# Still SO mouthy at 13 months



## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

You have stated he is doing it with less frequency and also less intensity. 13 months old is still a baby dog. Many goldens aren't really mature until the age of 4 years. It is just a long process. Have you been working on any impulse control games with Tucker? What have you been doing that has brought the frequency and intensity down to the level it is now? How long have you been doing it. 
What behaviors do you ask him to do when he does mouth you?

I remember that you were going to work with a new trainer. What was suggested at that time?

Please don't be discouraged again Tucker is still very young. I think if you ask anyone on the forum when training, things sometimes go really well then we hit a spot and for every three steps forward we bounce back two. With consistency and making sure we haven't got sloppy in our own mechanics of the training it usually resolves itself if we tweak the training sessions.


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## Tucker's mommy (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks so much for the reassurance. Yes, we've been continuing with the outside work that our trainer and us discussed a couple months ago, and boy, has it helped. He still gets ramped up - especially at night when we're all home and outside playing with the kids. But it is so much easier to get him into a down/stay, and wait for him to calm, asking for a kiss when he's back to calm, followed by a treat. Lately, I've had to put use my hands on his muzzle a bit more, like back in the beginning when he was real bad, but still, he is far more gentle on me than before we started working on this.

It's inside these past few days where he seems to be far more excited with me, nipping at me for attention like he used to when he was a pup, and mouthing me when I try to pet him. But, I know I need to just walk away when he does this, repeatedly, and eventually he'll get the message. He is definitely affected by changes in routine - this week has been crazy as I've been at church camp with the kids every morning - which has meant a very early morning walk for him and a couple more hours of alone time for him in the morning - which he isn't used to. There's a good chance that what I'm seeing is his acting out over this temporary routine change. 

Anyway, thanks again, and I'll keep working! He is still a pup. I have to remind myself of that. Albeit, a very large pup!


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## Tucker's mommy (Nov 9, 2011)

Forgot to add- the impulse control games we love to play with him include the "go find it" game, where we hide treats while he is in an extended "stay" then we release him to seek out the treats. Also, to calm him in the yard, while he's in his "down" position, we adorn his body with treats and command him to wait, and when he shows control, we release him to eat the treats off his paws and arms. He is so good at these games - which is why his crazy behaviour gets me so frustrated at times!


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

It does sound like an attention seeking behavior. What behavior would you prefer Tucker to perform to seek your attention? You could teach Tucker to do a nose touch to your hand instead of what he is doing now.

Kikopup has a video to teach touch. 




 
I do it a little different. I don't use the two fingers but use an open palm and when I start teaching it when the dog targets the open palm with his nose I say yes and put the food/treat into the hand he targeted. At first they may not put their nose onto the hand so you can reward for looking at the hand. Then for sniffing the hand. Then for the nose touch. Eventually for a long touch. And then for some pressure on the touch. (don't reward the dog for licking the hand) Then practice with the other hand. Then start moving your hand as Kiko pup does. I don't name it at all. The dog has to focus on me more to see what I am doing. If I name it the dog can wander around and not have to pay attention to me. By not naming it, it puts more responsibility on the dog to check in and focus on me. if you build tons of reinforcement on this touch game Tucker will most likely use this to seek attention from you instead of grabbing your arm. 

For impulse control I would add slowly to the sit and down game.
Can you sit/down when I stand one or two feet from you and flap my arms. You will probably want to just slowly raise and lower one arm to start building up to the flapping of arms. 
Can you sit/down when I flap my arms and make silly fun noises.
Can you sit/down when I march in place.
Can you sit/down when I walk around you
Can you sit/down when I jump bounce walk flap arms make silly noises around you
Can you sit/down when I crawl around you etc.
Can you sit/down when I run past you. When I run past you making silly noises, when I run past you making silly noises and flapping my arms.

You want to get each one really solid before moving on to the next level. These will teach more impulse control around you. From your post he has good impulse control on the treats on him but doesn't have good impulse control for you. You are his cookie/treat he needs to do these things to get you.


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## Tucker's mommy (Nov 9, 2011)

I've been working on the touch command with Tucker today. Boy is it going to be hard to get him to do this right! He hits my hand with his nose and licks it real quick, immediately following the nose bump. We'll keep working. I boo-booed and was rewarding him for the quick licks, too - I need to re-start from scratch and work on just the nose bumping. It IS nice, though, to see that brain working and watching him try to figure this out! Too funny - he was giving me this funny smile in the beginning and using his front teeth to touch my hand at first. I laughed out loud. What a MOUTHY little thing he is! 

Is it really such a bad thing for him to target with a lick following the bump? I guess as I build upon it in the future, it'll confuse things for him, eh?


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

My Caue is still very mouthy at 5 years. Thankfully he has a VERY soft mouth. It has been SLOWLY diminishing but he still likes to taste everyone he meets. At this rate he will be 16 before he completely stops.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

One thing I found helped with Ben was to hold my arm completely still when he grabs hold. If it's immobile, it's not as much fun to pull it or chase it, which is probably why toys don't necessarily work to distract. They'd rather play tug with your arm, or chase the fingers or run in circles nipping at you while you try to escape. By staying completely still, the game ends. I've also been rewarding him when he kisses instead of bites - and that has helped too.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Tucker's mommy said:


> I've been working on the touch command with Tucker today. Boy is it going to be hard to get him to do this right! He hits my hand with his nose and licks it real quick, immediately following the nose bump. We'll keep working. I boo-booed and was rewarding him for the quick licks, too - I need to re-start from scratch and work on just the nose bumping. It IS nice, though, to see that brain working and watching him try to figure this out! Too funny - he was giving me this funny smile in the beginning and using his front teeth to touch my hand at first. I laughed out loud. What a MOUTHY little thing he is!
> 
> Is it really such a bad thing for him to target with a lick following the bump? I guess as I build upon it in the future, it'll confuse things for him, eh?


 
My guy is a 'bump and licker' too, don't really mind at all. 'Touch' keeps him focused or will get him to refocus if he is distracted, and that is what I want, so if he wants to lick a little too, it is all good!


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

"Is it really such a bad thing for him to target with a lick following the bump? I guess as I build upon it in the future, it'll confuse things for him, eh? "

The reason for the nose target is to replace him grabbing your arm. You are building a habit where teeth do not touch you. If Tucker uses his teeth to touch you or his tongue to lick you his mouth is open and when over threshold will revert to grabbing you with those teeth. You really want no teeth or tongue. If you were teaching the nose target for just focus I would say that a lick wouldn't be a problem but the intent wasn't just for focus it was to build good habit that took his mouth out of the equation. 
If Tucker is targeting his nose to your hand try rewarding faster after the marker/yes/click. If he licks before you mark it give a okay/release word and do not reward. Be very clear on what you are rewarding. Tucker is a smart dog if you get the mechanics right he will get it. Once he is doing it without the lick have him hold the nose target for longer building duration.

It is up to you what you want to do with the behavior if you want it just for focus then the lick isn't a big problem if you are after building a good habit to replace his grabbing your arm I wouldn't accept the lick.


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## cmz1210 (Jan 13, 2012)

How is it going with Tucker and the mouthy behavior? Your situation sounds just like mine with my almost 1 yr. old, Maggie. In fact, she looks so much like your Tucker. I notice when I scold her for mouthing me, she turns it into licking which can be just as annoying. I'm hoping she outgrows this like some posters said.


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## Tucker's mommy (Nov 9, 2011)

I need to update you all on our Tucker. He is finally growing up. He's just about 16 months old, the weather has taken a much cooler turn, and it is very obvious to us, even with his increased energy in the cooler weather, that he has really toned down his mouthy behaviour with us outside. I can now catch him before the act of even jumping (well before the mouthing starts) with a "wait" and a "sit", and he'll wait patiently for me as I go find a ball to throw for him. My husband comes home from work at night, and Tucker will be outside waiting to greet him, and all my husband needs to do is say "sit" for the polite greeting from our Tucker. The work we've been putting in these past months is finally starting to pay off. For months and months, we've had to spend tons of time outside with him working on his impulse control through games and simple training excercises, and we're now finally able to enjoy having him outside without turning to these exercises for calming on a regular basis. He seems to be able to calm himself much better in his excited state with just simple commands. So nice to see! 

I spend a ton of time outside now with him and our three young children, and his control even in these crazy situations has improved so so much. When our neighbors come out with all their children and I'm in the middle of a game of fetch with him, Tucker will now stay focused on the game instead of running around excitedly getting all overly wound, even with all these kids around. 

I've seen many many threads lately about mouthy adolescent dogs, and I just want to tell everyone going through this, just keep working at it - it will get better. What a great dog our Tucker is turning out to be for our family. And I have to add, he's a total teddy bear inside the house now. He always seemed to have that "on/off" switch, where he knew to tone it down inside the house. Now he really gets it. Such a rewarding thing to see the payoff from all our training with him!

Thanks to everyone on this forum for all of your advice. I've posted many threads over the past year related to these issues, and this forum has helped me keep control of my sanity! Thank you all!


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