messages) from the kids. On the whole though i'm really impressed with how well she has taken it.

Thanks again for your support

Glad she is improving. At that age she is just a kid herself and can be easily confused. Make sure everyone is enforcing the rules all the time and she will be a well behaved pup in no time.

I am trying believe me.....got any training advice for the kids lol

I have contacted a trainer also, i have always been intent on taking her to puppy training that starts next week but thought it may be a good idea to have her come to us for an hour, she is calling me back tonight to make the arrangements, its £25 but i think well worth the money if it means were starting out on the right track. Think she does clicker training, have you had any experiance with that?

I don't have any kids so I'm just a novice. I'd try asking them for help and say you want the pup to be a good family member and you can't do it without them. It could work

at the moment i'm teaching the elder one what i am doing so hopefully she will become less scared of Milan soon and as for the little one, he goes straight in there, have to intervene to protect Milan, sure they will grow up really close together.