dear
A monthly behavioral advice column empowering readers, through increased knowledge of behavior and training concepts, to resolve problematic pet behaviors, and to strengthen the human-animal bond. PENNY TO THE RESCUE!
This month Penny provides advice about how to deal with mouthy doggos!
Dear Penny We recently adopted a 4-month-old puppy named Sherman and we are so in love! There’s one challenge we are dealing with & we hope you can help. Sherman gets mouthy when he’s excited, and the more excited he gets, the more the nibbling escalates. He hasn’t broken skin and it doesn’t leave a mark but it hurts! When he’s really worked up, efforts to stop him seem to make it worse. We know his intention is NOT to be aggressive but we want to curb the behavior while he’s young!
- Mouthy Mutt Mama
Dear Mouthy Mutt Mama Mouthiness in puppies is pretty common, but resolving the issue while the puppy is young is a very smart idea. The earlier you address a behavior concern, the easier it is to resolve. Plus - you are right! Sherman is a growing boy and what is a nuisance behavior in a young puppy often becomes a major concern when a dog in an adult-sized body is showing the same unwanted behaviors. Much like human children, puppies have a lot of energy to expend in between naps. When puppies are anxious, it can be calming to chew, lick, or hold something in their mouth, kind of like a baby with a pacifier. Excited dogs can have a strong oral fixation as they seek ways to self-sooth their anxiety. Finding ways to decrease Sherman’s arousal will be the key to resolving this issue. I tend to recommend a holistic approach and try to come up with a plan for how to reduce the likelihood of your pup being mouthy, and then make a plan for what to do if the mouthiness does happen. So, let’s discuss how to tackle both of these!
Offense Plan: How to reduce your dog’s mouthy behaviors If Sherman were a dog in the wild, he would have to work for everything he needs to survive. Seeking food, water, shelter, and eventually a girlfriend would fill his time and give him a normal, healthy outlet for his natural instincts. But when we bring dogs into our homes and give them nearly all the things they need with little effort required on their part, they end up having a lot of energy left. The problem is that most dogs lack an Puppies learn how to outlet for their energy, temper the pressure of their bite during play with their and in the absence of the littermates and interactions normal instinctive things with their mother. Experts to do, they pick their own believe that this skill is not (often inappropriate) learned until 7 weeks of age. ways to direct their During play, when a puppy energy. This is what leads uses too much pressure, to nuisance behavior their playmate may squeal or yelp, giving timely like destructiveness or feedback that the pressure mouthiness. The best was too much. Puppies that way we can combat that are separated from their is to engage the dog in litter before 8 weeks of activities that stimulate age are less aware of their his brain in a similar way to pressure. that of a wild dog seeking resources to survive. I’m not suggesting we turn them out and let them fend for themselves, but we want to achieve the same impact on the dog’s brain. When dogs are seeking resources it activates a primal system in the brain called the “Seeking System.” This system is important because when it is activated, it does 3 magical
