My sister has a Mastiff/German Shepard mix although it looks almost pure
Mastiff to me. The dog is a female and I guess still a puppy but she is
large and growing big and bigger every day. I don't see any German Shepard
in her at all. Also, my sister got her fixed a month ago.

Here is the problem - this dog wants to take small bites/nips at faces.
When I go to her house, the dog gets real excited to see me. So, I get on
my knees to play with her. She constantly wants to get right up to my face
and take small nips at my face. She does that to everyone else too.

Now, I had a Samoyed for twelve years. He never tried to bite or take
small nibbles at my face. Yeah, he liked to lick my face, but never take
small nips.

So, what is the problem? Is this common with the Mastiff breed? This dog
is treated well (as far as I know.) My sister and her son don't abuse
animals, they are animal lovers. Could this problem have come from the
person who gave the puppy to my sister?

And, how does one go about correcting this? A sharp "NO" and a slap on
the dogs face?

Thanks!

"Von Fourche" wrote in message
m...


My sister has a Mastiff/German Shepard mix although it looks almost pure
Mastiff to me. The dog is a female and I guess still a puppy but she is
large and growing big and bigger every day. I don't see any German
Shepard in her at all. Also, my sister got her fixed a month ago.

Here is the problem - this dog wants to take small bites/nips at faces.
When I go to her house, the dog gets real excited to see me. So, I get on
my knees to play with her. She constantly wants to get right up to my
face and take small nips at my face. She does that to everyone else too.

Now, I had a Samoyed for twelve years. He never tried to bite or take
small nibbles at my face. Yeah, he liked to lick my face, but never take
small nips.

So, what is the problem? Is this common with the Mastiff breed? This dog
is treated well (as far as I know.) My sister and her son don't abuse
animals, they are animal lovers. Could this problem have come from the
person who gave the puppy to my sister?

And, how does one go about correcting this? A sharp "NO" and a slap on
the dogs face?


ooh, no slapping dogs please.

The nipping isn't a sign of abuse, its a sign of an untrained puppy who
doesn't know that nipping is unacceptable to humans. He doesnt' know that
its painful or that it might scare someone, so its up to his family to teach
him . In this case, I'd probably say "OW!" in a sad and high pitched voice
and then "No biting" and STAND UP AND WALK AWAY. When the dog learns the
loving stops when it nips, it will stop nipping.

"Von Fourche" wrote in message
m...


My sister has a Mastiff/German Shepard mix although it looks almost pure
Mastiff to me. The dog is a female and I guess still a puppy but she is
large and growing big and bigger every day. I don't see any German
Shepard in her at all. Also, my sister got her fixed a month ago.

Here is the problem - this dog wants to take small bites/nips at faces.
When I go to her house, the dog gets real excited to see me. So, I get on
my knees to play with her. She constantly wants to get right up to my
face and take small nips at my face. She does that to everyone else too.

Now, I had a Samoyed for twelve years. He never tried to bite or take
small nibbles at my face. Yeah, he liked to lick my face, but never take
small nips.

So, what is the problem? Is this common with the Mastiff breed? This dog
is treated well (as far as I know.) My sister and her son don't abuse
animals, they are animal lovers. Could this problem have come from the
person who gave the puppy to my sister?

And, how does one go about correcting this? A sharp "NO" and a slap on
the dogs face?

Thanks!


Never a slap. When my dogs play bit/puppy bit, etc. I would use the 'no, no
bite' accompanied by putting my hand around their snout area, repeating the
'no bite' command so they could associate my displeasure with what they were
actually doing.

td

Beth In Alaska wrote:
"Von Fourche" wrote in message
m...

And, how does one go about correcting this? A sharp "NO" and a slap on
the dogs face?

ooh, no slapping dogs please.

The nipping isn't a sign of abuse, its a sign of an untrained puppy who
doesn't know that nipping is unacceptable to humans. He doesnt' know that
its painful or that it might scare someone, so its up to his family to teach
him . In this case, I'd probably say "OW!" in a sad and high pitched voice
and then "No biting" and STAND UP AND WALK AWAY. When the dog learns the
loving stops when it nips, it will stop nipping.

Nothing to add, but just so OP doesn't feel ignored, Beth's
advice is exactly what I'd do (and have done).

BTW, IME grabbing the dog on the muzzle wasn't effective.

FurPaw

--
The plural of anecdote is not proof.

To reply, unleash the dog.

"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
snipped
BTW, IME grabbing the dog on the muzzle wasn't effective.


I don't believe I ever suggested *grabbing* the muzzle. I stated I put my
hand around the mouth area, repeating *NO, no bite*. I do so to make sure
my dog know's exactly what I'm talking about concerning which behavior I'm
referring. It's a calm, firm, NO BITE. It's always worked for me. I don't
have play biters, nor dogs who have used their mouths on humans past the
early puppy stage. My dogs understand the difference between "kissy okay,
NO bite." My approach is very much the same as it is with the grandsons,
when I calmly take them by the shoulders, look them right in the face, to
make sure they understand something like 'no, no hitting.' Except I'm
telling my dogs, 'no, no bite.'

td




FurPaw

--
The plural of anecdote is not proof.

To reply, unleash the dog.

tiny dancer wrote:
"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
snipped
BTW, IME grabbing the dog on the muzzle wasn't effective.


I don't believe I ever suggested *grabbing* the muzzle. I stated I put my
hand around the mouth area, repeating *NO, no bite*. I do so to make sure
my dog know's exactly what I'm talking about concerning which behavior I'm
referring. It's a calm, firm, NO BITE. It's always worked for me. I don't
have play biters, nor dogs who have used their mouths on humans past the
early puppy stage. My dogs understand the difference between "kissy okay,
NO bite." My approach is very much the same as it is with the grandsons,
when I calmly take them by the shoulders, look them right in the face, to
make sure they understand something like 'no, no hitting.' Except I'm
telling my dogs, 'no, no bite.'

Sorry I used shorthand in my comment. I tried the method you
described on Dylan, who was a big-time play biter, and it did not
work on her. The method that Suja described did work.

FurPaw


--
The plural of anecdote is not proof.

To reply, unleash the dog.

On Thu, 7 Aug 2008 12:31:50 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
snipped
BTW, IME grabbing the dog on the muzzle wasn't effective.

I don't believe I ever suggested *grabbing* the muzzle.

No, you surely didn't. You said "putting my hand around their snout
area", which is just fine.

And just like Paul's use of a choke collar "wasn't effective" for him,
it's been infinitely effective for millions of other dog owners.

So I wouldn't put too much stock into FurPaw's lack of success with
it, because it's been very effective for me.

Yes, I grab the muzzle (pretty much like I might do when I'm rasslin'
with them), and then I put my face right in their face, and say "no
bite!"

But then I'm a "cruel, dog-abusing thug", so it's to be expected.

On the other hand, they stop biting.

PS: Beth's method works pretty well, too.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Al Gore is saving the planet...with a massive new houseboat! Thanks, Al, you freakin' hypocrite!
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/gore-hi...new-houseboat/

Democrats Throwing Up Scarecrows and Bogeymen.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/democra...-and-bogeymen/

Way to go, GOP! You finally found your ballsacks!
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/po...rotest_to.html

See what happens when folks start *talking* about drilling for oil? Now, imagine what will happen when we actually start *drilling*.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080804/oil_prices.html?.v=18

It's about freakin' time.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...GI&refer=canad

The cause of the obesity epidemic, in a nut shell.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/bu...prod=permalink

Obama and the English language.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama%E...ngarian-to-me/

Democrats Say No Domestic Drilling -- Even If Gas Hits $10!
http://corner.nationalreview.com/pos...ViZTI5MDY3Y2U=

The Top Ten Things that Creep Me Out About Obama.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...hat_creep.html

"FurPaw" wrote in message
. ..
tiny dancer wrote:
"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
snipped
BTW, IME grabbing the dog on the muzzle wasn't effective.


I don't believe I ever suggested *grabbing* the muzzle. I stated I put
my hand around the mouth area, repeating *NO, no bite*. I do so to make
sure my dog know's exactly what I'm talking about concerning which
behavior I'm referring. It's a calm, firm, NO BITE. It's always worked
for me. I don't have play biters, nor dogs who have used their mouths on
humans past the early puppy stage. My dogs understand the difference
between "kissy okay, NO bite." My approach is very much the same as it
is with the grandsons, when I calmly take them by the shoulders, look
them right in the face, to make sure they understand something like 'no,
no hitting.' Except I'm telling my dogs, 'no, no bite.'

Sorry I used shorthand in my comment. I tried the method you described on
Dylan, who was a big-time play biter, and it did not work on her. The
method that Suja described did work.

FurPaw

That's okay, I guess I missed Suja's post. I don't see it on my reader.
I just wanted to make sure it was understood that what I do isn't done
in haste or anger or harshly. It's a simple correction, much like I do with
the grandsons when they *bite*. ;-] Thank goodness none of them are
biters. Cause most kids go through that biting stage too. I do find myself
doing it often for hitting or not sharing with the kids though. And when I
thought about the dogs play biting, I realized I handled that the same as
the kids doing unacceptable behavior. Making sure they understand *exactly*
what it is I'm referring to. With all my dogs I've had, it's worked well.
Of course I might have had to reinforce the command a couple times more
depending upon the dog. But it has always worked for me. They all
understood the difference between a doggie kiss and a play bite/nip, the
latter being unacceptable, no matter how excited the dog may be.


td





--
The plural of anecdote is not proof.

To reply, unleash the dog.

"Handsome Jack Morrison" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 7 Aug 2008 12:31:50 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

"FurPaw" wrote in message
...
snipped
BTW, IME grabbing the dog on the muzzle wasn't effective.

I don't believe I ever suggested *grabbing* the muzzle.

No, you surely didn't. You said "putting my hand around their snout
area", which is just fine.

And just like Paul's use of a choke collar "wasn't effective" for him,
it's been infinitely effective for millions of other dog owners.


I found both the prong collars and the choke collars particularly effective
especially when adopting adult dogs. I didn't have to use one for my
murphy, but then I had her since she was a puppy. An adult dog, who hasn't
been trained to listen/walk properly on leash, etc., IME, needs a more
effective means of training.



So I wouldn't put too much stock into FurPaw's lack of success with
it, because it's been very effective for me.

Yes, I grab the muzzle (pretty much like I might do when I'm rasslin'
with them), and then I put my face right in their face, and say "no
bite!"


That's what I wanted to be sure was understood. I make eye contact with my
dog, make sure they are focussed on what I'm saying, when I say NO BITE,
NO, NO BITE, with my hand around their muzzle.



But then I'm a "cruel, dog-abusing thug", so it's to be expected.

On the other hand, they stop biting.


Yup, I've always had success with that method.



PS: Beth's method works pretty well, too.


I've done the 'owee' method too. It does work well, but again, I used
that one more on Murphy/puppy. With the adult adoptees, I tend to use the
NO BITE, moreso than the softer 'owee'. We need more immediate
understanding with an adult dog IMO

td

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:
An adult dog, who hasn't
been trained to listen/walk properly on leash, etc., IME, needs a more
effective means of training.

Management, you mean. I haven't particularly found that
training adult pullers requires the use of a "training
collar," but I try to train my dogs, not just manage them.
Well, I do a lot of management, too (you need to with 8
loose dogs) but you're blurring the distinction between
training and management and I remain completely unconvinced
that you know how anything about training.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community