German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

katababa · Posted: 09/27/05, 1:04 pm Post subject: Nipping at strangers

Hi, I have a 4 month old male GWP, who is a blast. Occassionally though, he runs up to random people in the park and starts barking at them. Then he proceeds to jump up and nip them. I live in the city, and I got yelled at today by a jogger but I know he won't listen to me. He is off leash in the park though, so I have no way of quickly catching him . .. he also occassionaly nips me, when i get home from work and is excited or sometimes just playing. I've tried grabbing him by the scruff but then that sends him into more of a frenzy.
any suggestions?

Thanks so much!

cmmilach · Posted: 09/29/05, 12:19 pm Post subject: Nipping at Strangers

Hi,

You need to stop this aggressive behavior now while he is young. If you know that he is going to run up to strangers barking & charging then you need to keep him on a leash or long line & give him a good correction. This is totally unacceptable behavior that you need to get under control now before he gets too big & hurts someone.

Have you taken him to puppy kindergarten? This is a great place to teach him to behave in other areas other than home.

As far as him biting at you - I have found that if you carry a small bottle of breath spray & hold his mouth open & spray it in that they figure out soon that biting you is not fun.

Good Luck.

Cathy

Flyingm · Posted: 09/29/05, 4:45 pm Post subject:

Hi ,this is my first post. My advise to you, Katababa, is to notify your breeder at once and descibe what is going on. Listen to his/her advice. cmmilach is right that this is unacceptabe behavior.

katababa · Posted: 09/30/05, 1:50 pm Post subject:

Is this aggressive behavior or just a puppy playing? the problem is that he doesn't do it on a leash, so i would never get the chance to reprimand him.
He plays in the park with other dogs on a daily basis, since i live in downtown boston, and he gets along with them great!
So, puppy socialization is all set. We are starting beginner obidience classes however this weekend!

deiter8 · Member Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Posts: 9

I have an overly excited GWP who loves life as well. Mine is now 1.5 years old. I think the posters who have responded are taking this a bit to far. I would not say your dog is aggressive, it is just excited. It is not like your dog is biting anyone. Your dog is just an excited pup. We say our dog does the "lick, lick, bite" hello. Many pups show this excited behavior. We have a toddler who our GWP loves and he would never show aggression toward her. I would put your GWP on a 30ft. retractable leash in the park due to the standing and barking at strangers, you don't want to scare the joggers. This way your dog can run and you can have him under control. Good luck with your GWP.