[crazyforcats]

We have been trying to break Roxy (shih tzu cross) of this nipping and biting habit. Every time she'd nip or bite we would yell "ouch" and ignore her for a minute. We did that for 3 weeks, but it didn't seem to do a thing - it almost seemed to get worse. Over the last few days whenever she nipped at or bit me I would grab her muzzle, hold it shut, look her straight in the eye and say firmly "no bite". I'd hold her for a few seconds until she stops fidgeting, but as soon as I let go she starts snapping at me - purposely trying to bite me - I'm not sure if she thinks it's a game or if I've ticked her off and she's being aggresive.

So what do I do? What method should I be using? This biting behavior will not be tolerated. We have two children, a 1-yr old and 5-yr old. When she jumps up on my 1-yr old (we're also trying to teach her "off") she's too close for comfort to my daughter's face. Do we just need to keep being consistant - how long should this take? I mean, it only took an afternoon for her to learn "down".