Expert: Sandra Case, MEd, CPDT - 10/27/2008

Question
QUESTION: My 10 month old standard poodle gets excited in play and starts mouthing at me. I stand still but he will continue biting/mouthing then zip around the yard and come back and start at me again. He does this also when he gets back in the car after we have been somewhere and I am trying to fasten his harness to the seatbelt.

If I have him somewhere and I put him in a sit or down and he has been running around on a long line he will snap at me in a mouthing/biting manner and often try to bolt but I am standing on the lead and I put him back down and he is mouthy/snappy about it.


ANSWER: He needs some really good training to give you behaviors you can ask for instead of jumping up and mouthing. For instance, he can't do that and a sit at the same time. Additionally, training will give him self control, and you can play games with him that are calming rather than over-stimulating. With this dog, I'd work on thoughtful stuff rather than exciting games. I'd also possibly look into TTouch which has the benefit of being both calming and helping him accept handling www.ttouch.com   Sandy Case BFA, MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much for your reply - I understand where you are coming from, but would you please expand on what you mean by " thougthful stuff" so that I will be heading in the right direction.

Answer
I do clicker training, and we do a lot of shaping (teaching dogs to solve problems and figure out new behaviors - can be anything from useful stuff like sit and down to high fives, leg weaves, targeting objects, etc. Dogs don't know the difference between "obedience" and "tricks" if they are presented the same way.) And figuring it out is mentally exhausting. Also any games which use the nose (finding objects, tracking, etc. are good mental exercise, and leaves the dog satisfied and a bit tired. It sounds like this pup has a ton of energy and not enough activity to focus it. sandy