Mouthing/Grabbing is worrying me

Had Harvey just over two weeks and he's always been a bit "grabby". Today at the park i went to put his lead onto his harness and he grabbed my arm. I tried to continue what i was doing and he did it again then grabbed my coat. It didn't hurt really but was enough for me to feel a little scared if I'm honest. He leaped up at my son and did the same to the arm of his jacket. I find this very worrying as the intensity seems to be getting worse and not sure what's the best option. When he did it to my son, I called him back to me and when I went to hold onto the harness again he grabbed me and growled. I think it's in a playing way when he gets excited but I've kind of lost a bit of confidence with him. It's the usual story for me of taking on animals from people who don't tell you the full story of their behaviour. I'll never learn.

At 7 months old, he's just being a bossy young dog, I'd say. Loki's around 10 months old now and he still jumps up and bites...he isn't even soft when he bites, he's a lunatic because he gets so excited . Try having a read of this, see if this can help you out:

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

Thank you for that. I thought maybe it was just me! I'll go have a read

He's just being playfull. The link Tara provided will be very helpfull. Just make sure everyone around the pup reacts the same way and he will learn with a little patience and consistancy

Please don't be frightened by these actions he is pushing a few boundaries but it is just excitedness. Tommy has been exactly li9ke this and just working through it now with heaps of improvement but not without the cost of many holes in many coats and jumpers

Bella was exactly the same. She still has the odd moment outside where she can't contain her excitement but thankfully it's her or Millie's lead she grabs, my poor clothes couldn't take any more lol.

Definitely sounds like over excitement to me, and one of the most common behavioural complaints that I see in the dogs coming into my care in rescue. As he's still a young boy, I would advise training this behaviour out of him as soon as possible because the bigger he gets the more damage he could do, but it shouldn't be mistaken for aggression, more pushing the boundaries as others have said, and possibly a mix or frustation and excitement. It may also be a learnt behaviour that has been encouraged in his previous home.

For me, I would progress with impulse control training, bite inhibition and teaching a strong leave and sit command so that you can give him an alternative activity to carry out when he gets over excited! The thing is, if the mouthing is a result of frustration, until you get to the root of that frustration he is going to redirect that energy somewhere else, can I ask how much he is walked per day and if what kind of mental stimulation he gets, e.g training, puzzle games etc? As you can imagine a lot of the dogs in my kennels are very frustrated, and often redirect onto their leads or their handlers and I have found that training them to carry an item gives them a job to do and something to focus on, which results in a happy pup and no holes in my jumpers! Just a thought, good luck!

yes mine is 9 mths nearly and he does it. i did find it very worrying but they are not particularly bothered about it at training, its just wat he does, we tell him no and if he does it again straight away he as time out in cage. it can be scary, also mine growls sometimes in a way that i feel is a scary growl but hes just testing i reckon

berribum wrote:yes mine is 9 mths nearly and he does it. i did find it very worrying but they are not particularly bothered about it at training, its just wat he does, we tell him no and if he does it again straight away he as time out in cage. it can be scary, also mine growls sometimes in a way that i feel is a scary growl but hes just testing i reckon

If he sleeps in his cage or uses it in a nice way, I'd advise putting him in another room rather than his cage, because they're meant to be safe, happy places, you don't want them to associate it with anything negative whatsoever. The growling is most likely just testing as you said, or even playfulness, it's just their way of communicating.

Tara wrote:

berribum wrote:yes mine is 9 mths nearly and he does it. i did find it very worrying but they are not particularly bothered about it at training, its just wat he does, we tell him no and if he does it again straight away he as time out in cage. it can be scary, also mine growls sometimes in a way that i feel is a scary growl but hes just testing i reckon

If he sleeps in his cage or uses it in a nice way, I'd advise putting him in another room rather than his cage, because they're meant to be safe, happy places, you don't want them to associate it with anything negative whatsoever. The growling is most likely just testing as you said, or even playfulness, it's just their way of communicating.

Yes most of the time its just an away command onto hes bed in te lounge,it doesnt happen very often, im lucky to have such a good training school 15 mins away