Grabbing Hands - Saying "Let's Play"!

If he's really dead set against it, I know of two things that can be done.  

the first:  Every time she does it, he screams (yelps) turns and walks away.  

second: have him coat his hands in bitter apple the entire time he's at home, and completely ignore her when she does it.  (If your dog isn't swayed by bitter apple, you could try having him rub his hands in chewing tobacco.) 

 Hubby will get exactly what he reinforces by providing attention.  I say stand stock still, and become very boring - all fun stops.  But, that means no eye contact, no voice, no nothing - walk back into the house if necessary.  Dogs are quite capable of learning that their behavior causes certain things to happen, or stop happening.  Persistence is absolutely essential - you can't adopt this method, then after one try say it didn't work. 

Since the dog's mouth is four times faster than the human hand, Ed's suggestion of a disincentive substance slathered on the hands is ok, given that you might not even realize the dog's intention until the grab is over.  But, most dogs develop a taste for bitter apple - I'd dab a tiny bit of Vicks Vapo Rub there.  If you are going to yelp, however, remember this is an adult dog, not a pup that might be startled by a yip.  Make believe a car just hit you.  Still, no eye contact, and disappear from the room for at least two minutes.

A lot of herders have this muzzle on hand behavior, and personally, I don't find it a problem unless they have less than exquisite bite inhibition.  But, if you have a family member who objects to the feel of teeth or slobber, or your dogs will come into contact with anyone who has thin skin (children, elders) then you might want to discourage it.   

Thanks to you both. The bitter apple is not an option because he doesn't want that on his hands, besides, her "bite" is more of a touch. Her bite inhibition is perfect so she probably wouldn't even taste it. He might be able to try Vicks on the back of his hands, though...

They just had quite a play session outside, just the two of them and she didn't bark once and she LOVED it! She actually fetched for him, which I've never seen her do before. How could she fetch anything with Jaia in the picture?

Sometimes things are so simple and obvious,  I feel like smacking myself in the forehead and saying "Duh"!

I also feel very grateful that the problems I come here for help with are so minor. It could be so much worse!

Thanks again!  

When it comes to mouthing, I always use noise aversion such as "Ah, ah" or "Eh, eh", and then ignore the dog........hope that helps some.....

FourIsCompany

I also feel very grateful that the problems I come here for help with are so minor. It could be so much worse

I'm glad you worked it out.

Shadow will sometimes grab my hand. He has wonderful bite inhibition. I know this but not everyone else does. So, I discourage this move for the comfort sake of others. When he does it, I would curl my hand inward and turn away. When he quits trying to do that, I turn around and give him attention.

I'm glad she liked her play session with Daddy!!  I could not see my DH wearing Bitter Apple either, it burns and his hands are always chapped!  I remember with our GSD fosters, the males seemed to do well with a verbal "eh-eh", but the females ALWAYS did much better with just STOPPING petting or play.  They took longer, too.  Especially little Sela, that girl was so starved for attention.  Chaudron is responding very well to a verbal "Eh-eh!"  He is very much like a GSD in personality so far.