Good play...bad play

[Darla'sdad]

Our 7 month old brindle female loves to play, boy does she love to play However, when she plays she likes to "mouth" you continually. Your hands, arms, legs...it doesn't matter. I am concerned about 2 things. First of all, I am afraid she may become aggressive and a biter. Second, it hurts. What is the best way to deal with this? We love her and want this to be a great relationship.

 

[courtney323]

Darla'sdad -

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[gmacleod]

The best way to deal with it is to refuse to play any longer when she bites too hard.

What is normally recommended with baby puppies is that you let them mouth you to an extent, but when they put any pressure into the bite, you immediately shriek "ouch" and retire "wounded" from the game. That is what a puppy's littermates would do, and it is how puppies learn about bite pressure and how to inhibit their bite. It is better than never allowing a pup to put it's mouth on you - because if the pup can't use it's mouth, then it can't learn about inhibiting the pressure it uses. And a dog that knows how to inhibit it's bite is far less likely to ever bite seriously - any warning nips it might give in it's life will be without pressure. But a warning nip from a dog that doesn't know about bite inhibition will be a hard bite. Make sense?

Now your girl is well beyond being a baby puppy, but you can still use that technique to teach her. She is playing, even if she's biting, and she wants to continue to play. If you always stop playing and turn away (walk away if you need to) and refuse to play with her if she bites with any pressure, then she will learn that she must not bite if she wants to continue to play. So she'll learn to inhibit her bite.

Here's a short article about puppy biting: http://www.boxerworld.com/puppy/biting/ It is also aimed at baby puppies, but you can still apply those techniques to a 7 month old with success. You could also do a search of the forums for more information - there are many many previous threads on biting, and others' experiences that you can put to good use.

 

[apollosdad]

i agree with gmacleod's advice. i've done that with all the pups i've had in the past and that behavior stopped after a few days.

 

[Darla'sdad]

Okay, I have tried the "walking away" strategy, but she just thinks that is another invitation to play and proceeds to try and tackle me by wrapping both of her front legs around mine and then bites at my pants as I walk. I actually can't help but laugh, and that may be part of the problem. She loves to play by biting at my hands. I have tried to displace that by using a tug toy and that helps, but I am not sure it is addressing the bigger issue.

 

[gmacleod]

LOL - yes, I'm afraid laughing isn't going to help much. She's trying to engage you in play, it's just that her method isn't a desirable one. So to pursuade her of that, you have first to pursuade her that it doesn't work - which really means not engaging.

If ignoring her, or walking away really isn't working then you may have to resort to putting her in a "time-out" place. A puppy pen is probably ideal. Or alternatively, when you do the "walk away" thing, you can leave the room and shut the door so she can't follow. Either way, the effect is the same - she's left isolated and you won't play. So she should learn that biting achieves the opposite of what she wanted, and will eventually give it up (note that is eventually, not in five minutes).

 

[apollosdad]

instead of the "walking away" method try simply turning away from her with your arms folded across themselves and make the turn away from her, sort of dramatic. this way she will not think that you walking away is engaging in play time. do not make any eye contact with her or even acknowledge she is there. simply wait her out. this might take time for her to calm down, but eventually she should get the picture. after the first time, she should get the hang of it pretty quickly, but be consistent.