janemin 5 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 OK I need someone to tell me how to resolve this issue.This morning my good natured sweet four year old Paddington bit my finger.I was trying to retrieve a wad of paper napkin out of his mouth .This is the second time he has done this,although he has always had an issue with giving up anything that he has in his mouth.My first reaction was to cuff him one(No I did'nt do it)Instead I yelled and put him in the other room,But I would really like to know the correct way to handle a situation like this.Right now I think the ignoring part is bothering me more than him.Any advice would be appreciated.Right now Paddington is on my SHIH-TZU list Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kae+Gizzy 5 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Janet, I'm sure you once mentioned paddy stole tissues in a post I once made about Gizmo biting and refusing to give up stolen stuff. The only thing that seems to be working fairly well is Nilf. We grab his treat bag and tell him to drop, if he drops he gets a treat. OK sometimes this doesn't always work, tissues and receipts he will sometimes swallow Yes bribery I know and sometimes treat bags are not readily available when they have something they really shouldn't have, but any mention of the word treat always gets a reaction. If I ever try to take a stolen item from his mouth he won't hesitate to bite me, as he has done a few times. So I really don't think that's a good idea. I just don't put myself in the position to be bitten any more. We have been practising the leave it and drop command with him and he is perfect, even with his Toys but we still have the occasional issue with items he knows don't belong to him. I do pretty much as you do, I ignore him and remove him from the family room for a while. Kind of like a kids time out. I have no idea if this is the right thing to do either. It breaks my heart to do it as I know I have probably created this problem myself somehow. Sorry if this is not much help, hope someone has some real answers for you, I too would be interested. I hope Paddy didn't get you too bad and your OK, It bloody hurts :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janemin 5 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Janet, I'm sure you once mentioned paddy stole tissues in a post I once made about Gizmo biting and refusing to give up stolen stuff. The only thing that seems to be working fairly well is Nilf. We grab his treat bag and tell him to drop, if he drops he gets a treat. OK sometimes this doesn't always work, tissues and receipts he will sometimes swallow Yes bribery I know and sometimes treat bags are not readily available when they have something they really shouldn't have, but any mention of the word treat always gets a reaction. If I ever try to take a stolen item from his mouth he won't hesitate to bite me, as he has done a few times. So I really don't think that's a good idea. I just don't put myself in the position to be bitten any more. We have been practising the leave it and drop command with him and he is perfect, even with his Toys but we still have the occasional issue with items he knows don't belong to him. I do pretty much as you do, I ignore him and remove him from the family room for a while. Kind of like a kids time out. I have no idea if this is the right thing to do either. It breaks my heart to do it as I know I have probably created this problem myself somehow. Sorry if this is not much help, hope someone has some real answers for you, I too would be interested. I hope Paddy didn't get you too bad and your OK, It bloody hurts Thanks Wendy,I think I just needed some reassurance that I was doing the right thing.It was stupid of me to try & get it out of his mouth.You would think I would learn from the first time.I guess we'll go back to the leave it & drop it command.It wasn't too bad ,he got me on my little finger.but I really am going to try & get after this in earnest.You're right though it does bloody well hurt.Penny on the other hand has a good racket going .She'll go & find something she thinks might be a no no & bring it to me for a treat.I have never had an issue with her dropping anything.I wonder if it's the male stubborn streak in Paddington.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tzuhouse 4 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Awe Janet, I am sorry you got nipped...it does hurt for sure. Sorry I can't really help in determining the right thing to do....but you know the saying...."If Momma Ain't Happy Ain't Nobody Happy"....so I do think he needs to know you are NOT happy with him, but what is the right way to do that, I am not sure. I think a VERY stern NO is in order for sure, but what after that....well, let's see what everyone else comes up with. I know it is too late for this situation but for those with new puppies, I have always started from day one, taking things out of their mouths, INCLUDING their dinner, moving their plate around while they eat, taking bones and toys away from them while they are chewing on them. I think it helps as they get older, as they get used to someone doing this. I ask hubby to do the same...we don't have children around or I would ask them to do it too, especially as puppies. Good luck on getting some good ideas and hope the finger gets better soon. When your "mad" is over, give the guy loads of hugs... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janemin 5 Posted January 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 Awe Janet, I am sorry you got nipped...it does hurt for sure. Sorry I can't really help in determining the right thing to do....but you know the saying...."If Momma Ain't Happy Ain't Nobody Happy"....so I do think he needs to know you are NOT happy with him, but what is the right way to do that, I am not sure. I think a VERY stern NO is in order for sure, but what after that....well, let's see what everyone else comes up with. I know it is too late for this situation but for those with new puppies, I have always started from day one, taking things out of their mouths, INCLUDING their dinner, moving their plate around while they eat, taking bones and toys away from them while they are chewing on them. I think it helps as they get older, as they get used to someone doing this. I ask hubby to do the same...we don't have children around or I would ask them to do it too, especially as puppies. Good luck on getting some good ideas and hope the finger gets better soon. When your "mad" is over, give the guy loads of hugs... Yeah I'm over it .Cant stay mad at them for long.But the funny thing is,I can pick up his dinner anytime & it does'nt bother him in the least.I think I dropped the ball on this one ,I should have gotten on him when he did this once before,but I am back to dropping things & telling him to leave it.We'll see how it goes.I know one thing I will keep my fingers away from his mouth . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kcsheperd 13 Posted January 8, 2010 Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 Uh oh..I would say that you have to offer him something that is a higher value than what he has? What is his currency? Liver? Toys? Chicken? I've been talking to several different trainers about different issues, and one offered me this video link, its called the "Its Your Choice" Game: The basic concept is rewarding him for always giving you stuff when you ask him too by rewarding him with something even BETTER than he has..I wouldn't wait for the paper, meaning if he has something else you'd like to take, like a toy..start by offering him something he loves with that, then work your way up to the paper, since that seems to be his most prized possession..Hope that helps! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kae+Gizzy 5 Posted January 8, 2010 Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 Yeah I'm over it .Cant stay mad at them for long.But the funny thing is,I can pick up his dinner anytime & it does'nt bother him in the least.I think I dropped the ball on this one ,I should have gotten on him when he did this once before,but I am back to dropping things & telling him to leave it.We'll see how it goes.I know one thing I will keep my fingers away from his mouth . Janet same here, I can take his food, toys, chewies and not a peep. I only have a problem with stuff he steals. If I were to give him a sock for instance, he would willing give it up or let me take it from him BUT if he were to sneakily take the same sock and I tried to retrieve it, he would bite me. I'm wondering if it's more of a dominance issue as he will growl at Stephen but has never bitten or snapped at him. He kind of warns Stephen that he isn't happy with him but he will not take it any further. Giz pushes the limits with me. I do have a conflict with what is right and wrong to do. I have been told many times growing up, never to take anything from a dogs mouth as it can trigger this type of behaviour, but I have always played with their food and taken it away..no problem. Yet what do we do when they steal something that is harmful. I wouldn't hesitate for one minute to take it out of his mouth..I know he will bite me but I'd rather that than have my dog ingest something it shouldn't. I wish I knew all the answers. I once tried the Cesar Milan way of claiming items back, I put my hand over it and tried to claim it as mine and Wollop..He bit me LOL I can say things have been better using treats to bribe him but it doesn't really sit right with me. This only started around a year ago, as a pup he was fine and to this day I can take anything from him...unless its stolen. My dog is a crook I guess. I'm going to look at the Link KC posted and see if it might help (Thanks KC for the link BTW) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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