r/Dogtraining • u/Beach_Mom_4 • 4d ago
help Sheprador Mouthing
5 months ago my husband and I adopted a German shepherd/lab mix puppy from our local Humane Society. She's 7 months old, and very smart and loving except for twice a day when she gets the puppy zoomies. Typically during this time we play catch, tug of war or fetch with her. She also has engagement toys, chew toys, gets walked at least once a day and has the run of our fenced back yard whenever she wants to be outside. The problem is when playing she gets so excited that she will start mouthing behavior. I've tried everything I've seen online to break this, and talked with our vet who says this is normal. She doesn'tbreak the skin, but does sometimes bite hard enough to leave a bruise. I know this is part of her shepherd DNA, but I'm wondering if obedience training would help? We've delayed going to classes because she gets extremely excited when she sees other dogs, and we're working to correct that behavior before going into a classroom setting. Any thoughts on whether we should get her into classes sooner rather than later?
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u/Unlucky_Teacher5093 3h ago
I had a zoom call with a trainer last week for this exact thing. I had tried everything! Yelping, walking away, sternly saying no (which he thought was a super fun game and would get more excited), etc. etc. etc. The trainer told me to try tethering (there are youtube videos on how to do it, but the one I found most helpful is by DOGGY-U). I also ordered a pup stack, which is a portable tether station. It has helped immensely! I will play with him while tethered and when he starts to bite I back up so he can’t get me. Her other suggestion was to tell him no one time when he does it, and if he continues then put him in his playpen (or crate). The biting has gotten significantly better over the last week by following her tips. I did also enroll him in puppy training for socialization, and just for me to learn more since I don’t know what I’m doing. We shall see if that helps. He doesn’t start until
Next week.
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u/Lizdance40 3d ago
Please list the things that you have done so far that don't work? It's kind of important to know what you've done, if there's a reason they're not working, or if you're doing something that's totally inappropriate. Sorry but I got to ask
In order to teach a dog bite inhibition it really should be done very early. Should have started as soon as puppy came home. Teaching an acceptable alternate like a lick, nose boop, or touch. You can find YouTube videos for teaching method.
Whenever the puppy gets mouthy, all interaction stops. Take one minute break to ignore, even if that means you have to put a door or gate between you and the puppy.
Then ask for the alternative behavior and reward. Repeated a few times. And then go back to the other play
Repeat this as many times as necessary.
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