I have a tiny dog who likes me to "fight" him with my hand, and at the end he'll just hold a finger in his mouth to show he won.
It's super cute, but the ER seems annoyed they have to keep reattaching it.
this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Yes! By the time I moved home aged 19 my mum had gotten a springer spaniel puppy, who was about 3 when I moved back. He was so full of energy, rest of the family found him annoying but I loved him dearly and we bonded. He would eat and chew fucking everything, this dog ate the plasterboard off the walls, cat food laced with tabasco sauce (twice in a row), if it was in reach of his snoot it'd be getting a nibbling.
Eventually we weaned him off this habit but even as an adult dog, when you'd start petting him, he'd want your hand in his mouth. Not to nibble or chew, he'd just calm down and be happy laid there with your hand in his mouth.
Many years later I was living up north, came to visit, got a call as I arrived that they'd taken him to the vets as he was in a lot of pain, struggling (old by then), they were going to put him to sleep. I dashed to vets, there was my old buddy on a cold metal slab. His tail immediately started weakly wagging, and he of course put his mouth around my hand. A sad but very poignant memory and I was honoured to be there for him in his final moments.
Sorry for the essay, your post brought it all back and I wanted to share. RIP Brynn, you were an amazing dog, a friend, and a source of constant joy!
Can I ask if you have any tips for this? Before this, I hadn't heard anything from anyone with a similar problem like ours. My goodest boy is a 9 month old Portuguese Water Dog and he recently decided that the floor boards and every single one of my daughters' Barbies weren't enough to destroy and began removing the carpet for us.
He's so smart and seems to be very empathetic when he's not in destruction mode, but the constant destruction of things is putting a knot in what is an otherwise beautiful relationship right now. We've trained leave-it and settle down, but he'll still grab things and if he's left alone in his safe room he'll find ways to make it unsafe.
Unfortunately I'm not trained in training... but what I can tell you is that immediate, positive reinforcement is far more effective than negative. Their doggy brains struggle to connect the events so they understand we're angry, but not why.
Prob teaching granny to suck eggs but I would get him a large collection of chewable toys (which he'll likely wreck disturbingly quickly), when you catch him chewing something he shouldn't tell him sternly "NO, BAD DOG", give him one of his chews, then when he starts chewing that praise enthusiastically / give a treat. He'll quickly associate chewing his own toys with expected, praised behaviour and chewing non-toys with bad behaviour. Try to be as consistent as possible; I taught my mum's dog lots of tricks / behaviours through constant repetition. Conversely, all the good work I did with my sister's dog was undone immediately by her knobhead ex; consistency and behavioural modification 'in the moment' rather than after is key (imo)
Your his favourite chew toy.
My dog's favorite game was to have me grab his tail while he gnawed on my wrist until it hurt and I let go. My friends would think I was being mean to him until they saw how he would walk backwards trying to put his tail in my hand when he wanted to play.
He also liked licking my head while I was lying down. He was very thorough about it and when he was done with one side, he would wait for me to roll over so he could lick the other side. (A cat did that to me too once - maybe my hair is tasty?)
Not with my own dog but a farm friend has a Burmese Mountain Dog who will grab your hand in his while you're walking. He doesn't bite and it isn't playful- he really seems to just want to hold his friend's hands while walking. And if you pet him once or even say his name you are his friend.
Edit: Burnese, I am as dumb as my phone is.
Just FYI it's Bernese, named after Bern, Switzerland.
I thought it was but my phone went with Burmese so I thought I was just dumb lol.
It is like hand holding. Cats and dogs don't have hands to interact with the world, they primarily use their paws and mouths but their mouth is the more delicate option than the paw. My cat will grab my finger with his mouth and just hand on to it for a few seconds, no bite, just hold. So it may just be your dog is holding you for some reason. Is there any pull at all? No directionality to it? If not, it mah just be an affectionate holding.
Some dogs just love to hold something in their mouth. Retrievers have a "soft mouth" that can hold birds without damaging them while they retrieve them.
My dog enjoys carrying things in his mouth and playing tug of war. He also loves sleeping with his back pressed against mine, and being warm under blankets.
It's just part of their personality, but be sure they know the commands "leave it!" and "drop it!".
It should be fine. Consult a canine behaviour specialist if you can afford it, just to be sure.
Yes, mine does this too. He fixes the arm with his teeth and then starts licking my arm. Eventually he gags, but continues anyway. I call it "lollypopping".
My dog will hold one arm up in the air until i hold his paw. Sometimes though when he's feeling mischievous, he'll hold his paw up and then bite my wrist (lightly of course) when I grab his hand.