7 Month Old German Shepherd Nipping at The Kids

Yep, seems like her herding instinct is kicking in.  The nipping and aggressive behaviors are two different things at this stage but it can get worse if you don't manage it now.  Management is the key here.  She will always have the drive to want to herd and protect her family.  It's stronger in some dogs than others.  Your job is to keep her employed in something more productive and positive then herding the kids.   For now keep a long leash on her when she is out so you can interrupt her when she gets too rough with the kids.

There is a lot of advice out there on how to handle this situation but I think your best bet is to find a dog trainer who is experienced with the GSD breed.  The initial cost for a good trainer may seems high but that person will set you up with a lifetime of training that will make everyone in your family happier to be around your dog.

There are others here way better on shepherds than I am -- but yes, this is herding behavior.  Aside from talking to Jackie, Spiritdogs, or Jewillee and Liesje -- you honestly need to read up on herders.  Shepherds are herders -- DIFFERENT from other herders but they are still herders.

Discipline is NOT the answer -- positive is definitely the way to go here.  You want to TRAIN this dog, not make it reactive.  And trust me -- she needs a JOB, big time.  A herder with nothing to do is a herder in trouble.

The nipping is not aggression, and IMO it's not really herding/flock behavior either.  It's very common with young GSDs.  Most people call them "landsharks".  She's probably getting overstimulated and being a breed with high prey drive the chasing and nipping is how it manifests itself with excited kids.  This is how GSDs play with each other, using their mouths, but is obviously not appropriate for humans however the dog doesn't know this.  To deal with it I would do several things....First, make sure she is getting enough exercise.  Second, make sure she's getting enough mental exercise like training.  Third, make sure she has access to toys and things that *are* OK for chewing and tugging. Play tug with her using these toys.  Roughhouse with her if that's what she likes but involving toys rather than your body or your clothes.  Practice redirecting her to these toys when she gets over excited and wants to nip at people or pull at your clothes.  Fourth, she'll need close supervision with kids while she matures (and GSDs are puppies for a LONG time, my 18 month old is still referred to as "the puppy";).  Like I said this behavior is really common and not really indicative of anything bad but the dog should not develop a habit of getting overstimulated with kids and roughhousing.  Kid time may be a good time for the puppy to have some alone time in a crate, pen, or kennel.  In general a GSD needs strong leadership, clear boundaries.  7 months is still so very much a puppy.  She needs to learn the rules and boundaries of the household and earn her freedom before having complete access to little kids.  Lookup NILIF "Nothing In Life Is Free" and use that philosophy in your household.

 Good advice above. I would also start teaching a Leave it command. To learn how to train "Leave it" go to Youtube and do a search on "dog training leave it" Use a force free - non-corrective training method. You don't want the leave it to be a correction when it comes to your kids, that will make the dog leary of kids. So, you want the leave it to be a positive type command where the dog is rewarded by treats, toys or praise when it follows the direction to leave it.

I agree with training the leave it though in many cases this won't always apply when the dog is getting overstimulated around kids roughhousing.  You want to avoid that overstimulation in the first place so ideally you don't ever have to redirect the dog or use an incompatible behavior.  Sometimes the answer is management plain and simple.  If the dog can't control herself she needs to not have free access to the kids until she can control herself.  Often the arousal of the prey drive is going to block out commands especially with a young dog that hasn't been proofed and can't be expected to obey because the commands are new and the behavior goes against genes and instinct.  Many times this behavior fades with maturity as the dog's drives balance out and the owner establishes more control over time.  Without knowing the pedigree of this individual dog all I can say is that in general GSDs today are being bred with too high prey drive and too low a threshold which is exactly why you see these behaviors (it's *not* and indication that a dog will be aggressive as an adult). 

Callie with all due respect this behavior should not be labeled "herding" behavior.  I have a dog from herding lines, bred in Germany by one of the top herding breeders (he is a "shepherd" himself, his dogs work daily tending thousands of sheep) and would never allow the sort of behavior being describe or ascribe it to "herding" instinct.  When he is herding, he is not running around nipping at sheep.  GSDs are not true "herding" dogs either, they were developed partially from herding stock and have been using for tending but are very different from other herding breeds.  This is prey drive and low threshold, pure and simple, both things that when not balanced correctly are *not* desirable herding behaviors, but are all too common with GSDs today.

Guess I shoudl say opps as well, I look at herding from more of a collie prespective rathern then GSD.  Nipping is quite common in my breeds and handeled differntly then prey drive.  When training in sheep herding with Gizmo, we allowed nipping during the inital training then slowly started to work it out.  Nipping was part of the lerning process in moving the sheep so guess I just come from a differnt background and breed experance when it comes to training. 

Correct, a GSD job is more tending.  They create a "fence" around the sheep (hence the necessity for an effortless gait).  They can and should use their mouths when appropriate but not in the same way as other herding breeds.  There's only two or three people in the entire country that train and trial GSDs to herd the way they are/were bred to in Europe.  The GSD is in the "herding group" but that's sort of a misnomer.  The breed is relatively new (1890s) and was developed from herding and working dogs but not developed just to be a herding dog.

I think the overstimulation and mouthiness is just a common puppy trait regardless of breed.  None of my three GSD puppies did this, but I've seen a lot of non-GSD puppies that do.  I just don't like to label it as something it's not because it too easily becomes an excuse or gives a breed a bad rap for no reason.  If the OP doesn't like the dog nipping at kids, there are ways of interrupting it, stopping it, preventing it.

Not only does this PUP need some positive training, but so do the children.  I would limit interaction between the kids and the pup when the kids are being wild until you can get a good start with a positive trainer who understands german shepherds.  The kids need some guidelines too on how to relate to a young gsd, or dogs in general.

I'm not much for making sure a dog knows its place....at least not in the way that some trainers mean that.  In our home, the dogs are part of the family, but, just like our sons, they have rules they have to follow.  Your pup should be willing to respond to requests from the kids that you have trained and she should respect the children as fellow family members, but, they also need to respect HER.  Things like not bothering her when she's eating, not teasing her, respecting that she too feels pain (some kids don't get that), allowing her alone time when she wants it, that sort of thing.

When the kids get nipped, they should immediately just STOP.  And turn away from her and ignore.  I don't know how old your boys are, but, most kids will squeel or yell, and make even more noise, get even more excited, and that just exasperates the problem.

I defer to Glenda regarding the kids because I don't have any yet.  My GSDs are mine so I am responsible for all of their care (my husband only feeds them, lets them out to potty, etc when I ask him to).

In my house, dogs learn their place early on but not with physical punishments and that "alpha" crap.  They learn that *I* control the resources and that life is very rewarding and happy and easy if they just pay attention to me.  Unlike some people I don't have my dogs work for meals.  I do use NILIF to an extent but my dogs know that no matter what happens I will *always* feed them dinner, let them out to potty, give them play time together and special time with me.  They will always have access to water, toys, and some personal space if they need it.  These things are just givens.  In return, they learn that they don't have to fight over stuff or pester me for this or that.  I think GSDs are dogs that like predictability and routine, at least until they are more mature and settled.  Try to establish a routine with your dog for food times, potty times, crate/quiet/away times, and times when she's allowed to be with the kids.  As the adult I think she should always defer to you so you (or your spouse) do the training but the dog should also understand that the kids are part of the household, part of the pack, and also deserving of respect and trust.  These things just come with time and consistency.

Tootsie, was permanently attached to my pant legs for the fist 6 months.

tiffy

Tootsie, was permanently attached to my pant legs for the fist 6 months.

 

So was Kali and Jackson, but they're all herders.

The age of the boys makes a difference in what advice we can give for when it happens.

Is your pup crate trained??