I have a problem with my dobie mouthing my arms and hands when playing he is nearly a year old and has his adult teeth so i thought this would have passed but maybe its still because he is a pup im not sure ..
Anyway i was up-dating my dogster page with this new stats thingy they have and just dropped into look at the forum they have their... i'm not a member there but i saw this an thought i would run it past you all an see what you think..
(before you read the quote i dont have probs with harvey snapping its just when he plays he mouths alot on my hands and arms~ he don't draw blood he is definaltely just playing!)
Quote:It sounds odd but a trainer once told my mom that when your dog snaps at you or chews on you, to take one of those little squeeze containers of lemon juice and give them a little shot of it in their mouth... Don't treat it as a punishment, just say "oh, you must want your lemon juice" and do it...
It worked wonders actually because after very little time at all we'd say that, and the dogs would show submissiveness and stop what they were doing immediately.
It might be worth a try if other things aren't working: End Quote
Has anyone heard of this technique an can lemon juice be harmfull .. can you see anything wrong with this before i go ahead an try it an later find out its harmfull?
I've never heard of that one but it does sound plausible.
What I have used in the past with success is Bitter Apple. If my dog liked to mouth my hands while playing, without the dog seeing me, do it I would liberally spray my hands with it and then induce play that normally triggered the dog to start mouthing. Most dogs don't like the taste of it and after a few times they will stop - of course, there are those dogs who don't seem to mind it. I always accompanied their mouthing with "NO MOUTH" - not screamed at them but definitely very stern and would stop play for a few moments.
Vinegar diluted with water also helps. But then you are walking around smelling like a pickle, lol. And like Kittymom said, he could be doing it because he is not aware of the role dynamics in your household. When Hunter would do that when he was a puppy (and you have to be really consistent and do it everytime) say 'no' firmly and then don't play with him. Everytime he starts to do it, get up and ignore him completely. Or, have something that you can place in his mouth to replace your arm. I would literally walk away from Hunter and if he came near me, I just kept turning my back to him. Once he learned that he got the cold shoulder when he acted like that, he stopped.
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-The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all
Twink, I love your avatar!!! Sorry, I don't really have anything to add, but I just love your avatar!! Monkeys are sooo cute!! I just thought I'd tell ya that
In addition to what Hunter said, a muzzle handshake is an appropriate comeback, tit for tat as it were... That is when you put your hand over the muzzle [dominating position] and gently shake the dog's head back and forth [like he is shaking his head, no].
Thanks molliemae i pinched it when i was googling something an a forum came up thats when i done a quick grab an run lol
kitty, Hunter ~ i was worried this may be a dominance thing as he is not exactly teething anymore. He knows his place in the household an will do anything thats asked of him..maybe he thinks that the mouthing thing is something he can hold over me and grabs the oppurtunity whilst i'm not sure how to react to it.. I'm gonna try the muzzle hold (i'll use the command 'no bite') as its alot easier than having lemon juice or like to hand the whole time..
Yah, it is an instinct with some dogs. I have a couple that would get nervous at dog class and grab at my arm in their excitement. Got pinched a couple of times by my most alpha dog and had to rap her with my knuckles. Just like people that grab at you, dogs don't have hands...It is bad manners in my book. I don't lick them, so I expect them not to be a tasting my hands...keep your tongue to yourself, fido.
just wanted to drag this up from the vaults and say
KIttysmom for the advice on the muzzle shake ..it has worked absolute wonders and there is only the odd accidental times he does it when he is over-excited ..thankyou for the advice
They just get nervous. We do the same things. Inappropriate behavior, when corrected firmly, and correctly, can be curbed, in us, as well as them. I have some classy folk in the restuarant correct me when I am hot, tired, not thinking. I can only think later, Why did I not figure it out on my own? Cracks me up, how much time I spend, trying to be smarter than a "lower species"...
the lemon juice is a great idea. im gonna try it cause i sometimes have barking issues here. her trainer suggested using a spray bottle of vinager, but i just cant bring myself to do it. also i think it would make her and the house smell id much rather smell lemon.
yeah i came across the question on the dogster forum ..it can be effective and its not harmfull ..the muzzle technic was fantastic for mouthing and put harvey back in his place ..thankfully he is not a barker though .
Oscar is 3 and a half and he still gets mouthy with some poeple that come over to visit. Just a quick no gets his attention and he will lay down and just watch the company. Its kind of funny.
We had vinegar/water in a spray bottle on hand while we were in Georgia because we used it to clean the windows on the car (works sooo much better than a regular windex stuff and SOoooo much cheaper ) Anyways, I would use vinegar in the dogs kennels whenever they would potty in there because it would break down the ammonia smell. Tiki kept sticking her nose in the kennel while i was doing it and would run away snorting. The smell of it alone i think gets in their nose and they dont like it much. I may have to resort to a spray in the nose or in the air around them when they decide they need to potty in the house. The nice thing about the vinegar/water mix is it won't hurt the dog at all, if they maybe get it in their eyes it'll be slightly painful, but not damaging.
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