She bites!!

by **msvette2u** » August 24th, 2006, 9:13 pm

Azia, the new foster we have, BITES!!!
By "bites" I mean she is very affectionate and uses her teeth to show it. She will wagging and loving and wagging and then she takes ahold of your hand with her teeth.
If she was going to be my dog I'd not think as much of it but the intent of course is to adopt her out when she's had some basic training and is fixed, etc.
So what do I do when she does this? I've taken her muzzle and gently squeezed it and told her "no" and redirected the attention, such as petting or whatever, but is this the correct thing to do?
I also figure part of it is that she has been at the shelter 2-3 days so is just really HAPPY to be out and with us. She's VERY people oriented.

by **mnp13** » August 24th, 2006, 9:38 pm

In my world a "bite" is something that breaks the skin. this sounds like over zealous mouthing.

When she grabs your hand, grab her lower jaw and put your thumb on her tongue and hold it down. She's not going to like it...

I would not pet her, that will reinforce the behavior.

by **SpiritFngrz** » August 24th, 2006, 9:39 pm

OMG Satin was so bitey when we got her and it was her way of showing excitement and "playing." The bitter apple curbed it a lot. I would either put it on my hands when I knew she was gearing up to bite me, or when she did I would squirt it in her mouth. She learning biting was disgusting!

by **prinpoms** » August 24th, 2006, 9:42 pm

I tried the bitter apple with Baby too because she would get all excited and "flea bite" when she was kissing. It didn't work though, she'd lick it off then flea bite again! LOL But putting my thumb on her tongue and holding her bottom jaw seemed to work. She is the only dog I ever had that actually loved the bitter apple! Strange dog sometimes

by **Marinepits** » August 24th, 2006, 9:49 pm

Every time one of my bratty little pups tried the "mouthy" crap, I'd take my hand away and stuff a toy into their mouths. I now have four crazy dogs that run for their toys and then push the toys into my hands every time they get super-excited.

Plus, Katy does the "Look at me! I got a toy!" Happy Dance -- she parades around grumbling around the toy in her mouth and her tail wags so hard and fast that she smacks her own ribs.

by **Magnolia618** » August 24th, 2006, 10:46 pm

When I got my foster, Jilly, she had a thing for biting your chin

Everytime she did it, I grabbed her muzzle and said "NO BITE!" When I grabbed her muzzle she would bite down on her tongue. She learned very quick!

by **msvette2u** » August 24th, 2006, 10:55 pm

Good suggestions! I always expect some jumping up and having to work on that but I think mouthy dogs, well that's difficult to explain why she'd not be good with small KIDS :shock:

So she's going to some mini-boot camp...

by **katiek0417** » August 25th, 2006, 6:55 am

Some dogs are more mouthy than others....Sacha wouldn't DREAM of putting her teeth on me....Nisha does it all the time in play, and no matter what I do, it doesn't go away.

One thing someone told me is a combination of what Magnolia and Michelle say. A trainer told me to grab the lower muzzle, wrap your hand around it so that the tongue is getting pushed onto the teeth....

by **jlewin** » August 25th, 2006, 10:39 am

depending on how young this foster is sometimes just teaching a soft mouth in other situations (i.e. tug toys, taking treats) will reverse all mouthing. can't guarantee it but it is always worth a try with young ones before forcing it. if you need help teaching a soft mouth let me know

by **msvette2u** » August 25th, 2006, 10:55 am

She's about 5-6mos. she has those clean new adult teeth so didn't lose her puppy teeth TOO long ago.

by **jlewin** » August 25th, 2006, 10:57 am

i would say that soft mouth training is definatly in order. i cannot guarantee that it will solve all mouthing problems but it is a good start. i also feel that all pitbulls should be soft mouth trained and kept strict, one of those breed ambassador things. you don't need someone grabbing a tug toy and getting scraped by a canine tooth only to cry out that they got bit by a pit bull. if you need help with this training there may be a thread on it (new here so i'm not sure) or feel free to pm me. good luck.

by **a-bull** » August 25th, 2006, 11:16 am

She's still young, shouldn't be too big a deal.

I agree with Michelle~a "bite" is ill intended and/or breaks the skin.

A soft, quick muzzle touch MAYBE with one or two fingers, if done properly, can be effective, but can also backfire and tick some dogs off that weren't ticked to begin with. I'm not a fan of the whole making them bite their own tongue bit, either.

A schrill "uh!!" will usually do the trick. Occasionally you will get a dog that gets more fired up that way and mouths more, but not usually. In that case, removing your hand and ignoring usually works well.

Dogs that have been taken from their moms too young or that have been bounced around often do not have good bite inhibition, so I agree with "jlewin," also. This is a good time to teach her "soft mouth," or how to "go easy."

I have one who was Mr. Mouth, so rather than making it a constant issue, I did what Marinepits did---I taught him to "get a toy." He can't stand to greet anyone now without a toy in his mouth, and he was prone to a 'naughty mouth' before that.

by **a-bull** » August 25th, 2006, 11:22 am

msvette2u wrote:She's about 5-6mos. she has those clean new adult teeth so didn't lose her puppy teeth TOO long ago.

Oh, and she most likely still has teeth coming in~

Permanent canines can take up until around 6 months old, and then molars should be in by around 7 months . . . if I have my doggy dentistry correct.

by **msvette2u** » August 25th, 2006, 11:37 am

Good information!

She bites!!

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