"Mouthing"

[megamania]

Hi there it'been a while! We have a 5 mth old male harlequin,,,,,, Gus. I asked many questions when we first got him, as it was our first dane. He was small, and his growth patterns seemed weird,,,, I.e. his feet going crooked, etc. Am happy to report that he is a healthy, happy pup. He now weighs 70 lbs and has been relatively easy to train, BUT.....this mouthing thing is definitely a characteristic we really dislike!!! Is there anything we can do to stop it???? We have socialized this dog with MANY other breeds,,,,,labs (he lives with jake our 6yr old black lab), shiloh shepherd, bernise mountain dogs, collies, boston terriers, the list goes on. All our friends have dogs. We live in country and we all take our dogs when we visit. Also been around many children of all ages. Gus will not stop mouthing other dogs, even when they finalky get annoyed and put him in his place! He has been snapped at, knocked down and held there by other dogs, and still he goes back for more. Others dogs are then covered in slime, it is very very annoying. We love our dane but would like this behaviour to stop! Is there anything we can do?

Meg

[lisacp75]

So glad his legs have improved - I remember your concern in your earlier post.

Is his mouthing problem only confined to other dogs? Are any of the dogs he plays with close in age and size? I learned pretty quickly with my first two dogs that "older dogs" were not at all appreciative of puppy antics. For example, my mother in law's five year old lab snapped at both our Aussie mix as a pup, as well as our Dane pup two years later when she came along. Their five year old Dalmation was less confrontational and would usually choose to just retreat and avoid them as puppies. However because we were over visiting so often, they all learned to coexist pretty quickly.

I warn other owners who approach our 6 month pup Zoomer and I when we are out on walks that he is just a giant puppy. Most don't realize he is a puppy at all. If they have a particularly small dog or an older slower moving dog, I pretty much stay away. I don't understand the owners with the smaller breeds who insist on a meeting, saying oh my dog loves to play, meanwhile they are not watching their dog for cues... They are looking instead at Zoomer, who is towering over their tiny dog who looks scared and not in the least bit interested in "play"!!! At any rate, it might just be a mismatch in the age/size/energy level of the dogs he is playing with.

Do you have him in obedience training yet? I've also found that having Zoomer in a controlled setting where he isn't allowed to play with the other dogs had helped. He doesn't get as excitable when he sees other dogs on leash, even when they are barking at him.

[megamania]

Hi thanks for your words. Gus has been exposed to pups (large dogs), 1 yr olds, 3 yr olds, etc all ages and sizes. Our lab is 6 and very tolerant!! To say the least. I just fibd it is a different kind of play,,,, this mouthing and slobbering all over other dogs, and even my 18 mth grandchild! He git into trouble for that one! And no obedience classes, we live in rural area and wud have to drive an hour. I am in process of finding great danes in area, close in age for pkay dates, msybe if he was mouthed in same way, he wud get the message! Training has nit been a probkem in any other area,,, at 5 and half mths, peopke comment how obedient he is! Just want this constant mouthing to stop before a larger dog hurts him, although someone said he wud probably learn from that! Not sure I want that to happen! Anyone else experience this with danes? All comments welcone
meg

[mnmouse]

Can you train a down/stay or something like that, really super solid? He can't be all slobbery mouthy on other dogs if he's in a down stay.

Here's how to teach "leave it" which might work in your situation, too.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtua...r-dog-leave-it

Now is a good time to teach either of these self control behaviors. You're going to need them as your pup hits the teenage years.

[Tiva]

My dog is really mouthy at 8 months still. He only does it to me and to other dogs he's playing with. We are working with a trainer to work on it with me. Initially, I wanted him to never use his mouth on me at all. But my trainer prefers a dog that can demonstrate that it has good bite pressure. So now we are just teaching him when its ok and when it's not. I trust her judgment, she was the president of the APDT and works with lots of aggression cases. She's said he is in no way being aggressive and it's acceptable for him to use his mouth in play with other dogs. Maybe you'd also benefit from having a trainer come to your house. Then you wouldnt have to drive and we've really preferred it over group classes. If they are a behaviorist as well, which ours is, they'd also be able to tell you if its your dog causing the problem or other dogs. And what to do about it.

We've never met another dog who got upset when Eli put his mouth on them in play. It seems that all his playmates use their mouths. The issue I think is if the dog doesn't have good control of bite pressure. They use their mouths in play but not hard. Eli has never hurt another dog using his mouth on them. But I do bring a towel to play dates to wipe his slime off his face and off other dogs. Haha!

[lisacp75]

We've never met another dog who got upset when Eli put his mouth on them in play. It seems that all his playmates use their mouths. The issue I think is if the dog doesn't have good control of bite pressure. They use their mouths in play but not hard. Eli has never hurt another dog using his mouth on them. But I do bring a towel to play dates to wipe his slime off his face and off other dogs. Haha![/QUOTE]

Tiva brings up a good point - maybe his mouthing is not soft enough? Do the other dogs ever yelp? If not, maybe he is somewhere in the middle - mouthing hard enough that the dogs are bothered but not so hard they actually yelp. When we have been at the dog park, that's pretty much what they do. Chase each other and when close enough they usually mouth the scruff and back of the neck. I have seen some dogs go for the tail or back legs, and that seems to be considered less "acceptable" by most dogs as they are quick to react negatively.

I would probably work on training so that he responds to a command like "easy" or "enough." Otherwise he is taken away from the play group. Which is a bummer for everyone usually, but he won't get the idea if there is never any consequence to him ignoring a command. I also read that you can put a gentle leader on him with the leash dragging (when safe) and correct his mouthing by pulling up gently to close his mouth. I would imagine this would be more useful for around the house if he is mouthing people during play.

[bluethunder]

We have had similar issues with thunder but he is mouthing us. When we start playing that is the first thing he does. I would stop playing and turn away from him and tell him no til he calms down. Some days it works and some days we have to stop play all together. He is really bad with my wife. He has never hurt us but we know that it is not a good habit.

[Maximus' Mom]

My 11 month old dane likes to "corn cob" (nibbles on my arms or side with his front teeth) me when i get home from work. It is a bit annoying, but i tell him no, cross my arms, and turn away from him. He usually gets the hint....but not always. I guess it is because he is excited i'm home. Mommy = Hugs + food + loving!

After a good play, both my boys are covered in each other's goober, but occasionally one will yelp and the other will stop. I think a lot of them mouth play.

With our 2, they have similar sized buddies we play date with. They all seem to mouth play a lot...collars being the favourite to grab.

When we are out, or meeting for a play date, we use "gentle" as the cue...lots of our friends have smaller dogs. They still use their mouths, but i have noticed that with the "gentle" cue, they usually have a closed mouth and just poke with their nose.

[Greenmagick]

Just keep working on it with him. Honestly, dogs mouth a lot in play....play can get pretty rough. He is still quite young so still has that puppy intensity and kind of cluelessness going on. Dont give him total free access to other dogs. Break play up if you can tell its too much. Work on impulse control through games.

[JesseM]

"Mouthing"

In your other post with legs you mentioned you got pup at 6 weeks which you will have to work a bit with because puppies learn a lot of bite inhibition from litter mates at 6-8 weeks. My boy is a bit of a nipper too but found turning my back after firm no is gradually working, as well as praise when he stops and give a chew toy so he learns it's ok to chew that and not me.

[SuzanneRM82]

Do you have him in obedience training yet? I've also found that having Zoomer in a controlled setting where he isn't allowed to play with the other dogs had helped. He doesn't get as excitable when he sees other dogs on leash, even when they are barking at him.

I think this helps a lot, too. My pup was HORRID when we first started group classes- disturbed the group ALL the time because he would get upset by not being allowed to play with the other dogs, so would talk, and grumble, try to escape from me etc to go visit, but after a few weeks (of classes once a week) his self control was much better. Now he really only has one friend that he gets wild with, and that dog is twice as crazy as mine. They have a fabulous, rough housing good time.

[dukers]

I agree

In your other post with legs you mentioned you got pup at 6 weeks which you will have to work a bit with because puppies learn a lot of bite inhibition from litter mates at 6-8 weeks. My boy is a bit of a nipper too but found turning my back after firm no is gradually working, as well as praise when he stops and give a chew toy so he learns it's ok to chew that and not me.

We got our boy when he was 12 weeks, he has tried a couple of times to mouth, when he is excited, but I do what the other people have mentioned and it is nearly non-existent now... or if my hand is in there I press firmly down on his tongue and tell him no... usually elicits a gag.

As far as with other dogs... I know this will prolly sound exhausting, but supervision, when he gets so excited he mouths, can you get him to down or sit? other option, which can be a bit of a problem with other dogs involved, but let him play on a long leash so that you have slightly more control for the sit and down that I mentioned above.