Canine Behaviour Foundation Course
Module 2 - Section - 8 - Mouthing and Nipping
Module 2 - Section - 8 - Mouthing and Nipping
1. General
2. What Causes and Contributes to this Behaviour?
3. Modifications
4. What not to do
1. General
We have already dealt with teaching a pup to have a soft bite (bite inhibition) in the puppy section, and a puppy mouthing and trying to nip is one thing and normal behaviour – an adult dog doing the same, is entirely another cup of tea, especially if done with force.
On average, an adult dog that is mouthing/nipping has never been taught bite inhibition and very often was taken away from mom and siblings too young and did not attend puppy school. These nips can not only be painful, it can be downright dangerous, especially if a large breed dog.
Dogs naturally use their mouths to investigate and interact, and nipping and mouthing are normally non-aggressive behaviours that most dogs use to communicate with other dogs, or pets and also people. Most of the time the dog does not mean any harm, it is trying to get attention, wants to play etc, and it is not the dogs intention to do harm. However - no dog older than a puppy should mouth unless it is a set up exercise continued after the initial bite inhibition has been taught to keep a soft bite in place.
If the dog’s body language is relaxed, eyes soft with a lack of tension, and often the tail is wagging, then the mouthing and trying to nip is nothing more than play behaviour or trying to get attention and as above, unless a training exercise initiated by the owner, should not be allowed as this behaviour can escalate . However, if there is serious intent, the body will appear stiff, muzzle may be tightly wrinkled, ears may be flattened tightly to the head, eyes may be hard, and the lips may be pulled back – this is serious. With some dogs, there is sometimes a mixture of the play, combined with being serious. The dogs I have experienced such as this are normally very demanding and if the owner does not comply, the bites can become harder.
Mouthing and nipping are not restricted to specific breeds, although in general, it does seem that Rotti’s and GSD’s seem more prone to this behaviour than other breeds. The severity of the mouthing/nipping can also be paired to the manner in which dogs do bite and , for example – the Bullie breed tend to bite down and then shake, the Mastiff dogs tend to bite down hard and also push into you at the same time. The dogs natural bite force has to be considered as well.
We have already dealt with teaching a pup to have a soft bite (bite inhibition) in the puppy section, and a puppy mouthing and trying to nip is one thing and normal behaviour – an adult dog doing the same, is entirely another cup of tea, especially if done with force.
On average, an adult dog that is mouthing/nipping has never been taught bite inhibition and very often was taken away from mom and siblings too young and did not attend puppy school. These nips can not only be painful, it can be downright dangerous, especially if a large breed dog.
Dogs naturally use their mouths to investigate and interact, and nipping and mouthing are normally non-aggressive behaviours that most dogs use to communicate with other dogs, or pets and also people. Most of the time the dog does not mean any harm, it is trying to get attention, wants to play etc, and it is not the dogs intention to do harm. However - no dog older than a puppy should mouth unless it is a set up exercise continued after the initial bite inhibition has been taught to keep a soft bite in place.
If the dog’s body language is relaxed, eyes soft with a lack of tension, and often the tail is wagging, then the mouthing and trying to nip is nothing more than play behaviour or trying to get attention and as above, unless a training exercise initiated by the owner, should not be allowed as this behaviour can escalate . However, if there is serious intent, the body will appear stiff, muzzle may be tightly wrinkled, ears may be flattened tightly to the head, eyes may be hard, and the lips may be pulled back – this is serious. With some dogs, there is sometimes a mixture of the play, combined with being serious. The dogs I have experienced such as this are normally very demanding and if the owner does not comply, the bites can become harder.
Mouthing and nipping are not restricted to specific breeds, although in general, it does seem that Rotti’s and GSD’s seem more prone to this behaviour than other breeds. The severity of the mouthing/nipping can also be paired to the manner in which dogs do bite and , for example – the Bullie breed tend to bite down and then shake, the Mastiff dogs tend to bite down hard and also push into you at the same time. The dogs natural bite force has to be considered as well.
2. What Causes and Contributes to this Behaviour?
Here are the more common reasons:-
Here are the more common reasons:-
- A pup not being taught to inhibit its bite and the behaviour continues to adulthood-and very often the bite force increases as well.
- Pups taken away from their mother’s and litter mates too early where they have not been exposed to mom’s discipline and bite inhibition play with littermates.
- If there is true aggression being exhibited, genetics may play a part as well.
- Inappropriate rough playing by owner where dog is allowed to mouth and bite on people. This may sound totally crazy, but it happens so very often where owners have inadvertently encouraged the behaviour, not realizing what the end result could be.
- It has become a ‘learned ‘behaviour and is a reaction to something the owner does.
- It can be demanding or even attention seeking behaviour. A perfect example of this is a dog, that whenever the owner picked up the phone, the dog grabs owners arm and attempts to pull owner away from the phone.
- It can occur due to fear and frustration and could also be an indicator of possible reactive behaviour.
- With some dogs, the mouthing/nipping may only occur when the dog is touched in a certain area of its body, and the force of the mouthing/nipping may vary, depending on where the human hand is placed. This is normally an indication of an area of pain or discomfort in that particular area. A visit to the vet to rule out underlying physical problems should be considered
3. Modifications
- Management – as always, look to management to solve any current behaviour concerns. Owner to put on some pure Citronella oil on any areas that the dog tends to target for mouthing/nipping, whether this be the feet, the hands, arms, clothes etc. As the dog backs off due to the smell, the owner rewards the backing off with non-committal ‘good dog’ or ‘good leave’. This will assist in furthering the communication skills between dog and owner as to what behaviour the owner does or does not accept. However, there are exceptions to the above. If the owner finds that immediately the RM has been given, the dog repeats the behaviour – then no RM is brought in after the NRM – it could be that this is a dog whereby any attention will reinforce the behaviour you don’t want. Do not use the Citronella in the case of Work to Earn using food.
- Bite Inhibition Exercises starting with something soft and building up to harder food treats. Do in both the sitting and standing positions. Remember that Bite Inhibition is ONLY taught as a separate exercise, never combined with any other exercise – Work to Earn with food for an example.
- Any rough games that would encourage the behaviour, to be stopped immediately.
- Ensure that the dog is getting enough physical (walks) and mental stimulation.
- Owner should supply varied chew toys daily and you can give them the notes on stuffing Kong’s and varied toy ideas. It does seem to take longer with dogs to unlearn this behaviour when suitable chew toys are not supplied.
- House Rules. Although we are going to be working on stopping the Mouthing/Nipping it is crucial that the dog views the owner (and rest of the family) as higher in the combined human/canine social structure, so this is our starting point. On average, the House Rules that would be brought in are Ignoring when owner arrives home – Attention on Owners terms or not at all. The NRM and Work to Earn would be brought in under separate sections or where applicable.
- Normally a dog that is mouthing and nipping tends to grab food out of the hand, or snatch. In addition to Bite Inhibition exercises, bring in the Work to Earn, teaching the dog to take each and every piece of food by hand. Start off with the dog in the Sit position in this exercise, and then when dog is taking food gently when sitting, repeat the exercise with dog in standing position. The reason for this is that dogs often seem to take food in a gentler fashion when sitting than when standing. One wants to ensure that the bite inhibition is good in every conceivable position.
- Hand position when offering food. This can be very important as many dogs will grab at the food. If the dog is grabbing, you can either offer the food with a flat palm while bite inhibition is being taught, or alternatively as you offer the food, close your finger over the food (this prevents fingers being nipped) and present a closed hand, knuckle showing to the dog. Only when dog is sitting quietly and calmly do you open your hand by then turning it over and presenting the open palm to the dog.
- Very often behaviourists recommend that dog is given a stuffed chew toy when it starts to mouth. We prefer to avoid this as many dogs learn very quickly to ‘mouth’ so that they get the reward.
- Management – owner to put on some pure Citronella oil on any areas that the dog tends to target for mouthing/nipping, whether this be the feet, the hands, arms, clothes etc. As the dog backs off due to the smell, the owner rewards the backing off with non-committal ‘good dog’ or ‘good leave’. This will assist in furthering the communication skills between dog and owner as to what behaviour the owner does or does not accept. Do not use the Citronella in the case of Work to Earn using food.
- NRM - If the dog does start to mouth/nip, an immediate very loud and harsh NRM. If the dog stops then reward with non-comitial praise. The tone and volume can be reduced immediately the dog understands.
- If the dog does not respond to the NRM above, then ensure the dog is wearing a collar and do a Time Out remembering to immediately start again in the same location and circumstances that caused the Time out in the first place. If the behaviour starts again, then dog given the opportunity to stop the behaviour by use of the NRM and another immediate Time Out if this fails. If the dog is successful and does not repeat the mouthing/nipping, then give it a total break and take the dog to another area completely and get the dog engaged into something else - a nice chew toy would help to defuse any stress left or a nice walk.
- In the event that instead of the behaviour improving in the exercise above, there are dogs whereby if you go to take hold of the collar that the behaviour will worsen, rather call in an accredited behaviourist immediately to help you deal with the situation - www.animal-behaviour.org.za. The reason for this is that the dog could become reactive and you will need help to deal with this situation.
- Bring in play exercises such as tug of war using the Swap exercise and ending the session with the ‘finish’ cue. A specific toy is always kept for this exercise and owner takes toy away at the end of the play session. Here we are very subtly increasing the owners standing in the combined human/canine social structure. If, at any stage the mouthing or nipping occurs, an immediate NRM followed by non-comitial praise and if the behaviour continues, then the owner performs a Time Out or a Reverse Time Out – depending on the situation - if playing outside, it will be difficult to perform a Time Out unless there is a garage nearby – rather the owner gets up storms away to the nearest door, and then after the 30 second period comes back to play again.
- It is not uncommon that some dogs will nip if people touch their collars, especially if done quickly without the dog expecting this to happen and if the dog had a bad start in life. If you do come across a dog that reacts when this occurs, then bring in Collar Grabbing exercise using the dog’s daily portion of food to desensitize the dog to the collar being grabbed, and gradually build up the intensity of the grabbing and make the circumstances more challenging.
- If there is any rough play involved, to stop immediately as this will tend to reinforce the nipping, mouthing behaviour. Additionally as we would be very unlikely to ‘play fight’ with our bosses or peers, the same situation applies to dogs – engaging in play fighting with dogs will lower the persons positon in the combined human/canine social structure.
- Bring in the Leave exercise as found in your puppy notes.
4. What not to do
- If the behaviour is severe or extreme, do not try to resolve by yourself - call in a professional for help at the link above.
- No rough play.
- No slapping the dog on the sides of the cheeks or any teasing in this manner.
- No screaming or smacking if the behaviour does occur. This will just give the dog the attention it wants and the behaviour will be more likely to continue.
- Don’t jerk your hand away from dog (although may be painful to leave it there!). If the dog has bitten down and it is your hand, make your hand limp and if you don’t move your hand/arm away, the majority of dogs will not bite down harder – they tend to let go. You are also not offering any reaction at all, so the dog will be less likely to repeat the behaviour, as it does not get the reaction it expected.
- The dog must not be smacked – aggression breeds aggression and will just be more likely to reinforce the behaviour rather than prevent it, or else the dog will learn to rush in, nip, and then back off quickly.
- Do not use an aversive in this situation (apart from Citronella to prevent biting) unless you can totally ensure that the aversive being applied cannot, under any circumstances be associated with the owner or a third party who may be using the aversive. If there is an association, then the dog will not exhibit the behaviour when that person is present, but will continue to exhibit it when that person is not around.
- Don’t stop play games – rather teach dogs how to play properly, although very hard if you have a 58kg Rotti attached to your arm, don’t award the dog further attention by way of shouting, screaming etc
Assignment:
- In your own opinion what factors do you think tend to reinforce mouthing/biting behaviour and why?
- Do you believe that Mouthing is a form of Aggression? Give your reasons as to why you believe this to be true, or why you think this is incorrect.
- If you could give a friend or client just two tips to help to stop this behaviour, what would they be and why would you choose these?
