Friday, March 16, 2007
Why does my puppy 'mouth' me?
If you are looking for an answer to the above question... read on!
Some people may even ask... what is 'mouthing'?
The answer to the second question - mouthing involves excessive grabbing of your hands or clothing.
A secondary problem to this is the fact that if your puppy does this to 'non-doggy' people, they may accuse you of having a dog which bites.
The puppies mouth is his or her most effective means of communication - if you have ever watched a litter of puppies playing together, you will have seen them pulling and tugging at each other... if one bites too hard the bitten pup yelps and leaves the pup who bit him and ignores that particular pup.
We need to replicate this behavior. Stop playing with him or her immediately, yelp, and pretend to lick your wounds even, whilst ignoring the puppy entirely.
Never use physical punishment like hitting your pup... it may even think that's part of the game!
Some people may even ask... what is 'mouthing'?
The answer to the second question - mouthing involves excessive grabbing of your hands or clothing.
A secondary problem to this is the fact that if your puppy does this to 'non-doggy' people, they may accuse you of having a dog which bites.
The puppies mouth is his or her most effective means of communication - if you have ever watched a litter of puppies playing together, you will have seen them pulling and tugging at each other... if one bites too hard the bitten pup yelps and leaves the pup who bit him and ignores that particular pup.
We need to replicate this behavior. Stop playing with him or her immediately, yelp, and pretend to lick your wounds even, whilst ignoring the puppy entirely.
Never use physical punishment like hitting your pup... it may even think that's part of the game!
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