Biting when overstimulated- question?

Walter has never really had a problem with biting. Even as a puppy, he really wasn't very mouthy. Right now he may nip at your clothing if you get him really excited and start a game of chase. He's usually very careful during tug to make sure he doesn't accidentally get my fingers.

There was an Aussie in our agility class that was pretty bad about this. He was constantly jumping up and biting his owner's sleeves, the leash, really anything he could grab.

The bostons don't really bite, though Lucy is a bit mouthy. She was very mouthy as a puppy so I used to play bitey face with her using my hand. She still loves to play it and she's very careful about not biting down on my hand. Joey is kind of head shy so to be in the proximity where there could even be the possibility he could bite would be an impressive feat.

Brisbane was perpetually overstimulated as a young dog, and spent several months in a phase where he was either biting something or asleep. Worst. Puppy. Ever.

I don't think she meant that a dog with a soft mouth won't ever play tug, just that hers did not. A big part is probably that she doesn't encourage tug, because she doesn't want to encourage a hard mouth in her hunting dogs. Whether those are linked or not is up for debate, but I think that's her reasoning.

My GSD would do this up through adulthood, though he was already a year old when I got him. At agility he'd make horrible noises on the sideline and look for things to grab. What worked best was doing capping exercises with a tug as it happened. I'd often just use the leash to alternate a bout of tugging with a drop it/sit. I slowly extended the "sit" periods but he never totally got over it.

A couple months ago Watson snapped my bra strap. I was standing at the time and I'm 5'9", so it was a pretty impressive leap and snap. Haha

Back when I worked in shelters I saw tons of different breeds who did this so it's definitely not just a herding breed thing. The "best" one was a lab mix thing that would jump from a stand still and bite at the back of your head We had a GSD come in that did the same thing too.

Then there was the 1 year old lab who had lived in a crate for almost 24/7 with about an hour a day outside of it and his only exercise up to that point had been leash walks. He had absolutely no bite inhibition and would jump and grab HARD when he got overstimulated, which was pretty much all the time. He's been on many a bite quarantine because of it. He's still at the shelter and it's been almost a year, but he's come a loooooong way from where he started. They're still holding out for a super dog experienced home for him though because it's still at the level your typical average joe can't handle. (Any takers? He'd make a great sports prospect! And he LOVES other dogs! )

If the dog liked toys we would just carry a toy with us when we walked them and use it as a pacifier, having them carry it or tossing it to them when they started to get overexcited. Otherwise peanut butter spoons did the trick pretty well We would also do little play groups for the dog friendly ones to help get their energy out in a positive way, and some of our staff would take some of them on runs in the morning too.

I was assuming she meant it that way, too. Sorry! I just meant that tugging doesn't necessarily equal a hard mouth. Linda Brennan encourages tugging as a reward, and she's doing hunt tests with Heart, her Tyler "puppy". But I can respect that breeder's opinions on tugging.