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"Dear Penny" - Help! I have a mouthy puppy
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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 webring 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 outlet for their energy, and in the absence of the normal instinctive things to do, they pick their own (often inappropriate ways to direct their energy. This is what leads to nuisance behavior like destructiveness or mouthiness. The best way we can combat that is to engage the dog in activities that stimulate his brain in a similar way to 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 things: 1.) It suppresses arousal, 2.) It suppresses frustration, and 3.) It suppresses fear. These are all really important, with arousal and frustration being the key benefits for your puppy in particular. (By the way, humans have a seeking system too. It’s why we become depressed without a job, hobbies, or social interactions with family or friends.)
So, how do we activate the seeking system? We do so by engaging the dog in problem-solving tasks. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to switch from feeding kibble out of the bowl to using a food toy like a Kong Wobbler, Kibble Nibble, or other food-dispensing toy. With these toys, the dog has to bat the toy around to get each piece of kibble to come out. With this replication of “searching” for food, your pup will be problem-solving how to get the food out and seeking where it landed. Voila!
Food puzzles are great because they are Seeking System activities your dog can do independently; simply load the toy and let them go at it! You can use meal time with a food-dispensing toy as the beginning of a daily lineup of seeking activities sprinkled throughout the day. The more outlets they have, the calmer they will be. If you notice your pup gets especially mouthy at certain times of a day, plan another problem-solving or seeking task for him. Clicker training a skill is a great problem-solving task to add, plus it acts as an opportunity to bond! The act of learning is so beneficial to a growing pup’s brain! Scent games (often called “nosework”) area fun and inexpensive type of seeking activity. Hide-and-seek a treat or your dog’s favorite toy. Sprinkle in a walk outside or physical activity in the yard into your lineup and you’re off to the races!
Defense Plan: Responding to Mouthiness
Because you have a puppy that is still learning their manners, you are likely to have mouthiness even with a good offensive plan. When the mouthy pup comes out to play, here’s some do’s and don’ts.
• DON’T yell at the dog. This can increase their arousal and lead to more mouthiness
• DON’T push the dog off because dogs have an opposition reflex and when you push them. they usually instinctively spring back thinking you’re playing. Again - more arousal, more frustration.
• DO teach your dog a calm behavior you can redirect them to do while also interrupting the mouthy behavior. Think of something incompatible with jumping or mouthing you. “Sit” is a good choice. Teach “sit” and reward them heavily with treats so their desire to perform the behavior is well established. By cueing a behavior that they know to do and love to perform, you snap them out of their brawny state and into a brainy mindset! Let’s get that thinking brain going!
• DO redirect him to something else more appropriate once you interrupt the behavior with “sit” or another chosen command. The burst of mouthiness is your pup’s way of communicating that they need an energy release. Options for redirection include: engaging in a problem-solving activity, outdoor activities, giving them a bone or a frozen Kong, or possibly putting them in their kennel for a nap.
You may also consider using timeouts. When the dog begins their mouthiness, you signal that you are withdrawing all interaction. You can pick any cue that works for you - maybe the word “Nope!” and then promptly remove yourself from the room. Timeouts are most effective when they are short (about 30 seconds).Come back into the room and provided the dog is calm and not engaging in other inappropriate behaviors. Expect the dog will likely act up again and when they do, simply say “nope!” and leave again. It’s through this repetition that the consequences become clear.
