Hi everyone - I have a 10 week old Springer pup - Meg - who won't stop nipping and biting.  We have 2 children also a 9 year old who is getting very nervous and a 2 1/2 year old who is quite indifferent at present, but I don't want him to get scared.

Meg is very loving when she is tired and wants a cuddle, but the rest of the time when you pet her she will bite.  She jumps and nips when she is having a mad 5 minutes and dashing round, and when you play game with her she will also mouth us all the time.  We have tried speaking in a stern voice ( I think she thinks this is a game and puppy growls back at us!), we have tried ignoring her (she then nips our legs to get our attention!), we have tried washing up liquid and lemon juice on our hands (she seems to quite like the taste of both of these!!).  She is very intelligent and already sits on command and is learning "down".  We all love her madly but want this to stop before it gets out of control.  We lost our 13 year old lab-collie cross last year and I remember her nipping alot but cant remember how I got her to stop as it was so long ago!  (also didn't have the children then and they make things a bit different)

Hope you all can help with loads of advice!  Thanks

Pippa

What food are you feeding as this could be the primary cause.

Sounds very normal for a 9 week old springer pup.  I have three springers, two of them from pups.  I remember it taking a while for them to stop mouthing me.  I tried yelping as though it hurt and then ignoring them.  This helped a lot.

Would love to see a photo of your pup if you have any you can email me?  My email address is in my profile.

Helen

Thanks for taking the time to reply.  Will definitely try your suggestions, I hadn't thought of yelping!

We have a photo of her, but will have to get my husand to send it as my computer skills are basic to say the least!!

Pippa

We were on Pedigree Chum Complete Puppy food, but I heard that the additives could make her more hyper, so she is now on and additive and preservative free, hypo-allegenic food, which was recommended.  Hopefully this will help, although she has only been on it for a couple of days, so too soon to tell.

dont tell her off instead when she tries to nip encourage her to play with a toy and not you and then give lots of praise it takes a bit of time but dogs prefer being praised instead of scolding .Idone this with my pup now she no longer nips.

We have tried doing the thing with distracting her with a toy, but she seems to prefer the taste of me to any of her toys!

We do praise her lots for good behaviour, but I must admit it is hard not to scold when she continues to bite, especially if its the children she's nipping at.

IMO you need to nip this in the bud quickly. Get some help at training classes. If you go to www.apdt.co.uk you will find good approved trainers and classes in your area, get this puppy to training classes THIS WEEK.
Make sure your puppy has a daily routine so it knows what to expect. Feed lunch at about 1pm, then a short walk then playtime so that she is tired when the 9 yr old gets home from school at 3.30 or so it is ready to sleep and more likley to be gentle and less frantic

Puppies when all together in a litter all  play: " I'll bite and chase and see who I can boss about" with each other to get the peckling order straight. This is normal. Now in a new home your puppy is playing this game with you and your family and is quickly learning that it is the boss. It needs to learn double quick that YOU are the boss, and it has the lowest ranking in the family or one of your children is going to get badly hurt.

If it bites, as said before - squeal loudly, look hurt, turn away and ignore the puppy. If it continues to bite at your legs/feet then put it out of the room for 2 minutes or so. Dont let it back in until it has stopped fussing ( if it barks/whines/scratches to get back in).  You can also lift the pups front legs off the ground by holding the pups scruff, on the back of the neck behind the ears and hold it there until it stops struggling. As soon as it does, praise and let go. If you do this ( common practise for an over domminant puppy) you must hang on until it stops struggling - biting. Dont ever shake or growl at the puppy and avoid eye contact when this is happening.

What are you feeding this puppy on? Sometimes very high protein foods can make puppies too lively. Dont give any food treats unless you are actually training and keep these to a minimum.

Some may object to these methods - but I do not belong to the "fluffy bunny" brigade, this puppy needs to be taught to stop biting NOW, it wont grow out of it, it will just get worse if you do not tackle this promptly and correctly.
Sorry I keep saying "it",  I have forgotten if its a dog or a bitch. Good luck.