Nipping mini Shnauzer

Question
Hi, I am writing because I am getting really frustrated with my fiancee's Mini Shnauzer, which is soon to be my dog too. He has a nipping/bitting issue we need to address immediately. He tends to get very aggressive at around 9 PM, every night. The puppy is about 8 months old now, He is in a crate most of the time when my fiancee is working. She works Mon.-Tues. 8 AM to 10:30 PM. and Wed.-Fri.8 AM-5 PM. I come and feed her dog Mon. and Tues. when I get out of work at about 7:00PM and I let him out to do his business outside. I notice when I come over Wed.-Fri. evenings the dog throws temper tantrums at around 9 PM and begins to pounce at us when we're watching TV. I know it's to get our attention, but I don't allow it, I yell at him NO! When he begins to bite me or my fiancee. He usually doesn't get startled by that and rather it ends up working him up more. I trained him to do basic commands such as sit and lay down. Also shake hands and give high fives. It's hard to have him look at me when he is in this state of aggression. I know that he is trying to get our attention, but I know this is unacceptable. I reprimand him when He nips and bites, and I praise him when he is calm and relaxed. I try to get him by the neck when he bites and when I do catch him I yell at him NO! and he submits by laying on the floor with my hand on his neck, but again, as soon as I release him he's back to bitting us and we end up putting him back in his cage. I know the dog is probably wanting to play and trying to get our attention; this is probably just a big game for him. I know he isn't being aggressive but playful because he wags his tail and his ears are in an upright position. He doesn't posture in a rigid position when he growls and nips us but he pounces on the ground with his front paws as to dare us to get him. I know he's probably just playing but his bitting is getting out of hand and it hurts sometimes when he gets us good. We've tried ignoring his antics but that has failed. I've tried teaching him the command "leave it" with treats and a clicker but that has seemed to fail also; seems he forgot what leave it meant. We walk him everyday, for about 20min. and that also doesn't seem to help with his energy bursts. I hope I've explained my situation in an understandable way. Hope you will be able to shed some light in our situation. Thank you.

Answer
You have a couple things going on here. One is a young dog who has never learned to inhibit his bite. The other is a young dog who is crated far too long and is not getting enough exercise to wear him out.

The dog must be corrected every time he bites. With my puppies, I pinch their lips hard as I stare them in the eyes, roar in their face (like a lion), and I tell them loudly, "NO BITING!" This method may not be as effective with an older dog. If he is biting at your hands, you might try spraying them with Bitter Apple, so that he will get a taste of that when he nips. If he is nipping at your feet, put some water in a spray bottle (or Bitter Apple if water doesn't work), and shoot that in his face as you tell him to "KNOCK IT OFF". Be careful and don't get Bitter Apple in his eyes. The dog should be praised when he behaves.

If you are getting frustrated with this dog, think about how frustrated HE is getting... crated 10+ hours every day, a ton of energy to wear off, walked only 20 minutes a day, and then ignored more often than not most evenings... which would be short evenings since his people do need to sleep.

My suggestion would be to teach this dog to retrieve, and then you can sit there watching TV and throw the ball/toy for the dog to retrieve until he is stepping on his tongue. Give him large knucklebones to chew, and give him a Kong toy with some treats inside that he needs to work on to get out. Find another nice dog in the neighborhood and set up doggy play dates so that he can really get rid of his energy. Give him stuff to DO!

You seem to be doing pretty good with his training for the most part, but this needs to be done on a more daily basis. (Schnauzers need a job to do.) Also, the two of you should start practicing "Nothing in Life is Free" with him. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Having a dog is just like having a toddler around; they both require a LOT of work, but give back a LOT in return.