I just bought a 2yr old GSD last week. She is amazing and wonderful with only two flaws that I need to deal with. Right now I will talk about one flaw. I have a very large family and she is not used to all the commotion which is understandable. What I need to learn is how to teach her not to follow the children while putting her mouth on their hands and arms.

She also comes up to me while I am resting and opens her mouth on my hand gently and while we are outside. While outside she gets excited at times and runs up behind us, jumping and putting her mouth on the back of our arms.

At present, none of this really hurts, but it has the potential to do so if not stopped. What I find difficult is to teach her to stop doing this to my smaller children since she does it when I am not looking or am too far from her to quickly stop her.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Am I reading correct that you purchased a 2 year old?
What's the background on that?

First, a new dog should never be allowed to play around children in a situation where you aren't close enough to stop her. You've only had her for a week. When she isn't crated, she should be on one end of a leash, with you on the other. She needs time to learn the rules of her new home, and to bond with you as her person.


Second, you should have a tug or toy available at all times, that you can direct the dog to when she becomes mouthy. That, combined with your on-going obedience training of her, will help stop her mouthy behavior.

Ditto what Aaron said, and I want to add that right now, this dog's needs should be given a high priority.

Is she getting any exercise with you?

Her parents were both W. German lines with the mother having had American Ch. Show way back to her great grandparents. My dog ended up taking on the American look which the breeder who bought her, didn't realize would happen (I am guessing). So what they did was to decide to keep her as a pet. Due to whatever reason, that didn't work out as they were very busy. So they sold her to me seeing that I had a few GSDs in the past and could give her a lot of attention.

...believe me, this dog gets a lot of attention. I have 8 boys and one girl. She runs a mile nearly everyday.

As for the leash idea. I kept her on a leash with me all week to keep her from pacing and chasing her tail (her other problem).

Keeping her on the leash gave her the permission to calm down since she could not do that on her own. She still does the pacing once in a while when she doesn't know what to do ... but she is getting better. She has assimilated VERY well to our family, but needs to learn to stop using her mouth.

I will continue the leash training as you recommend. She has plenty of chew and tug toys which she has nearly destroyed in the short time she has been with us.

Any other ideas are welcomed ... )

The idea being to engage her in play with the tug when she gets mouthy.

Running one mile nearly every day may not be enough for this dog. She might need a mile or two in the AM and again in the afternoon, plus some good tug games in between, as an example... Some dogs simply need more than we realize, and playing with the kids, while fun, probably is not doing the trick. JMHO.

You might even consider getting her a backpack to wear and put a few water bottles in the pockets, and head out on some serious walks. (This is assuming she has not back/hip issues).

Keeping a tug or old knotted dish towel in your pocket which can be brought out to give her something appropriate to grab when she gets mouthy, as Aaron said, will really help.

As will Marker Training. Can't go wrong with this and you will then have a means by which to teach her something to do instead of telling her not to do something (as in mouthing). There is a free ebook on this site which explains the process, and it is easy enough for probably most of your kids to learn as well.

Exercise, exercise, exercise. Devote some serious time this weekend, if possible, to giving her far more exercise than she is getting right now and see if you don't notice a difference in the mouthing.

Best of luck.

Your advise is great! I think that Marker Training will be especially helpful when she runs up from behind me going for the back of my arm.

I am assuming that since every generation of dog in her line had excellent hips, she would at minimum have good hips.

I think that while I do my exercising in the basement, I will also put her on the treadmill. The dog loves to do everything with me and she is confident, so I don't think a treadmill will cause any problems ... now I just have to find one on craigslist LOL!

Also, have any of you encountered a dog who thinks you are playing when you give a correction poke in the shoulder? I thought it odd that she thinks that a stern poke with the word, "Nein!" would be considered play.

 Quote: tam haga

Also, have any of you encountered a dog who thinks you are playing when you give a correction poke in the shoulder? I thought it odd that she thinks that a stern poke with the word, "Nein!" would be considered play.

I'm not surprised at all that an untrained, energetic, mouthy 2 year old GSD is taking the physical contact as play.

I would not be giving my dog a stern poke in the shoulder however. Is this for the mouthing or a different behavior? (You had mentioned there were "two issues" you were concerned about.) Regardless, you might consider her wearing a short leash (with no handle on which to get caught) at all times so that you have a means of controlling/stopping the situation.

I'll be honest, I have mixed feelings about putting a brand new dog (to your home) on a treadmill for its exercise. It would be much better IMHO if you were actively engaged with her walking/jogging etc... while you are building your bond and relationship with her. It is certainly better than no exercise, but won't have the benefits gained by you two working together. Others might have a different opinion however.

The marker training is not really going to solve the issue of jumping on your back, in that you will be using it to teach her what you do want her to do, vs using it to train her NOT to do something... I hope that makes sense. It is a non-confrontational / non-corrective method. By teaching her down, sit, come, etc.. you will have commands to give her to avoid unwanted behavior. Exercising her more and general obedience training will go hand in hand to helping burn off that excess energy. Also, that drag line on her collar at all times will give you a means of having better control of her.

Having a working line dog in the house changes things up a bit, to say the least. They are not your normal, happy with a bit of play kind of dog. Have you considered looking into Schutzhund/Mondio ring in your area?

The poke was being used to stop her from getting into the face of the children and over powering them. I have since stopped using it since she considers it play and have begun basic training with her. The short leash technique works far better. I can't tell you how happy I am that you recommended it considering that I was already using that technique. I began worrying about that decision based on another trainer with over 20yrs experience who warned me that I would damage the dog by using the short leash in the house. She said that I might make the dog too territorial or something. (((an idea that doesn't make sense to me)))

I have some knowledge of Shutzhund training based on studying it about 10 yrs ago and dealing with a Shutzhund trainer who bred the East German line. I have a lot of work ahead of me and have sons who are very excited about learning to train the dog to do various things. I am not sure we will take it to the degree of competition. If anything I am probably preparing my children to take it to the next level. I can see this becoming a family thing in the future.

The dog goes nearly everywhere I go in and out of the house. We have already established a quick bond which can only grow from here. I will keep your caution of the treadmill in mind. Since I haven't bought one yet, there isn't much to worry about.

Well thanks again! I need to continue studying, teaching the family as well as the dog. )

Prevention is the key here in regard to the dog overpowering your children. Are you using a crate inside the house?

If you explore Schutzhund as a sport, I think you will find it is going to be important that one person handle the dog while training; it is not usually considered a "family" thing. The handler and dog are going to be learning a lot together, and those skills won't easily transfer from one person to another.

Fortunately - Marker Training IS easily learned by every family member and if someone goofs up and their timing is wrong - NO harm done to the dog. LB also sells a great video on the topic, infact you can't go wrong with any of the Michael Ellis training DVDs.

Best of luck.