my 12 week old -puppy

Question
Hello,

I would appreciate some advice on my 12 week old miniature schnauzer puppy. My husband for the most part did the nurturing through birth, and had done most of the feedings, so it could be a contributing factor that the puppy only wants to be around my husband.  

She is nipping and growling at me, even though I've handled her through birth to now.  I don't understand it, and quite frankly, I'm upset over it. I want to coddle her and give her love, and she bites me with no good reason.

I give her snacks, and praise her, take her for walks, and my husband has been ignoring her to help solve the problem but I still get bitten.

Household: 12 yr old girl, 14 yr old boy, me, my husband, 2 grown cats, and 2 grown dogs, and a sister puppy (which I'm still trying to find owners for both).  How is it that all of the animals love me but her??

My heart is broken, and now I'm quite frankly becoming intolerant of her even being in the house. (I need to find an owner soon).

What do I do to stop the growling and nipping?  PLEASE HELP

Answer
It is most likely a case of not learning to inhibit her bite when she was younger, which most puppies are taught through interaction with their mother and littermates.

What I do when a puppy bites me is to pinch its lip HARD as I stare it in the eyes and roar in its face (like a lion) and loudly tell it "NO BITING!". Sometimes I will also hold it up by the scruff of the neck as I stare and roar (after I have pinched the lip). A lot depends on the reaction I get from the puppy. These things work much better when the puppy is younger. Generally after a couple pinches, most puppies will get the message, and may only have to be reminded once or twice several weeks later.

Last year I had a litter of two who were particularly bad biters. The boy was the worst, and actually bit my daughter in the lips, and not in a mean way. I worked on him for WEEKS, and ended up not having to do much with his sister. Now I have the sweetest boy who would never consider biting, but... try to give his sister a treat and she will just about remove fingers trying to grab it! I guess I shouldn't have ignored her quite as much.

Start practicing "Nothing in Life is Free" with your puppy. You should actually do this with all the dogs. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm