nipping pup help!

[bookum1]

I have an eight week old lab and I am letting her be a puppy and doing some obedience like sit and stay and a few retrieves each day, but I am having a problem with her nippin at everything including ankles wifes feet (bad)... I am not sure if I should make her stop or is this something she will grow out of. I also don't want to punish her and make her afraid to pick up anything in her mouth. I am trying to replace whatever she if chewing on with a toy that she can chew on, but she still nips everything.

[brandonvet]

First of all, you should read this...some of it is a little bit out-there but you'll get the general idea.
http://www.northernflight.com/newpup.htm

To answer your question, this is perfectly normal puppy behavior, every pup i've had does this. However, I would grab her muzzle, look her in the eye, tell her "NO" while I give her muzzle a little squeeze to let her know that this behavior isn't acceptable. I believe that nipping is not just a form of puppy play but also her trying to establish dominance...in other words she's trying to find out if she can bully you around like her littermates...she's saying "I want to be the boss". You need to "nip it in the bud". To have a good retriever, she should be submissive to you, not trying to dominate or see what she can get away with. I always correct this behavior this way, I believe others would agree that this is an acceptable correction for this behavior and in no way should it affect her drive to retrieve. You'll find that she won't like this correction but it shouldn't be so harsh that she runs off with her tail tucked. Puppys must learn right from wrong just like a kid. Keep the rules fair and simple and you'll do fine.

[Dux Be Us]

She will out grow nipping and ALOT of other bad habits with age...be patient...Good Luck

[bookum1]

I read the artcle... Did he actually suggest spitting in the dogs mouth to exert dominance. As disturbing as that may be, I'm even more curious as to how one would discover that technique:)

[aweyerman]

When she is nipping take and press her top lip on that sharp puppy tooth and that will solve it after a few times. Promise.