How to Open a Dog's Mouth When Biting
Are you guilty of taking things out of your dog's mouth?
If I was only allowed to give one piece of advice to new dog and puppy owner's it would be that they shouldn't force their puppy's mouth open and remove objects.
So often I am called in to help once a dog is either acting aggressively when they have stolen items or when the dog has started to swallow inedible items. In lots of these cases this stems from when the dog was a puppy and would pick up and investigate objects and the owner would worry and then open the puppy's mouth and remove the object. Sometimes this takes quite a struggle and I have even heard of it taking more than one person to hold the puppy while another forces the puppy's mouth open. There are other, better ways to deal with puppies picking up things they shouldn't.
Why do our dog's pick up things they shouldn't?
When your dog picks up an object more often than not, they are just investigating it. Sometimes they are working out if it is edible or not and when they discover it's not they will likely put it down. Obviously sometimes they might take that investigation further and give it a chew.
Why is it such an issue to take things from my dog's mouth?
If your dog is investigating, maybe even chewing, an object and you try and take it away, you immediately teach your dog that humans will ignore normal, polite doggy rules. In the dog world, possession is ten 10th of the law! For some dogs this will have little or no impact, however for some they will see this intrusion as unacceptable and next time you go to take something they might give you a hard stare and freeze. If you again ignore this doggy body language that says go away, your dog might feel he has no option but to escalate his behaviour to maybe a growl or snap and if they doesn't work maybe even a bite.
Other dogs might start to think that if they have something that you are so desperate to take, you'll go against everything they understand about possessions, then that thing must be very valuable indeed. In their desperation to keep the item they might swallow it whole as soon as they see you coming. This can lead to lots of inedible things become really quite edible!
Other dogs might learn that it's safer to hide when they find something they would like to investigate and chew and you'll only find the evidence later.
Finally some dogs might let you open their mouth and remove the item and there will be no obvious harm. However, those dogs might learn that people are not that trustworthy and this may effect how they interact with you over all or perhaps they will lack confidence in investigating and trying new things.
So what should you do instead?
Please note if your dog already has a problem with swallowing inedible objects or is showing signs of growling or aggression, seek the help of a reward based trainer or behaviourist and do not try and tackle this problem alone.
1. Teach your dog to swap. Practise this with a toy at first. Give your dog the toy then ask him to swap it for a tasty treat (or multiple tasty treats) then immediately give him the toy back.
2. Try not to panic. Puppies often just want to investigate an object and will often spit it out again. So if she picks up a pebble try and wait until she spit it out, then just move your puppy away from it. Do your best not to draw attention to the pebble and potentially add value to it.
If you are out on a walk and your puppy seems to be picking up every single thing they encounter, consider whether they are maybe finding the environment a bit too stimulating and may need a rest, calm down or be taken to a place where they can watch the world go by.
3. If your dog or puppy won't swap the item in their mouth for a treat, try throwing several treats on the floor. As your dog picks up the individual treats, put your foot over the dropped item. If you are at home most dogs can't resist a handful of breakfast cereal dropped on the floor.
If your dog prefers toys to food, then pick up a toy and make it seems like the most exciting toy in the world. Eventually your dog will want to play with you rather than the object in their mouth.
4. Teach your dog a reliable and solid leave it. If you don't know how, book a 121 lesson and I can teach you.
5. Ensure your dogs has lots of opportunities to investigate and try new and appropriate things. Let your dog try different foods, give them new and interesting toys, try different chews, kongs and food puzzles. If your dog loves tearing paper then save up cardboard boxes and scatter treats inside and let they rip the box apart. Play with your dog frequently. Take them new and interesting places. Allow them to sniff as much as they need to.
6. Interact with your dog with toys and build lots of value into your dog playing with they things you would like them too.
7. Learn to be tidier or keep your puppy in an area of the house you can keep dog-proofed.
8. Grit your teeth and don't show your dog or puppy you are annoyed. As frustrating as it is to have another sock ruined, tell your puppy you are pleased they brought you your sock and excitedly run to the fridge for a treat to swap it for. Believe me, it is so much cheaper to buy new socks than it is to pay a vet to do risky surgery to remove them from your dog's stomach.
If these things don't work for you, then get help. It's much easier to prevent this turning into a problem than it is to modify your dog's behaviour once they are showing behavioural issues.
How to Open a Dog's Mouth When Biting
Source: http://www.busybeedogtraining.co.uk/blog/dont-take-things-out-of-your-dogs-mouth
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