Mouthing

[tzuhouse 4]

Not sure if I should put this here or under grooming.

Question....whenI brush Rudy, he mouths at my hand and the brush. It is usually pretty gently, but sometimes those little baby teeth can be pretty sharp. I know it is kind of a distraction for him and it mostly doesn't hurt....BUT...I really want to discourage this behavior as I don't want it to be a forever grooming thing. I know when we play and his teeth make contact, we stop play, which is kind of a punishment, but while grooming, I can't stop....in fact it is opposite....you keep going to show them you are not giving in. So, I don't want any mixed messages here, but am unsure just how to get him to stop. I even gave him a chewy a couple of times and that worked for awhile, but there again, I can't expect a groomer to give his heiness a chewy at every grooming....LOL So, any suggestions???

[KristenE 2]

Biscotti did that when she was a puppy. I can't remember what I did to make her stop, but she doesn't do it anymore. I think I just kept at it and eventually she realized that mouthing me wasn't going to put an end to the brushing so she might as well just cooperate.

[Kae+Gizzy 5]

Cathy Gizmo was awful with Mouthing, he would actually try and chew on our hands too constantly. I don't know the correct way of stopping it we just gave him a toy to chew on instead lol. Every time he mouthed I would just say NO and give him the toy. It worked for us. Bella on the other hand doesn't mouth us but she will chew anything in sight so we are doing the same thing, swapping whatever she is chewing on for a toy although she has been at the bottom of my leather couch a few times Teething is just the worst. Someone once suggested putting a wash cloth in the freezer and giving it to them to chew on as its cooling on the gums although I haven't yet tried it.

[loewenthal.anna 4]

Lolly was the same as Biscotti and Rudy when she was little, she HATED being brushed! I brought her to work at the grooming place daily though, and all of us would take turns giving her little mini sessions throughout the day which seemed to help a lot. It was a pain to break up her grooming into so many parts but keeping it under 5 minutes really helped her not be antsy about it and eventually we were able to get her to the point where now she ignores the brush. That is unless you hit a snag, she makes a HUGE deal about the smallest tangles to this day! In keeping with my weird mental cross-over from being a nanny to working with my little dogs I tend to just look at her an go "Oh, that didn't hurt, don't be silly" (the way you can talk a two year old out of tears over a little bump)

You're right that stopping grooming AFTER he's gotten frustrated with it will teach him that whenever he acts out you'll stop so the key we found was to stop before she freaked. Even if it's only 2 minutes at a time at first, keeping the whole thing positive is the important thing. It gets better too, I'd say that by 6 months (so 3 months of working with her like this) she was pretty unaffected by being groomed.

Good luck with him Cathy! Stay strong!

[ShihtzuBeauty 47]

What a pain this is Eve used to be Horrible w/it and will from time to time try to push me she still bites at the blow dryer. She's just a Nightmare in general to groom.

[MisterMom 11]

I tap them on the nose with the flat side of whatever tool I am using and tell them NO or NO BITE.

[debo 1]

I bought a lot of brushes when I got Oliver. One of them is a soft bristled baby brush with a rubber handle that's useless for brushing. That one is his 'chewy brush' and it keeps him occupied while I'm brushing him. He tries to get away from me when he decides he's done, but I pick him up and put him back in my lap and keep going, even if I'm really finished. When I decide I say, "All done! Time for a cookie." He doesn't really like to be brushed, but he does get really excited when I get the brushes out! Go figure?

I do take his 'chewy brush' to the groomers. I don't know if they really give it to him, but they say he does really well, except he tries to jump on them to give them kisses while they are working on him!

[tzuhouse 4]

I bought a lot of brushes when I got Oliver. One of them is a soft bristled baby brush with a rubber handle that's useless for brushing. That one is his 'chewy brush' and it keeps him occupied while I'm brushing him. He tries to get away from me when he decides he's done, but I pick him up and put him back in my lap and keep going, even if I'm really finished. When I decide I say, "All done! Time for a cookie." He doesn't really like to be brushed, but he does get really excited when I get the brushes out! Go figure?

I do take his 'chewy brush' to the groomers. I don't know if they really give it to him, but they say he does really well, except he tries to jump on them to give them kisses while they are working on him!

See, that's just it....mine "have my number", well at least the older two and I am determined NOT to let Rudy get my number. The groomer has NO trouble with the other two, well, Josie is doing well for me, but Maddy just will NOT let me brush his legs or feet, VERY touchy, but the groomer doesn't have the same problem. So, now that I am OLDER (oh yea) and wiser, I WILL have the upper hand on Rudy...LOL (I hope) :signthankspin: