bum nipping

[D]

My 6 year old GSD has just started to play and chase with other dogs with our new dog walker, something she neaver really did before.
She has started to nip at the other dogs bum, and depending on which dog this is it can cause problems are fights are starting to break out.

I'm a right to thinking this is normal hearding behavour or is it some thing else.
We need a way to stop her from doing this as at the moment she is having to be kept to a short lead to stop her from playing.

She is also getting her self really worked up when our dog walker comes to pick her up, barking at the other dogs in the van.

Please help

[GundogGuy]

Hi,
The bum nipping may be part of the prey drive instinct (stalk->chase->catch->kill->dissect->eat) instinct that all dogs have in various quantities. For example, herding dogs have strong stalk/chase but weak catch/kill instincts (e.g. herding sheep) where terriers have strong chase/kill instincts (e.g. ratting/rabbiting)... The biting on the bum or (what I think may be a more accurate description) the rear thigh is a technique used by predators to make an initial strike that prevents the prey animal from escaping. Damaging the muscles and tendons in that area disables the prey and prevents running/escaping. So, you are right to assume that this is normal behaviour in 'dog world' and may be something as simple as play acting the chase/kill piece but it certainly should be discouraged in 'human world' especially as it's obviously upsetting/painful for the other (prey) dogs.

The fact that you have a 'new' dog walker and the dog is exhibiting 'new' behaviour may be linked... Is the new walker exposing your dog to too much too soon and therefore causing anxiety? Is the trigger of the anxiety/barking the arrival of the dog walker or the dog walkers van?

[ladybug1802]

How long has the dog walker been walking her? She may well not like being in the van? How does your dog behave to the actual dog walker herself? Also, how many dogs does this dog waslker walk at any one time?

[D]

Hi
Thanks for the rey

I say "new" but in fact she has been walking Bella for 4 months now and this behavour is just starting to show it's self.
She never used to play with other dog just do her own thing because she didn't really now how to play.
She loves going in the van and in the car, so I dont think thats the issue, and I think it is going in the van that she is getting so worked up and excited about.
She used to be a little snappy with other dogs, when meeting nose to nose as she wasn't socialised properly when she as younger, we found that giving her something to carry helped take the stress out of these situations.

I think she usually gets walked with another 3-4 dogs, but this is not new for her she has been walked with other dogs for the past 3 years.

[Mattie]

This could be stress, especially if she was snappy with dogs, this could be her way of chasing the dogs away and coping with having to mix with other dogs. For a dog that has been walked with dogs for so long suddenly start to play I would be very suspicious on it being play.

[nightsrainfall]

Has she been walked with these same 3-4 dogs for years? or have they varied?

This is a hypothesis, but 4 months may have been the toleration period and she could have been giving other signs and now has finally decided to 'take matters into her own hands'. Kind of like removing the growl before the snap in another thread, because the growl wasn't being noticed the dog just went on to snapping to be understood. There's a chance that she was trying to give another dog (or all other dogs) signals and now is giving a far stronger one. I

I would not consider it to be play - but I don't know the rest of her body language. The reason I don't think of it as play is mostly because the only time I saw this type of nipping occur with dogs, resulted in a high energy fight. I'd assume she wants the other dog to move if she isn't biting hard enough to damage. I also don't think she's quite herding them if she hasn't displayed herding before. She may just want them to move, get away, and out of her space.

I'm really just guessing in the dark honestly. Could you talk to the dog walker more and learn about her other body language as well as the dogs she's nipping at? Is she play bowing or dancing excitedly before nipping to indicate play? Is her tail up, down, wagging? Or are their even any signs to it before it happens? She may just go straight to the nipping having given up on the other signals if they weren't working... The best solution I can think of is to not have her walked with other dogs until what is sparking the nipping is figured out, especially if it's causing fights.