When your dog gets mouthy
Acknowledging the difference between playful nibbling and dog bites
Patriot is one of those dogs in the 2018 documentary “Pick of the Litter” that you just cannot help but sympathize with. His trainer, who was intending to teach him how to be a guide dog for the visually impaired, knew something was going wrong.
“His main problem is he’s very mouthy, and he likes to bite a lot,” the trainer said. “Anybody who like will pet him here, he’ll like bite them. And that’s not OK ’cause he can’t bite. And even if it’s just like playing, it’s still not acceptable. I don’t know if I exactly trained him right, and it made it into this. I don’t want to lose him even if he does that. I don’t care.”
Anyone who has ever had a mouthy dog understands the sentiment. I walked three — none of which were seeing eye dogs. One was a Cockapoo who was pretty even-tempered unless there was food around or if she didn’t want to continue walking. If you moved anywhere close to her while she stopped to sniff whatever caught her attention, she would fake like she would nip at your hand. An American Eskimo also had the same tactic. If he didn’t want to move, and always if I tried to dry his paws off, he’d reach around for the fake nip.
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Even one of my favorite dogs ever (outside of my own), a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard mix, had a habit of nibbling. Unlike the other two who would “fake” like they’d bite at my hand, she actually did give my hand a light squeeze twice. It was initially startling, and I put her in her crate the first time. However, what I realized fairly quickly was that she wasn’t playing; she really needed to go outside. This was her way of saying, “Hey, if you don’t let me out soon, get the paper towels and cleanser ready.” By the second time, I understood her adamancy and took her at her word. (She was not a “faker” to get outside and play; she consistently released herself every single time she was outdoors.)
While it’s not impossible to train an older dog to cut it out with the mouthiness, it is easier to get ahead of this bad habit from puppy years before it’s become normal for the dog.
Training tips for a mouthy biting dog
In my case, I knew exactly why the three dogs above would get mouthy. There was never a time when they were mouthy for any other behavior but those few actions. Although I was not their owner, if I was, I would know exactly what to focus on during the early training years.