# Over-stimulation and Nippyness



## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Hello all. My girlfriend and I are adopting a 1 yr 1mo old dog from the shelter. They say that he is a pug/beagle mix, but we aren't 100% sure. We are in the process of moving so the shelter has agreed to board him for one more month (he has been there for 7 months and was in another shelter prior to that). I know that we have yet to establish the trust/respect relationship that we hope to build with him once he lives with us. So far in our time bonding and socializing (we try to see him 4x per week and spend at least 2 hours with him each time) we have learned a little bit more about him and his personality. I would say that 90-95% of the time he is a very sweet little guy and really wants to please and be loved. However, we have noticed that during our play time he is very easily overstimulated and once he becomes overstimulated he gets extremely nippy. His nippyness (is that a word?) includes jumping and biting our shoes, ankles, pants, shirts, arms, fingers, and just about any part of us that he can get a hold of. When he nips our body parts it is very quick and does not break skin, but it does hurt. When grabs a hold of our clothes he likes to tug. We have realized that our first step should be to know the signs of over-stimulation and that maybe for a while (until we train him) that playing in such a manner is something that he is not ready for yet. He is very good with one of the women who works with him on a consistent basis so we believe that once we bring him home and develop a trust/respect relationship that his behavior around us will improve and that eventually we may be able to reintroduce play time.

That being said, when he is on a leash he is very good. I walk with him close by my side and rarely have to give him the little tug necessary when he starts to pull ahead. He is also very good out in public when he sees other people and dogs. He does not pull on the leash to try and get near them too much and if he does then a short tug gets him under control. 

We really love the little guy and can't wait to bring him home with us. We feel that with some obedience training and with us being more observant we can hopefully curtail some of his nipping issues. We have already started following the "Be A Tree" advice that we read on here. Hopefully that along with some obedience classes will help us, but we are completely open to listening to any advice that is offered.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Well, right now, boarded or not, he's still in a shelter, and it seems like he's been in a shelter nearly all of his life. Most shelters don't have the time or the resources to properly exercise and train the dogs in their care. 
It's going to be difficult to teach him anything while he's still in the shelter because it's not going to be implemented continually like it will be in the home. -though it's not a bad idea to use it while you can.

I do agree that the first step is being able to recognize when he's about to be overstimulated. When he gets to be that way, -or when he's already nipping you- you can offer him a toy instead, which would show him the appropriate thing to chew on. Or, if it's too bad, walk away. This stops the fun for a moment and eventually he will learn that getting too rough = fun stopping. 
I would say once he's in the home and it getting proper exercise and interaction, this won't be hard to fix. I would offer him tug toys to play with when he tries to tug on your clothes and play with him like that. It's a good way to get energy out.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

HollowHeaven,

Thanks for the advice! We do realize that while he is being boarded its will be hard to try and teach him anything as he won't have rule implemented consistently and can only receive a bit of attention per day as opposed to the attention he would receive when we bring him home. We are hoping that by spending time with him throughout the week, albeit in small chunks, that this will help him be a little more comfortably with us when we bring him home. We realize that he will be work and it will not be smooth sailing even when we finally get him out of there, but we are patient and committed to working with him.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Read "The Bite Stops Here" sticky. The basic idea is to walk away and completely ignore him when he starts nipping. He's just trying to play with you and get your attention, so removing that is very powerful. You can use a cue like "ouch" or a yelp before you walk away, but remember that it's a cue and not something he will innately understand. Eventually though, he should learn to stop biting when you say the cue word and you won't have to walk away every time. You can also grab a toy and try to get him to bite that instead of you, but sometimes when they get really excited the only thing you can do is walk away.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Thanks! I should have mentioned that we read through "The Bite Stops Here" as well. We have discussed this and have agreed that we must consistently follow the basic guidelines of disengaging from the activity and ignoring him when he nips. We are really hoping that once we remove him from the high stress environment of a shelter that his behavior will improve, but we are also already lining up training for him so we can start working with him ASAP when we bring him home.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I really think that this might disappear on its own, or at least improve greatly, just being in a home where he gets attention and exercise. He's burning up with unused energy, he's bored, he's lonely, so he gets all crazy when people come by. It's a common problem with shelter dogs that often prevents their adoption.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Amaryllis,

We, and a few other more experienced dog owners that I have spoken to, agree with that. Overall he is a very sweet and smart dog that has been exposed to a bad (i don't want to imply that the shelter itself is bad because as we are getting to know the volunteers they all seem to be great people) environment for almost all of his life. The over-stimulation occurred after a pretty long play session (probably close to 1 hour) and then once we were able to calm him down we put his leash on him, took him for a nice walk, and then took him to petsmart so he could pick out a fun chew toy and he was excellent on both the walk and in the store with lots of other people and dogs around. We are still both completely on board (although she was a bit hesitant after his over-stimulated episode yesterday) with bringing him home. I want to thank all of you who replied for the reassuring words. We can't wait to give this little guy a good home.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

He sounds like a great dog! I'm so glad you're giving him a chance.

To properly thank us for our kind words, you need to post pictures. It's only polite.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Ask and ye shall receive. I threw in a picture to show the size comparison between him and I. Sorry if they are a little large.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

What a cute little guy! I can definitely see some pug there.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Thanks! We really think that he's going to be a great companion once we remove him form the shelter and get his nipping and excitement under control.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

nice,, you gave the best advice to your situation in your post.. OVER STIMULATED,,, focus the first 30 days getting the pup settled into his new home,, avoiding NOT over stimulating. Think of the things you really really really need from this pup and that is a dog that you can live with..... Focus on his daily schedule, what/where is his place when you go to work, when your eating, when you leave him at home,, his daily potty times, learning crate skills, when to eat, does he sit and wait before he is allowed to eat, your basic ob skills in the house, have you set up a go to place for him to lay down when you have company or someone at the door, will he be allowed everywhere or will he need to be happy behind a baby gate and respect the baby gate even though he can get out of it can he learn to wait happily behind a gate. All kinds of perfect dog to live with skills to work on of who he is in your home to focus on.... I'll be getting my new pup March 3rd and he will do as all my other dogs do,, just getting adjusted to his new home, our daily routine, bonding and spending one on one time with me for the first 30 days.. "easy stuff" but on purpose not being overwhelming to them all at one time so they can settle in and focus on the easy simple everyday stuff. Then after 30 days we will be going off property and have training set up once a week.. Easier for a dog to follow me and maybe run into scary stuff if they feel good to look to me for direction getting through an unexpected real life situation they haven't learned.

just for ideas,, you said over stimulated brings out the worse of behaviors, then know to stay away from them in the beginning so not to develop them as the first thing they learn.. Once a dog settles in they more comfortable with you and their environment and playing together is better understood and accepted without causing a dog to get frustrated over stimulated.. No need to do everything at once,, you want a dog that you can live with first..


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Thanks, Patricia. You are absolutely correct. As much as it stinks having to leave him there for another months, our visits with him will help us learn a little bit more about him (although his behavior will probably change a bit once he leaves there) and to be able to plan accordingly for when he does join us.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

he looks awesome, going to a good home.. you were so aware in your first post , sometimes we forgot life can be simple for direction.. Congratulations on your new place and your new pup..


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## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

omg, how can you stand to be away from the dog! 

Congrats on your new dog. Have fun.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Thanks! It stinks to be away from him so much right now, but we try to spend as much time with him as possible until we bring him home.


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## cooperthemut (Dec 20, 2012)

Kudos for taking the time to research and get to know the dog. I would bet after settling down in your home that 5% will disappear really quick. Have fun!


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

We saw our little guy again last night for a few hours and his behavior was much improved compared to the other day. Perhaps he was already tuckered out when we saw him but he was so calm and sweet. He did have one over-stimulated, excited episode, but that was when a woman from the shelter tried to put a prong collar on him. He tried to get jumpy and nippy around us and we became trees and this calmed him down greatly. One question I have for more experienced people is, do you find prong collars necessary at all? Our little guy is very good on a leash and doesn't pull at all and therefore doesn't really require much correction. It seems to me like a prong collar is a bit extreme. We think that maybe something like a martingale collar would be more appropriate. What are the thoughts on this from more experienced owners?


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

sounds all good that yall got a good feel for him. I like the martingale collars it's there if and when you need it, and the rest of the time its a comfortable collar for them.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

So our little dude is getting better, but he still goes into a nipping frenzy every now and then. When he starts getting nippy we try to distract him and get him to sit and then he settles down. However, we're having a hard time distracting him when he gets worked up. We were thinking of using either a coffee can or bottle filled with change and shaking it to distract him. Does anyone have any advice on using something like this? We don't want to use negative reinforcement but he is very hard to distract sometimes. Although he really only seems like to my heels and ankles (and most recently my rear end) and not my gilrfriend's.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I would not recommend the can of pennies trick. Some dogs are scared of it, and it will just damage your relationship. Other dogs will be momentarily startled, but will eventually tune it out. It's just really not an effective method to teach him what you do want.

Really, the most effective method is to ignore him when he does it. "Be a tree" or walk out of the room and he will get the point that nipping means his people go away and his fun ends.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

We'll try leaving the room because ignoring him while we're in the room doesn't work. He just grabs onto my ankle or heel or jumps at my backside if i'm not facing him. Even if I ignore him for a good 30-40 seconds it doesn't seem to work.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Yes, in that case, leaving is the best option. Just walk out for 20-30 sec, come back in and see what he does. You might have to walk out a couple times in a row, but he will get it eventually.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

is this still during play time? Do you feel he choose's you and not your girlfriend because your the source (I don't mean that in a negative way  as your have his best interest always in mind )


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I am fostering a 6 month old pit bull right now who was in the shelter for 50 days, with no potty breaks or exercise. 

I brought him home and the first day he was extremely mouthy and over stimulated. We exercised for at least an hour outside in the field running every day and that changed significantly. 

BUT he's a puppy so he still gets wound up inside sometimes, and I always keep training treats on me. So when he starts to get wound up, I just call him to me, treat, ask for a sit, treat, and maybe work on a behavior he needs work on like "touch" so that I can engage him first (which is what he wants) and distract him from letting that energy out in a negative way. If he starts mouthing or acting up before I notice it coming I will just distract him with food and go right into a training session.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Patricia, that might be so. This did happen during play time, but not the type of play that got him all wound up before. I know why it happened this time and it was partially my fault (he tried to take my jacket off of a counter because it had treats in the pocket) and in the process of getting it back he thought we were playing. So get him all worked up this time was 100% my fault. We just had a hard time distracting him so that he could calm down. This was also after an hour and a half walk at the park, but on a positive note he was very very well behaved up until that point.

Also, on a sort of unrelated note. We noticed that there is a certain area of petsmart that makes him go bananas. Every time we walk by the pet hotel section he grabs his leash with his mouth and chews like crazy and then as soon as we pass that area he goes back to normal.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

Believe me we learn as we go with all the dogs and that continues to change and new things as we grow together. Your very aware and find when people see the good in their dogs they tend to view situations in a good light to react in teaching learning way and not a discipline way as people who expect the worst in what they see dogs doing. The other thing about kennel dogs is length of exposure time.. they sit un-stimulated for hours on end day after day... Be like throwing an extreme introvert into a huge party after a short amount of time.. lots of things to observe and decide right now how much is too much for now and they will build up to longer and more stimulas with experience. It's like finding the right distance and length of time for teaching the long down stay... you see the change and make a note not to go further at this time until they comfortable. As far as grabbing the leash ,, you handled it just fine "you moved him through it" I will never know for sure "why" for some of the behaviors I have come across,, I try to focus on where am I going and what helps the dog get there instead as the best we can work on in the moment  dogs make me smile and laugh in the things they come up with,, and we just move forward.. I'm ok with it, eventually they are ok with it too. counting the days until he is home with yall...


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

You are right. We're not expecting too much from him right now since he's still living there. We're just happy that we can take him out for awesome weekend adventures until we bring him home. I wish we had taken video of him prancing around the park like a horse yesterday. He was one happy little dude.


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## doomrider (Feb 24, 2013)

Just want to give everyone who replied another thanks and provide you all with an update. We haven't brought our little guy home yet, but the change in behavior over the past week has been incredible. I guess we didn't really realize that he was such a cuddler. Once we allowed him to start cuddling on the couch or chair with us it was an instant change and he has stayed well behaved ever since.


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