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Play mouthing & ending play time

Behavioral Issues
  • ProxamP

    Our 9 week old basenji loves to chew. For the most part, we've got this under control (by watching him carefully and replacing stuff he can't chew with stuff he can). Where we don't have this under control is when is comes to chewing us: every time he gets excited (ie play time) he starts nipping at us. He's not being aggressive, but it's still behaviour we'd like to "nip" in the bud. Lots of people seem to have had success with ignoring their dog for a little bit whenever he nips, so we'd like to try that, but we're unclear on a couple of points. First, how long do we ignore him for? And second, often he'll miss when he nips, sort of like snapping but much slower. Should we ignore him for this or wait until he actually connects?

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  • D

    How is your pup doing?

    Jennifer

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  • ProxamP

    On all but the mouthiness front, he's amazing - he's friendly with people and other dogs, he loves to sit in our laps (for now at least), and he's doing well in the basic commands we are teaching him. We're so happy to have him around! But ignoring him has given mixed results and little progress in the last week. Remi just turned ten weeks so we are not too worried yet. At the same time, it sure would be nice if we could solve it sooner rather than later. Also, any suggestions on your dog's favourite chew toys are welcome. We've got Remi some nylabones to gnaw on for the moment.

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  • Chealsie508C

    Too much bite playing, a little too hard and always at the wrong time

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    Buddys PalB
    @Chealsie508: When he wants to play he bites too hard and also tries to run and nip at your bum or arm.. I always say no and off the couch he goes but it's a game to him, he tries repeatedly to get back up and aims for my hands… All in play but still, he will even think nothing of aiming for your face if that's right near him. Last night I had two people over and the entire time he kept biting their hands and lunging to play, I told him no, I held his mouth, he went in his crate... I'd like for him to learn to have a soft mouth and I'd like to have company over without them being play mauled. I should note that it's poor socialization on my part specifically that I rarely have people over my apartment so I don't honk Oakley knows how to handle people being in his house... Ok, from what you described he needs 1) you to initiate the play. he should not initiate it on his terms and be in control. Control his environment by being the one to play. Certain times of day, you will know the times because it will be when it is at your convenience and can spend quality time etc. If he tries to play, leave the room, don't even say "no", just ignore. When you ignore the 'bad' behavior and only give attention when it is 'good', the theory is -is that it should become extinct. 2) impulse control yes. Do so by the ignore and leave the room exercise, REDIRECT his energy with a sit-stay series or puppy push ups: sit-down-sit-down-treat! and on it goes…..stay-increase distance-COME! treat! FUN STUFF!!!! 3)have toy will travel...have one somewhere all the time, esp when you have guests. Have them throw it before the nip, and voila! humans in control. I know it is not as easy as writing this, but I have redirected some growlies toward the older dogs in the 'pack' or biting the doggy beds, or the new couch I have(or rug...) and it works! Patience, persistence, consistency are the keys....
  • Kalima62K

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    Kalima62K
    I was very interested on finding out that the horse harnesses are good for our basenjis expecially the ones with a bit of metal chain at the end, so as not to let our doggies chew through the lead, I took Duna out for a country walk and a seaside walk too off leash. She defenetly chooses who to hear when calling her to come…ME!!!!! She's a good girl till she meets other dogs, then becomes deaf!!! I tried runnig away and it workrd for the country walk, where as at the sea, what with the wind noise and wave noise, she just didnt turn to control me and took off for a distance with a big abandoned german sheperd mix!!! So i had to chase her because i new she was in trance and hipnotised by this big black dog that we were shooing to go away and that Duna was following!!! Little Stinker!!!!
  • Robin_n_JackR

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    Robin_n_JackR
    Jack does that when he is sunbathing. He finds the biggest patch of sun he can find, and lays down crossways with his legs poking straight out and his head thrown back. He also likes to sleep with his head propped up on something, like a pillow….or my legs!
  • Tayda_LennyT

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    I know this is an old thread, but it seems to be what we are experiencing…so rather than start a new one, I thought building on an old one would be best. We adopted a brother/sister pair of 5 month old Bs. They do well with other dogs, rarely nip at other dogs (unless they are overly excited and the other dog is a little too friendly - nothing serious so far), but my goodness do they roughhouse with each other. They will start the B-500 while taking them for a walk, and wrestle and tackle, nibble, grab each other by the throat, ear, leg, etc. Sometimes there's noise, sometimes not, lots of legs flying everywhere as they wrestle each other to the ground. By what I've read so far using the search feature, this seems pretty normal B behavior. But occasionally we fear someone's going to call the police and tell them we have a dog fighting ring going! Luckily for us it's only with each other that they wrestle. Other dogs don't interest them except to prove they can run faster. So the $64,000 question is...should we try to train this out of them, or do we just need to learn to live with it - as long as they keep it to themselves and don't involve other dogs. Many thanks!