Foo - What do you suppose she is trying to tell me?

When she was little, my puppy Trinity would take my wrist into her mouth. As she got bigger, she started to take my fore arm.

Tonight when I was laying down with her, she came to cuddle me and then she gently put her mouth and around my neck. I held still, confident she wouldn't hurt me. She never bit down or clamped on me.

Then she took my face into her mouth, doing the same thing. I just held still. She only had me for about 5 seconds. She is now 7 months old.

What do you think?

Am I pretty much gonna be a meal when she gets even bigger? :eek:

She wants pink accessories, and won't stop biting you till she gets em. She wants be be fabulous like uncle Jon.

Maybe she's waiting for you to regurgitate food...

Practicing to be an alligator when she grows up.

Be worried when she bites and tries to spin.

How big is she that your entire FACE fits in her mouth???? :eek:


(or are you reaaaally reeeeaaally tiny?)

I think she's trying to tell you to stop letting her put parts of your body in her mouth. But that's just me . . . .

Maybe you taste like beggin' strips.

http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/0/038100535863B.jpg

MMMMBACON!!!

Practicing to be an alligator when she grows up.

Be worried when she bites and tries to spin.

Okay X. You had me laughing at that pictorial. :p

How big is she that your entire FACE fits in her mouth???? :eek:


(or are you reaaaally reeeeaaally tiny?)

She must be about 50 lbs or so by now. And no. I'm not tiny. Waaay far from tiny. Put it this way. I am eligible to post in Clydes/Athenas. ;)

Something about a dog having its teeth around your throat is profoundly disturbing!

She must be about 50 lbs or so by now. And no. I'm not tiny. Waaay far from tiny. Put it this way. I am eligible to post in Clydes/Athenas. ;)

No . . . you . . . aren't . . . either.

Chomp!

Something about a dog having its teeth around your throat is profoundly disturbing!Yeah, but gnawing on your face, that's just a prance in the meadow.


No . . . you . . . aren't . . . either.I think the threshhold for Athena is being over 120 pounds or something really low.

Sounds like it might possibly be a dominance issue. Does your local animal shelter give free obedience courses? Sometimes that will let your dog realize who is the Alpha. How about asking for help from the rescue you adopted from. It sounds like a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud.

Scotty

Sometimes that will let your dog realize who is the Alpha.Better yet, put the dog's head in your mouth. See how she likes it!

Timmy fell in the well again!

So trinity thinks she's the alpha female round the house eh.

A swift high kick to the nose'll show her who's boss. :p

Or..... just give her a beggin' strip!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like it might possibly be a dominance issue. Does your local animal shelter give free obedience courses? Sometimes that will let your dog realize who is the Alpha. How about asking for help from the rescue you adopted from. It sounds like a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud.

Scotty

Trinity is not agressive when she does this. She is very slow and gentle.

Eboo sent me an link about dogs having ADHD. One of the signs were the "holding" of the wrists, to show that she owns you. If I move when she has my face, she will immediately lay down and show her belly wagging her tail. When I reach down to rub her belly she kisses my arm.

Since all my dogs were little, I let them get in my face, to show them I trust them. Call me strange, but even when they are eating I will get down where they are and put my face there by the bowl so they learn to trust me. I did that when they were puppies. Even to this day, I can do that and have no problem.

I just never had her put her mouth around my neck or face till today.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Athena minimum weight is 150. ;)

Crap. I'm an athena.

I think that as long as it isn't a RAAWWWWRRRCHOMP biting so much as a soft kronsche/nawm-nawm-nawm action, you'll be fine.

More of the nawm-nawm thing. It's like she is holding me and licking me at the same time.

Well I better go to bed. I'm getting in trouble here by somebody. *

Thanks for all the comments, everyone!

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/behavior.html#biting

Biting

It is natural for young puppies to bite and chew on people; however DON'T let them do this.

If your dog is a puppy, yelp pitifully when it chomps on you, and replace your hand with a chew toy; praise heartily when the chew toy is used instead. If it persists, stand up and stop playing with it. It is no fun for the puppy if you stop interacting with it, and it will learn to stop chewing on you fairly quickly.
With older puppies and dogs, say "NO BITE" sternly and withdraw your hand.
If the dog goes through a cycle where it seems to be infuriated by your correction and returns ever more aggressively to chew on you, call a timeout and put the dog where it can't get to you, preferably its crate. When it calms down, let it back and be prepared to interrupt the cycle if it starts again.
Never put up with a puppy biting or mouthing you. When they are adult, the problem will be far more severe.

Hope this helps. :D There are more websites just search "puppy mouthing" and you will find a ton of info on the subject. Enjoy.

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/behavior.html#biting

Biting

It is natural for young puppies to bite and chew on people; however DON'T let them do this.

If your dog is a puppy, yelp pitifully when it chomps on you, and replace your hand with a chew toy; praise heartily when the chew toy is used instead. If it persists, stand up and stop playing with it. It is no fun for the puppy if you stop interacting with it, and it will learn to stop chewing on you fairly quickly.
With older puppies and dogs, say "NO BITE" sternly and withdraw your hand.
If the dog goes through a cycle where it seems to be infuriated by your correction and returns ever more aggressively to chew on you, call a timeout and put the dog where it can't get to you, preferably its crate. When it calms down, let it back and be prepared to interrupt the cycle if it starts again.
Never put up with a puppy biting or mouthing you. When they are adult, the problem will be far more severe.

Hope this helps. :D There are more websites just search "puppy mouthing" and you will find a ton of info on the subject. Enjoy.

No kidding. Set some boundaries and establish some rules ASAP or you're going to have a monster on your hands. Have you not ever had a dog before?

How big is she that your entire FACE fits in her mouth???? :eek:


(or are you reaaaally reeeeaaally tiny?)

haha

Yeah, sounds like a dominance thing to me. She's showing you she's alpha.


Either that or you need to feed her.

Hope this helps. :D There are more websites just search "puppy mouthing" and you will find a ton of info on the subject. Enjoy.

Thanks Pwnt for the article. I will try this method. :)


No kidding. Set some boundaries and establish some rules ASAP or you're going to have a monster on your hands. Have you not ever had a dog before?

Thanks for the tip also, viking. I must admit, her mouthing my neck got me a little nervous but I just stayed still ...

My Doberman/Lab lived to the age of 15
My Rottie lived to the age of 12
My German Shep lived to the age of 17

I currently have a Lab/coyote mix who is 7, a black Lab/Newfie who is 3 and Trinity who is seven months. I've always had to have three dogs at the same time. She is the first one to ever display this type of behaviour.

My GSD would do that to the parent's cat. Chase, lick, and put her mouth over his head.

It's a lot like picking up a puppy by the scruff. She's showing that she's taking care of you. Not the same as a dominance gesture used among 2 adult dogs, but it does have an element of that none the less. More of a "I won't hurt you, I'm going to take care of you" sort of thing in my experience.

What breeds do you think are in Trinity? This is a common gesture with the herding breeds that tend to be fairly possesive of their herd, be it human or animal.

Trinity is not agressive when she does this. She is very slow and gentle.


She's demonstrating dominance over you. Do not let her continue with this.

YOU must be the dominate one in the pack and you letting her mouth you is saying you're submitting to her or accepting her higher place in the pack.

In fact, it's not up to you to demonstrate that you trust the dog, it's the other way around. Again, dominance and pack rank.

Edit: Imagine a photograph of a Labrador dog licking the face of a baby. The image was taken down by the provider...

Didn't the lady in France who had the face transplant have her face chewed off by her pet, who was supposedly trying to wake her up?



"Dinoire, 39, was severely disfigured in May 2005 by her pet Labrador. She continues to have weekly medical consultations, but otherwise "leads a normal life," and expects to resume work soon, the doctors' statement said. She lives in Valenciennes in northern France.

Dinoire said she initially had trouble speaking, but now "I am understood wherever I go," according to an interview published Monday in the British daily The Sun. "



Doesn't sound like a good idea to me but hey, it's your life.

What breeds do you think are in Trinity? This is a common gesture with the herding breeds that tend to be fairly possesive of their herd, be it human or animal.


She's supposed to be Golden Retriever and Shep but I dunno. This is when she was younger.


http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o286/Flycrow/newpuppy3.jpg

But definitely some herding breed somewhere I'd say. It's a pretty common thing for the herding breeds to do. It is a form of dominance, just milder than most others so much easier to correct.

I agree with Lauren about the possible herding dog in her. I also think this is something you want to correct sooner rather than later.

She must be about 50 lbs or so by now. And no. I'm not tiny. Waaay far from tiny. Put it this way. I am eligible to post in Clydes/Athenas. ;)

Crank calls bullshiat.

I have a Great Dane that will walk me around my yard with my arm in his mouth. At first I thought this was a negative behavior and corrected him. After talking with several other owners of Great Dane's I soon learned that this was a sign of affection. His tail is just waggin away when he has my arm in his mouth. He gets all hyped up and wants to play after doing so. I have never had any domination issues with it.

That being said never put yourself on the same level as your dog. Do not lay down on the ground with your dog and allow them to put their head above you. That is a sign of domination. Never sleep in a bed with your dog, another sign of weakness which could lead to the dog wanting to dominate.

I always make my dog work to get food or go outside. They have to sit, or lie down prior to eating or going outside. It is just a little reminder who the boss is in the house.

Crank calls bullshiat.

I second that call!

Never sleep in a bed with your dog, another sign of weakness which could lead to the dog wanting to dominate.
Try that with a pair of golden retrievers and see where it gets you... :p I'm of the opinion that when they sleep consistently at the foot of the bed (and never try to get too close to your head), it's ok for breeds without consistent dominance issues. Then again, my dogs were never allowed that until they were a year old and demonstrated good obedience in general. They always knew who was in charge - and it wasn't them. As puppies, they slept in crates.

Maybe you dog is hungry.

Maybe you dog is hungry.

Let's feed trinity you. I bet you'd be a tasty treat. Mhmm salty.

Are you using bacon flavored deodorant?

The biting thing is more of a play behavior that was probably learned from hanging out with other dogs. Our new puppy Max, for instance, gets done playing with Dora, runs up to me, and starts biting my hand/wrist. Gently, but still a bite.

It's just a matter of training Trinity that it's not OK to bite you. When she does it (and I'm serious, I read this in several places), just yell "ow" in a nice high-pitched voice to simulate a dog yelping as you withdraw. It'll teach her that her behavior is hurting you and it'll subside.

Sizing you up....biding her time.....waiting for just the right moment......

This is classic dominance behavior. She is trying to assert dominance over you. It's very typical, especially in females. You need to make sure you are asserting dominance or she will be very difficult to control on walks, etc. Lying down with her is a submissive gesture (or, at least, that's how she'll recognize it). You need to be firm. The next time she tries to mouth your arm, neck or face, you need to put your hand around her jaws and hold them shut, just for a second or two while telling her "NO!" in a firm voice. Do that consistently, and you should have no problems in a month or two. She'll grow out of the behavior but you need to reinforce that she's not in charge while she's still a puppy.

Set boundaries with your pup and all will be well.

Let's feed trinity you. I bet you'd be a tasty treat. Mhmm salty.

She wouldn't eat you because your special juice would squirt in her mouth.

Is she fixed yet? It might be a little maternal instinct popping up too.

She is waiting for the day when she can swallow you whole.

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/behavior.html#biting

Biting

It is natural for young puppies to bite and chew on people; however DON'T let them do this.

If your dog is a puppy, yelp pitifully when it chomps on you, and replace your hand with a chew toy; praise heartily when the chew toy is used instead. If it persists, stand up and stop playing with it. It is no fun for the puppy if you stop interacting with it, and it will learn to stop chewing on you fairly quickly.
With older puppies and dogs, say "NO BITE" sternly and withdraw your hand.
If the dog goes through a cycle where it seems to be infuriated by your correction and returns ever more aggressively to chew on you, call a timeout and put the dog where it can't get to you, preferably its crate. When it calms down, let it back and be prepared to interrupt the cycle if it starts again.
Never put up with a puppy biting or mouthing you. When they are adult, the problem will be far more severe.

Hope this helps. :D There are more websites just search "puppy mouthing" and you will find a ton of info on the subject. Enjoy.

Ruh Roh....

Crap. I'm an athena.
I'll admit it, I laughed.


Either that or you need to feed her.
At this as well.