Dog nipping

Question
QUESTION: Hi recently my 10 month belgian shepard has been nipping at strangers and sometimes putting their hands in her mouth.  

The event usually plays out like this:  she see's someone, she then has the need to say hi, she approaches them wagging tail but as she gets close she'll start biting the air and sometimes even nipping at their hands/sleeves.  I correct her when she does it but it has not stopped.  

What got me scared was when she nipped at a little kid yesterday.  I have not been using a leash (we live in an outdoor town) but it looks like I will now have to.  Is there any way I can stop this behavior.  

Thanks

ANSWER: Stop correcting her!  If she is nipping out of fear, this won't help, and may make matters worse.  I can't say why she is doing this, but I would be interested to see video of the behavior if you can post to youtube.  Some herding dogs nip to increase the distance between them and a person/animal they wish to control or move. They were bred to use their mouths to do this to livestock, so it's no surprise that they do it to people, but of course in that context it's inappropriate. Other herders have a play bite type of greeting behavior (well inhibited, and never hurts the intended person) that they reserve for familiar family members, but they almost never do it to a stranger, so that doesn't sound like what's happening here.  Can you describe what the dog's body posture looks like?  Is she crouched forward as if she's curious, but then backs up after she nips?  What does she do with her ears, and her tail?  
Clicker training can work wonders for dogs like this, both to stop this behavior, and to elicit a more appropriate behavior with which to greet, or at least ignore, strangers.  I suggest you try to find a clicker trainer in your area who can coach you on some exercises to stop the unwanted nipping.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm almost positive its not out of fear. I would lean more towards a play bite.  I took her out for a long walk today and it happened several times.

The first time the moment she saw the person the ears went up and then she ran towards them saying hi in a friendly way, then jumping up and giving mild bites to the person sleeve (jacket).

The second time a man shoveling snow. Same thing, she sees a person she has to go say hi, he ignored her which was good so she went around him a bit then onto the hind legs giving small bites to the person's arm - again in a playful manner.  I was very close this time so I did correct her (this is before I saw your 'do not correct' message).

She definitely crouch's forward she leaves my side to say hi to the person(s).  I would say her ears are back as she gets closer to the peson(not 100% sure, will make better note next time) and her tail goes from waggin to mid/low position as she gets closer (again not 100%, will make sure to observe the next time).  She does not back up after the nip and I believe she would continue doing it if the person or myself did not step in and say no.

I wish I had a camera to record this behavior, but unfortunately I do not have one. I will also look into the clicker training.

Thanks for your help again.

Answer
You said, "She definitely crouch's forward she leaves my side to say hi to the person(s).  I would say her ears are back as she gets closer to the peson(not 100% sure, will make better note next time) and her tail goes from waggin to mid/low position as she gets closer (again not 100%, will make sure to observe the next time).  She does not back up after the nip and I believe she would continue doing it if the person or myself did not step in and say no."
I would say that she is exhibiting fear, or at least a lot of caution.  If she were completely confident, the tail would continue to wag and would not go mid to low - that's the sign of a deferential dog.  While the nip may be playful, I think it's more ambivalent.  Anyone who greets this dog should do so by NOT staring, or presenting a frontal hand-over-the-head pat, but should avert their gaze and allow the dog to come to them.  When she does get there to greet, let her take a long sniff of the person before they move at all (my guess is that's when she nips - if there is movement on the part of the human), and just have them drop a little treat unceremoniously onto the ground for her.  The fact that she does not back up after the nip tells me that she isn't terrified, but might be a bit anxious as to whether she should greet or beat feet;-)  Again, a solid "leave it" and "come" will put you back in charge.  But, this is fairly common behavior in herding dogs and so you do need to get a handle on it so that she doesn't make a mistake.  She's an adolescent now, but when she's mature, the herding behavior becomes that of an adult and though it's "displaced" behavior, it still can hurt for someone to get that nip on the hand.  I assume that she has not broken skin, so if that's the case, she's got good bite inhibition, a plus in the general scheme of things.  I have one dog here who is a therapy dog, and does not nip at anyone, but she occasionally gets excited to see me, and will mouth my hand (her teeth don't touch more than a sheet of velvet on my skin, though).