dog who mouths and paws

Question
I have a 12 month old Newfoundland that we have had since 8 weeks of age.  She has been through puppy and one obedience class. I noticed right away that she seemed to have a tendency to "mouth" more than any other dog or puppy I have had.  She will grab hands, arms, wrists etc. with her mouth.  It does not seem so much a biting action more of a grabbing.  She also will paw at you to get attention.  At 130 lbs, these behaviors can hurt!  We have ignored the unwanted behaviors and tried to reinforce good behavior, but I worry because as she grows she seems to use these behaviors more and more.  She also has a definite issue with people/children who are physically smaller than her.  Even as a young puppy if was very difficult to play or sit on the ground beside her.  She will begin to grab and chew on your arms, wrists and hands to get your attention, even though you are right there beside her trying to pet her.  I only feel somewhat in control of her while I am standing. When we tell her "NO!" she sometimes becomes even more excited and hard to control.  Is she challenging us for pack leader?  It is so hard to enjoy being around her.  Will this improve with age??

Answer
First, this is an active dog and needs a lot of physical and mental exercise. Second, being a water dog, she has a "soft mouth" for bringing back game or rescue work.

To stop thje mouthing, get the plastic lemon juice bottle from a grocery and squirt it on stuff she likes to mouth, then encourge the dog to get it. The ugly taste should deter the dog. We show this in our DVD.  Put it on your hands, then hold a small treat so the dog has to touch your fingers to touch the treat. The ugly taste again trains the dog not to touch your hand, only the treat. You can use bitter apple, tobasco sauce, other tastes the dog does nto like. If the dog bites, squirt the juice directly into the mouth of the dog and say no bite.  

Make sure the dog has things it can chew, and puzzle food toys to exercise mouth and brain.

The opposite of reward is no reward, not punishment. All rewards and corrections must be done immediately because after 3 seconds the dog doesn't remember what it did.

Train the dog nothing in life is free. It must "work" for anything. That means follow a command. Even a simple sit.  No food, treat, affection, toys unless the dog complies.  Then teach the dog to come when called. When it does a sit stay, come, sit sequence they it gets lots of affection.  I am never sure what people mean by an obedience training because it could run from a sloppy chain store $99 rip off to a full blown $500 professional course. Our book and DVD and on site training use agiity equipment and other items to find hidden traits, phobias and quirks, and must be done with other dogs for socialization skills.  

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC
www.dogkennel.org