Almost deaf Dane is mouthing harder.

Question
I just adopted a Great Dane from a local rescue to replace my baby who died in July.  This boy is not deaf but is very hard of hearing.  He is 4 years old, full of energy and loves to play.  If he wants to play he will grab my hand and gently tug on it.  However if we go outside to play and run around the only thing he wants to do is grab my hand and he clamps down a little too hard at times.  Since he can't hear that well, what can I do to let him know I don't want him doing that but that it's still ok to run around together?

Answer
Congrats on your adopted Dane, and thank you so much for rescuing...especially a dog that is hard of hearing as they are very difficult to place and usually spend a lot of time in foster care.

What you are going to want to do it immediately stop the play when he mouths too hard, turn around and do not pay attention to him. Also, you should begin to initiate play in a different way. Do not let him grab your hand, even if he does it very gently because this can start to get rougher and rougher as time goes on. When you are working on this outside, make sure that you do not get frustrated as it is something you are going to need to constantly work on until he understands it.

If he grabs at your hand, teach him a hand signal that means "no" and put a toy or something he enjoys playing with in his mouth so that he understands that your hand is not a toy. What he will eventually learn with this is that if he wants you to play with him, he needs to bring a toy over and show you he wants to play, rather then putting his mouth on your hand.

Please let me know how that goes, otherwise there are other options but these ones usually will do the trick...

Again congrats on your new rescue Dane baby!