Mouthing...play biting...bite inhibition...

[HoneyG]

well not wanting to sound a dunce here - but I think I just need a little 101 on the differences here

Honey is 19 weeks today.  She has been with us for just 2.5 weeks as we rehomed her.

She has settled in very well and is generally very calm and nicely playful.

She is a keen chewer but is very good at mostly sticking to her various Kong toys!  though my slippers get the occasional nibble if I am not careful

From suggested reading on this board I have read Dr Ian Dunbars Before and After getting your puppy and I am little confused about the bite inhibition chapter.

He suggests that in order to teach bite inhibition she should be allowed to mouth so we can tell her when she is biting (did i get that right?)

What I want to know (dumb moment!!) - what exactly is mouthing?  I am currently allowing her to hold my hand in her mouth and when she is applying very gentle pressure I say 'Gently gently, good girl " over and over.  I can feel her teeth when she is doing this but figure there would be no way not to feel puupy teeth doing this!  The moment she exerts any element of pressure immediately do a mock cry and remove my hand a mock cry.  we then continue and if she does it again i leave the room for a few minutes.

Am I doing this right? Is there where we should be at this age? When I read the book it is based on having puppy from 'new',as as we got her at 4.5 month stage I am not sure if I should be approaching differently at this stage?

She does not initiate mouthing very often, but after getting excited does do play biting which I immediately mock cry at and then ignore her for a short while.

Last night she was very excitedly chewing her kongs but then came to sit with me and started to chew a cushion. I told her off and she growled at me and went as if to bite me.  I told her 'off' and then ignored her....and she didn't do it again.

Any tips on if this is right or wrong, expected or unexpected would be appreciated.

As we have two children ( 8 and 5) and want to do this stage correctly, and someone has planted a seed of worry in my head that this may have been a reason for the previous family to get rid of her (they cited youngest childs allergies as the reason, but i alwasy thought there as more to it).

We have been to one puppy training class so far which focussed on sit, down and stand.  So I will ask the lady next week too.  But thought I woudl also ask the cocker experts

Thanks

Beki

[bracken]

My puppy is 20 weeks and if she decideds to use me to chew I give an' Ouch' sound and give her one of her teething toys instead 

[Honormum]

Even if it WAS the reason she was rehomed, it seems a ridiculous over-reaction, considering how young she still is! Definitely not something to fret about, but just to be careful to handle well and deal with. Teddy is 11 weeks and when he is hyped up, be growls and barks - but it's obviously him trying it out and playing.

Sounds like you're doing everything right with the mouthing. Calm and consistent seems to be the key to success.

[JennyBee]

That all sounds good to me. I still let Brodie (four) mouth me when she is playing, she is very gentle and has superb bite inhibition - this has came into play a few times over the years, most noticeably when my young nephew decided to stand on her back and she reacted very well. Honey sounds like a lovely, well adjusted pup - at that age I was convinced I had bought a piranha instead of a cocker .

I remember speaking to a vet (not my own) about Brodie's mouthing when I'd had her for about a week and being told I must get on top of it at once as a dog's teeth should NEVER touch a human's skin. It frightened the life out of me and I was convinced Brodie was going to turn into a monster. Thankfully I followed the advice of the article you mentioned and not hers

[HoneyG]

I remember speaking to a vet (not my own) about Brodie's mouthing when I'd had her for about a week and being told I must get on top of it at once as a dog's teeth should NEVER touch a human's skin. It frightened the life out of me and I was convinced Brodie was going to turn into a monster. Thankfully I followed the advice of the article you mentioned and not hers

Thanks - I think we sometimes just need reassurance that the behaviour we see is 'normal'.

Have to say we love her to bits and she is so calm. Kids have been dancing 'Gangham Style' around the lounge tonight and she has just taken it all in her stride

I just feel very blessed that we have rehomed her, and after two weeks she is a key part of the family

Thanks for all responses - it really does help

Beki

[piph]

Ozzy was a terrible 'cockerdile' and kept on with the very hard play biting, no matter what we did. I was bruised and had scabs on my hands and arms for weeks, in fact I've even got a scar on my forearm where he drew blood the first week we had him home.  Definitely the worse puppy we've ever had for biting, and with the sharpest teeth!   Now at six months, and with his adult teeth, he still does it a bit, but is definitely showing more bite inhibition, as he does more mouthing, only exerting very gentle pressure.  Only when he gets excited, or when he gets my finger in between his back molars, does he bite too hard.  I still do the 'ahh ahh, no bitey' when he tries to mouth my hand, but, I don't remove it unless he starts biting too hard, and on the whole, he's getting better.  Don't despair, you are doing everything right, and I'm sure Honey will get the message eventually.  It might not seem like it, as it all happens so gradually, but one day you'll realise that she has improved.