princess my 9 month old amstaff, is extremley playful, but sometimes she gets to out of hand and nips a bit, sometimes harder than others, 1 trick i was told to use was listerin and water in a squirt bottle, works awesome, now i just show her the bottle and she stops whatever naughty action shes doing, but is this normal for them to still nip when playing, thats the only time she does it, shes by far aggresive, so im a tad confused

I used to use vinegar in a tiny squirt gun when my girl got too "nippy"and "mouthy". I would keep them in several places throughout the house for immediate access. Don't forget to give a command such as "NO BITE" as you make the correction. Puppies up to a year or so old can be very nippy and can get carried away. I don't think they mean to be aggressive - it is just how they would play with their littermates. You just have to keep correcting them and eventually they get the hang of it. They do mellow out a lot as they mature. Bob

mrstaffman88 wrote:princess my 9 month old amstaff, is extremley playful, but sometimes she gets to out of hand and nips a bit, sometimes harder than others, 1 trick i was told to use was listerin and water in a squirt bottle, works awesome, now i just show her the bottle and she stops whatever naughty action shes doing, but is this normal for them to still nip when playing, thats the only time she does it, shes by far aggresive, so im a tad confused

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Erich

First question kidz...why Listerine or vinegar in the water??? Plain water works just as well, you don't want to hurt them, just get their attention.

Puppies nip and one way to teach them not to is a firm "NO!" and then no more play for a bit. They have to learn that the fun stops if they bite. Then return to play mode and repeat the no if they try biting again.

Some dogs continue to play nip into adulthood and if you have a maltese that might not be such a big deal, but larger dogs have much larger mouths and more serious choppers. You want to stop the nipping now while they're still young.

First question kidz...why Listerine or vinegar in the water???

If plain water would have worked, it would have been all I would have used. Plain water would have been a joke to my dog as she would playfully bite at water shooting full force from a garden hose or irrigation system. We're not talking about little puppies, here. Sometimes you have to take more more drastic measures with a stubborn dog. Vinegar tastes no worse than the bitter apple or similar sprays sold as a chew deterrent. Believe me, I've tasted both! It cured her of her seemingly uncontrollable play biting/nipping of the hands and arms in no time. Prior to that, it had gone on for months. My forearms (and those of my wife and kids) looked like we practiced dentistry on alligators in our spare time. By age one, she had transformed into the perfect ambassador for the breed IMO. Still is. Bob