Puppy biting/mouthing

Monkeybrain

Hi, I am hoping that someone might be able to give me some tips please !
I have a 9 month old puppy who is wonderful in many many ways, she is adoring, affectionate, obedient BUT she has this fascination with biting or mouthing my hand - its not that she bites to pinch skin but more that she is comforted by having my entire hand in her mouth - and then she tries to walk off with my hand :eek:

Basically, when I get home from work she will greet me by grabbing my hands and walking off with them. It generally doesn't hurt until she walks off with my hand. I have tried walking through the door and ignoring her until she is calm and then saying hello but even after a few months of consistently trying this she is still doing it. She is very 'mouth' orientated in that she always likes to have something in her mouth. So if I ignore her when I walk in the door she will pick something up, could be a toy, a sock or whatever she has to hand.

I have tried lots of things to change her association with my hands from biting them, I feed her most of her kibble by hands, I use hand signs along with verbal commands as part of her training, I have screamed loudly 'ouch' if she bites, I have ignored her etc etc etc.

I am very knew at dog ownership so I am well aware that I have lots to learn and I just hope that someone can give me some guidance.

thanks
MK

Sagz_2

I used to have a Great Dane that did that when I first rescued her, luckily she stopped after a short while as I used to arm myself with a teddy bear before I walked in to the house. Freddie the teddy was only ever played with when I got home and was made to be REALLY special in her eyes, none of the other dogs were allowed to play with it and when she held it in her mouth she was the best dog in the world and I lavished praise and strokes on her. When the excitement of me being home was over I hid Freddie in the front porch so he was ready to be used the next time I (or any visitors) came in.

Freddie slowly became redundant and she never grabbed hands again - took about 6 months all in.

Jessw0

Ours did this and still would if we let him. We ask him to sit and wait for us as we walk in, and only when he's calm do we approach him to greet him, not the other way around. Takes patience attempting to walk through the door and out again until they catch on but they will.

Monkeybrain

Sagz wrote: »

Freddie the teddy was only ever played with when I got home and was made to be REALLY special in her eyes, none of the other dogs were allowed to play with it and when she held it in her mouth she was the best dog in the world and I lavished praise and strokes on her. .

I will definitely try this. She absolutely loves teddies but always de-stuffs them so hasn't had any for a while. Giving her a teddy on my terms and then removing sounds like a very good solution. Thanks :T

Jessw0 wrote: »

Ours did this and still would if we let him. We ask him to sit and wait for us as we walk in, and only when he's calm do we approach him to greet him, not the other way around. Takes patience attempting to walk through the door and out again until they catch on but they will.

Yes I have been asking her to sit but she's so over excited that its the one time she won't listen to me. Even if I go out of the front door to put the bin out and return 2 mins later she will react in the same way as though I have been at work all day. Ignoring her and not saying hello until she has calmed has helped - and obviously keeping my hands high! I have had some friends and family help too by getting them to pop by and also ignore her until she calms down. Patience is definitely the key

Fifer73

We have just taken on a rescue dog, a 9 month bull terrier x lurcher she is a good dog, but like you very excitable and either mouths at your hands or stands on her hind legs and clasps your arm with her front two paws, and her paws actually grab you as they turn in like proper human hands, she does calm down but gets over excited. Like you any stuffed toy she has had has been ripped to pieces, even her tuggy ball for the garden got pulled apart at both tuggy ends.

So we know how you feel , we are trying daily to calm her and she is improving .

ambitiouscat

Had this problem with our English setter and it was so frustrating, but she would generally do it on our clothing. We tackled it in two ways.

1: we taught her to go pick up a toy every time someone came into the house. (Firstly, name a toy - a rag rope if your dog doesn't treat cuddly ones well! - and get your dog used to its name. Then teach it to fetch it on command. Takes a while - use clicker and treats if needed. Then every time you come in the front door, tell him to get it. Only stroke him when he has it in his mouth. He just needs something else to do with his mouth and to help him deal with his excitement. Do this when other people come to the door too. You can also try putting the rag toy directly in his mouth when you stroke him throughout the day. Eventually, he gets the idea that toy in mouth means positive attention.)

2: we taught her that any mouthing, no matter how minor, is unacceptable, so the slightest sleeve nibble or gentlest brushing of teeth on your skin means instant withdrawal of your affection. Say nothing, just leave the room abruptly in a huff and shut the dog out (a bit like time-out for children). Leave him for a few minutes. Do this over and over again throughout the coming weeks and months and eventually he'll get the message.

It took us about a year from starting this (when our puppy was about a year old) for her to completely stop, but after about three months she was infinitely better.

Hope this helps in some way.

ACx