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Shepherd's are working dogs with herding instincts. Working dogs also always find a job. My Border Collie/Blue Heeler patrols the property line and herds anything she can with nips to ankles (t=our cat LOVES this - not!). At one point she even tried to herd Mrs 3M and I as well. Also, she occasionally hits points as she grows where she tests for dominance, usually in some devious and clever way like gradually training Mrs 3M to bring her treats instead of having to come to her.

I think what may be going on with your puppy is a combination of her job (protection), herding (the nip), and possibly a dominance check to let strangers know that A) she is part of your pack, B) they are not, and C) if you get allowed into the pack that she outranks you.

Solution - I don't know, maybe search for some of Caesar Milano's videos or articles?

I've seen healers doing a good job of herding kids.
 
Get control somehow and quickly.

I've seen this before. The owners make excuses and procrastinate. Then when the nipper bites the wrong person, or nips a little too hard, and it's revealed you knew you had a nipper, you could lose big time. It could even be someone close to you and their medical insurer comes after you, which they will.

Same scenario. My niece was chewed on by a neighbor's dog that was usually a nice dog. My niece ended up owning a duplex over it.
 
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I have had good results with a vibtation collar, if the dog is out of my reach. Worked well on a couple of my dogs, not so well on our old rat terrier. She was a runner, and I never could break her of that.
The best dog it worked on was a friend of mine's deaf Aussie. On low, it was great to get his attention, when he was looking away or could not see you.
I have a brand new Border Collie at the moment. She is going to be mouthy and a herder. I have been starting her slow, and she has been getting the picture. She starts formal training on Saturday, at 9 weeks. Biggest reason it to teach my youngest kid (and get me some reminders, as it has been a few years since I have done this).
 
I've got a torn calf muscle. And we had 200 bales of hay to put up in the shed before ran tomorrow. 15 guys came over from church to help out on 2 hour notice. I hate asking for help. I'm private that way. Even though I'm a very outgoing person. Anyways. I made sure to introduce him to each one of them, and make sure he knew I was boss and they are friends.
Seem to work out the way I wanted.
 
Shepards are always testing the boundaries. My 6 year old GSD grand dog does every day. But she knows "the look " when she is getting there. If your young dog still has his balls, that will make a huge difference.

My sons dog, a pit bull, sweet dog, well be behaved, but he lets her do things that annoy people sometimes. His sister in law had enough of this dogs misbehaving one night and put her on her back and basically put a whipping on her. Dumb as those dogs are, she remembers that if the human female tells her no or some corrective action, that pit pull is flopping on her back, legs in the air full submissive and won't get up until DIL tells her too. Pretty impressive really.
 
Shepards are always testing the boundaries. My 6 year old GSD grand dog does every day. But she knows "the look " when she is getting there. If your young dog still has his balls, that will make a huge difference.

My sons dog, a pit bull, sweet dog, well be behaved, but he lets her do things that annoy people sometimes. His sister in law had enough of this dogs misbehaving one night and put her on her back and basically put a whipping on her. Dumb as those dogs are, she remembers that if the human female tells her no or some corrective action, that pit pull is flopping on her back, legs in the air full submissive and won't get up until DIL tells her too. Pretty impressive really.
I'm getting like that with my wife. Love her more every year.
I agree on the dog deal. He's got his balls. I will keep those. I'm very dominant. I just to use it in areas I wasn't.
 
Properly used there is nothing "in humane" about them. They permit an individual to apply a negative stimulus at distance which can be of great value and actually keep the dog from harm. And,yes, I've tried them on myself. Unpleasant and scary, but a lot better than an out of control dog getting hit by a car.

Exactly. I think most people opposed to them think of the older models that just shocked at max level, and couldn't be set to a lower level . Heck, I just used the 'vibrate' mode on mine, and never had to use the shock option.
 
Properly used there is nothing "in humane" about them. They permit an individual to apply a negative stimulus at distance which can be of great value and actually keep the dog from harm. And,yes, I've tried them on myself. Unpleasant and scary, but a lot better than an out of control dog getting hit by a car.
Or shot. A dog that is putting its teeth on people without legitimate cause is a big deal. The first time it does that with someone carrying a gun, the dog will get shot. Many an alpha human, even if unarmed, will kick the dog in the teeth if it comes at them apparently intending to put teeth in them. At which point it either backs down and becomes a coward or escalates, and you will end up paying thousands in doctor bills and/or a suit.

It's way easier to train a dog not to do this starting when it's a pup and incapable of doing real damage. Now your dog is nearly full size, and like a 16-year-old human. Flushed with new sexual maturity, and challenging everyone for dominance.

Using the word "nip" is deceptive. Your dog is biting people. Just not very hard... yet. But it has crossed the line. People who are attacked and only bitten soft enough to draw no blood still feel attacked. People are probably already saying that your dog attacks and bites people. I think at this point getting help from a pro is appropriate.

You will need someone to train you and all the rest of your family in addition to the dog. If you can get that for $350, that sounds like a great deal to me.
 
Not to pile on, but by way of illumination:

I bought us a nice home in a good neighborhood.

The dog that "attacked" my wife weighed 5lbs soaking wet, but of course thought it was a Mastiff. Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip as it's puny legs propelled it along the yard. I lept at my wife to bite her ankle and in her startled move to avoid to the dog she tripped over the curb and twisted her ankle.

She doesn't enjoy walking anymore.:(:mad:
 
I'd rather use a shock collar than have to pay a stranger to kill my dog for biting someone. BTW, there are lots of ways to be the pack leader. A Ceaser Milan book might help. Things you might not think of like:

For example: Cesear never plays tug of war with his dogs, it might allow them the opportunity to think they are better than you if they wrest the toy away.

2) Never feed your dog until AFTER you are done eating. Pack leader in the wild always eats first, betas eat last. Always. If you let your dog eat first it's a mixed signal you don't want them to have.

3rd) You enter or leave any door first.

The trick to to make sure you know how to be pack leader or your dog will dominate you. I was reading Wolters book on how to train your dog to hunt from one of the most sucessfull trainers ever. Gun Dog: Revolutionary Rapid Training Method: Richard A. Wolters, John W. Randolph: 9780525245490: Amazon.com: GatewayHe posited that if your dog was acting certain ways (he had a couple of examples), take the leash and whip it a few times to get it's attention. Some folks might be horrifyed, but it reestablished the pecking order and worked every time (in his examples). Dogs naturally want to please, and to push boundries when they are young especially. You don't want to whip your dog as a matter of course, the guy was real clear,l you don't want your dog cowed, only paying attention and letting you be in charge: so only only when that rare boundary was pushed.

It's not a thing I do, but I'd rather smack a dog a few times rather than have to put it down after I've been sued for biting someone.

Good luck with the pup.
 
When I first moved into current neighborhood, the across the street neighbor had two big dogs confined on his property with underground electric wires and shock collars. They often mounted pseudo attacks on passers by, stopping just short of the invisible electric barrier. It would sometimes scare the hell out of passers by, who simply saw dogs charging in full attack mode. Sometimes the dogs would get out, and would carry the attacks further, causing passers by to scream, back away, run, sometimes fall. They especially went after little kids. As far as I know, they never actually bit anyone, though.

One of these dogs was out and running loose my first day in the neighborhood. It was a dog that looked like a poorly bred doberman. That shape but with un-cut ears and slightly smaller. I was getting out of my car, right in front of my front door, well onto my own property and about 40 yards down a private driveway, when this dog runs down the drive in full attack mode, barking and snarling. Instantly I was in a combat stance, my 6-inch Ruger Security 6 .357 mag in my hands. Completely silent and motionless, glaring at the dog, I just waited. It continued full attack mode up to about 8 feet away, just inches within my shooting it multiple times. However, just in time it skidded to a halt, looked at me in obvious confusion, then put its tail between its legs and slunk off. My neighbor came very close to losing his poorly trained dog that day.
 
I suppose that you're unfamiliar with these?


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So my German Sheperd that I've bragged about has decided to nip peppers butts when they come over. It's new people. And the amazon guy. Is there some simple tensing tips that I can do rather than paying a trainer to solves our human dog over failures?
Probably not. The wife who is a trainer got a beautiful Dutchie, an adopted from back east so there wasn't a history. Attentive, and seemed to blend but on occasion would go on alert if he was in a room and I would walk in from another. He would break it off if I talked to him ahead of him or made racket. One day the wife was at the dinning room table, and I walked up to the opposite side and started to talk to her. The dog came out from under the table and nail me hard when I brought my arm up for protection. Sunk his incisor half way any a couple of lessor teeth broke skin. Both of us yelled his name so the release was fairly quick. The dog went to a law enforcement trainer within a week. He will not be able to be used in a social environment, but a single owner without other pets may work out. There was a couple of brief incidents with older established pets we had. A German Shorthair Female, and a Bull Terrier Female. We went beyond what is allowable with keeping a behavioral dog. Their size, you can get in trouble especially when their personality isn't stable. They can say what they want, but I just don't think it's something that training at an older age is going to work, and it goes beyond. Ive had Short hair pointers for 35 years now. Not a breeder, but they are particure who they sell to as even though it's a single breed, they pick a line to do certain things. When I went on a search to replace the one I had that died, a short conversation with a breeder saved a trip to even look. His were high energy that were trained for owners to follow on horseback! I was looking for a more mellow female hunter/companion that wasn't going to be a kennel dog. Found just the breeder that had a perfect match for me. Couple had split up and the wife had a job. Female, fixed, and chipped and we bonded at first sight. Paid a finders fee six years ago. She's been a love and best ever. One thing I have noticed is that many of the working dogs not only Shepards but Dobbermans too and a few others used in police work where aggression is a part of duty, if they develop bad habits in that sense, it usually doesn't get better. Doberman that friends had were mello critters while they were young, and it was like they had a loose screw as they aged. I'm sure you will figure out something. I live out in the country but still at times am concerned once in awhile some stranger getting barked at and having a heart attack! Never mind the dog, watch out for the owner!
 
My wife is a "country girl" and a total dog lover (Labradors in particular) but she loathes GSD's and Doberman's for those very reasons.... they CAN go cra-cra as they age. She's seen to many attacks by those two breeds (Pitbulls not withstanding) while growing up and living in Australia.
 
+1 to the two guys who said your dog is testing boundaries and doesn't respect your alpha position as being in charge of the situation.
This does not mean you need to beat your dog. Just make sure that he understands you have the situation handled and that can he be his friendly self. When my dog acts out, I roll him onto his back, hold his snout, and look him in the eyes and tell him it's not ok. He's also one of the most friendly and well disciplined dogs I know - with the caveat he is getting enough attention at home.

I would avoid associating a fear stimulus like electrical shocks with a stranger. Personally, I also think it is senseless for someone else to train your dog. It may work for a few weeks, but I think the problem is that he needs to understand that you are the alpha and he has to listen and respect you (and/or your wife), and not some random trainer. If are Being coached to train your dog, then that is a different story.
 
When my dog acts out, I roll him onto his back, hold his snout, and look him in the eyes and tell him it's not ok.
Yep, this is how I trained my Rottie Lab mix:
1) Put him on his side then I'd lay my chest on his and hold his snout with my hand until he was calm.
2) I'd also wait until he sat down, then go over and make him move so I could sit down.
3) I'd also eat first then feed him after I was done.

All this done without a fuss and he figured out who was in charge in short order.
 

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