Nipping it in the Bud

Good Tuesday to everyone. As mentioned yesterday, here is the video of Max’s lesson with “place”.  You will see that while he tries really hard to stay focused, he needs a lot of work in that area. You will also see not one, but two incidents where he nipped. The first nip was to Violet when she came too close to the food reward I was giving him.  The second nip was to Glimmer, for the same reason. When he nipped at Violet, I failed to correct him; when he nipped at Glimmer, he was immediately corrected. I attributed the behavior to him getting frustrated and ended the lesson.

Yesterday, there were a total of four nipping incidents from Max. The first two incidents seemed to have no cause. The latter two occurred while he was chewing on a bone. This behavior concerned me, because, until Sunday’s incidents, Max never exhibited this type of behavior. Normally, he is submissive to Glimmer and Violet; he waits patiently for his turn with food and treats, and he has a very good grasp on the concept of sharing toys. Until Sunday, he never nipped, growled, snarled, or even bared his teeth at either one of them. So, when I work with him today, I’m going to spend some time with claiming. If I can film the lesson, I will.  And now, here is the video of Sunday’s first lesson with “place”.