mouthing

Question
Hello, Nicole.  My boxer, Duke, is 6 months old and mouths everything.  If one of my children are just walking through a room, he will put his mouth around their hand, or get their shirt sleeve and pull on it until they react which in turn gets Duke all excited and he then starts jumping, etc. etc.  I always so NO! NO! when he "bites" but so far, it's not working.  I am worried that I have to get him out of this habbit NOW or he may have to go before he hurts one of my kids.  He's not aggressive, but I can see the potential there if he doesn't stop.  Please help!  What should I do?

Answer
Hi Jayne,

The good news is Duke is acting completely normal.  :)  It's an easy behavior to conquer with consistency.  You've hit the nail on the head...the behavior is continuing because Duke is getting the reaction.  Lose the reaction, you'll eventually lose the behavior.

You don't say how old your children are but hopefully they're old enough that they can help you out.  When Duke starts to mouth, save your 'No'.  Use a squeak or an 'eh-eh'.  Puppies respond very well to a high-pitched, quick 'eee'.  Very similar to a puppy's yelp.  If you and your children can't figure out the noise, use a quick 'eh-eh'.  Save 'NO' for the important things (bolting, running into the street, etc.).  

A bit of an aside...what happens when you use 'no' for every bit of correction is that the dog begins to ignore it.  When you save it for what's important, it'll work much better.  He only understands sound...he has no idea what 'no' means.  Using a more guttural sound or a yelp will help you much more quickly.

Ok...when Duke bites, all action should stop.  He should get the squeak, arms should be crossed and backs should be turned.  Tell the kids to play like statues.  Beyond the squeak, he should be completely ignored.  No eye contact, no speaking, no touching. Once he's calm, the kids can walk again.  As soon as he mouths, they play statue.  On and on until they can get across the room.

If he mouths while you are sitting and relaxing, give the same squeak.  You can redirect his energy to a toy, praising him with a 'good toy' when he takes it.

Right now he's teething, he's going to want to mouth a lot.  Dogs teeth for a year (it takes that long for the adult teeth to come in and then settle in place).  What you can do to help him out is either buy some cheap rope toys or a bundle of face towels.  Get them soaking wet (wring the towels, not to rid them of water but to get them into that shape) and stick them in the freezer.  When he gets a bit mouthy, pull one out and let him chew it.  When it thaws, go get another...keep replacing them as long as he has interest.  As with any time you let your dog chew on something, he should be supervised.

If you've not yet, now is also a great time to get him enrolled in an obedience class.  :)