Mouthing Problem continuing....

    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: WolfDog

    Allright, no rolling the dog over. The problem with the crossing arms thing is that he'll begin to bite the meat of my legs, or my butt, which hurt way more than the hand, and this guy's jaws are moderately strong. Oh yeah, also, I tried closing his mouth, but he'd just bite right after that, so... is it normal for them to still be mouthing at this age? (approx 14 months). And Chuffy, I seriously doubt he's still teething, from what I read they stop teething at 10 months, and he's way past that.



    No, it is not normal for a dog to still be mouthing a human at this age.  Something has caused him to think it is ok.  From your posts, I assume that he is either being aggressive in response to your aggression (baring his teeth suggests that maybe your alpha rolling, and the holding of his muzzle, and whatever other "corrections" you tried, were interpreted in that way), or he simply is being reinforced for it somehow - some dogs seek attention, and they may perceive eye contact, pushing (interpreted as play), or even noise (your voice saying commands or phrases that the dog doesn't understand yet) as rewarding in some way.
    The best advice I could give you right now is to forget watching CM - you probably don't need a behaviorist, but I'd rather see you engage the services of one before taking TV advice that may not be ok for your particular dog.
    That said, the best way to stop mouthing is to ignore it.  If you want, you can dab a tiny bit of Vicks Vapo Rub on your hands to make them unappealing, but the real key is that the dog not be punished, spoken to, made eye contact with, etc. for putting his mouth on human skin.  For that behavior he gets a big fat NOTHING.  Dogs do what works for them, and they stop doing things that don't produce a result for them.  The problem is that he may get wayyyyyy more annoying before the behavior completely stops (called an "extinction burst" - Google on it).  At any rate, your continued attempts at controlling this physically are likely to get you bitten, since he is right at the age when he is trying to figure out who is going to lead his pack.  If you ignore him, you control interactions, he doesn't.  Something to add to your leadership toolbox. [;)]

    BTW, nothing is stopping you from just walking into the bathroom and closing the door, so if he is persistent, leave him in his own vacuum that way. [:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Allright, I'll try that, and keep you guys updated on how it works.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Allright, things are going pretty good. I also give a choke collar correction before i walk into a different room. and i always say no when i do the correction, so he associates no with the collar correction. You can kill two birds with one stone.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Ummm, I think all you are accomplishing is for him to associate you and the word NO with his neck hurting.....
    • Gold Top Dog
    My guty feeling is that he does not need the choke correction.  You are using a sledgehamer to crack a nut. 

    In addition, you are delaying the "time out" by giving the correction and "No" in between and therefore lessening it's effectiveness.  For the dog to learn "when I mouth, the fun ends and he leaves me!" it has to be immediate and uncluttered.  Am I making sense? 

    You know that whatever follows the dogs action (praise, reward or whatever) has to be within a second or two of the behaviour occurring right?  Well, it takes longer than that to administer the correction and the "No" so by the time you leave the room, the dog likely has no idea what you are leaving for.  He doesn't connect it with his mouthing.
    • Gold Top Dog
    mudpuppy is dead on........btw., never seen a Husky teething beyond 12 months of age.................
    • Gold Top Dog
    You might want to read this part of Spiritdogs post again.

    From your posts, I assume that he is either being aggressive in response to your aggression (baring his teeth suggests that maybe your alpha rolling, and the holding of his muzzle, and whatever other "corrections" you tried, were interpreted in that way), or he simply is being reinforced for it somehow - some dogs seek attention, and they may perceive eye contact, pushing (interpreted as play), or even noise (your voice saying commands or phrases that the dog doesn't understand yet) as rewarding in some way.

    T
    ORIGINAL: WolfDog

    Allright, things are going pretty good. I also give a choke collar correction before i walk into a different room. and i always say no when i do the correction, so he associates no with the collar correction. You can kill two birds with one stone.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I think you should begin thinking in terms of rewarding good behavior, and not being so quick to "correct" this dog physically.  He has already shown you that he is willing to defend himself, so please learn how to be a leader without being aggressive yourself.
    Patricia McConnell has a great little book, "How to Be the Leader of the Pack and Have Your Dog Love You for It"  Do yourself a favor and get it.
    And, buy a clicker.
    www.clickerlessons.com
    • Gold Top Dog
    I prefer not to use check chains anyway and tend to lean towards more positive methods, but it bothers me a lot when they are used wrongly....  Definately abandon the check chain, using it incorrectky can be hugely harmful and constitutes abuse IMO.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I also have a siberian husky with a mouthing problem. She is 7 months old and I have tried a variety of things. I say "no bite" when she bites me and have been doing that since we brought her home at 8 weeks and she still doesn't get it.
     
    We use bitter apple spray, but like TinaK said my dog runs away when she sees the bottle but when I sit the bottle down she comes right back for some more biting. I'm going to stop that because obviously thats not working.
     
    I have tried to ignore her after biting but I have nowhere on the 1st floor of my house to hide for a minute, there are no doors and to go shut myself in the bathroom I have to go upstairs and by the time we get up the steps, the dog forgets what she did. When I turn my back to her to ignore her she bites at my legs like Wolfdog's.
     
    My husbands the one that wanted this Husky and he never told me about how hard they can be to take care of, and guess who is the one thats around to take care of her? It's not him because he works alot.