How to socialize my shy 8-month Lab puppy with kids and stop nipping?

Question

8 month lab. How to socialise to kids? No aggression. Just a bit shy. Offer cookies? Also how to correct nipping or mouthing? My daughter has been allowing this so now the puppy is offering this to other kids when being pet. Very soft through of course. Want to be able to have him to be able to pet by whoever. What do mom dogs do to correct grab muzzle? I don’t want just walk away that teaches them nothing but they are boss. He thinks kids are his size so he can boss but NO AGGRESSION

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Hi there. As far as helping your pup to get comfortable around kids, I would recommend allowing him to observe them at a distance while praising and giving treats. If he seems curious about them and wants to say hello, you can allow him to meet and let the kids offer treats as well. To help avoid mouthing and nipping during greetings, you can teach him to sit for a treat (followed by gentle petting), or have the kids drop treats on the ground for him. This keeps his focus down on the ground while they pet him, which in turn reduces his excitement level and tendency to use his mouth. Puppy nipping and mouthing has nothing whatsoever do to with dominance, and does not need to be "corrected" using any kind of punishment - it's a normal puppy behavior that will resolve on its own with age. Mother dogs are actually extremely tolerant with their pups about mouthing and biting, as they understand that this is normal behavior. Your pup is not trying to be anyone's boss - he's just a normal puppy, doing what comes naturally to him :) Focus on keeping the pup's excitement level down during greetings, give lots of praise and rewards for saying hello calmly. Keep him on-leash leash so that you can move him away from the kids to calm down if he starts to get too wound up - then try greeting again once he's a little more settled. You can also try teaching him to grab a toy when he starts to get excited, or prior to saying hello to a new person - for many dogs, this strategy can be very helpful since it gives them something else to do with their mouth.

How to socialize my shy 8-month Lab puppy with kids and stop nipping?

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