Re: [pyrnet] dog jumping and mouthing

[Dark Forest Mushrooms <mushroom@gator.net>]

Hi Ann Marie, I know you're dealing with a rescue dog and have to compensate for
any past lessons he learned before he knew you.  I've had my Pyr mix since she
was 6 weeks old.  Juma did the mouthing thing too, and my husband and I used two
different but effective methods of breaking her of it.  When she was younger, if
she mouthed us, we would let out a high-pitched "YELP!" just as a littermate
would do if it were getting hurt (even though she didn't hurt us).  As she got
older (around 4-5 months), we used a different, dominance-establishing
technique.  She would mouth my arm, and I would gently but firmly begin to press
against her back teeth and say "No!"  In doing so, my arm would suddenly be an
unwanted presence, and she would have to be submissive and back away to get out
of the situation.  It worked quite well as she was broken of the habit by 7
months.  As for rambunctious play, if Juma got too rough, we would turn our
backs on her and walk away, ignoring her for a few moments.  She learned quickly
that being too rough meant being temporarily "banished" from the "pack."  With
dangerously rough play, I have heard of people putting their dogs behind closed
doors for a period of 3-5 minutes, thus being physically "banished" from the
"pack."  We never got to that point with Juma though.  Hope this helps.

Stacey Korn