Newbie with health question

[Beckyhardt]

Hello, My name is Rebecca Everhardt ( Becky ) and we just adopted a 7 year old Cairn Terrier mix we named She-to ( mixed with either Shih Tzu or Yorkshire Terrier, shelter had no info on the breed) anyway we have an appointment with a vet for next week but I really need help asap because of the type of problem we're having with her. I"ll start from the beginning : My neighbor had rescued her from a animal shelter and brought her home last week, but she started ( and didn't stop ) nipping and biting at them everytime they would pick her up or pet her. She'd be fine at first and then out of the blue she'd nip at them. These are the same neighbors who gave me and my family Tito, my Cairn Terrier mix whom we kept for 5 1/2 years until she passed away and they're animal lovers and treat their pets as well as they do their children so I know they're not doing anything to hurt them physcially or mentally. I wanted to add this also, she is really a loving pet who will crawl on your lap or wants to lay beside you, follows us everywhere and even uses her paw to pull your hand to her so you'll pet and scratch her. Funny thing is though after she does this , you'll scratch or pet her for awhile and suddenly without warning she'll nip at you and sometimes actually bite but never hard. Can someone please, please let me know if they've seen this problem before. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance                                         P.S  the attached pic is one I found on the internet but the dog looks exactly like Tito did ( everything is identical even color of fur and blonde streak above eye.and like She-to  does now ( except She-to is white)

 

[sanford]

If she's not biting hard, that is a warning and shows that she has self-control and is only trying to give you a message or correction, which is a good thing, but important for you to take this as a warning to back off, for her sake, and yours. My main concern is that she's doing this because of pain and the vet can tell for sure, so it's good that you have an app't.

i think she looks adorable and hard to resist. I like her wonderful coat and shaggy look... And I also wonder if grooming and a trim would reveal what she really looks looks like underneath all that wonderful  "yak" hair!

Good luck with She-to. I hope everything works out!

[pkcrossley]

yes, sounds like you need to know who better (you might by now) to figure out whether the nips mean stop touching me, or touch me some more. many dogs bark and nip because they want attention, and don't realize that nipping actually hurts anybody. i usually recommend as first step, make clear that it hurts you --make a big show of it. if she continues to nip, say "no teeth" and walk away. cairns cannot stand to be ignored. my dogs usually got the message quickly when i would walk away, but i had one very determined customer who needed time-outs (and would fight about it) before he started to figure out that only police dogs get company and petting. your she-to doesn't sound like that. she should learn that there are no circumstances under which dogs can touch people with their teeth. many really think that mouthing and nipping are just a way of saying something.