Nibbleing

Question
I have a male 7 month old husky/shepherd mix and he loves to nibble, not bite, but just nibble gently at our hands, clothes etc. will this continue or is it just his age...he is doing excellent with all other training even off leash and come..also he weights in at 53 lbs looks in great shape and gets loads of exercise, does this sound like a good weight?

Thanks  

T

Answer
First, the weight sounds a tad heavy, but he could just be a big dog.  I'm going off the Siberian Husky Club of American standard as registered with the AKC, but if you don't have a dog that was bred to that standard, it really doesn't mean anything.  Things to look for:

1) Consistent firm stools (indication of proper nutrition)
2) Ability to feel ribs without much trouble (although you do have to get through all the fur!)
3) Similar test to feel the spine
4) Can't see the ribs or spine easily through the fur (you should be able to touch not see in this case)
5) Defined waist area (think the greyhound chest that drops into a sleak waist line, although the greyhound often has this over-pronounced

Those are all tests that will help guide you if you are feeding too much or too little.  Additionally, your dog will often tell you a lot about that too and keep you honest.  :p  Energy level is a big indicator, but based on height and breeding, 53 lbs doesn't sound unreasonable, although as I mentioned earlier - might be a tad large but being a shepherd mix . . . hard to say.

As for the nibbling, keep in mind that a dog interacts with his world orally - so instead of hands, he uses his mouth.  If this is gentle and polite, it might not be anything to correct.  If it isn't, a quick stern "No!" sounds like it would suffice (and ignoring the dog for a minute or so).  Honestly from your description, it sounds like this is a polite gesture the dog has learned to ask for play time or attention, and in that case, if you are ok with it, I see no harm in it at all.  A dog can understand nibbles versus bites and will not confuse them if he has been taught if something is too hard.