# 3.5 month old visla nipping



## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

We have a generally well adjusted puppy, but he will not allow himself to be picked up without nipping. Upon setting him down, he goes into slow motion nipping at my hand. He does not bite hard, but I want to stop this behavior. What can I do to acclimate him to being picked up ? I can touch him everywhere, and take food from him with no issues. It is just picking him up that is the biggest issue.

Thanks


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

*Re: Re: 3.5 month old visla nipping*



nika01 said:


> We have a generally well adjusted puppy, but he will not allow himself to be picked up without nipping. Upon setting him down, he goes into slow motion nipping at my hand. He does not bite hard, but I want to stop this behavior. What can I do to acclimate him to being picked up ? I can touch him everywhere, and take food from him with no issues. It is just picking him up that is the biggest issue.
> 
> Thanks


Start slowly with gentle body wraps with your arms till he's used to it, then slowly increase the amount till he allows you to pick him up.

Having said that, I had a cocker spaniel who just never took to it. He would get upset, panic and growls turned to panic biting. He was not aggressive, nor did he bite ever in any other circumstances. But he just never coped with being picked up.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Not unusual at all... But, that's the first thing we did with puppies. They need to get used to being handled. 

Except for the Vizsla, our two other puppies hated being handled. Kept picking them up, playing, handling them until they got used to it. Doesn't take too long, perhaps only a week or so. 

I think it's pretty important.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

Thanks for the comment. Is it common that V's seek revenge? When I try and pick him up or put him on a leash when he misbehaves, he nips at me, sometimes having his mouth on my entire hand. He never has bitten me hard, but I worry that he has a dominant streak in him.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Somehow, baby dogs like their independence. But if we let them do as they please, it will not serve them well in the future. 

I always play with them a lot, grab them, hug, hold, pick up, lean on, use as pillow, in general handle them as much as I want. 

That way they become accustomed to human touch. Later, I can brush their teeth, trim their nails, move them off the couch when sleeping....


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I also stick my fingers in their mouth and hold. Teaches bite inhibition.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Have you tried giving him a tasty treat when you pick him up? All he knows is that being picked up interrupts his play time.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

Yes, we give him treats and sometimes it helps. What I am having issues with is his apparent revenge nipping. Sometimes I can handle him, and everything is ok. When he isnt in the mood, putting him on a leash is very hard, and then he goes after me. I spend a lot of time with him with much contact, so I am puzzled by this.
We had a golden that was truly an angel incarnate, this V appears to listen to the dark side.


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## Rufus Tiberius (Dec 18, 2012)

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Nipping by a puppy is normal behavior. If left unchecked it could turn into a real problem for you. 

Check out whole-dog-journal.com. and the article on Teaching Bite Inhibition, by Pat Miller. Great article.


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## Racer (Apr 23, 2012)

I tend to think part of dog ownership is a mental thing. Ideally one shouldn't be afraid of their dog or worried about revenge. My boy is the first dog that I've owned, so I will admit I was a little of A and B initially. Fast forward a few months and I actually let him play bite me when we wrestle (I'm not recommending doing this, just writing it to indicate how much I trust the boy). It was a long road and a lot of work to get there, but all my worries/fears were over nothing.

You should work on handling exercises with your pup, esp when he's still small. Here are some videos that are similar to what we did at puppy class.

http://www.perfectpaws.com/video/puppy_biting2.html
http://www.perfectpaws.com/video/puppy_biting3.html

In class they said handling was also about teaching a dog to trust you. And I tend to agree with this idea.

If you haven't taught your pup bite inhibition, you can use this current bout of nipping as an opportunity to teach that. Then slowly teach him to stop biting.

He won't seek revenge.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

thanks for the videos, but our dog is not even close to being as sedate as the micropuppy in the videos. These techniques dont work with him, he will not be restrained. I have tried endlessly, but will keep at it. Look at his picture, he already has a cigar habit.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

*Re: Re: 3.5 month old visla nipping*



nika01 said:


> Yes, we give him treats and sometimes it helps. What I am having issues with is his apparent revenge nipping. Sometimes I can handle him, and everything is ok. When he isnt in the mood, putting him on a leash is very hard, and then he goes after me. I spend a lot of time with him with much contact, so I am puzzled by this.
> We had a golden that was truly an angel incarnate, this V appears to listen to the dark side.


Training a Golden Retriever is something most can do. Training a Vizsla is not.

Your Vizsla is not the Devil reincarnated. I will be quite blunt, but this isn't meant to be rude, just accurate. YOU are the failure. You ate failing to understand a Vizsla and failing to understand what is required to train one.

Love
Patience
Understanding
Positivity
Repetition

These are the pillars of training a Vizsla. Your missing one or more.

To assist further, perhaps if you map out what you're currently doing and pups regular schedule and then we may be able to offer some techniques to try.


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## Racer (Apr 23, 2012)

nika01 said:


> thanks for the videos, but our dog is not even close to being as sedate as the micropuppy in the videos. These techniques dont work with him, he will not be restrained. I have tried endlessly, but will keep at it. Look at his picture, he already has a cigar habit.


Those are just example videos so you don't have to try and guess what I meant. When I first did these with the boy, he wasn't very receptive to them. For reference, during the first few weeks of having the boy, I seriously thought I made a big mistake and thought about returning him. I thought he was "out of control" and he wouldn't listen to me at all. In truth, he wasn't (well, mayve just a little bit ). He was my first dog and a V. I lacked the experience/confidence in both having a dog and what having a V would be like. When I think back now, it's pretty funny, since I think he's a super pup. And I'm most certainly glad I didn't give up!

In puppy class, I'd say most of the pups didn't like those handling exercises. I think handling a pup has a lot to do with yourself. If you think you can't handle them, you can't. At your pups age and size, you should be able to handle him. Handling a pup and getting them to accept it is part him getting used to it and part him trusting you. It will only get more difficult once he gets older.

It takes time and patience. Some dogs don't mind being handled. Others do. I used to do the handling exercises with the boy every day, multiple times a day.

I'm not trying to sound too harsh. Pups are relatively clean slates. Much of how the relationship works is up to us.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Because i sounds like your frustrated , I suggest you take a puppy class with him. He maybe nipping when your trying to leash him because he is excited to be going some where.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

We are in a puppy class, and in a couple of weeks on to the adolescent class. Generally he is well behaved, just difficult sometimes. My concern is how he seeks to retaliate when he is held or leashed (sometimes). Is this normal V puppy behavior?


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Yes, this is completely normal & not retaliation, revenge, or anything like that. Vizslas get very excited & are naturally a mouthy breed. Combine the two & your pup is going to grab onto stuff when he gets excited. Cooper is 10 months old & he still bites at his leash right after we put it on.


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## nika01 (Nov 27, 2012)

Thank you, I have been looking for some reassurance its normal. After having a golden for 10 years, adaptation to the energizer bunny is an ongoing experience.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We've found that a long play session off-leash found by some on-leash time is the best combo. I took the pups hiking off-leash for 2 hours (too long for your baby right now) and then I had my friend take Riley for a walk around our neighborhood on-leash. She said she was so good the whole time - very quiet and well-behaved. ;D Once they get the crazies out, they are pretty mellow couch potatoes. We used to take Riley for off-leash hikes before her training classes and that helped a ton. They focus so much better when they don't have all that pent-up energy in their systems.


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