Advice

We've had our SBT puppy 2 weeks now and what a joy its been having him around. Our children love being around him and our youngest (1 year old Friday) loves nothing more than playing with his toys and giving him his toys. Firstly is this wise letting them play like this. They are never left alone and all we want is for our puppy to feel part of the family but to know what he can and can't do. He's going through the biting and we often tell him no. We are wondering how long this nipping and biting is likely to go on for and if we're doing everything right to correct it. He basically gets told NO and if he carrys on then its in the kitchen till he calms down. This is usually repeated a lot, lol. He has lots of chew toys and is enrolled into puppy classes and is allowed out in a week so are we doing all the right things especially with regards to the kids?

Everything sounds pretty darn perfect to me, just be sure like you said not leave them alone/not allow your kids to be too rough/or he may want to be rough back/allow your pup to have some alone time if he wanted where he can not bothered e.g. a crate etc. make sure like you said he knows what to do and what not to do, your doing the right thing with his nipping so keep at it and your doing the right thing in socialising and training him with puppy school congrats.
Also knowing your dogs body language so you know when he is getting a little fed up/too boisterous/nervous etc wouldn't be a bad thing.

Thanks for the info, is there an average timeline on when puppies grow out of nipping or is it a case of every puppy is different? His actual den is the second toilet which is 6' x 3. That is where he can chill and stays overnight. This is going very well as he's going 6 hours, outside and then back to the den. I don't think we should change this to a crate like a vet suggests as Rosco is used to it now. People say you have to be firm with SBT training, I'd like to hear your views on this.

They all differ but as long as you are consistent in telling him no etc then they soon pick it up very quickly!

You can crate train a dog at any age whether their used to something else like his den or not, i holey recommend them!

You have to be firm but fair with staffs, essentially consistency is the key with them, as they are so eager to please

If the 2nd toilet is his 'den' and he's happy with that, then I can't see a problem with it. Just make sure there's nothing in tehre that he can injure himself with - bleach/toilet cleaners etc & if you clean the toilet make sure he can't get to the toilet bowl & lick the cleaner!

Pups don't really 'grow out of' the nipping - that's down to training, although obviously as they grow older they begin to calm down a little. I tend to give a firm "No!" and turn my back on him - no interraction at all, not even eye contact. Once the dog's calm again then I give quiet praise. I only put them in a 'quiet place' if they carry on too much cause I don't like to punish a natural behaviour, just discourage it with humans.

Make sure every member of your family (and vistors!) do the same as you, though, or your pup'll get confused.

Caryll wrote:If the 2nd toilet is his 'den' and he's happy with that, then I can't see a problem with it. Just make sure there's nothing in tehre that he can injure himself with - bleach/toilet cleaners etc & if you clean the toilet make sure he can't get to the toilet bowl & lick the cleaner!

Pups don't really 'grow out of' the nipping - that's down to training, although obviously as they grow older they begin to calm down a little. I tend to give a firm "No!" and turn my back on him - no interraction at all, not even eye contact. Once the dog's calm again then I give quiet praise. I only put them in a 'quiet place' if they carry on too much cause I don't like to punish a natural behaviour, just discourage it with humans.

Make sure every member of your family (and vistors!) do the same as you, though, or your pup'll get confused.

Excellent advice all around. The last sentence is espically important. Without consistency from everyone the dog is around they can get confused.

I have a 13-month old boy (and another boy of 27-months - yep my hands are full) and also Rommel, our now 11 week old blue staffy. My youngest and Rommel are the best of friends but, like your pup, Rommel went through a nipping stage but this is calming down now a LOT. Henry is forever trying to kiss Rommel and he puts up with it really nicely but sometimes Rommel does get a bit overexcited - this is mostly first thing in the morning when he obviously hasn't seen the boys for a few hours. I give a firm NO if I see Rommel start nipping or leaping on Henry and this seems to be doing the trick because, as I say, he is much less likely to do it than he was say, two weeks ago. I always supervise them when together and if I can't be in the same room as them then I make sure that Rommel is in the same room as me - alternatively I pop Rommel into his crate if I need to go upstairs just so I know that he can't get up to any mischief - as others have said consistency has to be the key and I make sure that I am around him to correct him so that he doesn't have any opportunity of 'getting away with things' as this would just confuse him and make training that much harder.

Thanks for the replies so far, its good to hear your views on this. So if Rosco doesn't listen to a firm NO then we put him in the kitchen behind the safety gate till he calms down which can take a while sometimes, lol. So are we right leaving him behind the safety gate watching us and for so long? Should we maybe just leave him for for a few minutes then socialise him and the kids again? We get on the floor so were at his and our youngest level. He sometimes lunges towards her but I don't think its aggression as he's not baring teeth or growling, its more of a bounce then lick,lick,lick, nip, nip lick lol.

I remember having the same concerns as you are having. Mikey was always biting the kids when he was a puppy and spent a lot of 'time out'. I can tell you that he will eventually grow out of it but I cant remember how old Mikey was. Just keep on with the 'time out' and eventually he will learn. Rosco is a little stunner by the way

Thanks for your reply will keep on going then.

Mickyt1976 can i ask where you got your staff from? I noticed you live in Tyne and Wear, well im in County Durham and have been trying to find a blue staff. All of the ones I have seen are miles away

We got him from a breeder in Sunderland. He has both parents there also and they were your typical SBT but were very well behaved and stunning. When we saw Rosco there was only one outcome. He's brilliant and a right bruiser, 6kg at 10 weeks, pure muscle. Lol. Anyway I will give you his number but not over the forum, is there any other way mate? If not keep an eye on pets4homes and do a local search. I think he's got some ready in a few weeks.

cheers for that I will keep that website handy. My staffy is a bit poorly at the minute so need to get him sorted before we get another