r/WiggleButts • u/Appropriate-Match160 • 3d ago
Mini Aussie nipping at new kids in the house 😤
I’ve had her for about 10 months after getting her from another couple who had little kids. She’s 1 1/2 y/o. I have kids in the house and she’s never tried to bite, nip, or chase them. I have family in town who have a toddles and 5 year old and she’s been all over them, standing over them, putting her mouth around their arms/feet (not biting down but like a warning), just super hyper about always paying attention to them. I’ve been reprimanding her, telling her no, being very direct when she does it. I had an Aussie growing up and she kinda had tendencies like this. Tonight, I was in the shower and she always sits outside the door waiting for me. The 5 year old came over to the door to and she jumped up and nipped her face. It didn’t break the skin or leave a mark but my niece started crying instantly. I’m so pissed off and worried she’ll be like this around future kids that I have in the house. Anyway to stop it or is this just part of the package?
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u/littlewibble 3d ago
I’ll let other people give advice about curbing the behavior but for now I would heavily urge you to separate her from the visiting kids. This stuff can escalate so quickly, do not leave it to chance.
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u/Appropriate-Match160 3d ago
Definitely, she’s in her crate right now and is going to be outside in the fence area the rest of the time.
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u/smthngwyrd 3d ago
I highly recommend working with a professional trainer OP. No one wants anything to happen to anyone!
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u/wdgiles 3d ago
ours would put her teeth on someone as a warning but mostly it was a hierarchy thing. she was establishing her place in the pack. In a case like this these kids might not be 'dog people' or be old enough to understand how to behave around a dog. best solution is to separate them for now.
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u/monbabie 3d ago
I got my Aussie as a puppy when my son was 4. When she was very young, she nipped at his ankles when they ran outside. Very early on I stopped her from that and she grew out of it. Sometimes when he plays rough with her, she mouths at him to stop but she NEVER hurts him and never goes at his face. And it’s always because he’s bothering her (and yes I stop him and he also has grown out of that). I trust her and I trust him, they are just siblings kinda playing. But what you describe is different and must be managed better than what you’re doing
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u/Natural_Impression56 3d ago
I have seen this worsen in Aussies as they get 2-3 years old. Some of them are very gentle and able to control their instincts, others are bred to be genetically more hard core, and you will not be able to train it out of them. Separate your dog from children, don't let it get itself into trouble. It is not the dog's fault, take care of your puppy dog.
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u/Dull_Grass_6892 3d ago
Not just part of the package. I’d suggest making it clear to her she has to leave the circle of trust whenever she acts out like that. Make her go to a different room stuff like that. What she wants is to be able to have her undivided attention on you. Make that impossible until she gets that she needs to behave to be in the position she wants.
Figure out what it is she cares about most and make it clear she doesn’t get that thing if she acts out. There needs to be more incentive for her to think twice about reacting in that way. It may sound or look harsh but it has worked for me.
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u/MmeGenevieve 2d ago
Teach her the leave it command. There are great tutorials on youtube and Aussies will pick it up instantly.
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u/vitresense 2d ago
Ok I made a snarky comment earlier in response to someone but I also want to leave a comment that you, op, will see.
Nipping, biting, teeth, growling, barking, all of these are distressful to owners, especially once it gets to adult teeth stage.
You should absolutely seek professional training for this.
But, in my humble opinion, the training should be for the dog and and you.
First and foremost, you do not put yourself in a vulnerable position where your dog feels it is/must/should protect you from threats. This is exactly what you did. You allowed your dog to “protect” you in your most vulnerable position and allowed a small toddling stranger to encroach on this vulnerable position. Your dog was protecting you. Full stop. Your niece being a child means nothing to them, you were in your most vulnerable state, and they stopped a threat.
To your dog, your niece is no different than a home intruder. Or a wolf. Or an agressive member of the sheep herd who she just wasn’t about to deal with.
YOUR responsibility as a herding dog owner is to establish your herd and keep both them and your dog safe. No, nipping at a face is not ok. But examine the environment. You put yourself in a vulnerable position; you let your dog protect you; you let a strange person near your most vulnerable self.
The dog needs training, so that she won’t react to the situations you put her in🤷🏻♀️
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u/PayMeInPlants007 3d ago
Wow, I mean this gently but you have been wildly under reacting. Your dog is going to seriously harm one of the kids, she nipped their FACE. You need to separate them immediately and permanently, then speak with a behavioral specialist to find out how you can address this effectively with your dog because obviously just saying "no" isn't working for you.... do not wait for a tragedy. A family friend of mine just had half of their child's face RIPPED OFF by a dog a few months back. His life is forever changed. Don't let this happen.
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u/vitresense 3d ago
It’s been one incident? All pups can be nervous around new people, especially in crowds. Aussies are ~gasp~ herding dogs. Nipping is standard. You shouldn’t have a herding dog that nips its herd if you don’t want it to nip its herd🤷🏻♀️
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u/thequeenoflimbs 3d ago
Getting tired of people getting a herding breed and then complaining about them having herding behaviors. Do your research people. It's not the dogs fault, it's yours.
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u/smthngwyrd 3d ago
I can understand how scary this is. A family got attacked by an off leash dog and luckily wasn’t hurt very much
The dog was in a mandatory 30 day quarantine lock down, the city and police are involved, the dog has to have a GPS collar, be in a run and they had to have signs posted on the property. They also had to get special insurance and the owner is trying to find a home with minimal human interaction unless it’s rehomed to specialized trainers. The city doesn’t fork around with this stuff.
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u/IT-Electchicken 3d ago
Honestly some of this is just part of owning a dog, and specifically a herding dog in genes. Aussies unlike German shepherds, actually retain dominant herding and pack traits. You are your dog's pack/herd. Say your in the shower where he guards you, random person tries to come up while you're in the shower, and the dog is gonna likely not be friendly in that scenario because he views it as his duty to guard you when you're vulnerable.
These can be trained from both a dog and human perspective. Aussies are a little teeth/mouthy in general during their younger years, but again you can slowly and gently train them to not do so.