Mouthing and other behaviors

[masonette]

Mason always has to have something in his mouth. When he is on my lap, he tries using my fingers as chew toys. I say in a firm voice no bite and little by little he is getting it. If no isn't good enough then I flick him on the end of the nose and say no bite much louder. I am amazed at the power of those little jaws. I was checking out how far back those teeth went, I was rubbing the part of the gum where there were no teeth seeing if maybe teeth were coming in. He started chewing my finger. Of course there were no teeth so didn't hurt but the power in those jaws was amazing.

When I first got him, he would run like crazy and jump at my face; that was scary. He did that to my son and my son was afraid he was going to bite him. So last night he was doing his crazy run around the house and jumped on my lap and was headed straight for my face. It was too late to move or do anything and he just skimmed right by me. He didn't attempt to bite or mouth, he was just being a crazy puppy.

He is teething so chews a great deal. He likes my shoes so I tell him no and give him something else but he really would prefer the shoes.

Another thing he is doing that is driving me crazy is he will ball up a rug or blanket and hump the daylights out of it. I tell him no and push him over. What is that all about?

Mary

[jazzie23]

I don't know waht to tell you about the humping, fortunately I have a female .

But with the bitting, I was advised by my trainer that whenever Jazmin bites I take the upper part of her mouth in my hand and grip it so her lip catches on her teeth and squeeze, I don't do it viciousily but I do it hard enough so it's uncomfortable and she squills. Trust me you'll only have to do this a few times.

She's 14.5 weeks now, and very rarely tries to bite and when she does she's corrected immidiately with no bite and a squeeze, she chooses to lick because she knows that's ok. My rule is NO TEETH ON SKIN - NEVER .

When you're playing with him while he's in your lap have a toy handy to shove in his mouth. Also, when he bites on his toys or plays with them, praise him like CRAZY .

Jazmin, doesn't play or chew shoes, doesn't chew on the carpet - ANYMORE . She has a basket full of toys which she plays, whether it's with me or just plays alone.

Make sure he's entertained with his toys, that will keep him from your shoes, get him squeeky toys, naylon bones are good for teething (Jazmin likes the Cajun Chicken one with ridges on it - it can get messy and stick to the carpet), tennis balls, get a Kong and fill it with treats or his food mixed with wet, you can also shove ice in there.

Good luck with your puppy!

[masonette]

Thanks for the tip. I will try it. I realize it has to stop completely and soon. I just never had that type of problem with the danes so this is new.

Mary

[Judi W]

Actually, get this pup off laps completely and permanently. Sitting on people gives the wrong message to a dog and with a nippy puppy way too much access to the face while pinning the person down. Certainly not something you want a strong-minded dog to be able to do and what you establish as a pup becomes the foundation for future life.

[masonette]

Judi,
Yikes, I didn't know that. He seems like such a cuddler. He puts his little head in my neck and just lays there or he will lay on my lap flat on his back with feet straight up in the air. I tend to treat him like I did my danes and they always had part of themselves on my lap anytime I sat down. Getting him off my lap is going to be harder for me than him but I will get it done. Thanks for letting me know.

Mary

[Judi W]

Well, he is not a teddy bear or toy. He is going to grow up to be a Rottweiler and allowing him to be physically elevated is not the best idea you might come up with. Most dogs are quite literal about who is on top and certainly don't need encouragement in elevating themselves on the status ladder. Personally, I have found the furniture priveleges are also a bad idea for this breed. After all, who has the best sleeping place and resting place? The leader or the follower?

A dear old gentleman friend of mine who had Irish Wolfhounds once asked me if the Rottweiler was like they used to describe the Germans during WWI. Either at your feet or at your throat. It always makes me smile when I think of that question. The answer is "yes"............

None of this means bullying the dog, but it does mean keeping status lines clearly marked. People who blur those lines end up with problem dogs and then the dogs must be treated much more harshly in order to straighten them out than had they been properly raised in the first place. Not fair to the dog in my mind.

[Sportyj]

Judi - A question about you lap comment. My girl is not allowed on furniture but when I sit on the floor and play she wants to climb into my lap sometimes. She was bottle fed as a pup and seems to really love human cuddling. What message am I sending to her? She is really gentle and sometimes falls asleep while I pet her in my lap. She is 12 wks.

[alexav]

Just a comment about humping the rug...It seems to me that he is seeking something to dominate. There is nothing sexual about what he's doing. He is telling the rug that he is the boss. You, and your lap, may be next if you don't heed Judi's advice and get him off you.

[Judi W]

Dog on floor beside you fine, dog on top of you - not fine. Also, do not allow dog to be up on feet or sitting eye ball to eye ball while you are on the floor. While it might work out OK with some dogs, you don't know in advance which dog you will have when it grows older. Why start something that will be unacceptable for a full sized Rottweiler who will quickly be pinning you in place when it has more size?

[damp]

Well I am not Judi, but you send the same messages:

Originally Posted by Judi W

Well, he is not a teddy bear or toy. He is going to grow up to be a Rottweiler and allowing him to be physically elevated is not the best idea you might come up with. Most dogs are quite literal about who is on top and certainly don't need encouragement in elevating themselves on the status ladder. Personally, I have found the furniture priveleges are also a bad idea for this breed. After all, who has the best sleeping place and resting place? The leader or the follower?

No matter if you are sitting on furniture or on the floor.
You lower your self to the pup’s level and it will likely conceive you as its littermate, on the same footing and not the leader.

[scooterjohansen]

Originally Posted by damp

Well I am not Judi, but you send the same messages:



No matter if you are sitting on furniture or on the floor.
You lower your self to the pup’s level and it will likely conceive you as its littermate, on the same footing and not the leader.

And a pup is still a littermate until 12 weeks of age. 6,7,8 weeks is very young and if you dont become the surrogate to the real pups you run the risk of the pup missing out on essential developement. you just become all in one mother father and puppy littermates.

[Judi W]

A pup is never My littermate, regardless of its age. Why give it incorrect messages that you will then have to correct later? I am the mistress, leader and teacher. I will always be a fair leader, but I will never be another dog or littermate.

[alexav]

I tend to think that dogs are smart enough to figure out that humans are not dogs.
It's up to us to understand and to be understood. Communication is not limited by our difference in species, it is limited by the human's assumptions and ignorance.
Luckily, human's have a great capacity for seeking knowledge to improve their relationships with canines.
Some of them even do it.

[Sportyj]

Judi - This conversation is very interesting. I am beginning to think my dog sees me as a littermate and my husband as the Alpha. Is this bad? Do we BOTH need to be alpha? I am trying to be her leader, but she does odd things only to me. If she is chewing on something and happy as a clam I will get up and start emailing and such. When she sees me on the computer (not paying attention to her) she growles and barks. When my phone rings and I am talking on the phone, she will come over and do the same. YIKES! But my husband can ignore her just fine and she doesn;t care. When she growles at me I always tell her "NO." or I ignore her. She does listen to me though and follows my commands the same she does with my husband. I am just noticing these differences and want to nip them in the bud ASAP. She is 12.5 weeks.

[scooterjohansen]

At 12.5 weeks it is now time to assert your alpha positon. Your lucky while your on the computer with a bit of growling and barking. Our pup would seek out the connection and pull the plug out. Over and over and over. It is an attention thing.

Dogs are smart enough to work out humans are dogs. But I don't believe puppys are going to be able to tell the difference.