# The snout grab game



## Zuiun (Jul 1, 2011)

I have figured out how to drive my dogs completely insane.

It's a simple two-step process:

Step 1: place the palm of my hand upon the dog's snout.

Step 2: Hold on.

(Step 2 is not as easy as it sounds.)

I started playing this game with Brody way back when I first got him. He goes completely bonkers for it.

His role in the game is to try to get my hand off of his snout. Tools available to him for this task are: panting, tail wagging, thrashing about like an idiot, "punching" me with his paws.

The longer I stay attached to his snout, the more points I score.

He scores a point if he successfully dislodges my hand, in which case he gets to slobber it with licks.

Sometimes the game degenerates into a slap fight, which is his second-favorite game.


----------



## Stella's Mom (Mar 8, 2011)

LoL...The dog really doesn't mind that you are grabbing his snout for quite a period of time? 
I only grab Stella's snout when I need her to hold still so I can clean out her eye goop in the morning. She stays still when I do this....guess we didn't think to make a game out of it.


----------



## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

My dogs love when I grab at their snouts, but I usually only hold for a few seconds lmfao. Then, repeat step 1 and 2 for as long as it keeps them entertained!


----------



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

This post made me laugh!


----------



## ShenzisMom (Apr 27, 2010)

Have you tried the 'I got your bum' game?:wild:


----------



## MrsWoodcock (Oct 21, 2010)

ShenzisMom said:


> Have you tried the 'I got your bum' game?:wild:


I HAVE! lol


----------



## Zuiun (Jul 1, 2011)

Stella's Mom said:


> LoL...The dog really doesn't mind that you are grabbing his snout for quite a period of time?


I can't even begin to describe how mellow Brody is... or how much he trusts me.

For example, when trimming his nails, he will simply lay on his back in my lap. No need to restrain him, hold him down or anything. The most "struggling" he does is to try to lick my chin if it gets close enough.

So yeah, he not only doesn't mind the snout grab, but loves it as a game.


----------



## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

Bwahaha, we play that game, it's too funny!!! LMBO!! I play with my lab like that because Killian's teeth have proved to sharp to play that!  HEHE!!


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Our Baron (3.5yo male) usually just lets me grab his snout. He usually just looks at me with his big brown eyes.

Unless he is is one of his moods - then he will shake my hand off and try to grab it with his big teeth. Just a mouth not a bite thankfully!


----------



## Rodeo. (Feb 25, 2011)

Maybe I'm just crazy but I think wolves use something similar to show dominance? I don't remember where I read it but I do remember noticing it in videos afterwards. It would explain why some dogs won't have any of it lol.


----------



## Rodeo. (Feb 25, 2011)

This video shows what I meant right in the first few seconds. 

HowStuffWorks Videos "Wolf Dominance"


----------



## APCURLS (Apr 14, 2011)

Stella's Mom said:


> I only grab Stella's snout when I need her to hold still so I can clean out her eye goop in the morning. She stays still when I do this....guess we didn't think to make a game out of it.


LOL. I do the same thing. Draco just looks at me with his head cocked and with a pitiful look on his face. He hasn't quite figured out I'm just cleaning his eye goop. I doubt he'd get the play concept out of it.


----------



## mssandslinger (Sep 21, 2010)

Zero loves that game! and he loves when i slap the sides of his mouth when hes panting he tries to grab my hand. haha!


----------



## LukasGSD (May 18, 2011)

That's how Lukas' and mines game of *"Show me your TEETH"* started. Lmao. I would grab his nose and pull his "lips" up and now he loves showing his teeth. If I beat the sofa or bed he will fling his mouth open and make snorty noises and eventually starts sneezing and rubbing his doggy slime all over the place. :laugh:


----------



## mssandslinger (Sep 21, 2010)

LukasGSD said:


> That's how Lukas' and mines game of *"Show me your TEETH"* started. Lmao. I would grab his nose and pull his "lips" up and now he loves showing his teeth. If I beat the sofa or bed he will fling his mouth open and make snorty noises and eventually starts sneezing and rubbing his doggy slime all over the place. :laugh:



oh thats a neat trick! how did you get him to keep his lips up and knwo that was the command?


----------



## LukasGSD (May 18, 2011)

I guess he kind of learned it himself. I have to encourage it by getting him riled up and tapping his nose and literally say "show me your teeth" over and over as we played. So now he does it automatically. I used to reward him with treats every time he did it. But it's a game so he finds it fun anyways.  

Maybe I can try and get a video of him doing it later this evening.


----------



## Thru the Viewfinder (Aug 8, 2011)

LukasGSD said:


> I guess he kind of learned it himself. I have to encourage it by getting him riled up and tapping his nose and literally say "show me your teeth" over and over as we played. So now he does it automatically. I used to reward him with treats every time he did it. But it's a game so he finds it fun anyways.
> 
> Maybe I can try and get a video of him doing it later this evening.


A dear friend of mine used to own a Dobe that did this when she was told to smile. Cracked me up every time! Looking forward to a video!


----------



## Zuiun (Jul 1, 2011)

Naturally, when I play this with Brody, Tsura wants to know what's going on, so she had to be introduced to the game, too.

Only she has her own variation of it.

She LOVES to snap her jaws shut. I think it's the noise more than anything.

So her variation is that I grab her snout and give it a little shake and then lift my hand. She chomps at the air a few times, as if to say "how DARE you!" (but wagging her tail the whole time). Rinse and repeat.

Funny thing is, she has AMAZING control of her bite. When she's chomping at the air, she's giving it her all, making the loudest "CHOMP" she can. If my hand happens to accidentally be in the way, she somehow is able to control that lightning fast, steel trap jaw so that the most I feel is her drooling tongue. It's pretty incredible how quick she can figure out not to bite.


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Zuiun said:


> Naturally, when I play this with Brody, Tsura wants to know what's going on, so she had to be introduced to the game, too.
> 
> Only she has her own variation of it.
> 
> ...


I think that bite control is pretty common. If my dog and I are both tugging on something and she goes for a better grip, if she gets my hand
she doesn't bite down. I often grab her open snout in play and she never bites. They are very quick.
She likes the air biting too.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i do the samething. has your dog ever grabbed
a finger or wrist?? this is a bad game to play outdoors
in the winter time, it can hurt. ooooouuuuuucccccchhhhhh. :crazy:



Shaina said:


> My dogs love when I grab at their snouts, but I usually only hold for a few seconds lmfao. Then, repeat step 1 and 2 for as long as it keeps them entertained!


----------



## Dragonwyke (Jul 21, 2011)

_that's not play at our house. that's serious business. no teeth are allowed on people, at all, ever, for any reason. once inside our fenced yard, all teeth are to be used only on other dogs or toys or food. when i put my hand on their muzzles that's a "settle" signal. it means, behave or it's trouble for you, buddy. 

but we have to go thru a whole series of stuff to get to that point, cuz most of these dogs come here w/some pretty heavy baggage. so any show of teeth isn't treated lightly. 

maria 
_


----------



## kennajo (May 20, 2011)

We so totally do that too!! It's fun


----------



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

ShenzisMom said:


> Have you tried the 'I got your bum' game?:wild:


How does that game go? (Although with Shasta in heat, I don't think we'll be playing soon...she's pretty tired of me messing with her bum, taking the panties off and on.)


----------



## hallix (May 18, 2011)

Hahah. Addie won't really play it. She LOVES her snout grabbed. xD It's one of her favorite places to be pet. The only time she starts trying to move my hand is if I stop petting her.


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

I try to play it with our 3.5o male GSD, but he usually just lets me grab him and waits till I let him go. We have grabbed and hugged him ever since he was a 7 wo puppy so he is used to it now and doesn't fuss at it. 

UNLESS he is a "mood" (and you can tell because he will sort of look sideways out of the corner of his eye as i come up on him with my hand out toward him! and i can tell he will play) and then it is game on with him trying to grab me (yes with his mouth full of teeth) but fortunately he has remarkablly great bite control even when very excited and never has put any pressure on. He will also start licking furiously if i say "OW".


----------



## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

If someone were to walk into a play session with me and Banjo, they might call animal control. I hoot and hollar and jump around, Banjo yips and growls and barks. Full contact hard hits and strong bites (I wear leathers). My goal is to get at his belly, his goal is to prevent that. I chase him with shoes, sticks, rolled up magazines yelling like a madman, he dances and generally gets to act a fool as well. It almost always devolves into me sprawled out on the floor massaging his muscles and giving him a good looking over. It revs him up for awhile, but the massage/scratch session calms him down. 

I think being able to really get physical with a dog like that builds a strong bond. Mutual trust that neither of us is going to step over the line from play to the real deal. He won't engage other people in that manner (except one friend who also has a GSD), he'll just fold his ears back and suffer thru when others try and rile him up like I do. All it takes is me growling out "I'm gonna getcha!" and grab for his tail. It's instant fangs and claws and beautiful deep growling.

Oh, I forgot "THE BROOM". If I come at him with THE BROOM, all **** breaks loose. He savages the broom, it's play but lord almighty I would NOT want to be that broom. Even when only playing I get chills, the power and speed he displays is astonishing. He's not a prime example of the breed either, I can only imagine what a super toned and hardened police/protection dog could do.


----------



## Zuiun (Jul 1, 2011)

brembo said:


> If someone were to walk into a play session with me and Banjo, they might call animal control...


HAHAHA!! That is so awesome! Brody loves to "maul" me, too. We wrestle and slap at each other. I'll let him have the "upper hand" sometimes, in which case I'm laying on my back, he's on top of me and if I were to toss in a bucket of fake blood, it would totally look like he was killing me. Except he and I both know that he's only using his slobbery tongue. But he's a snarly mess while doing it.

I know that some people are opposed to play like that. As though it sends the wrong message to the dog. But I don't buy it. Dogs play like that all the time. Heck, Brody and Tsura are waaaaay more rough with each other than Brody is with me. And I've NEVER had any obedience issues with Brody. He knows who is boss. (And like your Banjo, he has excellent awareness of who he can and can't play rough with.)

He also knows when to calm down from playing. No matter how hard we're going at it, all I have to do is say "that's enough" and he gives me one last lick on the face and steps away.


----------



## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

We play the snout game, and I've got your bum. LOL..We also play I'm gonna pinch your face. Wolfie loves that. He comes over and we pinch the sides of his snout and he pretends to bite us.


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

It's so funny the things that they like from "their people". Sasha loves it if I get in a pounce position, and then she'll get in one, and then I'll slap one paw really fast, then the other one, while she pretends like she's trying to bite them, then we either A) start a game of tag, or B) wrestle. She also gets excited if I ask her if she needs punched in the snoot. I'll put my hands up like I'm going to box, she'll snap the air a few times (big tail wagging happily of course), then I'll slowly move my hand forward and as I tap her nose she licks my hand (and often ends up jumping up and licking my face. She also likes to play the, "Is it terrible?" game. This game starts by Sasha fussing a little and I'll say to her, "Is it terrible?" The fussing will increase; then I'll say, "Oh my! That's pretty terrible!" The fussing will increase. "Oh my that's sooooo terrible!" She just goes crazy lol!


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

brembo said:


> If someone were to walk into a play session with me and Banjo, they might call animal control. I hoot and hollar and jump around, Banjo yips and growls and barks. Full contact hard hits and strong bites (I wear leathers). My goal is to get at his belly, his goal is to prevent that. I chase him with shoes, sticks, rolled up magazines yelling like a madman, he dances and generally gets to act a fool as well. It almost always devolves into me sprawled out on the floor massaging his muscles and giving him a good looking over. It revs him up for awhile, but the massage/scratch session calms him down.
> 
> *I think being able to really get physical with a dog like that builds a strong bond. Mutual trust that neither of us is going to step over the line from play to the real deal.* He won't engage other people in that manner (except one friend who also has a GSD), he'll just fold his ears back and suffer thru when others try and rile him up like I do. All it takes is me growling out "I'm gonna getcha!" and grab for his tail. It's instant fangs and claws and beautiful deep growling.
> 
> Oh, I forgot "THE BROOM". If I come at him with THE BROOM, all **** breaks loose. He savages the broom, it's play but lord almighty I would NOT want to be that broom. Even when only playing I get chills, the power and speed he displays is astonishing. He's not a prime example of the breed either, I can only imagine what a super toned and hardened police/protection dog could do.



I think that's so true. Sasha doesn't really play much with other people, but on occasion she will and it's very reserved and gentle. Not with me, it's all slamming, mouthing, barking, etc. The first time I really got her riled up she put my entire calf in her mouth, she never bit down just put it in her mouth, it startled me for sure. I really didn't realize her mouth could open that wide. Ever since then, though, I've trusted her 100%. She could have really hurt me, but she didn't; she just wanted to spend fun time with me in the way that she understood. It was really funny, one of my relatives were over one time and Sasha and I were playing. I was down on my knees, she was on her back with me moving her around with her paws, and she reached up and put my arm in her mouth. My family member was like, "Aren't you afraid she might accidentally bite you?" I just laughed and told them, "If she bites me it won't be an accident; that's not how it works. But no, I'm not afraid of her because she's not afraid of me." Unfortunately our little chat gave Sasha the upper hand and I got a head to the jaw, at which time I did have to explain that I wasn't afraid of her biting me, but I was afraid of her knocking out all my teeth lol!!!


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It's just affection. We have Dachshund siblings and the brother ALWAYS grabs his sister's snout in his jaws. He really only does it to her, but since we got the puppy Pebbles, he does it to her now, too. It's really a sign of love/affection.
Our dogs enjoy it when we do that to them, as well, and it does entice them to play.

I play "I got your bum" and "I got your tail" to get them revved up


----------

