Dog behaviour advice

[CAH706]

Hi all,

This isn’t a major issue but is something that I would like to work on and correct.

Our two-year-old dog who is relatively large at 35 kg is the most friendly and placid dog to both me and my wife apart from the very odd instance e.g. when we return home from being out for an hour or two .... he is excited and a bit bouncy then

With our 12-year-old son, who is the same size as my wife, he still demonstrates that puppy excitement of mouthing when he is playing. He never bites, but given the size of him it can be a bit of an issue. It does not bother my 12-year-old but I am slightly concerned that he could cause damage accidentally , or if we meet smaller children it may frighten them.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we manage and improve this behaviour.

Thanks in advance for any advice

[Muzzer79]

We have a rescue dog that was under-developed as a pup

As a result, when we got him at age 18 months, he was still mouthing.

It took a bit of time but the simplest thing to do with him was to stop all interaction when he was mouthing. Just sit and ignore him completely.

He soon sussed out that mouthing = playtime/fuss stops.

If he continues (ours rarely still does, when he's super-excited) then a dog time-out is effective.
We put him in a gated off area in the hall/stairs away from us.
Again - he soon susses out that bad behaviour = naughty step = no fuss/interaction.

[moorx]

Muzzer79 said:

We have a rescue dog that was under-developed as a pup

As a result, when we got him at age 18 months, he was still mouthing.

It took a bit of time but the simplest thing to do with him was to stop all interaction when he was mouthing. Just sit and ignore him completely.

He soon sussed out that mouthing = playtime/fuss stops.

If he continues (ours rarely still does, when he's super-excited) then a dog time-out is effective.
We put him in a gated off area in the hall/stairs away from us.
Again - he soon susses out that bad behaviour = naughty step = no fuss/interaction.

Agreed - another alternative to sitting and ignoring is to turn away and cross your arms.

[CAH706]

Thanks both. We are doing this to some extent but probably need out son to be stricter

[rxe]

Yep, your son needs to move up the pecking order a bit - if he starts “working” the dog for treats (sit, stand, down etc) then he will become more “boss” in short order.

We had this when my youngest was about 6. Our first GSD clearly viewed him as inferior, and would routinely steal his bed. We’d be down stairs, there would be a huge crash upstairs, we’d run up, the dog would be on his bed, and he’d be on the floor, generally still asleep. We put a camera in there and saw the dog doing it - she’d just get between the wall and him, and shove him out with her feet. He was also the only family member who was “rounded up” on a regular basis, as soon as he got more than 200 yards from us, his sleeve would be grabbed and he’d be brought back. Quite useful really.

Equipped with treats, it took only a few days for the dog to get the message.

[CAH706]

Thanks rxe - our son does give treats and training etc a lot but it’s almost like the dog sees him as a play thing. Never bites or is aggressive but just too boisterous. Possibly over excitement.

Will get our son to step up the training and be a little stricter in stopping the play if it gets mouthy. He’s got loads of time on his hands over the Xmas holidays as we are going nowhere

Thanks again for the advice