# GSD likes to mouth my hands



## hps

Ritz, 1yr old GSD likes to mouth my arms and hands, she doesnt bite and will quit if told to "stop it" but i have a hard time petting her, she always wants to do this. Is this just something that german shepherds do?


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## Knave

The trick I used to use with my older GSD was the puppy yelp. The theory is that when puppies play, they yelp loudly when one is playing too hard with the other to get them to stop or ease up on play. 

When your dog starts being mouthy, yelp. It should be a short, loud, high pitched noise. Most dogs will be startled by this. She may try to mouth you more lightly after this but, keep yelping. She should get the idea. Also, praising her for not being mouthy should help reinforce the idea.


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## Emoore

Around my house we call those "mouth hugs." Both my working-line boys have done it.


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## Stosh

Mine too. I kind of adore it, especially when I'm giving him a tummy rub and he holds my wrist in his mouth and his eyes get all sleepy looking


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## Blanketback

Yes, they sure do like to mouth! Two of my GSDs were adopted as adults, so I'm unsure of how they were trained in the nipping stage, but they did sometimes give me "mouth hugs" (love that term!). My previous GSD (and this puppy too) were both trained through the nipping stage to use a soft mouth. As an adult, mouthing more frequently... puppy's very mouthy. But not painful. I always say, "I love you too" when I'm mouthed, as I see it as a great sign of affection :wub:


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## maureen_mickel

My Celia mouths ALOT but it doesnt hurt. She knows what "ouch" means so she is rather gentle. People say that "mouthing" is a sign of "dominence" but dont worry about it, scientists have recently disproven dominence in dogs. Its just the way that shepherds like to play :] every shep ive known does this alotand I love it!!! But if you dont likeit, say ouch when your dog starts mouthing and walk out of the room. mouth=no play=sadness=will be less likely to continue the behavior.


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## Elaine

My older dogs wouldn't mouth me for nothing. My little guy still bites like an alligator whenever I pet him and he's 11 months old. He stops when I tell him too, but it's a lot of fun and we wrestle a lot.


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## Jax08

Jax mouths my hands when I get home every day.


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## doggiedad

i think it's something any dog will do untill trained differently.
also age may play a part.


hps said:


> Ritz, 1yr old GSD likes to mouth my arms and hands, she doesnt bite and will quit if told to "stop it" but i have a hard time petting her, she always wants to do this.
> 
> >>>> Is this just something that german shepherds do?<<<<


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## Jax08

I think it might be a way to get attention or maybe even a sign of affection. I am the only one that Jax does that too and I am "her" human.


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## RICO

Rico mouths me occasionally, not very often, but not near as much as my boyfriend. I blame the "rough play" they do, since I do not play with him like that and never have, I have a feeling thats why he doesn't do this to me. But when he did it as a puppy, when I was loving on him and petting him, if he mouthed me, the love would stop. He quickly learned that "if I mouth/bite her, I get no more lovin's" =P hope this helps!


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## Bear L

My 6 months does it too - to either remove my hand from doing something she doesn't like (ie. brushing her) or her way of playing / interacting with me. She also likes to mouth when I pet her. I don't like it so is training that out of her. Giving a stern "no" or walking away has cut down on her mouthing. Now I can pet her much better.


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