Mouthy Pit Bulls

[RealPitBull]

dogcisco said:

Hello, i am dogcisco and i own a 15 month old pit bull named cisco. i would like some advise on how to get cisco to stop nowing at my hand, he doesn't bite down hard but he will only stop when he is ready to. I have already attemted ignoring him when he does this and i've have had no success.

You mention Cisco will only stop knawing (mouthing) when he wants do. Do you sit there and let him continue to mouth your hand until he's ready to stop? That's your first mistake. If he gets mouthy, stand up and walk away.

Avoid playing rough when it involves using your hands - lots of people like to roughhouse and use their hands to bat the dog's face around playfully and wrestle. This teaches the dog that human hands are playthings. Use toys - balls, tug toys, and other items - to play with your dog, not hands!

Mouthy dogs usually just haven't learned proper boundaries with humans, and this stems from a lack of direction from their human guardians. Check out this article which will help you learn to interact with your dog in a healthy, beneficial way and teach your dog to look to you for direction instead of taking it upon himself to do what he wants, when he feels like it:
www.shirleychong.com/keepers/mindgames.html

Avoid doing those things (for now at least) that tend to trigger the mouthiness. Does your dog mouth you when you try to pet his head when he's sitting on the couch? Don't let him come up on the couch. Make him sit on the floor and pet his back instead.
And speaking of petting, don't dole out an overabundance of physical contact. Many people love their dogs so much and all they want to do is pet, cuddle and hug their pups all the time. But imagine if your significant other never gave you any personal space and was always in your face. You'd probably get annoyed and maybe even verbally snap or push the person away. Lay off on the physical contact and only pet/coddle your dog when he's done something to truly deserve it (like sit or lay down for you after he's come to you for attention).

[pettoprincess88]

my 1 yr old doberman likes to grab a hand in his mouth as a greeting and say no and he stops but i would like to get him to not do it altogether

[RealPitBull]

If he's doing it as a greeting, ignore him all together. Stop, stand still, do nothing and wait. When he let's go, ask him to do something else - like sit. THEN greet him. Better yet, catch him before he grabs a hand and ask him to sit, then give him what he's after, which is human attention.

[pettoprincess88]

thanks that makes much sense.
he doesn't do it as often as he did when he was younger. and it doesnt hurt and he doesnt hang on long when he does. Actually i dont remember him doing it lately. I remember that sometimes when you come back from somewhere he would come up and then stand next to me and grab it my hand for a second or two. back then i just said no and he'll let go. but if he does it again i will ignore him. and make him sit. I make him sit alot when he is acting up so he's very good at it

[RealPitBull]

I always tell people that SIT is the most important behavior you can teach your dog, so practice practice practice. If your dog is sitting, he can't be doing [insert unwanted behavior here]. I call it a 'default' behavior - when all else fails, default to the sit!

[bullymommy25]

Not sure if this is true... I've been told that a lot of mouthyness is rooted in puppy teething and testing of the new home or surroundings. The owner might not have been consistant with "telling" the pup that he may teeth on the appropriate items, but he must leave the inappropriate alone... If this is true it would be a good thing to teach anyone with a new pup! US PITTIE PEOPLE know better, but there are plenty two-legged types out there who are not a little freaked out by a pit bull sampling their hand!

[RealPitBull]

Puppy mouthing is SO NORMAL! It's how pups test the world. Dogs don't have hands, but they have their mouths. Think a toddler touching everything! Same thing! It's how they learn. It's also a teething thing, yes. Pups don't know what's appropriate and what isn't, so it's up to humans to show them. It's not a behavior that should be punished, just modified. And if handled right, the dog will just grow out of the behavior.

Teen and adult dogs that mouth can have other issues effecting their behavior - never been taught that human hands aren't play things, for instance. Lots of people play with pups with their hands, batting their faces around and grabbing their muzzles. This I've found really causes problems later in life and creates a dog that will end up using his mouth in inappropriate ways.

[AmyJo27]

My 6 month old APBT pup will bite/mouth but it hurts.He usually does it when we wont let him get on the bed. Also he is done teething. He doesnt just do it when you pet him, he will just jump up and bite your hand then put his rump in the air and bark after that he ducks his rump and runs around!!! We have tried ignoring him, correction him(which makes him hyper), and telling him sit. But it seems he just doesnt care! Also it is not because of lack of exercise I do walk him daily! I dont know what the deal is I have never had this problem before.

[RealPitBull]

ladypitbull27 said:

My 6 month old APBT pup will bite/mouth but it hurts.He usually does it when we wont let him get on the bed. Also he is done teething. He doesnt just do it when you pet him, he will just jump up and bite your hand then put his rump in the air and bark after that he ducks his rump and runs around!!! We have tried ignoring him, correction him(which makes him hyper), and telling him sit. But it seems he just doesnt care! Also it is not because of lack of exercise I do walk him daily! I dont know what the deal is I have never had this problem before.

Sounds like a boundary issue to me. I'd start with the Mindgames mentioned above, and secondarily (but very importantly) enroll in some sort of concerted training plan (positive methods only, please - as you've already found out, "corrections" aka punishment can serve to excite your dog and make the situation worse.)

[robc]

Jan 3, 2008 13:55:00 GMT -5 RealPitBull said:

I always tell people that SIT is the most important behavior you can teach your dog, so practice practice practice. If your dog is sitting, he can't be doing [insert unwanted behavior here]. I call it a 'default' behavior - when all else fails, default to the sit!

This is totaly correct......I make my pups sit before they get there food, before they get out of there crate and I even make them sit before I pet them when I get home from work.......this keeps them from jumping all over people......rob

[maryc]

I have been working with a 70lb AB mix at the shelter who had big time mouthing issues at first. Initially the staff started out offering a toy when we first took him out of the kennel which worked to at least get out of there and get him to a larger place to work. The more time I spent with him it became clear that he really enjoyed keeping busy and he really wanted to interact with you but his mouthiness actually kept people away from him. When he became bored the mouthiness would start with biting at the leash, pulling the grass out and eventually jumping up at whoever was handling him, which in the end got him what he wanted, interaction with the person who had him out. When I started truly ignoring the behavior it really lessened. We also worked a lot on training when I had him out instead of just going for a walk. He loved going for walks but his true self came to the surface when we worked on training, lots of sits, downs, waits, leave it and watch me. The more his brain was stimulated the less he felt the need to be mouthy. And the more we worked the more attention he got which is what he was seeking before in an inappropriate manner. It got to the point that I could sit with him after working and calmly pet him and give him lots of love and he would finally relax. He would not do that after just going for a walk. After many hours of this and 4+ months in the shelter I'm happy to say he was found his forever home.

Mary C

[RealPitBull]

MaryC, great post! You illustrate an important point, that lots of these mouthy dogs just need more stimulation! It's funny, my new pet project at the shelter is a young (5 or 6 mos?) AB/Boxer-ish looking pup named Blue. He was SOOO hyped up when he came out of the kennel run that he couldn't contain himself. Jumping at me, nipping, out of control. He's going to be a bit of a challenge, but after even just 30 min of work, he was starting to walk nicer on lead and keep his mouth closed. I think this is stress stuff, too, where the dog is acting out due to stress, and having no way of dealing with it being in a kennel run most of the day, they show that stress in really inappropriate ways.

[maryc]

Thanks...It is so easy to fall into the trap at the shelter of seeing the dogs sitting in the kennel and thinking that all they want to do is get out and go for a walk. I have worked with many of the challenging dogs at the shelter and my experience over and over is those with the highest energy need more brain work and calm time than the physical exercise. After they get some brain time it seems that they are much easier to handle on the walk. ???

Mary C

[tracilg]

Our Babe is definitely a hand nibbler if you let her. The key for us is NOT to let her. Whenever she crosses that line into inappropriate, we tell her no, immediately stop playing with her, stand up if necessary, and cross our arms so our hands are hidden. Without fail, she will immediately stop the nibbling and sit and wait.
We've learned that the best motivator to stop this behavior is to reward her positive behavior with our attention and affection.

And, we have given her a bunch of toys of all different textures and firmness - anything from Kongs to stuffed animals. They are in a box, so she can choose what she wants. And when she's really mouthy, a kong filled with mashed potatoes does wonders!

[RealPitBull]

More mouthiness remedies:

For pups that get too mouthy during play......

I would a) Stop the game IMMEDIATELY when teeth touch human skin (walk away)

b) make sure you use a toy that's big enough so he has plenty of toy to grab and won't mistakenly grab a finger or hand.

Nipping/mouthing is often a big problem with Pit Bull pups esp. if they have been weaned/taken away from littermates too early (which I'm betting this pup was....)

Work on this exercise as well: sit on the floor with your pup. Pup a treat in your closed fist and present the closed fist to your pup (make sure he can't get a taste of the treat but can smell it!) Let him sniff, paw, and nibble, but do NOT do ANYthing. As soon as the pup backs away from your hand and gives you a look like, "What gives?!" say YES! in a happy/upbeat voice, and give him the food. Repeat often. This teaches self control and to not maul hands.

Another exercise you can do is sit with your pup and present your hand - if the pup doesn't nibble and either ignores the hand, licks it, or otherwise acts appropriately, say YES! and offer a tiny food reward from a bowl of treats you'll have stashed to the side. You can also substitute treats for a toy you can throw or offer the pup. If when you offer your hand the pup nibbles, say EASY! and take your hand away. Wait a good 10 - 20 seconds, and offer your hand again. This exercise teaches that HANDS are not to play with, behaving around hands gets you good stuff, and nibbling means FUN ENDS.

[hammer4]

Jun 12, 2008 13:56:11 GMT -5 RealPitBull said:

More mouthiness remedies:

For pups that get too mouthy during play......

I would a) Stop the game IMMEDIATELY when teeth touch human skin (walk away)

b) make sure you use a toy that's big enough so he has plenty of toy to grab and won't mistakenly grab a finger or hand.

Nipping/mouthing is often a big problem with Pit Bull pups esp. if they have been weaned/taken away from littermates too early (which I'm betting this pup was....)

Work on this exercise as well: sit on the floor with your pup. Pup a treat in your closed fist and present the closed fist to your pup (make sure he can't get a taste of the treat but can smell it!) Let him sniff, paw, and nibble, but do NOT do ANYthing. As soon as the pup backs away from your hand and gives you a look like, "What gives?!" say YES! in a happy/upbeat voice, and give him the food. Repeat often. This teaches self control and to not maul hands.

Another exercise you can do is sit with your pup and present your hand - if the pup doesn't nibble and either ignores the hand, licks it, or otherwise acts appropriately, say YES! and offer a tiny food reward from a bowl of treats you'll have stashed to the side. You can also substitute treats for a toy you can throw or offer the pup. If when you offer your hand the pup nibbles, say EASY! and take your hand away. Wait a good 10 - 20 seconds, and offer your hand again. This exercise teaches that HANDS are not to play with, behaving around hands gets you good stuff, and nibbling means FUN ENDS.

Mary, I'm thinking that our pup was taken away to soon, as after a month he still mouths and nips. We have ignored him, turned our backs ect..if he can't nip at our hands, he then tries to bite our ankels or feet. I've also tried to redirect his attention, i.e. making him sit, or offered hi favorit toy, but the nipping still continues. Am I expecting too much for that time frame, or will it take longer..?

Signed...running out of bandaids.

[RealPitBull]

Puppies take patience Part of the nipping issue revolves around being patient and waiting for the teething phase to end. How many of the suggestions here have you tried?

[hammer4]

Jun 27, 2008 9:09:01 GMT -5 RealPitBull said:

Puppies take patience Part of the nipping issue revolves around being patient and waiting for the teething phase to end. How many of the suggestions here have you tried?

Just the ones I mentioned. The nipping is getting slightly better. As far as his teething, he chews alot on hard objects.

[tracilg]

We talked about the nipping and mouthing in obedience class this weekend, and the trainer suggested that whenver the dog's teeth make inappropriate contact with anything, we should give a loud "OUCH" or "Ahh-ahh!" She said either of those sounds are ones that dogs can recognize are sounds of "Hey, you're doing something I don't like!"

Then she said to make sure we DON'T jerk our hand, arm, whatever away fast or flail around because that's just further invitation to play.

Finally, we should calmly walk away to ignore the dog for a few seconds.

She said it shouldn't take long for the dog to learn that any biting or nipping means we are "upset" and won't play with them.

And I totally agree that enough exercise and mental stimulation are also very necessary. Babe's brain was so drained after class on Saturday, she was a dream all that night. lol

[RealPitBull]

I've never quite gotten the screeching at your pup for nipping thing - the only way I've seen it work is to be REALLY loud and startle the dog into stopping the biting. But this can also backfire and excite the dog, too. This also isn't really going to do much of anything for a dog over a few months old. Making sure you don't inadvertantly reinforce the mouthing by letting your dog continue to do it as you stand there/give attention, redirection, and teaching alternative behaviors work really well.