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  1. #1
    House Broken Starla's Avatar
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    A little help please...

    I adopted my Starla girl back in June from a family that obviously didn't know what they were getting into when they took the cute little puppy home. She turned 1 on July 9th. They said she has aggression issues. She had no such thing!!! She is the sweetest!! She was however a complete spaz when we first got her. It's amazing what exercise and mental stimulation will get you! I have never owned a Lab, but I knew what I was getting into. I was looking for a hiking partner and breed that could keep up with my active lifestyle and she found me. I will admit, the first month was rough, but we have figured out *most* of the issues. We are fixing to start obedience classes. She knows sit and down... As long as you have a treat in your hand lol but....

    She thinks she has to chew on you when showing affection... I say ouch and pull my hand back. I ignore her when she goes to put my hand in her mouth... She still does it 😁 is this something that will pass with time? She doesn't bite down, but she is big... Any other suggestions for discouraging this behavior?

    Tug of war is her favorite game to play... Tug with her rope is ok... Tug with the towels, sheets, shoes, chunkit launcher and everything else she gets that we don't want her to chew up and destroy, not so ok. She thinks it's a game. Do I take the game of tug away from her completely?

    Thanks in advance!

    -D-
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  2. #2
    Best Friend Retriever xracer4844's Avatar
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    Absolutely start with obedience classes. That will be the most beneficial thing for you both. They will teach you how to deal with a lot of the behaviors you don't like. In my opinion, a dog that age should know a lot more than sit and down without the need for food. You will both build a strong bond and trust in obedience training. I am a strong believer in that. Find a reputable trainer that uses a mix between positive reinforcement as well as corrections - that is the advice I give everyone.

    Personally, I don't allow dogs to touch me anywhere with their teeth. I consider that to be unacceptable, regardless if it is affection, or play. I may consider it to be play, but a child or a stranger won't think the same thing, so I just don't allow it. You can yelp, and curl up and cry and walk away and ignore - these all work. Personally, I jowl pinch. Only you can show the dog what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to you. The dog won't know and "grow out of things" if they are never shown differently. This is why I always recommend obedience classes. Not only will it show you how to train your pup, but it will also give you an opportunity to speak to your trainer about certain things you want to change and how to address different issues.


    In my opinion - I don't play tug of war. Tug of war with your dog exercises the dogs jaw muscles, it exercises head shaking, it exercises the dogs ability to growl, it teaches them that if they try hard enough, they can take things away from you. I am not saying it is bad for a dog. There is nothing wrong with playing tug with a dog...however, I don't recommend playing tug until you have a strong relationship with your dog and the groundwork of obedience is understood. I wouldn't play tug with a dog that also hasn't learnt that teeth on skin is not allowed - if a dog is playing tug and begins losing "grip" with their mouth, they will re-grip and can possibly bite down on your hand without meaning to. A dog that hasn't been taught this yet, I wouldn't play tug with. To a dog at this stage, they don't associate a certain toy with tug, they think that everything is a game and everything can be a tug game. When you let go and the dog takes what he/she is tugging, to the dog they just "won" the game. The especially love it if they take something away from you, win in a game of tug and then you chase them around until you can catch them and take it away. This is a dogs favorite game.

    In my opinion, I wouldn't play tug until you have taught the dog that you are in charge...when you can initiate a game of tug, and they say "okay done" and the dog releases immediately and leaves the toy alone and the game ends. Tug isn't like playing fetch. It's fun to watch and its funny to see them try to win, but it's also a predatory behavior, to bite, hold on, head shake etc.

    I know with police dogs that I have been able to work with, when they play tug games as a reward for good work, they let the dog play tug, and then call them off of the tug. That tug gets put away and the dog is not allowed to use it or play with it until their handler initiates the tug game during a training or working session. These are dogs that are trained in bite work and their release commands need to be perfect at all times.
    Last edited by xracer4844; 09-22-2014 at 11:02 PM. Reason: spelling

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    I have one here who was mouthy as a pup but I discouraged that immediately. Don't be afraid to let them know that NO means NO. Do you want your grandchild, grandmother or elderly neighbor's arm to bruise? I'm sure not. Just tell her Leave It and No! If you have to tap her on the head or snout, not a biggie. That to me, is a NO.

    I also do not play tug w/ my dogs. I don't care if they want to play amongst themselves, but I don't put myself on the same level in that regard. We have other ways to bond and build relationships here and I prefer to be a little above in the end. But... I have 8.

    Get yourself into a good BALANCED obedience class (one that also allows corrections in addition to reward) and I'm sure you will be happier. And thank you for taking on this pup. I also do rescue... Anne
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  6. #4
    House Broken Starla's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by windycanyon View Post
    And thank you for taking on this pup. I also do rescue... Anne
    My aunt is huge in the Irish wolfhound(she has had 6 at once) rescues. I knew I would find a rescue when I decided to get a dog.

  7. #5
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    I also don't allow mouthing on my body parts and have discouraged it in pups I've had who seemed so inclined.

    We got Sunnie "used" and she has a tendency to mouth me on occasion...when she's excited about walkies, usually....but is very gentle and it's just one nibble or two at the time. I ignore it with her because she's so neurotic that correcting her even with a gentle reprimand seems to devastate her. And she'll pout for hours and avoid me afterwards.

    But I've known other peoples' grown dogs who insist on having my hand/arm in their mouths...as if to lead me around. At least those dogs have been gentle. I don't know if that behavior started out as more intense mouthing when they were puppies or not but at least it wasn't "bad" at the time I was experiencing it. (My first time with this was with an unknown dog....a huge Chocolate I found wandering around and took home while I tried to find the owners....freaked me out at first but then I realized he wasn't intent on biting.)

  8. #6
    House Broken Starla's Avatar
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    She doesn't really mouth like y'all are saying... Well I guess she does in a way. She doesn't try to lead me that way and she doesn't *always* do it. She use to, but we have broken that for the most part. When I get home or when she is wanting to crawl up in my lap I will get down on my knees (once she calms) and love on her so she sees she doesn't have to do all that to get some lovin and that's when she will *mouth* my arm while she is on her back getting her belly rub on


    tug toys have mysteriously disappeared so tug is a game of the past (at least until she learns the rules) and obedience classes start Saturday ��

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  10. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Tug is a great game and the best reward for some dogs and can be used to enhance training. But there are rules. The tug toy is yours and the dog should give it up when you say so, same as all other toys. I think you nailed it in your comment above when you say it's a game of the past "until she learns the rules."

    The Malligator (Malinois) who shows up at our Rally trials works so hard for a tug but all she gets is a brief shake of it and then it's back hidden in her owner's pocket. It's probably in her mouth for scant seconds. I sure would not want that dog to miss and get my hand but she knows the game rules.

    All that said I don't play tug either but because my dog doesn't want to. Funny, he will pull on the leash but not on the tug. I don't let him pull on the leash but he'll forget and try sometimes.

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  12. #8
    Senior Dog WhoopsaDaisy's Avatar
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    If she loves tug so much, you can use it as a reward instead of treats when you are training her. Then have her drop it and go back into training mode. This will really get her to love and engage in training.
    I would work on sits, downs, stays, go to a place, and recalls. Make them short quick sessions (5 mins) a few times a day with a game of tug after every session.
    Also, it's your choice game: google it there is probably a video. Its a game where you put treats close and if they don't grab it then you reward with a treat. It teaches impulse control, I would do it every day.
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  14. #9
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    We learned how to 'properly' play tug in Puppy Kindergarten. We initially planned on not playing it at all, but he does enjoy it and it helps burn energy, so once we worked on the right way to do it it became a really fun game.

    Basically, there are two steps to the tug game:
    1. 'take it' - permission to put his mouth on the tug toy.
    (tug tug tug, play play play)
    2. 'give' - let go and stop the play immediately.

    The idea is that the human is always in control - we tell him when to start and when to stop. He gets to play and pull and growl in between, but the minute we say give he has to let go. We didn't start the tug game util he knew those two commands strongly in other contexts. If he ever broke one of those rules - grabbed the toy without us giving him permission, or wouldn't give it when asked, the toy immediately got put away and the game stopped. That only happened a few times, and now he's really good about the game. We use ONE specific rope toy for the tug game and don't play it with any other of his toys, so when he sees that one come out he knows he's in for a treat! He also doesn't try to initiate a tug game with other toys or items (shoes).
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