Mouthiness

2335 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by puppylove, Nov 16, 2009

puppylove

Discussion Starter · Nov 10, 2009

Jackson is still behaving wonderfully except...

He has a terrible habit of mouthing. He will put his giant mouth around my hand or my arm. I have never felt teeth but I come away with slimy tongue and mouth slobber around my entire arm.

He also wants to lick me constantly. I have tried ignoring him, pulling away from him, not petting or touching him. I think he knows I don't like it but he doesn't stop.

Any suggestions.

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Mandycasey'smom

· #2 · Nov 10, 2009

licking can be nervousness so perhaps it is a cycle now he comes to you and licks you know you don't like it his mind tells him to do what he does when nervous and licks more.

Mandy can be a licker. She licks the clippers while being groomed NOT GOOD.

Mouthing I think it is great he can put your hand in his mouth and not bite. I would rather a dog do that then never touch skin in his mouth so he learns to be gentle when touching skin.

I have no answer for how to stop the licking but will follow as I said Mandy can be a licker.

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Olie

· #3 · Nov 10, 2009 (Edited)

puppylove said:
Jackson is still behaving wonderfully except...

He has a terrible habit of mouthing. He will put his giant mouth around my hand or my arm. I have never felt teeth but I come away with slimy tongue and mouth slobber around my entire arm.

He also wants to lick me constantly. I have tried ignoring him, pulling away from him, not petting or touching him. I think he knows I don't like it but he doesn't stop.

Any suggestions.

I have a dog that licks a lot! Not my poodle. I read that this is oversubmission..... as mandycaseysmom said it can be nervousness or anxiety as well.

Aoki (the licker) is 1 year old and still does it today!! I just have to keep pushing her away and telling her no and I try peting her then on her head and she will keep trying to lick but I continue to move my had away from her mouth and give her this NO look I have.....it just takes practise to teach the appropriate touch. I know thats not a great answer but she is not nearly as bad as when we brought her home. She is a little skittish, since day one. According to the breeders her dad bit at her and growled when Aoki would eat out of his food bowel. She still has a few little issues with that. Again a work in progress.

Olie (4 months old)is still mouthing at times, and he has learned not to bite down on us, now the other dogs he mouths a lot and can be rough. We just play and train at the same time, when he mouths, correct and place a toy in his mouth. We know he will attempt to mouth, and we correct with the command and with in minutes he stops. I would prefer a dog NOT mouth either way, because you never know some people would rather not deal with that. So even once the puppy mouthing is gone, we will not allow the hand or arm to go in his mouth. Accidents happen even with the best trained dogs.

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KPoos

· #4 · Nov 10, 2009

I think constant licking is also a sign that he's asking for approval from his alpha. Jasper used to lick constantly with Harry and Harry just turned from him and ignored him. I try to take my cues from what dogs tell each other with their body language. When I was confused I'd put the dogs together and just watch them. I also agree that it's a nervous behavior. Jasper didn't like his feet touched so he would lick me constantly when I'd groom his feet. It was his nice way of saying stop doing that I don't like it.

I'd think it best to just turn from him and ignore the behavior. Most of the time dog's behaviors are reinforced by your reactions to them. If you stop grooming because they pull away they will learn to pull away to make you stop from doing something they don't like. If you pet them and provide unending reassurance when they seem nervous they know they will get the attention of the one they want if they act in a nervous manner.

Dogs speak their own language and it's hard sometimes to even know what that means.

Olie, oversubmission would make a TON of sense to me with Jasper's behavior because I'd never seen a dog seek the approval of the other dog by licking so much as when Jasper was with Harry. It was almost like an obsessive behavior with the licking the chin over and over for approval.

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Raiko

· #5 · Nov 10, 2009

Cassie mouths me. I stare her down and she usually stops, if she doesnt I shove her away and stare at her and she cuts it out. But Spike mouthed and that never worked, so Id spray a little bitter apple on my arm or id hold my hand in his mouth until he didnt like it anymore and hed back off. Be carefull though, if your not very comfortable with that dog he may bite down wwile you have your hand in there instead of backing away

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Olie

· #6 · Nov 10, 2009

Olie, oversubmission would make a TON of sense to me with Jasper's behavior because I'd never seen a dog seek the approval of the other dog by licking so much as when Jasper was with Harry. It was almost like an obsessive behavior with the licking the chin over and over for approval.

Yep. She came to us a little unsure. For a few months I tried so hard to figure out what we could have done, it broke our hearts for a while and she has improved but her insecurity shows itself with strangers sometimes and from time to time cowers to eat, I have to feed her in the living room she is not aggressive, but fearful and I am certain she came to us that way. Wish I would have shed some light on this earlier....

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KPoos

· #7 · Nov 10, 2009

Gosh it sounds so similar. It's okay. I know the feeling of the broken heart. You honestly take it personally and think you did something to make the dog react that way when it's not you it's just them. They are all individuals and have their own way of thinking.

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puppylove

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 10, 2009

Thanks all. Jackson is probably being overly submissive. He's still skittish and wants alot of reassurance. I'm not afraid of him biting down so maybe I'll try putting my arm further into his mouth when he does it.

The constant licking seems to be almost like a kid sucking his thumb. When he's very relaxed (almost nodding off) his tongue will just slowly slide out for a swipe of bare skin. I'll try a little Bitter Apple.

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puppylove

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 16, 2009

Well, I have been pushing my arm way into the back of his mouth whenever he puts it around me. He doesn't like it at all and at first looked at me with such a comical expression that I had to laugh. It has helped alot. He still will try to grab hold of me when he's very excited but stops as soon as I push my arm further into his mouth. And he always gives me a look that definitely says "what are you doing?"

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