Oh I know just what that's like! The 'zoomies'
I had the same problem with Ra Kismet when he was a puppy. He would go on a 'zoomie' and also nipped like mad, which hurt!
Sounds like Trixie is a little bit on the 'oral' side, especially when she's very excited. Quite normal but you do need to make sure she doesn't get out of hand (
no pun intended) with the nipping.
First, the chances of her hurting herself are VERY VERY slight, despite the fact that puppies will tear around like crazy, do not have very good perspective, they DO survive the 'zoomies' without injuring themselves. I personally only know of one dog who did injury herself, that's the exception, not the rule (and she was a lot older than Trixie). Yes it is sudden, very sudden, one moment playing quietly and next thing BAZOOOOOM off they go! Normal puppy behavior
.
The nipping. It's
NOT a warning, it's normal puppy behavior, some are worse than others, my boy (Ra Kismet) was the absolutely worst I have ever known. If she was still with her litter mates, she'd be nipping at them and vice versa, and it doesn't hurt them because dogs have loose skins and are also of course covered with fur. But it does hurt humans, especially with those little, sharp puppy teeth. What I did when Ra Kismet decided to start nipping was to:-
(1) offer him a toy (usually a Kong or a ball his fav. toys but anything which was handy).
(2) Become a 'tree' - fold your arms and remain still. Tuck up your feet too, they adore feet, especially bare feet.
(3) If she nips when taking a toy then throw the toy - not hard but away from you - so she has to run to get it. She may bring it back to you, then click/treat and rinse and repeat. Use the cue Fetch. Or she'll get interested in the toy and play quietly, no nipping.
(4) If she's already in 'zoomie' mode, just let her go and do
NOT attempt to physically play with her. Just let her run and run off the zoomies.
(5) Offer a treat if she just comes up and starts nipping you (which my boy loved to do especially when I was having a 'quiet' cuppa). Keep it kinda rolled in your hand, fingers around it, and if she tries to nip just remove your hand and treat, then try again. Do
NOT make a sudden or jerky move, this will only excite her more and cause more nipping, which is the last thing you need! Try not to shriek, that's hard sometimes when they give you a decent nip, but do try to remain quiet as shrieks only excite puppies and then - more nipping.
I would also really work on her trick training, not when she's actually in a zoomie of course, but other times.
As she's so young, keep the sessions short, you'll know when she's had enough, but do say, three sessions a day with her for about five minutes each session. You could do one in the morning, one at lunch time and one in the evening. If this isn't convenient, and you need to do them all in the evening, then do one session take a break, then another take and break and then the third.The mental stimulation and exercise will help to quieten her down when she's playing with her toys.
Plus you could also 'walk' her around the garden on her leash. Start training her on her loose lead work and if she goes well, then try a bit of close heel work with her. I used a treat concealed in my hand, walked one or two paces then click/treat when I started doing heel work. Again, keep her sessions short, puppies have very, very short attention spans. There is always the exception but as a rule they have limited attention spans.
Something else you can do, is work on her 'come' (recall). Just call her and click/treat when she comes. Start with a shortish distance and gradually increase it. If you can get another person to help it would be grand, as you can them have them call her give her a treat and then you call her and treat. Three people is about the limit I would go to with a very young puppy though. Keep a distance between you of course and if possible, I have found it best to work outside in the garden, the fresh air seems to tire them a bit more quickly then inside
. But again she's getting exercise and that's what she needs most - lots of exercise and mental stimulation that tires a puppy more than just play time. Don't get 'over excited' when calling her if she's nippy, call her in a happy tone but not in a high voice, keep your voice reasonably low, I've found this makes a difference. You're still happy and welcoming but not exciting her
By starting on her loose lead work, maybe a little heel work and come/recall it will help a lot when she can go out in the world, which I fully appreciate you cannot do until she's finished all her puppy shots.
Puppies need mental stimulation as well as exercise and play time. As I have already said, mental stimulation is actually more tiring than just plain play. You would know yourself, you can play/party for a long time and not feel overly tired, but do some heavy duty mental work and you'll feel more tired after than dancing all night
Never forget she's a BC and they have TONS of energy and are of course herding dogs, so the nipping is in their genes.
Please, I know you won't, NEVER alpha roll her, tug on her collar or anything like that to stop her nipping you. And do not do what I heard a dog trainer advise to stop puppies nipping use Vicks Vapor Rub or anything like that, it's darned cruel and you want your little girl to view your hands as ones of love not something to run away from. I KNOW you wouldn't though do that
But that kind of advice is still, in this supposedly enlightened age, being given by 'old school' dog trainers.
Trixie is adorable, enjoy her puppy hood, it doesn't last long and then LOL you'll have all the fun of the adolescent stage. This is where they totally forget every single thing they've learned as puppies and start driving you totally mad by 'testing' you to see how far they can stretch the boundaries
. You've been warned! But we're all here to help you