Nipping And Humping

[Birtles]

Luca keeps nipping and humping our legs (not at the same time mind you)    Hes not biting but just keeps giving us little nips, we can stop him but my son can't. I say stop once or twice and if he still continues I place him in the kitchen alone, and then let him back in about 5 minutes later and hope that if i keep doing this he may get the message......... is this right or is there a better way of dealing with it? He tends to do it more to my 5yr old, think its some power thing.

Also, he keeps humping our legs all the time   is this normal, its just embarrasing but not naughty really, should this be discouraged and if so, how? why is he doing this?

thankyou all so much for your messages, we are really happy and Luca seems to be enjoying it here, i was expecting some howling/upset leaving his previous owners but he hasn't.

Jayne

[Jane S]

The nipping isn't a power thing - it's normal puppy behaviour. By 6 months old, most puppies are getting the idea that play-biting & nipping isn't a good idea but Luca may not have received much training with his previous owner. Puppies often find small children exciting & will nip them more - the best way to do this is to try & teach your 5 year old to stay absolutely still when Luca gets OTT. If your son shouts & jumps about & you also join in telling Luca "No", this will get him even more wound up. Its best to try & keep calm & use "time-outs" (removing Luca to another room until he calms down) to teach Luca that nipping results in him being ignored. You'll find more advice on play-biting in our FAQ section here. Have you bought a copy of "The Perfect Puppy" yet? It really will help you deal with all the common training problems & is invaluable to all new owners.

Jane