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My Jeffrey is an adorable Basset/Lab mix. We got him about a month ago from a family that couldn't spend much time with him. He's a great dog but when he plays, he grabs my hand as though he will bite but he doesn't. This behavior is getting more and more frequent. Any suggestions?
A good way to stop the behaviour and not spoil playtime is to encourage him to carry a toy during play. If he does mouth your hand shout, "Ow! Ow!" and pull your hand away. Turn your back on him for fifteen seconds and then resume play and again encourage him to carry a toy. Do this EVERY time he mouths you and get everyone else who plays with him to do it too. He is only playing and needs to understand that you don't like it.
Your dog is probably learning to interact and nipping and biting is one form of interacting. My dog also did this but it has died down. I used Carrie's suggestion and would give him his ball, it was kinda like a dummy for babies. Another suggestion is to hold the dogs tongue down with you thumb ONLY for a few seconds each time he bites. Of course Carrie's suggestion is more dog friendly, but this suggestion can be tried down the track.
DON'T pull your hand away. That will cause the prey drive to kick in and he'll bite down harder. Just stop all activity until he takes his mouth off your hand and then praise the daylights out of him. You can offer him one of his toys, but if he just keeps grabbing your hand, hold it steady and tell him to "give" or "drop it". He'll get the idea. This is a type of ignoring behavior that has been very effective in classes that I have conducted. I've helped over 1200 families with their obedience needs and this is a very hard thing to do, but most effective if you can teach yourself not to react.
Sorry, I have to disagree. Pulling the hand away and yelping strengthens the dogs bite inhibitions. Most pups learn it in the nest from their litter mates and dam. I have never seen a dog that reacted any differently than mouthing more gently and finally giving it up as a bad idea. Our pups at Guide Dogs were homed at six weeks to enable socialisation to have the maximum benefit and this was the method used by puppy walkers. Those adolescents that came to kennels for training that were mouthy from not been taught otherwise were succesfully re-educated with this method. I have used it since with all breeds and ages. I have never seen a prey drive response to it.
I agree with Carrie. When I first got my 9 month old GSD, she used to mouth quite a bit. Using the hand pull away and an ow-ow-ow would stop her immediately and make her kiss you. Also, she will pick up a toy when you come in the front door so she will not mouth you. She started that on her own.
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Carrie's method also worked well with my Tucker, only I yelp like a dog in pain instead of saying "Ow". I barely get the first yelp out and he stops immediately. His tendency to try to mouth has decreased substantially, but if he ever forgets, a little yelp will do it.
Thanks to Carrie, Mayissa, Sudilar, and RachelJ (majority rules?) I tried your suggestion and this behavior has decreased. When I use this method he immediately stops and tries to give me a kiss! He is a lot less aggressive now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I'm so glad you tried this method and I'm really pleased you are getting results! I've never known it fail but there is always a first time for everything!! Thankyou for letting us know about your success, it's started my day off with a smile.