# Puppy nipping at faces



## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

When my 8wk old pup is excited, he nips at my wife and daughter. He rarely does it to me. 

Tonight, he nipped at my 18 month old daughter's face. He didn't hurt or even scratch her, but she was a little scared. She was minding her own business when he did it, I think he is treating her like a litter mate. We try to prevent him from invading her space. And if we keep at it, he finally gives up. But this time he snuck in.

Is this normal puppy play or do I need to really watch this. I never leave them unattended and he has not drawn blood on anyone or even hurt us. Just want to make sure I don't have a potential issue

thanks


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Puppies bite and that's a fact and will keep biting for several more months. This is very normal behavior and there's worse to come. My own arms and legs were scratched and bleeding for months from my puppy and others on here will tell the same story. If you don't want your daughter to get bit, you need to keep them separated.


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

ok, thanks Elaine. I'm glad to hear its normal. We keep them as separated as possible, but he sometimes finds a way to get near her. Most of the time, he grabs a hold of her clothes. I think this puppy is more work than a real baby!


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Roxy, the 8 month old we were babysitting would jump up and nip at your face when she got excited. I just ignored her when she did and it seemed to work just fine.

GSD pups are little brats who LOVE to bite and are determined too!

I would watch your daughter's interactions with puppy and always supervise interactions.

You can re-direct the biting to something more fun like a tug or ball.

When Stark would go for my hands, ankles, toes, etc. I would shove a tug in his mouth and make it "come alive" by moving it around. He would clamp down we would play tug (his reward for not biting me) and then once he was done, I would put the tug back in my pocket or waist band. I ALWAYS carried a tug with me, ALWAYS.


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

that is a great idea Elisabeth. I think I am going to keep something on me at all times. I have been redirecting, but my daughter has been hiding all of his toys!


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## Lesley1905 (Aug 25, 2010)

Two babies at once!! I give ya credit


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

It has been rough! We put them to sleep at the same time every night. It allows my wife and I (and the cats) to have some sanity. LOL!


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## CaliBoy (Jun 22, 2010)

Knight: When my present GSD was a puppy, he bit me in the nose once and drew quite a bit of blood. He also left a gash in my arm with his claw when I lowered him down from the sofa, and now it has a huge permanent scar. This is normal behavior, but some puppies are more "shark" than others. I would not allow the puppy around the 18 month old without very careful supervision, because without meaning to, he could really hurt her.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

You're really going through it aren't you?? Welcome to gsd puppy 101! It's normal for them to nip towards the face- and everywhere else for that matter. Even though they don't mean to connect with the face, it's scary especially for a little kid. Do what everyone suggests, read the thread on teaching bite inhibition and get ready-the biting and nipping lasts until they're through teething at about 5 mos. Be patient, Knight sounds completely normal, it will pass with your help and direction. Are you planning on going to puppy class? That will help a lot


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

Thank you for the advice CaliBoy. I will definitely keep them as separated as possible

Stosh,

Thank you! Yes I am planning on taking him once he is 16wks old. The place I am taking him is owned by a former K9 officer who is supposed to be an excellent trainer. They won't let them in the class until they are 16wks


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Knight said:


> ok, thanks Elaine. I'm glad to hear its normal. We keep them as separated as possible, but he sometimes finds a way to get near her. Most of the time, he grabs a hold of her clothes. I think this puppy is more work than a real baby!


I would say they are _as much_ work as a human baby but, unfortunately, they can hurt you, especially as they get bigger.


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

I bet it goes something like this ;

Lickety Lickety lickety slurp  " aren't you adorable :wub: !"
Lickety slurp 
NIP  " OWWWWWWWWW you horrid little dog ! "

Lickety Lickety lickety slurp  " aren't you adorable :wub: !"
Lickety slurp 
NIP  " OWWWWWWWWW you horrid little dog ! "

Lickety Lickety lickety slurp  " aren't you adorable :wub: !"
Lickety slurp 
NIP  " OWWWWWWWWW you horrid little dog ! "

Yep....that's totally normal .............


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## Larien (Sep 26, 2010)

First of all, let me tell you it DOES pass, the landshark will retreat back into the ocean of the past, and you will have a wonderful dog! Remington was a biiiig landshark, he got my mom's nose a few times, and I used to peruse these threads, desperate for an answer, thinking it'd go on forever. Everyone told me it'd stop one day, and guess what - it did. He's 4 mos. old now, and he's only sharky when I put on my welding gloves and we wrestle. Otherwise, he's a good dog!

You'll definitely want to nip (pardon the pun) this in the bud quickly, though. When Rem nipped toward my face, I stopped playing. I'd wait a minute and come back to it. Those teeth are so sharp, if he got your baby or wife, he could really do damage and it's painful. Read all the bite inhibition stuff, hopefully it'll work for you, because for me, none of it did! I just had to bear it, but you've got a baby, so you need to stop the behavior. Good luck with two babies!


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

thank you Larien. I have told them to walk away when he starts getting rough. It seems to work, he acts concerned and follows them whimpering. I have my work cut out for me for sure


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

You are getting a lot of great feedback on your question. I wish I had known about this forum when my pup was a landshark. We were ready to give her back because of all the puncture wounds and general brattiness. Fortunately, like the others, we hung in there and now (like the others) we have a GREAT dog. Good luck and hang in there, they are a challenge for several months, BUT WORTH IT.


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

That's true Pat. This is a great site. I'm hoping by the time he's 5 or 6 months, things will calm down a bit. He is a sweet boy and GREAT when he's calm. When he's hyper, he is a little chomper


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Knight said:


> That's true Pat. This is a great site. I'm hoping by the time he's 5 or 6 months, things will calm down a bit. He is a sweet boy and GREAT when he's calm. When he's hyper, he is a little chomper


Is Knight your puppy? According to his date of birth he is over a year old.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

I learned after having a pair of glasses ruined, keep my face away from the puppy's face! I kept getting kisses with teeth.


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## CPH (Sep 8, 2010)

My pup is now 8 months and his kisses finally calmed down just a few months ago. He loooooves to give kisses he would just unfortunately get a little to excited and do a half lick half bite for a while. We would only let him give kisses when there were no teeth involved, when they came out we stopped him. He has grown out of it now but those morning kisses will sure wake you up!


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## Knight (Sep 7, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> Is Knight your puppy? According to his date of birth he is over a year old.


Haha woops I meant to put 11/19/10!
thanks for the catch!


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## marlin (Jan 7, 2011)

Great site! We have been raising guide dogs for a little over 20 years now, all labs and this is our first GSD and it has been a challenge, so we appreciate all the great information here, especially the nipping part!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Good_Karma said:


> I kept getting kisses with teeth.


Yep, Halo did that too. Sometimes I'd get a big slurpy kiss from chin to forehead, and sometimes I'd get a bite on the nose instead - she seemed to have no idea there was any difference between the two! 

I like to teach my dogs a "kisses" command, starting with the back of my hand. (My palm held out is for the "touch" command, I teach them to target my hand with a nose bump.) One they'll give me a nice kiss on my hand I'll start to transfer it to my cheek, turning my head sideways so they can't chomp onto my nose. Keefer gives me these sweet gentle little kisses on cue, either on my cheek, neck or ear, Halo is still a work in process, but most of the time, as long as she's not all worked up and excited, she'll kiss nicely - slurp!


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## momtoshadow (Jan 17, 2011)

Landshark, LOL, that is the perfect name for my little Shadow! She is biting everyone and it hurts! I have also been keeping my 3 & 5 year old kids seperated from her for most of the day, because she gets too excited with them, and has already drawn blood a few times on my daughter. I can't wait to be past this biting phase.


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## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

Hank was also a heck of biter and as a first-time GSD and dog owner I was heartbroken. These forums are so much help for owners to realize their dogs are NORMAL and it won't last forever.

Hank started the face-snapping a little bit later, I think it's happened to me three times but I was so freaked out I immediately posted here. Later I noticed when he is playing with his aunt and uncle GSD's that he snaps in their faces to goad them into playing or chasing him. (My ex has two shepherds who are Hank's great aunt and great uncles through bloodlines.)

We are currently going through teething (4.5 months) and having issues walking on a leash (he wants to bite the leash and my clothing) and he is a lot more mouthy around the house. Instead of the bites with the needle-sharp teeth, however, I'm getting stronger bites with his adult teeth that don't cut easily but leave BIG bruises. He has always been VERY mouthy on my kids aged 11 and 12, grabbing their feet and ankles with his teeth. He even did this to me this morning for the first time in months. So it may be common for the pups to see children as their "equals" or "playmates," so definitely watch him around such a little one.

Good luck!!


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## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

Knight said:


> ok, thanks Elaine. I'm glad to hear its normal. We keep them as separated as possible, but he sometimes finds a way to get near her. Most of the time, he grabs a hold of her clothes. I think this puppy is more work than a real baby!


And YES, a GSD puppy is as much or MORE work than a human baby! I heartily agree having had both.


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