newfoundland mouthiness

[swimmerwil]

Our six month old Newfoundland is very mouthy.  Whenever anyone tries to pet him, his mouth is all over their hands, wrists, etc.  I have tried all the usual fixes for this -- giving him a toy to play with as an immediate distraction, saying NO BITE, stop playing with him.  We do not roughouse or play tug of war with him--all the things you're supposed to do to prevent the mouthiness.  I do reward/praise him when he stops mouthing.  He has been to a six week obedience class and di well with that, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if it eventually will stop when he gets older or if I need to try something else to stop the mouthiness.  I would like to get to the point where people can pet him without him nipping and mouthing.  He's actually has a great temperment, but this is becoming a real nuisance. 

[Leah-n-boy-os]

My St. Bernard/Chow has the mouthy-issue as well. Check out this topic: http://bigpawsonly.com/index.php/topic,561.msg3924.html#msg3924

They gave me some suggestions.

He's getting better, but it's still a concern, so we're gathering as much info/suggestions as we can.

[Newf Lover]

I know what you're talking about, Drake did that for a while.  The thing is that Newfies were bred to use their mouths as a pulling tool.  So it is in their nature to use their mouths.  But they shouldn't do it every time someone reaches out to them, which is a puppy issue.  The only thing I would suggest would be to pet him a lot so they are used to hands being by their head.  Don't deny playing tug-of-war or even rough housing, they need that kind of stuff, they really, really do.  You're just going to have to be patient and vigilant in correcting him.  Remember, you have an incredibly intelligent dog on your hands, he will learn.  You are the boss, they have to learn your rules.  Give it time, but also realize that Newfs are going to irk some people they approach because of the drool, especially neat freaks.  That is something that never goes away, their mouths are one of the biggest issues to deal with.  And then there's the hair.....

[mastiffmommy]

It seems like a lot of our babies have the same problem. Galahad isnt too bad, but except saying NO, I teach him "leave it" he is getting better each day. It is a great command to have, can be used in all kinds of situations. Also, when I had danes, a breeder told me to push a bit of lip in between hand or whatever they were biting on, and the teeth, that way they end up biting themselves and lol.... that is not as much fun as biting someone else. I think it has been more or less of a problem with all my dogs, they have all grown out off it though, some with a little more "help" than other. But I am sure he will get over it as he gets older. Good Luck

Marit

[Wolf_Lover]

My wolfbaby Merlin was mouthy also...he'd try to lead me around by holding my hand in his mouth, or just gently chew on my forearm to get my attention.  The only thing that worked well was "pushing"...that is, when the dog puts his mouth on your hand or arm, you "push" it into the mouth...I know this sounds kinda strange, but it was the only thing that worked with him.  He'd just get excited if you tried to pull away, so pushing was the best solution.  If you can make him gag a little each time he does it, he'll quit the behavior in a day or two...

[swimmerwil]

Thanks for the replies!  I appreciate it!  I laughed about the "neat freak" thing--I know what you mean--I am not concerned about the drool or hair, I was just getting tired of the mouthiness.  I pet him a lot during the day while he's home with me and my 9 mo. old (who he just loves)--he only seems to get hyper and mouthy when my son and husband are here.  He's really sweet, actually.  I will read the article you recommended.  THANKS!

[newflvr]

I think Newf Lover is right!  Newfies are used to using their mouths to "help".  My Newfs bring in the newspaper (thank GOD for the plastic bags!), the mail (junk mail only!) fire wood, groceries (again....plast ic bags!!).  With my first two Newfs, my female would carry my purse when we went shopping and the male the PLASTIC bags.  If I left them at home and went out without them, they would rush down to the car when I came in and each one would take an arm and I would be escorted in to the kitchen.  It's just a Newf thing!

We did train them not to mouth other people by the "leave it" command and that seemed to work.  I think training them to have jobs is really the best way to teach them how to use their mouths.  My 12 week old Newf is now bringing in a piece of junk mail just like the big boy.

[rustycharm]

I've had two newfies and its definately part of the process of exploration! I got a great tip to deter the mouthiness if it was too much and that was to grab the chin and put your thumb on the toungue fairly firmly when they mouthed too much. Although its a good method to deter (as they hate having their toungue disabled lol) I would also encourage you to teach your dog the right pressure to hold your hand in its mouth as its an inherant trait for newfies to grab water rescue victums (been swimming with your dog?) and tow them into shore by arm or hand.
I found that when Shumba or Mambo used too much pressure - I would squeal a bit and sure enough there would be an apologetic lick to say oops ! Mambo was a quick learner and now - no probs.

[greek4]

My Newf mix, Rocco, sucks on things.  He usually sucks the nose of his bear or another one of his stuffed toys.  He has been known to suck socks, towels, fabric, pillows, or other soft objects.  I always assumed it was because he was taken from his mother too early due to her having to get heartworm treatment.  Why do you guys think he does this sucking

[luvmenewfs]

 

We used this opportunity to teach "Get your toy"  or "Hold" 

Stick a proper toy or item in mouth.  THen pet.  Give a lot of positive praise when the pup holds the toy rather than the hand.

Eventually you can use the command "OFF" and when you insert toy "HOLD"  GOOD BOY!!! 

Hey, my clothes for the first 8 months of both my boys were totally torn up, shredded and trashed from learning OFF and Hold and NO PLAY...WORK time.
 

I think no matter what you try, Newfies are pretty darn smart and as long as you are consistent...t hey'll learn to oblige!!!

[zsutter]

Our Newfie Murphy had the same problem. He was incredibly mouthy. They do eventually grow out of it, and by 9 months they seem much better. One thing I did that helped was to keep his pen around, and as soon as the mouthing started, picked him up put him in the pen and ignored him for a few minutes. I made it seem like we were doing something really great without him, and he didn't like being left out. When he came out a few minutes later he was better, I kept repeating that, and he definitely got the message. Also, my breeder told me when he is nipping to pinch their ears, like another dog would do to them. It did usually get him to stop. Hope this helps.

[maggieb]

We had the same problem with Cooper.  I don't know if Newfs are more mouthy but I didn't remember it being as bad with my Lab.  I was seriously getting worried, thinking he was never going to be broken of the problem b/c initially he seemed to get more excited if we told him "no"-like a game.  We didn't do anything other than squeal when he put his mouth on us (my husband growled sometimes).  Maybe it would have broke him faster if we had tried some of the other ideas above.  (Whatever you do, make sure the boys don't run from him.) But now at 7 mos he is soooo gentle with his mouth.  I don't even remember when it was last a problem-probably around 4 mos at the latest.

[jabear]

How is the mouthiness Summerwill? I hope things have gotten better with your baby boy. I thought of you this morning as Bear and I shared some cookies...he is sooo sweet and gentle with is mouth.

[sarnewfie]

BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD
i tell my puppy people
this is a natural trait, what do they do in water when saving a drowning victim?
they naturally grab an arm and haul them to shore.
this is not to be tolerated on land.
there are many ways to solve this but all of you must be consistant in your training.
i start by a sharp acckkk or bad, and turn my back to them, if that doesnt work a hard pop on the nose.
i find i only need to do that twice and they never try it again.
bad bad bad!!!