Don't know if at 11 mos my male (intact) German-line GSD still qualifies as a puppy but this seemed like the best place to pose this question. We've (my husband and I-no children at home and no other animals)had him since he was 9 wks and he has been an absolute pleasure from day 1 but talk about alligators!! We did all the right things redirection, correction, etc. and of course he learned that he wasn't supposed to teethe on parts of the human anatomy and he gradually outgrew it. But he still has a bit of a hand fetish. Never bites or leaves a mark- just takes our hands in his mouth at every opportunity. We have corrected him for it, DOWN him when he starts, etc. etc but it hasn't seemed to have made much of an impact on the habit. I'm hoping some of you might have some insight into the best way to deal with this. I've had GSD's before but of the lapdog variety.

This does not seem to be a "dominance" issue. He has never shown the slightest sign of that. Very eager to please and VERY sociable with people and other animals. I would describe him as being what you would call "handler hard". We have started Obed. and it takes very hard prong correction to even make him break stride. :rolleyes: He seems to have rock-solid nerves but is very easily distracted except when his nose is to the ground checking out the nighttime visitors. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Appreciate any feedback <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My pup is still mouthy at 8 months. I had thought this would phase out by 5-6 months, it has just decreased some. He always has to have something in his mouth. So we just keep toys laying around for him to chew on. He will bite your hands when he wants to be petted, but that is another issue. We call them "love bites", but sometimes it gets old. We just try to redirect his mouth to a toy versus our hands. He also still bites at pant legs and whatever else he can find. I think some of this is happening because we work his prey drive alot and always have. According to Ed'd articles, this makes for a mouthy pup. Have you worked in prey drive alot? I was hoping to see more replies to this post.

No we live too far away from any club and I wouldn't ever attempt anything like that without the guidance of experts. He is "just" a friend and companion <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> But I can relate to the "love bites" although Caleb doesn't really bite. It's more like his mouth is always open and if your hand gets anywhere near it somehow gets sucked in. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> He very seldom bothers pantlegs anymore although occasionally he does when he and my husband get roughhousing.

His prey drive has never been evaluated by an expert but I would say its pretty high judging by what I've read here and in Ed's articles. Maybe thats the answer. As you say it gets a little annoying after awhile and although we know he's not going to hurt, other people do not and get a little leery about shaking hands with that mouthful of teeth <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

My pup only does these "love bites" with the family. He has never done this with strangers or kids we have visiting. He pretty much just ignores strangers. And I say bite, but he just really puts his mouth over your hand. He does not bite down or try to hurt. But those teeth will hit just right sometimes and it can hurt.

:rolleyes: Anyone out there who can help. There are two of us here waiting for some expert advice <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> before we eat up the dogfood budget with bandaids

There's nothing wrong with simply correcting these dogs for inappropriate behavior. They're both old enough that I wouldn't hesitate to say that's enough. I'll allow this behavior up through teething time, but after that, no thanks. There's always lots of alternative things to bite available to the dog; he doesn't need me too. YOu're not going to ruin the dog by telling him no; it doesn't destroy their potential for working/sport (altho it doesn't sound like either of you are aiming in that direction anyway). There's no magic to it, no special techniques. Can I steal a cliche? "Just say NO".

Thanks Sch3FH2. An overworked phrase perhaps but appropriate :rolleyes: I guess part of the problem is that this is the first GSD with his kind of pedigree that I've had and I wasn't sure whether to accept this as part of the package or not. He has a wonderful temperment and as I said we have no fear of any of his mouthing acutally causing harm despite my joke about bandaids, its just a little annoying and we should put a stop to it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

They're capable of learning whatever you want them to learn. Don't accept a low standard and think you're stuck with a behavior you don't like. If you're fair, firm, and above all consistent, they'll adapt.