Dog Mouthing
Dog mouthing is a very common problem that varies
from simple situations where a dog is overly playful up to the more serious
situations where dogs deliver powerful bites that in some cases leave nasty
bruises or scars on the skin. In order to deal with this dog behaviour issue we
need to understand why the dog is behaving this way in the first place.
First it is important to address the background
of shaping the dog mouthing habit and then we can jump into scenarios and
techniques that we can use to stop this unwanted behaviour.
Why does a dog mouth?
A dog uses his jaw and teeth for more complex
actions than just eating and biting. It is the dog’s only extremity that serves
a multiple purpose, from the primary one such as feeding to others such as
exploring the environment and physical displays of complex and various social
behaviours.
Dog mouthing behaviours start in the earliest
stages of a dog’s life and although many people think that this kind of “habit”
is only displayed while dogs are in their puppyhood, the truth is that dogs are
mouthing throughout their entire lives. In most cases, this type of interaction
won’t stop without human intervention and most dog owners do not encourage it,
however, this type of interaction still continues among dogs themselves during
their social interactions with each other throughout their whole lives.
The development of this dog behaviour
Regardless of a dog’s breed, there are a few
other factors that play very important roles in shaping the dog’s nipping
habits. These include; his parents, his socialisation period while still in the
litter and his socialisation period after leaving his littermates, when he is
removed from the litter and the environment in which he lives.
It is a known fact that dogs removed from the
litter before 6 weeks of age tend to display more dog mouthing issues during
the first period of their lives and in some cases, it continues even beyond
that. The reason for this is that the dog has been removed from his littermates
and his mother just before the first biting and mouthing experiences are
properly shaped. The environment in which the puppies have grown up in during
their first few weeks also plays an important role, as well as the overall
structure of the litter and the presence of other adult dogs in the area.
Once a puppy changes the environment and you
bring him into your home, he will simply try to communicate with that
environment in the same way that he is already familiar (which is by using his
mouth). This is also the stage of his life dog when he is developing his
instincts, drives and muscular/bone structure as well as his overall
coordination; using the jaw in this development stage is crucial for dogs.
What is acceptable and what is not
New dog owners are often concerned about their
new puppy’s behaviour if he bites at their legs and calves while they are
walking or running. They see this as a form of aggression, especially as some
pups tend to be very vocal when they do this, with a lot of growling and barking.
This is not aggression; it is a prey drive and
most dogs naturally has it. What the puppy is doing is exercising these
prey-drive patterns. It is important to understand this, because our actions
during this early stage may steer the direction of our pup’s growth,
development and behaviours.
For example, if you are encouraging a puppy’s
prey drive during this early developing stage, you will probably end up with a
dog that shows higher prey drive patterns than are necessary, even for some dog
sports or other activities. This can result in problems later on.
On the other hand, if you avoid triggering this
type of behaviour altogether during the early development stage (the first 16
weeks of a puppy’s life), your dog will probably show lower prey drive patterns
later on, which can also be a problem for training and motivation depending on
what you plan to do with your dog.
All puppies play, but that play is not as
structured as it is with grown up dogs. They also don’t have such good
self-control as grown up dogs have. If they were left in their litter, their
dog nipping behavior patterns would have been shaped based on the responses of
their fellow littermates and their mother and/or other adult dogs, however, a
puppy that was removed from the litter too early grows up with humans, and we
tend not to be able to successfully control this issue. Just like any other
type of dog behaviour issue, what can start as a small problem, will only grow,
if not addressed correctly.
Dog Mouthing Issues in Adult Dogs
Even though nipping during the development stage
of any dog is normal, mouthing in adult dogs is a serious issue that can be
very dangerous. The root of this problem lays in the fact that as a puppy, this
dog grew up in an environment and with situations that didn’t properly shape
this behaviour pattern and in which he wasn’t properly addressed for this
behaviour or perhaps he was encouraged by accessing functional
rewards (this is a type of reward that includes things like; going
out, asking for attention, initiating play, etc. For example, if your dog is
bored and he knows that certain actions (including biting at you) will initiate
play with you, he will use this.)
Adult dog mouthing is in most cases; a form
of attention seeking behaviour, which means that at some point the dog,
learned that he could control the environment and people’s reactions by this
action. This can be very dangerous because dogs tend to increase pressure in
order to get what they want, so in some cases this can turn into actual bites.
Don’t be fooled that a dog doesn’t know how hard
he is mouthing. They are perfectly aware of it and if creating pain will make
you move (or if this is the way they can reach their goal) they will bite to
that point. Many dog trainers think of this as a “lack of respect” and address
it as such, but in truth, it is possible that the dog has simply learned how to
manipulate certain situations this way. It is always important to identify the
root of any dog behaviour issue, before you can properly address it.
Nevertheless, this behaviour is not something to be ignored.
Is this behaviour a form of aggression?
That depends, normally puppies don’t display
aggressive patterns during early puppyhood, however as the dog grows older you
may see in many cases a fast switch during their interaction with humans, in
which the dog displays a combination of playful and aggressive signals, this is
relatively dangerous as these types of rapid switches are a direct product of
the response that the dog is receiving from the person that he is interacting
with.
This is often the reason that dogs tend to be
rougher with some family members, than with others. There are a few steps that
we need to be aware of in order to steer young dogs in the right direction on
this subject.
How to manage this behaviour
There are several different techniques that can
be used to address dog mouthing problems, however, always remembering the
“safety first” rule is imperative. If you are not sure of how to read your dog’s
signals properly, or if you are not sure of how and/or what to do, it is always
best to contact a professional for assistance.
First of all, dogs won’t grow out of this
behaviour, as many people think; this is not just a part of puppyhood; it is
rather normal dog behaviour.
Training techniques & tips
The best time in a dog’s life to address any
potential issues on the subject of dog mouthing that may arise at a later time,
is as early as possible, most precisely during their socialisation and development
period.
Control the environment:
Everything
in puppyhood is considered to be a developing time; therefore prey-drive
patterns are developed during this window, as well. If the dog is exposed to
the environment that encourages his chasing-biting behaviour, than this dog
will develop stronger reactions to movement and will often react with his mouth
even more in these situations.
Teasing
your dog with your hands (rapidly moving your hands) will only encourage him to
persist and want to grab your hands even more.
I often see dog owners that perform the break dance whenever their
dog goes into a mouthing mode, without even realizing that those same fast
movements that are intended to get away from the scenario are actually
triggering the dog’s behaviour even more.
Respond to the behaviour: Dogs
in the early stages of their lives are easily influenced. You can use this to
your advantage. There are a few simple things that you can do when your puppy
starts nipping. For example, if the game becomes too rough, simply “yelp” and
stop playing. Stop all activities and ignore your puppy for a few seconds, then
engage the game again. This is important, as just yelping alone and continuing
play will only intrigue your puppy even more, the game has to stop at that
moment, and cannot resume until the dog’s behaviour is acceptable (he calms
down).
TIP: It is very important to re-engage
the game session; the purpose of this break wasn’t to punish your dog, but to
deliver feedback to him. Giving a response and feedback during the interaction
with your dog is crucial for his development. This is the way he learns to
adjust his game and the strength of his approach.
The use of a loud sound: Sometimes
young dogs simply go too far and even your attempt to stop the game may not
stop your dog from mouthing and jumping. In this case, you may try using a loud
sound like clapping your hands or a loud “hey!” in order to stop him. It is
important to stop all of your body movement, as well). Once your dog stops his
unwanted behavior, reengage the play session. If you have a sensitive dog, or
one that tends to get overly excited when playing, keep the intensity of the
game session controlled and under a lower level of excitement so that your dog
doesn’t get over-stimulated.
TIP: Keep in mind that your body posture
may also be a trigger for the intensity of your dog’s play and how rough he
will respond. The lower you are with your body, the easier it is for him to
reach you and the more excited he will get. Also, the lower you are, the more
you are encouraging jumping at you and mouthing at your face, which can be
extremely dangerous.
Ignoring the behaviour: This
is probably one of the best techniques to use, although it is usually the
hardest. Young dogs will often try to engage a playing session by
grabbing/biting at your legs, hands, clothes, etc. What you do (or how you
react) will mold your dog’s behavior patterns. Responding to your dog’s
engaging signals (in this case, the mouthing), will teach your dog that his
actions create an impact in the environment, and he will begin using this
“technique” whenever he wants to activate you. This is the road
to attention seeking behaviour issues.
If
your dog realises that he can make you move and play or do whatever, simply by
practicing the mouthing behaviour, he will increase that behaviour and from
then on you will face a long, difficult, and time-consuming, retraining period
to resolve this unwanted behaviour.
TIP: If you are in the situation where
your dog is mouthing your hand while you are sitting, in order to engage you to
play with him, even if you would like to do so, you don’t want to reward his
behavior which will encourage it in the future, so instead, do a simple
redirecting technique. For example: don’t move your body and wait for the
second that he stops mouthing. As soon as he stops, make a kissy noise or other
sound with your mouth to get his attention and then lure him with your other
hand over to the other side of your body, step away from your current place and
then start playing.
Whatever you do, be sure to allow a few seconds between
the dog’s mouthing and actually playing with him or performing other
interactions. These few seconds should be enough for your dog to not connect
his mouthing with your response, as a form of reward.
Redirecting dog mouthing: As
mentioned, dog mouthing is a normal dog behaviour and activity, our goal is to
lower this behaviour to a minimum and redirect it to different objects in the
environment, like toys.
Every
time a dog gets into a mouthing pattern, redirect him to a toy or a chew bone
that you will keep hidden in your pocket for this occasion. Be careful when
using this method that you redirect in a way that is not rewarding. The easiest
way to do this is to surprise your dog with a toy that appears “out of
nowhere”. If you make too much noise or commotion when producing the toy (while
you are getting it out), your dog may simply conclude that his mouthing has
made you produce that reward, and this is not what we want.
TIP: Remember that it is not advisable
to use your body as a toy. If you do, your dog will not understand why he
cannot mouth you (for example, playing with your hands or feet, encouraging him
to chase or bite at you). Instead, always redirect him to, or play with, a toy
that he can focus his mouth on.
The “capping” game:
In this “game” you will help teach your dog how
to cap or control his energy/excitement level. Simply engage your dog and play
with him, once he gets excited, stop the game completely. When the dog calms
down and stops his play, re-engage him once more. Continue like this for a
short play session, capping him whenever he starts to get too excited.
Eventually, this will teach your dog how to deal with the over-excited state
that he gets into in some situations, showing him that there is an alternative
response (calming down). This also teaches the dog that just because the game
stops, doesn’t mean all the fun is over. By re-engaging your dog, it reassures
him that he doesn’t have to be persistently in that high-energy state to enjoy
a play session.
Training outside of the dog mouthing situation:
This is an easy technique that can save you a lot
of trouble (but please don’t use it if there are any possibilities of physical
injury to anyone involved).
First we will set up a scenario where your dog
will be made aware of the fact that you have treats in your hands (you can
start off with only one treat, in one hand). Present the treat to your dog,
then close your fist tight and place it firmly against your thigh (with fingers
still curled in a fist and facing down).
Let your dog try mouthing your hand, or pawing at
it, but ignore him while he does this. At the moment the he starts backing
away, mark this moment and open your hand so that he can access the reward.
Within a few repetitions, your dog will learn to back away in order to access a
treat. You can then move on to using both hands, opening your fist, etc.
Once he is fluent with this, you can exercise it
in different scenarios like: sitting on the sofa or on the floor, etc. and any
scenarios in which dog mouthing normally occurs. You can also add a verbal
command like “back”, or whatever word you want to use when he is
backing away. Once he learns the verbal cue, you can use it to remind him of
the alternative behaviour that you want if he starts mouthing.
TIP: Remember
that it is important to train alternative behaviour responses. Many people make
the mistake of putting all of their focus on how to stop an issue (including
dog mouthing) without training an alternative behaviour (sit, down, back, etc.)
to the dog. This is just important as dealing with the issue itself. Remember
that if you are trying to modify a certain behaviour without offering a
substitute action. You are sending mixed messages to your dog and he will become confused.
These are just a few approaches that work in
most cases, however every case is a story for itself, and if you are not sure
of how to do proceed or if nothing works, the best thing is always to contact a
local behavourist who can visit you and your dog in the environment where the issues
happen, in order to assess and plan the best course of action.
Please do not allow your puppy or young Great Dane to mouth you as you know how big a Great Dane can grow and you could be storing up trouble for yourself in the future.
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