I know there are many different opinions on the topic but this is what has and has not helped me in my experince.
While with some dogs a yelp sound seems to at best startle/ distract the dog from it's self rewarding mouthing I have also seen it only intensify the mouthing and at best does little to nothing to help the problem.
Duke was a very mouthy puppy and used to latch onto my pant leg anytime I got up to walk around the house. I found yelping only intisified his "game" so for this reason I don't generally tend to recomend yelping- but it's certainly worth a try once to see the reaction.
Ceasing all of the fun/ attention is of course a tried and true method IMO but it also is very time consuming for some dog's in a shelter environment especially I would still advise it for when nips do occur but I think It should be used in combination with other active training to eliminate the problem rather then used solely.
What I have recently tried out with a lot of success is shaping the dog to keep his mouth off humans. The first time I tried this method out was 8 weeks ago with a client who ownes an exceptionally mouthy 9 week old Bichon. The first night of class we spent almost entirely on just shaping the puppy to keep his mouth off the adults when they presented their hands in front of him. When we played the don't bite me game last week I had the owners two daughters running around making funny noises and waving their hands in the puppy's face and he did not once nip- a HUGE improvement for this little puppy.
With the shaping process it is important to remember to charge the clicker ( or whatever conditioned reinforcer you would like to use: Whistle, verbal "Yes", etc) before hand by clicking (or blowing the whistle, saying yes) and then delivering a reinforcer ( game of tug, yummy food treat, play time with a best dog buddy).
Keeping in mind that excitement/ arousal usually begins the nipping/mouthing process for the dog I start this game, that my client's children named, " The Don't Bite Me Game" at a very low arousal level- where the dog is barely interested in what is going on before I gradually work the dog through different arousal levels.
HOW TO PLAY THE DON'T BITE ME GAME
The end goal of the game is to have put alot of reinforcement history into keeping teeth off humans even under high arousal.
Exercise before hand is HIGHLY recomended.
I am clicking for the dog keeping his mouth off me.
Typically I would follow this progression chart- always keeping my sessions short, my rate of reinforcement high and moving the dog through the arousal levels when he has had 80% success ( as per Bob Bailey's rule) at whichever level I was working at.
Present hand in front of dog- Click/ Reward for keeping mouth off me
Present foot in front of dog- Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Wiggle hand in front of dog-Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Wiggle foot in front of dog-Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Wiggle hands in front of dog- Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Wiggle feet in front of dog- Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Walk around dog- Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Walk and clap around dog-Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Jog around dog-Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Jog around dog and clap- Click/Reward for keeping mouth off me
Slap arms on ground- Click/ Reward for keeping mouth off me
Play bow and slap arms on ground-Click/ Reward for keeping mouth off me
Up until this point I have the dog teethered on a 6' line to a stationary object. Because mouthing is a self reinforcing behaviour ( it feels good to the dog) if the dog I am working with should fail my current criteria I want to be able to simply get up and end the fun without worrying about a dog being attached to my leg the whole time I am walking away.
If this happens I wait 30 seconds and return I will try at the same criteria level- but if the dog fails three times in a row I will end the session and next time start on a lower arousal threashold.
After each of the criteria has been worked through we take the leash off and go back to a low arousal level and work our way back through, the kids helped me brain storm alot of different proofs so really get creative with it- after all training should be fun.
I advise clients to not try and train this when a dog is in a mouthing rampage-in my opinion that is the time for management and exercise- an appropriate area with plenty of chew toys or if possible a long walk/ jog- when a dog is over-aroused the learning process can be affected.
I just want to add I never physically or verbally punish a puppy for a wrong choice- a dog who fails is a great chance to evaluate your progress- and it is a great way for your dog to learn what works and what doesn't. I do however use negative punishment ( taking away something desired: I.e attention)
This is the rare time in shaping I employ negative punishment ( taking something desirable away) as I do believe with self rewarding behaviours simply not clicking does not prevent access to reinforcers.
Anyhow that has worked so far very well for my client's, feel free to Pm me if you have any questions about any aspect of the shaping process for the game.
Kayla
