# Mouthing other dogs



## lillajk (Jul 13, 2014)

Hi,
I have a 7 month old German Shepard puppy, and a little Bichon mix they get along great except when playing Natty(the GSD) likes to mouth at his head and throat and pull him around by the collar. For the most part Rocky doesn't seem to mind too much and they are buddies, at time Rocky will insist that I carry him so that he doesn't have to deal with it. This seems to be a pretty typical shepard behavior from what I have heard but was wondering if anyone has had any success in stopping this. I was worried about it becoming too much for Rocky and don't want her doing it to other dogs, b/c I know it can be intimidating to other people. 
I tried the apple bitter spray on his collar and that will work for a couple of hrs but wears off. If I'm constantly on top of it telling her "No Bite, Give Kisses" She will stop and lick him instead, but I need to be dong it every few seconds.
Any suggestions?


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

A time-out might work. First give the reprimand like you are doing. When Natty does it again, then that's it - she goes in her crate and playtime is over.


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## Meesha43 (Dec 5, 2014)

I am having a sort of the same thing happen with my 3 month old Shepherd. My parents watch her while I go to work. They have an 8 year old English Springer Spaniel and a Collie mix. My Layla mouths both dogs constantly. They want nothing to do with her, and do not retaliate in any way. She does not stop. She continues to go at them. Both of my parents dogs get totally stressed out, and neither one of them do anything to Layla to stop her. We have tried everything with her. We have tried keeping her on a leash, giving her a time out, trying to distract her. Nothing works. She is starting obedience training at the end of the month. I am praying they could help because I am so frustrated. Any suggestions?


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

To give your parents' dogs a break, I would separate Layla from them. A baby gate helps. Layla is just a puppy and may outgrow this behavior.


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## Katagaria (Apr 6, 2014)

Mary Beth said:


> A time-out might work. First give the reprimand like you are doing. When Natty does it again, then that's it - she goes in her crate and playtime is over.


Isn't it generally frowned upon to use a crate for punishment purposes? As it leads to the association that crate = bad place? Which in turn can make it more difficult for a dog to happily settle in his/her crate?


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

I don't consider sending the dog to his crate a punishment. The crate has his toys and a treat inside  In this case, it is used to break the habit of the dog constanly mouthing the other dog.


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## Jayfeather (Dec 28, 2014)

Katagaria said:


> Isn't it generally frowned upon to use a crate for punishment purposes? As it leads to the association that crate = bad place? Which in turn can make it more difficult for a dog to happily settle in his/her crate?


I used the time out method a lot with mine but he still loves it very much. He knows the difference between a punishment and going to chill out. If he goes in by himself, I feed him treats every now and then. He will run to his crate every time I put my shoes on because there's a chance he might get a cookie if he's not coming with me. I think it has a lot to do with your energy when you put him in the crate.


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