mouthing/biting

Hey guys.. Really struggling with Ped's mouthing...he always seemed to be playing but now it's getting harder and he lifts his lips a bit so don't know if he's starting to actually be aggressive...and he's doing it so much more often...like every time we sit down. It's really getting me down...we've tried yelping, tried getting up and walking off which works fine until we sit down again and we've tried giving him a time out. Nothing seems to be working and I'm starting to resent him and get angry at him. He gets at least 2 hour long walks a day.I would appreciate any advice x

Hi Sophie. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Pedro is at an age now where he is testing every boundary imaginable. Just be consistent. The best think is to not look at him, stand straight up and turn your back on him. If this doesn't work then tell him 'out!' and put him into another room for a 2 minute time out. Then give him a chance to stop and if not repeat the same sequence. It might seem like your getting nowhere but one day it will suddenly 'click' and he will stop. The time it takes to sink in varies with every dog. But can take longer with very excitable ones. Just keep doing what your doing!

dont give up... it will stop overnight...cant say when but it will. its not agression at all so dont worry

Hi tthanks for the advice...I don't think it helps that I get angry with him..even smacking him on the nose that just makes him worse...we have family coming round on boxing day and I'm really worried that he'll do it with them as it isn't nice and it does hurt. I will try the getting up and short time outs and just try and be consistent. Maybe I haven't given each technique enough time. Thanks again

Thanks Nathan...I know deep down that its not aggression as he's not ripping us to shreds which he surely could do if he wanted to! It just seems that he's getting nastier recently. There's a guy at our obedience class with a Labrador who does it and when the guy says 'enough' the dog stops...I asked the guy how he did it and he said that he initiates a lot of rough play with the dog and then tells him when to stop...do you think this could work if we initiated play and allowed him to do it on our terms? Or do you think that's too confusing allowing him to do it sometimes but not others?

also do all staffies do this?

is he 14 months old? he should be over it by now i wont let peppa bite/nip me or anybody else now with the jaw shes got on her thats unacceptable and dangerous you need a firm NO and time out but you really have to mean business. no reason to give up some behaviors are hard to get rid of sometimes.
is it teenage regression or he never stopped doing it?
all dogs nip bite as puppies.

He's now 18 months old...we only got him in July and he had barely any training before...we have done a lot of obedience with him and this is really his only problem. I will try the technique you guys have given me and me firm with him..no messing now..no matter how annoying it is to keep getting up every two minutes! Thanks for all your help

oh that explain it just be persistent and please dont hit him on the nose it will just make him retaliate keep working on his training and boundaries are
very important part of it.

Lots of good advice above be consistent and calm so if he nips and you get up, say no and walk away, when you go back and sit down if he does it again move away again, keep doing it until he stops even if that's 100 times. If you only do it once and leave the second time or third time he nips unchecked he won't learn. It's a pain I know but consistency does work.

Also if you can not speak to him at all when he's behaving badly that may be better. So say "no" once then move away or remove him from the room but say nothing else to him. This works well with Axl he knows when I don't say anything to him he's in big trouble lol.

I would agree with Peppa please don't smack him in the nose it's very very sensitive. On top of that smacking a dog in heightened excitement does tend to make them even more excited. That's why if dogs are fighting you shouldn't hit or punch them to get them to stop. All that does is make the situation worse.

So be consistent and if you can, be very calm so no shouting etc and try not to speak to Ped. I'm sure it will stop quickly once he understands it's not acceptable!

Oh and I just wanted to say that I don't think its aggression from what you say I think it's play. Axl looks like he wants to kill me when we play tug, lips back and snarls but it's play and excitement.

Sophieb908 wrote:There's a guy at our obedience class with a Labrador who does it and when the guy says 'enough' the dog stops...I asked the guy how he did it and he said that he initiates a lot of rough play with the dog and then tells him when to stop...do you think this could work if we initiated play and allowed him to do it on our terms? Or do you think that's too confusing allowing him to do it sometimes but not others?

Exactly what I done with Zeus and can confirm that it works wonders. He plays rough when I want to and stops when I want him to, but you do have to be patient and consistent. Also remember to give plenty of praise when they do actually stop playing rough. At the start, Zeus used to have difficulty switching from rough play mode to normal mode, it'd take him a minute or two to adjust, but now, after practice, its instantaneous.

Another technique you should try, which may come across as a bit harsh to some but works a treat is when they're playing up, just run your hands under the tap for a few seconds and splash water in their face by closing your fingers into your hand and then letting go in a sort of star shape (hope that makes sense).

I did that only maybe 5/6 times with Zeus, with actual water, when he was maybe 7/8 months old and now, whenever he's being a pain or showing unwanted behavior, we just make that splashing/star movement with our hands, he thinks water's coming his way and completely stops his behavior and becomes your best friend. It doesn't scare him, it just lets him know that we don't want him to do what he's doing.

When the dog eventually learns and stops the biting be very encouraging plenty of praise perhaps a treat.

Interesting tip Goldie! I may try that water technique. Nala still does this too, she is getting on 10months and I worry she should have grown out of it by now. She is heaps better but she just gets in her moods (like tonight) where she keeps going even when offered a toy. She ignored the toy and goes for me. I'm not a fan of putting her outside when she does it as I don't want her to associate outside as a punishment.
I hope things get better with Pedro. If you find any of the techniques mentioned seem to work quickly, please let me know I feel your disappointment in this, I get really upset sometimes too, that I'm being a bad mum and my husband thinks I'm being ridiculous.

Some great advice, and you're sounding more positive for having some ideas to work with.

The only thing I'd add to the above is to be very aware of anything you might be doing that encourages him to use his mouth to interact with you. He might do things with his mouth, e.g. licking, that you don't mind but I think it can blurr the lines for the animal. It's much easier for them to learn 'I never use my mouth with humans' than 'I can use it this way but not that, or I can do it lightly but not too hard'. Once you've got over the mouthy stage you can introduce refined rules if you feel you want to and can clearly, but for now I'd stick with absolute black and white.

Hi,
Glad I've seen this thread and have had a good read. Our Millie who we have had for three weeks now does the open mouth play and licking.... the licking I don't mind so much but I would hate her to mouth play with someone who freaks that they have been bitten.
When we rehomed Millie we were told she is approx 4 years old..... but reading this thread it seems its more of a pup/young dog thing. Is this the case? The reason I ask is the age is just a guess as she was brought into the shelter as a stray with no microchip so theres no real knowing for sure.

Amanda