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My 6 month puppy nips in response to correction. Is this aggression?

Hi,

My 6 month basset daschund nips in response to correction when we say 'down' as he is not allowed on the couch. He is otherwise very mellow and friendly and doesn't react to any other kind of correction like 'leave it' when he chews something he is not supposed to. Is this particular kind of nipping considered aggression? What should we do?

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Anytime a dog "nips" it is in response to either fright or dominance. Since this is your puppy it is likely that while you are sitting on the couch he/she wants to be with you. To begin training the "down" command from the couch you should stand up and firmly (don't shout) say down until the puppy complies. Once the puppy complies give plenty of praise. This will take several sessions to train your puppy so don't get discouraged and good luck.

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Unless the pup is attacking you I don't believe this is aggression. There are a lot of questions to be asked when faced with a situation like this. Is it every time & for this particular command? How long has it been going on for? How far away are you when correcting? Are there other dogs in the home? A lot of factors can contribute to this unfortunately. Research might be in order or ask your veterinarian. My dog is almost 7 and still gives me attitude when correcting every now and then lol.

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Dogs respond to different commands differently. In dog training, the value of the reward must be greater than the task being performed by the dog. If you are teaching the dog the command of "down", you must (or should) have the dog at the sit position directly in front of you. At that point

your hand gesture moving your arm in a forward circular movement while simultaniously pushing the dogs collar/choke chain downward should be applied. This forces the dog to go down and once they do, MUST be praised.

As with all dog training. you need to ensure you are using the proper principles of Patience, Practice and Repetition. Dogs figure things out pretty quickly....Good Luck

I wouldn't use a collar to pull them down as it could hurt them and cause them to pull harder against it. Can also encourage them to go against the command. Take time, be calm/consistent.