My new dog is mouthy

Question
I adopted a 1 year old mix a few months ago. She is my first dog and I'm very pleased with our relationship.  We have 2 problems: 1. she nips at my heels when I walk at home.  2. She is very mouthy and her teeth will graze my skin while playing.

We go on 2 half hour walks a day and we go to the dog park a couple of times a week.  We play tug and fetch everyday.  We are participating in an obedience class, which we both enjoy.  While she is great, I just don't trust her with other people at all because of her mouthy behavior and I would like to find a way to end it.

Thank you for your assistance.

Answer
Hi, Mon,

Thanks for the question.

It's an interesting situation. Puppies are attracted to everything in their environment through their teeth. Most dog owners find this troublesome and will try to stop their pup's mouthiness by punishing and scolding the dog. The problem is, dogs are designed by nature to be this way, which means the oral urges are like a force of nature that can't be stopped. When an owner IS successful at stopping their pup's oral urges, other, more serious behavioral problems develop. This is one of the primary reasons dogs end up at shelters. Also, there's been a terrible trend recently among breeders of sending their pups to a new home at too early an age, well before their normal bite inhibition, which they learn from their mother and littermates, has had a chance to develop and set in. So your new dog may have these two strikes against her.

However, the fact that she's so openly oral with you is a GOOD THING! The chances are that she's only acting this way with you because she loves you and trusts you. It's doubtful that she'd nip and mouth, let alone actually bite, someone she doesn't know. And you're already doing one of the best things in the world for such a dog: she'll learn a lot about bite inhibition from her pals at the dog park.

As for nipping at your heels when you're walking around the house, what I'd do is stop walking, stand perfectly still, then tell her to go get a toy. DON'T SCOLD HER! She's using her teeth to reduce internal tension, and scolding will only increase her tension. If she doesn't respond properly, stand your ground and tell her to go get a toy. If she still persists, give her a time out in her crate. She'll quickly learn that when she feels "nippy" she should go grab a toy.

When you play tug with her, just make sure to always let her win and praise her for winning. And whenever her teeth stray onto your skin while play, immediately stop the game and ignore her. If you're consistent in enforcing this rule, whether with tug or fetch, she'll soon get the "idea" that teeth on skin makes the fun stop.

I hope this helps,

LCK