Webboard User Webboard User Reg: 03-12-2014
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I have a 12-week-old male shih tzu that is extremely mouthy. He bites pant legs and trys to chews on our toes and hands.
I am most concerned about him always trying to bite my husband and my hands when we pet him. He does not like to be held and will try to wiggle out when he is picked up. He likes being around us and follows us everywhere and will sit next to our feet...when he isn't trying to bite off our toes <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> He never growls or barks at us.
I am not sure if his biting while being petted is a serious problem that we need to address or that he is just a mouthy puppy. Right now we just say ‘NO’ and walk away. We have been doing that for a week but it is not really helping. We also yelp out ‘OUCH’ and I have noticed that he does not bite as hard after that.
I have a 13wk GSD who is a little mouthy. If I want to pet him and he mouths my hands, I do one of two things: 1) stop petting him. He's learned that if he mouths my hands, he doesn't get the attention he wants; or 2) give him something else to bite on. I have a small hand towel he loves to bite on. When he bites my hands, I redirect him to the towel, and continue to pet him.
Under no circumstances do I muzzle him with my hands, or push him away. He thinks I'm just playing, and it gets him more excited.
Redirection seems the best way I've found to deal with it.
My Border Collie puppy did the same thing until we sprayed Bitter Apple on our fingers. Coating your hands with liquid dish/hand soap works also. Once he got a few mouthfuls, he got the hint.
Definitely redirect towards something more appropriate (and less painful) to chew. They're like babies who are teething and need something to ease the pain and swollen gums.
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Will Rambeau Moderator Reg: 01-25-2003
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A Note learned from bitter personal experience:
If you try the bit about spraying your hands with biterr apple ( I did ) and if you wear contact lens ( I do ) make *sure* to really, really, wash your hands well after hands afterwards, several times!
I made the mistake of rubbing my eye with my hand when I apparently hadn't cleaned them it well enough, and the results reminded me a whole lot of the training day in the Police Academy where we were sprayed with pepper spray to see what it was like.
MY EYES!! Ouchies... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Eye pain like that can't be duplicated, except maybe by seeing Rosie O'Donnell naked....
Webboard User Webboard User Reg: 03-12-2014
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Haha. I also wear contact lens......good tip Will! And lets hope neither one of us ever has the "good fortune" of seeing Rosie O'Donnell naked <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
matt schmidt Webboard User Reg: 01-10-2005
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Will it really end? I've tried everything and my pup just won't stop mouthing. In every other respect he is great. I have scars up and down my arms. He draws blood on a regular basis. Everytime I take a shower or do the dishes my hands sting from the soap contacting the open cuts. He's put holes in al of my clothing and I now change into grungy clothes before I let him out of the crate.
I've contacted many people and tried everything. From what I gather it is a problem (or trait) with working line GSDS and that it ends at 5 or 6 months. I can see no end to it? Is it really possible that it is just a genetic trait of working line pups that they all grow out of? He is 4 and 1/2 months now and I can't imagine it stopping.
I am not in any way a dog trainer, but if he is 4 months old and drawing blood it is more than just playing in my opinion. I would suggest that you put a stop to this behavior problem now before someone really gets hurt later on down the road. My advise is pay a certified dog trainer to solve this or as a last resort give this dog to a loving owner that knows how to get the dog to overcome this problem.
matt schmidt Webboard User Reg: 01-10-2005
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No, its definitely play. He mostly does it when I come home from work, or when I let him out of his crate in the morning and he is so happy to see me that he can't stop mouthing, ears straight back, tail wagging like crazy and he just runs circles around me. He still has most of his baby teeth and those little things are really sharp and can penetrate the skin very easily.
I don't need a trainer because he is mouthy. He is very obedient in every other aspect and we are very diligent in raising and training him. He is not a danger to anyone, and I do not need to give him away because I am perfectly capable of handling him.
Ok Matt he might just not realize how hard he is biting. My pups had the same problem when they were around 8-9 weeks old they are now 13 weeks and wont even nip me when we are playing. The reason is they know that my hand will be in their mouth sqeezing. But as I understand that would not be a good exersize for you because you are probably going to use this dog as a working dog from your description. Have you tried to act in pain and turning away when he hurts you? All I can say is that you have a lot of love for your pup, biting hard enough to bring blood would be hard to deal with.
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