Pack leader

[frankie123]

Hi all,
I was reading a post about a pup who attacked their owner and it got me thinking and got me a little bit worried, frankie is only 16 weeks however, shes still mouthing biting, etc and this again like the other post is mainly aimed at me, my OH tells her to stop and she does, but i try to tell her to stop and she just carries on till i give her time out, when time outs finished she just comes back and carries on, its not an all day thing but once she starts its very hard to get her to stop. This is not a big problem at the minute shes only small and easy enough for me to handle but im worried if i dont get it under control now it will carry on forever and cause real problems in the future.

Its strange as she does follow my orders ie, sit, stay, leave etc... but she completly ignores me with the biting. She clearly sees my other half as the pack leader and i think she still sees the opportunity to try and dominate me probably my own fault as im pretty soft with her and give her attention when she wants as my oh can ignore her. Shes in training classes which shes doing well at, shes fine with other dogs her size, lol, craps herself at big dogs though and runs off,

When we got her I think she was the pack leader out of the litter as she massive compared to the others plus theyd been seperated from there mum for about a week beforehand.

Any advice appreciated x

Hi there! I have had a think about this and I will give you my advice based on what I feel I would do in your situation! Each time my pup attempted to mouth me or chew what it should not! I would say ah ah and offer them a toy or nylabone to chew on and praise , praise, praise when they chewed these. After a few attempts thier will to please took over and usually they got a toy instead of me! I always kept a toy with me and each time they put teeth to me I would wiggle the toy and they could not resist then praise . This was how I raised all my pups and it worked for me! However your pup I think has found a game with you so your toy has got to be so much more rewarding and exciting than your waving arms lol. Don't get into the whole pack leader thing, Just bring your pup up the way you see fit! I always prefer to be firm but fair. Mostly just enjoy your pup! Some pups are pushy, some not , just different natures . Because I have always taught my dog not too mouth they haven't but some dogs do this to communicate with you and sometimes it can be affection! I would decide if they were to mouth or not and stick to it so I don't confuse the dog! You can teach your dog too mouth without hurting you and I know some people who do this with thier dog! I will never forget my aunts dogs who taught by my aunt lead me out the house by the arm when I was leaving! Her command without warning I have to add was Show the way! Thank God I love dogs! lol Good luck and I am sure you will both be fine!

Catriona xx

[LOVEGSD]

Don't worry, stay consistent though with whatever method you go with. I found that every time Diesel jumped up and wanted to mouth me, I would say ah ah, turn around and fold my arms, so he learnt that this behaviour meant all fun stopped. I would then give him something he was allowed to chew and praise him for doing this.

[sami]

Both giving good advice above just wanted to say I wouldnt worry about it too much. I agree its a game to them and whilst annoying, painful and notoriously difficult to stop generally they all seem to grow out of it eventually.

Tracy

[frankie123]

thanks, ill try the toy method

I definately enjoy her, but shes has put holes in 3 of my tops this week by jumping up and biting my belly lol,

i agree she sees it as a game, she hates time outs but they dont deter her, she will just sit at the door waiting to be let back in, she wont go and play or anything shel just wait so i dont know why this hasnt worked

When we first got zeus at 5 1/2 months he was very "mouthy". We enrolled him in bury german shep club and saught advice from other gsd owners who said that sheps are notorious for being mouthy. Zeus tended to do it when playing so we taught him to always pick up a toy or play stops. We never said no or ah ah just got up quietly and ignored him completely( not easy when he sat in front of you with his head cocked on one side looking adorable). Now he knows when told "Toy Zeus" the funs about to begin! Good luck- you could ask 10 people and get 10 answers but pick a solution that works for you and stick to it EVERY TIME.... our sheps are very intelligent, if they get away with it once they will try and try again! lol

[Kaylie]

Ahh, poor you! Maggie was a terrible biter as a puppy and even up to around one year old, then she just suddenly stopped! I used to put a wet tea towel in the freeze until it went hard and then give that to get some of her chewing out of her system. She still tries to mouth me when i brush her so i have to give her a brush to hold and use another one to brush her

[Stuart]

It is very difficult to stop what is a natural thing for a pup to do, they communicate and learn through using their mouths.

I know I am in the minority when I say that I dont stop my dogs from mouthing, mouthing is just a way that dogs communicate,..to stop mouthing completly is,... in my view quite cruel.

The thing is that you have to curb the mouthing, the dog needs to know when it can do it and how hard,..with a pup its not easy,... take the advice that you have already been given to curb the habit,...

....all I ask is that you think about the furture of mouthing,..some have a `no tollorence to mouthing,..some allow it,..the training you give your dog from now on will be different with each way,..so you need to know what you will allow

I have to say that all my dogs mouth, they talk through their mouths, they will gently take me places, put my hand in their mouths when I come home as a greeting,...and never do they hurt in any way,.. they do the same to the grandchildren, and have never applied pressure,... so mouthing is not a bad thing if the dog is trained to be gentle

[Angie]

Originally Posted by Stuart

It is very difficult to stop what is a natural thing for a pup to do, they communicate and learn through using their mouths.

I know I am in the minority when I say that I dont stop my dogs from mouthing, mouthing is just a way that dogs communicate,..to stop mouthing completly is,... in my view quite cruel.

The thing is that you have to curb the mouthing, the dog needs to know when it can do it and how hard,..with a pup its not easy,... take the advice that you have already been given to curb the habit,...

....all I ask is that you think about the furture of mouthing,..some have a `no tollorence to mouthing,..some allow it,..the training you give your dog from now on will be different with each way,..so you need to know what you will allow

I have to say that all my dogs mouth, they talk through their mouths, they will gently take me places, put my hand in their mouths when I come home as a greeting,...and never do they hurt in any way,.. they do the same to the grandchildren, and have never applied pressure,... so mouthing is not a bad thing if the dog is trained to be gentle

I absolutely agree. I would never stop mouthing as long as it's gentle. IMO a dogs mouth is crucial for play, what else do they have??? Molly is 16 weeks and still sometimes forgets herself with my OH and applies a bit too much pressure. When she does that we give her the command 'gentle' and will not resume play until she releases and continues more gently. Sometimes if she's got too giddy we have time-out.

[Bonniesmummy]

Originally Posted by jonsgirl

When we first got zeus at 5 1/2 months he was very "mouthy". We enrolled him in bury german shep club and saught advice from other gsd owners who said that sheps are notorious for being mouthy. Zeus tended to do it when playing so we taught him to always pick up a toy or play stops. We never said no or ah ah just got up quietly and ignored him completely( not easy when he sat in front of you with his head cocked on one side looking adorable). Now he knows when told "Toy Zeus" the funs about to begin! Good luck- you could ask 10 people and get 10 answers but pick a solution that works for you and stick to it EVERY TIME.... our sheps are very intelligent, if they get away with it once they will try and try again! lol

Originally Posted by Angie

I absolutely agree. I would never stop mouthing as long as it's gentle. IMO a dogs mouth is crucial for play, what else do they have??? Molly is 16 weeks and still sometimes forgets herself with my OH and applies a bit too much pressure. When she does that we give her the command 'gentle' and will not resume play until she releases and continues more gently. Sometimes if she's got too giddy we have time-out.

I know exactly what you are going through, Bonnie was the same!! for me it was soooo hard and so alien to me (having a dog that is ) I had no idea what to do and probably made it all the more 'fun' for her by doing all the wrong things.
I did pick up some tips and tried them out but if I'm totally honest I didn't do it confidently and consistantly!! I 100% agree with Trish that you have to choose ONE method that you feel you can do confidently and stick with it, it's no use trying one thing for a few days and moving onto something else... I would say (in my opinion) that you have to try something for at least a few weeks before even thinking of giving up and trying another method.

I also agree with Stuart and Angie, mouthing is important and I wouldn't stop it as like they say it's communication... and I think they learn what is an acceptable amount of pressure and what's not. Bonnie's biting left me looking like a self harmer and I was really starting to lose it, I was out of my depth. I was advised to let her bite, don't make it a game. Just let her nibble and when it was too hard a firm NO or owwww and ignore for 10 secs (short attention span at that age) in time it got better but thats exactly what it took..... TIME.

Like Trish said, you ask 10 folk and you will get 10 different responses but the honest to god way to do it is be consistant!!!

Good luck xxx