# Face Snapping and Stranger Danger



## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

My guy is 4 months and he's come a long way in terms of landsharking our hands.. problem is..If I put my face too close he snaps.. now since I pull back when I see it coming he thinks its a game although I say "NO!".. . Sometimes he licks, but I can certainly feel his level of excitement and eventually he snaps and i'm sure he feels my wariness when he licks.. 

Anyway, he's very friendly and people often come up to him and ask to pet him.. I want them to pet him but I have to warn them to keep their face away or he may bite. This makes them leary (as its normal)..and they are apprehensive.

I don't know how to correct this as saying no or walking away doesn't seem to work. Like I said he feels its a game. Is this something he will outgrow? I occassionally hold his muzzle shut to give him a kiss and praise him for not reacting, but eventually he always spazzes and snaps.

Other than that he is a perfect non aggressive little guy with a willingness to learn.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Our four month old little girl does this a bit as well. They are really just love nips and are generally soft mouth nibbles with our girl, but it is still something we are trying to break her of. She has never done it with strangers, just my wife and myself. What we are doing is simply correcting her when she nips and praising when she licks and is gentle. The approach seems to be working well for Jasmine, as the nips are less frequent and softer when she does nip. Just be consistent and praise when the puppy is gentle and he will learn that to make you happy he has to be nice.


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

I warn people only because faces tear easily and sometimes he is just so excited.. Also, he is Huge! for his age and I'm afraid he will be misinterpreted as aggression. He doesn't look like a cute fuzzy puppy anymore. 

As long as he will grow out of it I can deal. Because im not convinced he can be corrected without actually biting and make the connection..it bothers me because I don't want one of those snappy dogs. I realize that we should all be careful about putting our faces near dogs..but this isn't a situation like the reporter..its a "I love you...and your face looks chewy" situation.


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## sashadog (Sep 2, 2011)

I would just tell people he's still a mouthy puppy and then you need to be on top of his behavior, which is sounds like you are. But if someone's petting him and he lunges for their face you should be right there with a toy and a leash in order to redirect him. You know his lunging at faces is likely, so don't wait for him to actually make contact to correct it. And if the people you are around aren't going to understand his behavior, turn that time into an exercise in focusing on you and ignoring people when you ask him to.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

We have a Boston who likes to "lunge" at faces (during play), but when she gets there, she gently mouths. It's her "game" of what we call "bitey face". This usually occurs during a rough-and-tumble game of wrestling. 

I don't know if your dog is doing the same, though, as you draw back. Has he ever made contact with your face?


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

msvette2u said:


> We have a Boston who likes to "lunge" at faces (during play), but when she gets there, she gently mouths. It's her "game" of what we call "bitey face". This usually occurs during a rough-and-tumble game of wrestling.
> 
> I don't know if your dog is doing the same, though, as you draw back. Has he ever made contact with your face?


Yes, he has..too be honest, I hope he wont actually snap as many times he's sitting calmly.. I talk softly, petting his head and he seems ok, so I put my face closer and sure enough I feel his teeth scraping my chin. I really don't believe he means any harm..and he may outgrow this. 

However, if I put my face too close and I feel the needles of baby canines..when someone said I could pet the dog, I would be mad. 

I'm experienced with strange dogs, so I never lead with my face with any dog.. but many ppl arent too savvy. I do correct him at home and have not tested the situation with strangers as I warn them, but like I said, some people take the warning the wrong way and are more fearful...not the message I want to send to Tazor.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Don't let people get close. There's no reason they should. Nobody really gets that close to our Veronica so it's not an issue.
Dogs have their personal space, but most tolerate hugs, etc. from their person.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

You know, Simba also has this problem where he snaps at the face sometimes and my mom complained about it to me. He snaps at me too, before he realizes what he did was bad and licks me. But I tell everyone in the house not to try to baby talk up to his face because he'll scratch or snap. Nobody listens to me so I shrug (at the point of not caring type thing). 

As for strangers, oddly enough though, it's like he's not comfortable enough around them to snap or even bite at the hands, just licking. 

I'm in the same boat as you though, not knowing how to correct his biting. He still bites hands and arms and even goes after the toes. The elk antler I got works to get him to leave us alone for the most part, but when that's not an option, it's ridiculous. Simba feels it's a game too so I hold his muzzle shut sometimes too. He doesn't like that at all. lol. I wanna avoid slapping his mouth though.


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## caninecrazy (Jan 1, 2012)

Ellie did this as well at 2 and 3 months to the point where she would rarely lick and just wanted to grab my nose. I started holding her muzzle and saying "no biting" in a stern voice and would hold her muzzle for about 10 seconds or so then let go and get close again if she would begin to get snappy I would hold her muzzle again and then try again and she would lick and then I would say "good girl" after a week or so she got it and stopped. During that time when people would want to get down and talk to her I would just say "shes an excited puppy please watch your face she is in the process of learning her manners". Most people understood and those that didn't would just pat her on the head and walk away. Now that she is 4 months and lost that "puppy" look some people think she looks mean because shes a GSD and I tell them she is still a puppy, she still likes to play and I monitor everything, if she gets nippy she gets corrected and gets a time out, then she is allowed to say hi again. This is hand nipping which she rarely does but will try and see if she can find someone that lets her get away with it, even when they tell me its ok they don't mind I say I do mind and she has to have a time out to relax. She has not tried to face nip anyone in about a month now though. Her best command is leave it for things like that.


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

Im glad its not just him.....my last shepherd was a rescue around a yr old..and that was 13 yrs ago..My shepherd before that was 12 when he died so the puppy things are a vague memory as far as training. 

I will definitely try holding his muzzle, and just keep correcting. He is better about the hands, but has lapses..esp. when i hold his collar under his chin. I just dont want to get my face bit in order to correct it.. my hands, i can deal with.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to address my post, I appreciate it.

Btw..i gave him a bath today, ugh!! Hope it was a good one because it might be his last..haha


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

I held Simba's muzzle this morning for biting and he stopped for a bit. Then before I was going to leave for work he grabbed my arm with one of the hardest bites I've ever experienced from him, as if to say "DON'T LEAVE "!


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

Yes!! Tazor will try and remove my arm when I pet another of my dogs or cats. He has tried to lead me to certain things on several ocassions..its hard to correct because secretly i'm thinking...this is awesome..he's so smart..


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## hoocli (Mar 7, 2012)

I don't know how well it works... still waiting for my pup. But I read in one book that if you kinda give abit of a sharp yelp and completely ignore the pup he will get the idea that nipping isn't right. You could try and let me know how it works 




1337f0x said:


> You know, Simba also has this problem where he snaps at the face sometimes and my mom complained about it to me. He snaps at me too, before he realizes what he did was bad and licks me. But I tell everyone in the house not to try to baby talk up to his face because he'll scratch or snap. Nobody listens to me so I shrug (at the point of not caring type thing).
> 
> As for strangers, oddly enough though, it's like he's not comfortable enough around them to snap or even bite at the hands, just licking.
> 
> I'm in the same boat as you though, not knowing how to correct his biting. He still bites hands and arms and even goes after the toes. The elk antler I got works to get him to leave us alone for the most part, but when that's not an option, it's ridiculous. Simba feels it's a game too so I hold his muzzle shut sometimes too. He doesn't like that at all. lol. I wanna avoid slapping his mouth though.


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## *Lisa* (Nov 20, 2011)

We had some experience with the face snapping as well, but it was mainly focused on my husband and I. Jazmyn is very good with new people, and wont' even nip them, just kisses. We would tell her no, and just keep our face away. As she's gotten older, it's slowed down greatly. She will still snap at my hair if its hanging in front of my face when I bend over, but that's my fault LOL



> I don't know how well it works... still waiting for my pup. But I read in one book that if you kinda give abit of a sharp yelp and completely ignore the pup he will get the idea that nipping isn't right. You could try and let me know how it works


We found that this method did not work for us. It actually seemed to only excited Jazmyn even more. I don't think that we can make the same realistic sounds that puppies can, so she didn't understand it was painful, just thought we were playing with her more.

We taught Jazmyn "leave it" and now when shes biting (or attempting to bite) things she shouldn't, a quick "leave it" usually stops her. Other times its redirecting with a toy or bully stick.


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## Touch of Gray (Dec 14, 2011)

My pup had this issue also. He has grown out of it now but it was an annoying habit for a few months. I was consistant with verbal corrections and that seemed to do the trick. He was a jumper too. So glad he is over that as well. Jumping was harder to deal with. Its not just gsds. My parents gordon setter is quite the face snappet/nibbler, although only to my dad.


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## Laney (Feb 12, 2012)

TaZoR said:


> My guy is 4 months and he's come a long way in terms of landsharking our hands.. problem is..If I put my face too close he snaps.. now since I pull back when I see it coming he thinks its a game although I say "NO!".. . Sometimes he licks, but I can certainly feel his level of excitement and eventually he snaps and i'm sure he feels my wariness when he licks..
> 
> Anyway, he's very friendly and people often come up to him and ask to pet him.. I want them to pet him but I have to warn them to keep their face away or he may bite. This makes them leary (as its normal)..and they are apprehensive.
> 
> ...


It's like you are describing my puppy exactly. He has been doing this since we got him at 9 weeks and he is 8 months now and he has not grown out of it! He always jumps when someone walks in the door because he gets SO excited! I have corrected this behavior with my boyfriend and I. I just ignored him until he laid down and then he would get attention. Now when we walk in the door he instantly rolls over on his back so I will pet him! YAY problem solved (or so i thought). He does not snap at either of us anymore , but to anybody else that walks through our door (this ONLY happens at home; not in public, at the dog park, etc.) he jumps at least a foot off the ground and goes for the face. It always starts as licks, but he gets mouthy and then starts to chomp. It usually takes about 10 minutes to calm him down enough to where I am comfortable with him around our guests! ..So we are half way there, but I am open to any suggestions! I don't want to have to grab his collar and try to calm him down every time someone comes over!


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## MacyGSD (Dec 22, 2011)

Macy had this issue, She is now 6 months old. The way I dealt with it is when I'm petting her and she licks my face I continue doing what I do, but when she started to nip I pushed her away saying "No" and had her sit far away from me. This worked for her almost instantly. In the case of me petting other dogs, she also use to jump and push the other dog away from me. I handled that by petting my moms dog who she absolutely hates right infront of her while I hold her by her collar on my other side. She was going crazy the first time I did it, but now she is totaly fine with me petting other dogs. Hope this helps! again this is just my experience with Macy so I don't know if it's gonna work with Tazor. Good luck!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Abby still does this at 2.5 but it is a game. She has never made contact. She is instigating a game. She will face-snap and I bark or growl and she runs away, then she comes back and starts over and over.....


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