# Lunging at faces



## greenleaf2001

My 9 month old has been lunging at faces without warning. He has done this with both adults who are dog people and kids. It has occurred over the past 3 months when people are sitting next to him, petting him, and standing above him so there is no pattern. I spoke to the breeder and posted this on the aggression forum a few months ago, and based on feedback I don't think this is aggressive behavior. It's almost like he gets suddenly annoyed and jumps up to nip at the face, but he does this without using his teeth. 

I don't know how to correct this as it occurs suddenly and without ANY warning..no growls, funny looks etc. However it is making me worried. Any advice?


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## GSDBESTK9

Take him to a good behaviorist/trainer.


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## RebelGSD

I had several fosters who LOVED to do face nips and kisses, especially when excited. Mostly surprise actions as they knew that this was not desirable behavior. For some reasons GSDs love being in people's faces. This is just another possibility. The solution is the same, they have to learn acceptable behaviors.


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## RubyTuesday

Your 9mo old is still a baby, a work in progress. It's imperative that you figure out exactly what he's doing & <u>why</u>. You really need the insight of a good behaviorist/trainer. 

The puppy doesn't always predict the dog to be. Many serious behavior/aggression problems arise only as the dog is maturing, ie the adolescent or young adult phases. This is also the period where a meaningful fix is most possible. Again, for the sake of everyone, including the pup, find a good behaviorist/trainer.


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## Jason L

So what have you been doing when he does that?


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## greenleaf2001

We have him enrolled in beginning obedience ( he completed puppy training before this began). As soon as I see the behavior I administer a sharp pull down if he is on leash and I smack him in the nose with a resounding NO. The breeder advised that we do this, but it only works if it happens immediately. She says it is not an indicator of future aggression issues, but he has to learn it is not acceptable behavior. He has never done this to me or my husband. We are going to ask our new trainer this week.


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## APBTLove

What is his body language saying? Is he playing possibly? I've known many dogs who jump at faces and even nip when they aren't getting enough attention or are just being obnoxious... This really hurts with the huge american bully down the road. 

I don't know about smacking his nose, what I would do is give a leash correction and an "AH! AH!". Short and sharp. I never, ever suggest using physical punishment, especially in a dog's face... When the dog finally gets sick of it, a kids' hand flying for his face to pat him looks the same as the one coming to smack him, and he could started reacting badly. My adopted dog did this, her past owners even mentioned that as corrections they slapped her face, so when she was caught doing something bad if you got your hand near her face she'd wrinkle her nose up expecting punishment, even snapped at the air.

Good luck... I would suggest talking with your trainer about it.


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## Vinnie

Personally I would never “smack” a dog anywhere near the face. He will become shy of your hands and fearful of you touching his face. May even lash out and bite your hands if he fears you will hit him again. Please be careful of doing this.


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## Riley's Mom

Absolutely no smacking ... Vinnie is right. If you have someone you can work as a team practicing this. Not only should you use the word "No!" pull back/down on the leash but the "target" person should make the same verbal correction, then stand up and ignore him. or hold flat palm in front of face telling the dog no. But it's got to be a firm, confident no, not an excited in any way no.


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## Virginia

Can you tell when he's about to jump up and nip? If so, try giving him a conflicting command that he can't do when he's jumping up, such as sit. Then reward and praise profusely when he does it.

It's all good and fine to teach your dog what behaviors are unacceptable, but you should teach him an alternative behavior that he can do instead for it to be really effective.


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## Chris Wild

> Originally Posted By: VirginiaCan you tell when he's about to jump up and nip? If so, try giving him a conflicting command that he can't do when he's jumping up, such as sit. Then reward and praise profusely when he does it.
> 
> It's all good and fine to teach your dog what behaviors are unacceptable, but you should teach him an alternative behavior that he can do instead for it to be really effective.


I agree with this 100%!

This isn't aggression. It is typical obnoxoius teenager "tooth kisses". A very common thing for young dogs to do when they get excited. They mean it in a good way, as an overexhuberant form of affection. But of course that doesn't make the humans' split lips or bopped noses that often result feel any better.

He simply needs to learn that while the sentiment is appreciated, the behavior itself is unacceptable and you want him to express his excitement and affection in a less scary and hurtful manner. Teaching him an alternate competing behavior, as Virginia described above, is the perfect way to go about it. Don't punish him for it as he really won't understand that and you don't want to cause a fracture in your relationship with him by making him think it's a bad thing to be affectionate or excited to see you. Just help him learn a better way to go about it.


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## greenleaf2001

Thanks everyone for your advice!!


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## Cassidy's Mom

Halo will be 11 months old a week from Friday, and she STILL does this! Definitely nothing aggressive about it, she just gets really excited when she meets people and likes to jump up and give kisses. I *don't* like her to do that so we're working on it, but we have a way to go.


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## Doc

I would catch his front paws and hold them up. He will start to wiggle and become uncomfortable but do not let go immediately. When you do let go, give him the sit command to and help him get in that position if he needs it, then praise him for sitting.. This exhibits your "alpha" position, makes his "jumping" an uncomfortable action, and shows him a correct approach and way to show his affection.


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## MaggieRoseLee

> Originally Posted By: RebelGSDI had several fosters who LOVED to do face nips and kisses, especially when excited. Mostly surprise actions as they knew that this was not desirable behavior. For some reasons GSDs love being in people's faces. This is just another possibility. The solution is the same, they have to learn acceptable behaviors.


Glory does exactly this and it drives me NUTS! She thinks it's a big joke to dart up for a nip/lick. The rest of us are not nearly as happy with the behavior. 

I'm trying to just teach everyone who greets her to remain standing and out of reach. As well as preparing them if she DOES go to leap up they need to spin to give her their backs and say 'off'.


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## Cassidy's Mom

> Originally Posted By: MaggieRoseLee As well as preparing them if she DOES go to leap up they need to spin to give her their backs and say 'off'.


I do that with Halo, who is SO excited when I come home from work, but it hasn't helped much. She knows she has to be calm and sitting or I won't open the door to the garage pen, but as soon as I open it and release her to come out she boings up and down over and over and over again. I turn my back and she leaps up and bites at the back of my HEAD!!!!


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## RubyTuesday

> Quote: It's almost like he gets suddenly annoyed and jumps up to nip at the face, but he does this without using his teeth.


Why do you think he's annoyed? 



> Quote:He has never done this to me or my husband.


IF this is simply puppy exuberance, inappropriately displayed affection or a bid for attention it would seem that he'd do it to you &/or your husband, too. Do you have any idea why he isn't doing this to the people he's presumably most bonded to? 

I'd expect you & your husband to be the prime targets in a simple bid for affection & attention or invitations to play. In fact that seems generally true of those posting here whose dogs have displayed over the top greetings. GSDs are ordinarily so owner focused it's surprising he does this with others but not you, nor your husband.


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## Catu

Actually it is very normal. One thing is affection and another one is exhuberance, if he feels respect for the leaders of his pack he may show his affection in a more calm and submissive way, while with strangers and kids it's only a "Hey, I'm soooo happy to see you, lets go play".

If you see two pups of the same age encountering one to another you'll see a lot of jumping, if you see a pup greeting an adult you'll see a different body languaje, with head, ears and tail low, face licking, semi-closed eyes, etc. It has nothing to do with fear, it is only respect. With strangers greenleaf's pup doesn't feel the need to be respectful, maybe he is confident enough and this strangers had not earned his respect so he seems everybody as potential playmates.


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## greenleaf2001

Ruby Tuesday-

The first time I saw this behavior was when a young girl came up while he was sitting and pet him on the head. He was in a sit/stay and I think he got tired of her petting him, so he jumped up and "nudged" her on the forehead.

Another time my friend was sitting on a chair reading a book and he was sitting next to her. He lunged sideways and tried to take off her glasses too. She was totally minding her business and not petting him, so I don't know what caused this.

The most recent time was when we were out for a walk and a neighbor stopped us to talk. He was in a sit ( on leash) and was ok with her petting him again on the head after she let him sniff her hand, etc. Then as we continued talking, he jumped up and knocked off her glasses. 

I think in both cases the person was standing over him and too close into his space. 

When he did this to my 8 year old ( I did not witness it) she said he was lying down and she was petting him on the head and stomach. She gets exhuberant when petting him, and I think it was too much. I have and continue to tell her she needs to watch his body language, stay AWAY from his head and to be calm around him when petting him. I also try to make sure she is not alone with him anymore until this gets corrected. He has gotten better with her and there have been no more incidents, but the one with the neighbor was last week. 

When he gets excited around my husband, he does give us excited nips and kisses, but these are several and he is happily wagging his tail, etc. When he lunges at others it only happens once-- he jumps up FAST and back down and acts as if nothing unusual has occurred. 

We are seeing our trainer this weekend and will ask her advice. In the meantime I am going to tell people that he tends to jump up and nip at faces, so to stay a reasonable distance back from him. However, I don't want him to not meet and be pet by new people as I want him to be properly socialized.

Sorry for the ramble....


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## SuzyE

I used to get the canine in the jaw quite a bit when Paige was young.I read jan Fennels book about ignoring the dog when you come home and that solved that. When Paige would lung when she was young at other people I would give her a strong leash corrections.I mean strong. I can't have my GSD lunging at joggers.It really only took twice.


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