Mouthy Dogs!

As if her mouthy teenage kids weren't enough of a challenge, my client was incredibly frustrated with the behavior of her adolescent dog.  He's a great dog, most of the time, but he is incessantly mouthy. It's not that he barks, he grabs and nips, usually hands, but sometimes at ankles and clothing.  He seems to do it a lot more now that he's become an adolescent, but he was a mouthy and demanding puppy as well.  Her biggest concern is that this will turn into aggressive behavior and they'll have to remove him from their home. Her husband is already ready to give the dog away, so she's feeling sad, mad, and pressed for time.  Plus, she still has those teenage humans to contend with as well!

Learning how to use their mouths constructively is something puppies begin to learn from their mothers and through interactions with their siblings.  Once puppies leave their mothers, it is up to us (and the other dogs and cats in our household and those that they come in contact with daily) to teach our puppies when they've used their mouths inappropriately. I know I've talked about this before, so let's just summarize here.  When a puppy puts its mouth on you and you feel pressure, you'll loudly say "Ouch!" and wait for them to drop your limb looking saddened and perplexed. At this point, redirect them to a toy for appropriate mouth stimulation.  If they don't let go or give you a look that says, "That was fun!  Gonna bite you again!" it's off to a time out.  Time outs for puppies are 3 minutes in length and can run longer if they fuss, bark, etc.  You do this over and over, every single time you feel pressure from that mouth, until your puppy learns to inhibit his bite.  It isn't that a puppy/dog can't put its mouth on you, they actually can and it's okay (that's what's meant by bite inhibition), they just need to learn that they don't need to put pressure behind it when they do; mouthing your hand will suffice.  It is my experience that the puppies who mouth the most are the ones whose owners are inconsistent with the above outline AND their puppies are sleep deprived. Sleep deprived puppies are mouthy and over-threshold all the time.  They need their rest to have better self-control.  A minimum of four, 2-hour naps everyday is required, in addition to their night time sleep, for best results.

Circling back to my client's situation. Her dog is 10 months old now and she's been fairly good at the naps routine, though not perfect.  They've been pretty good with the ouch-redirect-time out routine as well, but admits to not being consistent on that either.  It seems her husband likes to smack the dog on the nose for the behavior and/or yell at him, "NO!"  Tongue firmly planted in cheek, I asked how that was working for him.  Not well at all, as you might imagine. In fact, the dog is worst with the mouthy behavior toward her husband, actually nipping at his hands. This dog has definitely figured out how to get a rise out of the humans.  Given that her husband is ready to get rid of the dog, I suggested a boot camp, of sorts, was in order.

For the next two weeks, they will enforce those naps.  They will walk this dog twice a day.  They will make sure he's getting mental stimulation in the form of puzzles, bones, etc.  And anytime he mouths, they will say "OUCH!" then redirect to a toy.  If not successful, it's off on to his crate or the laundry room, whichever is closer, for a time out.  Every. Single. Time.  No hitting the dog and no yelling, just matter of fact time outs.  If after two weeks, they are still having problems, then it's time to re-evaluate the situation and whether this dog is a good match for their busy home.

While not a popular fact, it is nonetheless true, that some dog breeds are mouthier than others.  Those of us who see a lot of Doodles in our practices have commented on the preponderance of Doodles in homes where their families are overwhelmed by mouthy/bitey behavior.  While I've certainly seen my share of mouthy Golden Retrievers, Labradors, German Shepherds, and Australian Shepherds, I seem to see more mouthy Goldendoodles, Labradoodles, Sheepadoodles, and Bernedoodles. Having said that, I have clients with Doodles who've followed my suggestions to the letter and are not experiencing mouthing issues with their dogs beyond what they experienced and dealt with in puppyhood.  And, of course, there are those clients whose dogs, regardless of breed, move on from mouthy behavior to actual nipping and biting to get their way and that's definitely not okay.  That qualifies as aggression and is a completely different topic.

The bottom line for my clients is the sobering realization that they have work to do and it won't be an easy, quick fix.  Responding to this behavior with punishment will only make it worse for them as their dog will escalate making him more unpredictable. They will be contacting me after two weeks and we'll assess where we are at that point. I've crossed my fingers that this works out for them as they are a lovely family and I do like this dog.  I just don't like his behavior.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

We somewhat affectionately referred to Ozzie as "shark puppy" when he was little.  He was feisty, pushy, and opinionated, using his mouth to try to change our behavior. We were diligent and consistent with him and it worked.  Ozzie has beautiful bite inhibition, even if you are doing something with him that hurts.  This picture so perfectly captures his puppyhood; redirected to a bone, but still giving me a little side-eye over that redirection :)