# Will over-exited nipping end eventually?



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bumping up


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## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

I am not qualified to give advice but I see a lot of similarity between your 9mth puppy and my 10wk puppy.



KiraTheHyperPup said:


> Akira here is an indoor dog and goes out the yard only when supervised.


Murphy is not yet fully vaccinated so is also currently an indoor dog. There is a risk of dog theft so we also supervise in the yard. He is a big boy for his age, weighing 10kg and his shoulder height is similar to that of a chair.



KiraTheHyperPup said:


> ... nipping your foot or even holding on to your hand to make sure you don't leave.


Exactly the same and I suspect this is attention seeking. Murphy whines if left alone and he can be possessive of people; I think he is trying to direct where people should go and resorts to nipping at ankles. My view is that we need to avoid accidentally rewarding this behaviour. I look for opportunities to reward opposite behaviours, such as giving him a low-fat blueberry when he looking around or resting his head on his foot (I fear meaty treats will fatten an indoor dog).



KiraTheHyperPup said:


> ... over stimulated ... when playing tug of war for too long


Exactly! In Murphy's case 5 seconds is much too long. I find playing fetch with a soft ball is much more amenable (e.g. a sock with a knot tied in it) and the ball does not need to be thrown very far. Murphy becomes bored quickly though, and I am looking for ideas on how to make this game more rewarding.


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## KiraTheHyperPup (Nov 25, 2020)

Howler said:


> I am not qualified to give advice but I see a lot of similarity between your 9mth puppy and my 10wk puppy.
> 
> 
> Murphy is not yet fully vaccinated so is also currently an indoor dog. There is a risk of dog theft so we also supervise in the yard. He is a big boy for his age, weighing 10kg and his shoulder height is similar to that of a chair.
> ...


sorry for the late reply havent been on the forum much but yeah i think i do have the same problem with you. fetch took a long time to manage for Akira since she had resource guarding issues although its mostly resolved now exept for the guests who used to tease her even though i told them not to. i will make sure to try to not reward the herding like behavior she has. She actually does not get bored quickly from fetch or any other kind of play. 

She is a VERRY higgh energy golden but she tires quickly. One second she is running around the whole house and yard and the next shes laying down after just a bit of running then suddenly BAM she starts going crazy again, no in between im still at the point of following her around the house since she still has potty issues because of her recessed vulva. Weirdly some of my guests find her scary, maybe shes just too overwhelming, still working on some issues with certain guests.


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## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

KiraTheHyperPup said:


> ... shes laying down after just a bit of running then suddenly BAM she starts going crazy again ...


Sounds like FRAP/Zoomies, which I am led to believe is perfectly natural in puppies. Puppies grow fast, they eat a lot, they have high metabolism, they build-up energy reserves, and an indoor puppy needs to release that energy somehow.

We tried tug-of-war with Murphy but this actually made matters worse because it trained him to release his excess FRAP energy in an aggressive way. We also tried mental stimulus toys where the puppy works through puzzles for food, but our Murphy seems a bit too dumb for the simplest puzzle - bless him.

We now give him a variety of chews and try to tire him out using Fetch; these efforts seem to be showing an improvement but I find it challenging because we need to avoid accidentally rewarding him with a game of Fetch in exchange for one of his nips or tugs!

Example: If Murphy nips/tugs me, and if I respond by saying "Fetch", Murphy immediately stops biting and waits for a toy to be thrown. Its not quite right because he gets a reward for his bad behaviour. I need to greet him with a command every time I come across him, before he starts being naughty, so that he defaults to a non-biting mode.









Zoomies dog behaviour explained | Pet behaviour


Zoomies, also known as FRAP attacks, are a common phenomenon in dogs. We take a look at some of the likely causes and how to cope with these random bursts of energy.




www.petplan.co.uk


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Don't give her the opportunity to nip your guests. If that means nicely crating her or putting her on a leash, do so. No getting anywhere near guests until calm. If she can't reel it in on a leash, crate -- because there's no good reason to let her repeatedly be over aroused and pulling on the lead.

Every time she repeats the behavior it's reinforcing it. If she nips you immediately let her know it's not okay. Stop playing with her. Give her something to play with. If she repeats, crate her. You shouldn't be mean about it -- just say "crate" and in she goes. Give her 10 to 15 minutes and calmly let her out. Rinse and repeat if she keeps nipping.

How much daily exercise is she getting?


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## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

I learned today that hissing like a snake snaps a dog out of nipping/tugging, but I suspect this alarm will only work if the nipping/tugging is already a rare occurrence, because if the sound repeats often they will just get used to it and ignore.



diane0905 said:


> Give her something to play with.


I use a ball stuffed with pate-like soft food (similar to the classic Kong) but we need to be conscious that they receive this distraction before they start bad behaviour, not as a reward for bad behaviour.


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## KiraTheHyperPup (Nov 25, 2020)

Howler said:


> Sounds like FRAP/Zoomies, which I am led to believe is perfectly natural in puppies. Puppies grow fast, they eat a lot, they have high metabolism, they build-up energy reserves, and an indoor puppy needs to release that energy somehow.
> 
> We tried tug-of-war with Murphy but this actually made matters worse because it trained him to release his excess FRAP energy in an aggressive way. We also tried mental stimulus toys where the puppy works through puzzles for food, but our Murphy seems a bit too dumb for the simplest puzzle - bless him.
> 
> ...


The good thing with her tug of war is she lets go right away when i say so but it doesn't mean all the over arousal is stopped as this usually happens when she accidently nips me it will escalate. I will try doing more fetch to stop the nipping.



diane0905 said:


> Don't give her the opportunity to nip your guests. If that means nicely crating her or putting her on a leash, do so. No getting anywhere near guests until calm. If she can't reel it in on a leash, crate -- because there's no good reason to let her repeatedly be over aroused and pulling on the lead.
> 
> Every time she repeats the behavior it's reinforcing it. If she nips you immediately let her know it's not okay. Stop playing with her. Give her something to play with. If she repeats, crate her. You shouldn't be mean about it -- just say "crate" and in she goes. Give her 10 to 15 minutes and calmly let her out. Rinse and repeat if she keeps nipping.
> 
> How much daily exercise is she getting?


I leash her before letting her go greet the guests, after i let her go though in about 30 minutes she will start nipping. I have been doing the crating for nipping since day 1 although it hasn't been too effective as this repeats alot. I might try 15 mins timeouts now as if it's a bit too long she gets even more energized. She walks 2 times a day until she is tired and wants to go back. I do have some agility obsticles which does help with all the energy, it doesn't last long though she only take short breaks then more running. Im guessing this is normal for puppies though. i will keep working on it. Ill gladly take tips on how to tire her out more though.


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