Doggie Discipline

We're dealing with a near 5-month old yellow lab that we love a lot. He's
generally responding very well to commands and has become a good family pet.

Several times a day he will want to get agressive and he will begin mouthing
us. His "bites" are not severe, but he seems to feel the need to nibble.
He can get this way during playing tug of war, tossing a ball, or just
petting him.

When he is reprimanded (a stern "No bite!") he looks at us and then barks.
It almost seems like a power play issue.

We're trying to substitute objects (i.e. give him a toy when he tries to
gnaw a hand), removing our hands from him, etc. But we don't seem to be
getting anywhere.

Any ideas?



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Peter C. Bogert wrote:
We're dealing with a near 5-month old yellow lab that we love a lot. He's
generally responding very well to commands and has become a good family pet.

Several times a day he will want to get agressive and he will begin mouthing
us. His "bites" are not severe, but he seems to feel the need to nibble.
He can get this way during playing tug of war, tossing a ball, or just
petting him.

When he is reprimanded (a stern "No bite!") he looks at us and then barks.
It almost seems like a power play issue.

We're trying to substitute objects (i.e. give him a toy when he tries to
gnaw a hand), removing our hands from him, etc. But we don't seem to be
getting anywhere.

Any ideas?


We had the same problem with our Border Collie mix. She was really
nibbly at about the same age. We just kept up doing the same things you
are doing and she seemed to either outgrow it, or finally respond to the
training. I think her nibbles were a combination of affection and
excitement.

However, I'm no expert and there are probably folks here that could tell
you how to stop the behavior in a day or two.

--
Jim Sabatke
Hire Me!! - See my resume at http://my.execpc.com/~jsabatke

Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good
with ketchup.

"Peter C. Bogert" wrote in message
...
We're dealing with a near 5-month old yellow lab that we love a lot. He's
generally responding very well to commands and has become a good family
pet.

Several times a day he will want to get agressive and he will begin
mouthing
us. His "bites" are not severe, but he seems to feel the need to nibble.
He can get this way during playing tug of war, tossing a ball, or just
petting him.

When he is reprimanded (a stern "No bite!") he looks at us and then barks.
It almost seems like a power play issue.

We're trying to substitute objects (i.e. give him a toy when he tries to
gnaw a hand), removing our hands from him, etc. But we don't seem to be
getting anywhere.

this doesn't seem very unusual. i hear that labs are mouthy anyway, and
this one is just a puppy. from your description, i'd guess he's probably
just having fun, not actually being aggressive.

when i got my pit bull lab mix, he was pretty mouthy too. i used the same
technique i had used on my other pit bull when she was a puppy. basically,
when the dog puts his mouth on you, no matter how hard, yelp in a high
pitched voice, like it hurts. then turn your back and ignore the pup. this
worked really well for both of my dogs. it only took a few times before
they realized that mouthing means no more playtime. since playtime is the
best thing in the world to a dog (well, the best thing besides peanut
butter), they'll learn not to bite you very quickly.

-kelly

Peter C. Bogert said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Any ideas?

"Play with me."

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Several times a day he will want to get agressive and he will begin
mouthing
us. His "bites" are not severe, but he seems to feel the need to nibble.
He can get this way during playing tug of war, tossing a ball, or just
petting him.

This is a Lab thing. Instead of the stern "no bite" try crying "Owie!" in a
high-pitched voice and sulking like he hurt you. He doesn't want to hurt
you--that ends all his fun--so he'll learn quickly that biting is boring.

~Emily


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On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 18:27:26 -0400, "Peter C. Bogert"
wrote:

We're dealing with a near 5-month old yellow lab that we love a lot. He's
generally responding very well to commands and has become a good family pet.

Several times a day he will want to get agressive and he will begin mouthing
us. His "bites" are not severe, but he seems to feel the need to nibble.
He can get this way during playing tug of war, tossing a ball, or just
petting him.

When he is reprimanded (a stern "No bite!") he looks at us and then barks.
It almost seems like a power play issue.

I don't think your five-month old puppy is trying to dominate you,
Peter. I think it sounds like mis-communication. It's how dogs play,
and maybe he doesn't know, intuitively, that people don't like to play
that way. Try acting all injured and hurt instead of projecting
authority, crying "ouch" and turning away from him to "nurse your
wound" for a few seconds. But I'm not the resident expert by any
means. What should this guy do, Jerry?

Charlie

We're trying to substitute objects (i.e. give him a toy when he tries to
gnaw a hand), removing our hands from him, etc. But we don't seem to be
getting anywhere.

Any ideas?



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"Charlie Wilkes" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 18:27:26 -0400, "Peter C. Bogert"
wrote:

We're dealing with a near 5-month old yellow lab that we love a lot.
He's
generally responding very well to commands and has become a good family
pet.

Several times a day he will want to get agressive and he will begin
mouthing
us. His "bites" are not severe, but he seems to feel the need to nibble.
He can get this way during playing tug of war, tossing a ball, or just
petting him.

When he is reprimanded (a stern "No bite!") he looks at us and then
barks.
It almost seems like a power play issue.

I don't think your five-month old puppy is trying to dominate you,
Peter. I think it sounds like mis-communication. It's how dogs play,
and maybe he doesn't know, intuitively, that people don't like to play
that way. Try acting all injured and hurt instead of projecting
authority, crying "ouch" and turning away from him to "nurse your
wound" for a few seconds. But I'm not the resident expert by any
means. What should this guy do, Jerry?

Charlie

We're trying to substitute objects (i.e. give him a toy when he tries to
gnaw a hand), removing our hands from him, etc. But we don't seem to be
getting anywhere.

Any ideas?



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Thanks for all of your comments. Usually this does happen when he is being
played with (suddenly the need to play ball becomes a need to play "put the
hand in the mouth." What are some other non-dominant things that we can
give him to play with/play with him? He likes to play tug of war, wrestling
a ball or Korg toy away, etc.


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