04/01/2024
I love this
🖐️ 🛑 🐶 YOU DON’T HAVE TO TOUCH THE PUPPY!
For two weeks after Mohawk arrived, I barely got to stroke him! I could tell that if I tried, he would likely mouth and bite me, and I didn’t want him to rehearse that any more than was inevitable.
In his second week with us, he got startled by an impact driver being used by a mechanic on our driveway. He scuttled inside and came to me for reassurance. Since then, he became a very affectionate dog, although there were still times where it would have been foolish to stroke or cuddle him!
So often I see puppies mouth/bite in response to being handled, whether that’s being picked up or stroked.
It can take a lot of self control to leave a cute puppy be. After all, we get pets so we can have that connection and boost that oxytocin!
Children can understandably struggle with exercising the self control needed to prevent or reduce the puppy mouthing or biting them. Over time, puppies can associate the presence of children with certain emotional or arousal responses and associated behaviours.
I get plenty of clients who report puppies immediately rushing at children entering the room to jump and mouth at them. This can be due to the increased stimulation that children may bring into the environment, such as an increase in noise, movement and/or an increase tactile contact!
You can’t STOP puppy mouthing tomorrow. It’s a development phase related behaviour. But you can prevent it becoming a behaviour that extends beyond the development phase and you can also reduce the intensity of the behaviour.
Whilst every puppy is different, Mohawk didn’t draw blood once as a puppy. Just a couple of teeth hole cags in my clothes! I imagine my ability to avoid hard mouthing was due to the following:
✅ Knowing when to stroke Mohawk.
✅ Spotting the early signs of mouthing/ the zoomies.
✅ Not excessively picking him up.
✅ Giving him plenty of things to chew, such as hooves, horns, raw meaty bones, dried animal body parts (when he was over ten weeks!).
To help reduce puppy mouthing here are ten tips:
1️⃣ Only pick your puppy up if you absolutely have to. Consider giving them a treat while being picked up to make it less unpleasant, unless they are super relaxed and non wriggly.
2️⃣ Let sleeping puppies be!
3️⃣ Hands off excitable or busy puppies! The best time to stroke a puppy is when they are relaxed and they have approached you asking for fuss!
4️⃣ Stop stroking after three seconds, see if the puppy asks for more. If they disengage, or ignore you or the person- that’ll be a ‘no thanks!’.
If the puppy is blissed out next to you with soft, closed eyes, or they ask for more then gentle strokes can continue, just watch for those eyes opening or then shifting their body away as an early sign they’re done with the fuss!
5️⃣ Have a barrier somewhere to put your puppy behind when they are about to get the zoomies or when children are exciteable in their behaviour! This is better in a social but quiet area, so the puppy is not isolated nor having rest inhibited by over stimulation. You should be able sit close to the barrier to be a calm reassuring presence - as social isolation generally doesn’t help most puppies calm down.
I prefer stair gates or large penned areas to crates, because puppies may need to move around to displace arousal or change where they rest in order to regulate their temoerature.
Have your puppy enjoy enrichment in this area across the day so they have positive associations with the area.
6️⃣ Look!
Look for the early signs of mouthing or the zoomies. If you are certain high intensity behaviour is about to begin, calmly guide your puppy behind the barrier and give them plenty to do (chews, Kongs, forage boxes). Sit close by!
Look at how your puppy responds to being touched. Do they mouth everytime you stroke them on the top of the head? That perhaps means they don't like it, and the easiest solution is to stop touching them on the head!
7️⃣ If your puppy is only mouthing somewhat more gently, but hard enough for you to want the behaviour to stop, then disengaging is usually enough! That may be withdrawing your hand away, folding arms, standing up etc. You DO NOT need to say “no” or “ahh ahh”, and I don't yelp intentionally (I allow myself to genuinely express a pain response, but do not do so to teach!)
Super inhibited mouthing is okay by the way! Just be clear and consistent as to what hard mouthing is, so your puppy learns what is too hard and what's not! :)
8️⃣ Make sure there’s plenty in the general environment for your puppy to displace their behaviour onto.
Plastic toys are not great chews. I recommend providing a variety of textures of natural hard chews but also providing edible chews once a day - always supervised!
You may need to rotate toys and chews to maintain your puppy's interest.
9️⃣ Be aware that redirection can be a reinforcer.
In other words, if your puppy mouths you with full awareness and intent, and you grab a toy to play- they can learn mouthing equals play. Disengage a little first, pause calmly and when the mouthing has stopped briefly, then redirect!
However, be mindful that exciting games sometimes riles puppies up more and only delays/fends off the mouthing briefly! Excitement is rarely the solution to calming a wound up puppy down, but games can be helpful when puppies are in a lower arousal state.
🔟 Calm yourselves 😆
Recognise when to stop the interactions or calm/wind them down. Humans are often awful at exhibiting self control when playing with puppies and often get them too riled up! Tickling them instead of calm strokes, playing games too excitedly or for too long! They then get frustrated at the puppy for mouthing, often unaware that they prompted that behaviour in how they interacted!
Remind yourself that between you and your puppy- you’re the species with the larger frontal cortex! 😂 🧠 You’ve got this! 💪
Lastly, stay calm! 😌
Take a deep breath 😮💨
Aim your swear words skywards 😤
Mouthing can be painful and frustrating, but telling a puppy off is unlikely going to help calm them down.
