Trainer Said...

[Mayor'sHaus]

I have been taking my pup to training sessions at petsmart. The trainer said to never put my hands my pup's mouth in order to get him to let go of something because she said this will cause biting problems in the future. He doesn't know drop it fully yet but there have been times recently when I will try to put my hand in his mouth to retrieve an object like paper, cigarette buds, my shoe, etc. Also, there is a time recently where my gf wanted to practice taking meat out of his mouth in order to let him know we have the ability to take away and establish ourselves in an alpha role. He doesn't bite us when we take things out of his mouth with our hands but can this cause him to bite us down the line? Soon he will know the drop it command 100% but there might be times when it is necessary to reach in there and get something he doesn't want to let go.

Thanks!

[PaddyD]

oy vey
Alpha schmalpha
You should be able to put your hand in your dog's mouth for whatever reason. But only do it for a reason, not to practice some psychological mumbo jumbo.
Your dog will only bite you 'down the line' if you have been unable to develop trust and respect ... or if he has a serious genetic temperament deficiency.

[Lilie]

Your pup will bite down hard...and possibly draw blood, if you stick your hand in his mouth when he is in full play drive. He'll think it's part of the game. He'll learn the difference as he matures, but as a puppy if it's in his mouth it's fair game.

I'm not a big believer in taking food out of your pup's mouth once you've given it to him. You gave it to him, why take it back? If it's something that you haven't given to him, as per the examples you gave, then by all means do what is necessary to get it back.

[chelle]

Originally Posted by Mayor'sHaus

I have been taking my pup to training sessions at petsmart. The trainer said to never put my hands my pup's mouth in order to get him to let go of something because she said this will cause biting problems in the future. He doesn't know drop it fully yet but there have been times recently when I will try to put my hand in his mouth to retrieve an object like paper, cigarette buds, my shoe, etc. Also, there is a time recently where my gf wanted to practice taking meat out of his mouth in order to let him know we have the ability to take away and establish ourselves in an alpha role. He doesn't bite us when we take things out of his mouth with our hands but can this cause him to bite us down the line? Soon he will know the drop it command 100% but there might be times when it is necessary to reach in there and get something he doesn't want to let go.

Thanks!

Heck, I dunno, take my words with several grains of salt, but I'm all about my dogs' mouths. From day 1 almost I am opening their mouths and telling them what pretty teeth they have and lifting the jowls back for a toofie inspection and just letting them get comfortable with that.

But, you're talking about removing something already in the mouth, so not the same thing. That's the drop it command and you said you're about 100% there with that, so good.

It is nothing more than personal preference here, but if the dog has a food object I've given him, I won't waste my time making him drop it. I made you work to get it, then gave you a piece of whatever, so, dude, eat it! On the other hand, if it is something he cannot have, he must "drop it" or mama is going to come get it.

Just speaking as a rookie here, my personal feeling is that I own my dog's mouth. I'm fair, but he must let me get in there when safety calls for it.

[Kaity]

When Vida was a puppy to get her to drop it, if she didn't listen the first 2 times to the command i wouldnt grab it from her (because to me, she can grab it back can't she?) put my hand on the top of her muzzle and push her gums to the inside of her mouth so it was kinda like she was biting herself and it would stop as soon as she let the toy or shoe go. didn't have to do it much, but it worked well.

[SummerwoodSoaps]

When we were doing drop it, Stella always had a low value toy in her mouth. Then I would use a High Value toy or treat to get her excited. If she dropped the low value toy, I marked it with the clicker and gave her the high value item. She is very good with drop it now, even dropping the high value items now. This is how our trainer taught us to do it. Oh, he is a pets mart trainer too
He never told he to not mess with the mouth because it make them bite more either.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Mayor'sHaus

The trainer said to never put my hands my pup's mouth in order to get him to let go of something because she said this will cause biting problems in the future.

No. Constantly taking things out of your pup's mouth MAY teach him to play "catch me if you can" to avoid having to give up the prized object, but it's not going to make him any more likely to bite you. Well, unless he feels like he needs to guard valued resources from you in order to prevent you from unfairly taking them away. Puppies bite, they just do.

He doesn't know drop it fully yet but there have been times recently when I will try to put my hand in his mouth to retrieve an object like paper, cigarette buds, my shoe, etc.

This is where proactive training is your friend - there are always going to be times where he gets something that he's not supposed to have, and you're going to have to take it away from him, but if you start building up a foundation of giving up what he's got being a good thing, you're probably not going to have to chase him around the house and pry his jaws open to get it back. I do that with trading games, that I explained in this thread: Runs from me if she knows she is in trouble Isn't it better if he gives it up voluntarily than to have to take it by force? Think of it as money in the bank - if you've put a nickel in the cookie jar a few dozen times it's not going to be a big deal if you have to take one out occasionally.

Also, there is a time recently where my gf wanted to practice taking meat out of his mouth in order to let him know we have the ability to take away and establish ourselves in an alpha role.

Taking stuff away from him that are his, either food or toys, for no good reason other than "just because", is much more likely to cause problems than it is to prevent them. He's going to learn that you're not to be trusted, that even if you give him something you may just take it away at any time, so he needs to make sure that doesn't happen, by force - growling or biting, if necessary.

[Freestep]

I think it's a good thing to be able to take something out of your dog's mouth. And no, doing so does not "teach" your dog to bite you or any such nonsense. If you want to take food out of his mouth, make sure you have some even better food in your hand to replace it with.

When I was a kid I was always told "don't go near a dog when he's eating." Now, that is good advice, but I want my dogs to be safe around people whether they are eating or not, so I do a lot of food games when my pups are little. Putting my hand in their bowl and sort of hand-feeding as they eat, teaching them to "wait" for their food, allowing me to touch their food, etc. Often times I will hold one end of a meaty bone or chicken neck, so the pup learns to use me as a vise-grip, so that she can get better leverage. In this way I become a completely non-threatening, non-competing entity and my dogs never get bothered when I get near their food. Even when I occasionally have to take something out of their mouths.

[Good_Karma]

I would get my pups used to having me in their mouths by prying open their jaws and popping a piece of chicken in. They liked that game and it made it easier to be able to get nasty things out of their mouths that I didn't want them ingesting. I never tried to take food out of their mouths, I'm not sure what that would teach them.

[GSKnight]

Originally Posted by PaddyD

oy vey
Alpha schmalpha

LOL!!! Love it!!!