Nipping

[RokixSlugg]

Anne has gotten quite bitey lately! If I go to pet her after she does something good she'll nip at me playfully or if I have a treat in my hand she'll nip at it to get the treat.

Now, I know the normal way to deal with dogs doing this is to stop play immediately and turn away, maybe say ouch when they nip… and then they should feel bad that they stopped play time because they nipped. I've been doing this anytime she nips, but I don't really think it is connecting.

If she nips at me and I stop playing or petting her and turn away she sort of just goes "whatever" almost instantly and goes to find something else to do. She doesn't really seem to be affected by me withdrawing my attention because she bit.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with a particularly bitey basenji pup who loses interest quickly?

[wizard]

Don't give her the treat then.

[lvoss]

Since she is wandering off and not continuing to push for your attention it sounds like she is reading your turn away corrrectly. When you turn away from a dog it is a distance increasing signal.

When you turn back and invite her back to you, what does she do?

Remember she is still young and learning self-control. This sort of behavior is related to your other post about her having difficulty holding body position for extended periods of time. She is still learning self control.

I like Levels because it breaks the training up into smaller parts, http://dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Levels/ByLevel/1Level.html