One year old dog snaps if I try to open her mouth.
November 23, 2015 6:29 AM Subscribe
We have a one year old shih-tzu dog that we got as a 2 month old puppy. She is extremely sweet and calm and not territorial about food, toys, etc. However, if she has something small in her mouth that I need to get out, she growls as a warning and if I try to open her mouth, she bites.
She wasn't always like this and we used to be able to take things out of her mouth when necessary but at this point, she's not having it. For example, last night she had a small candy wrapper in her mouth and when I gently tried open her mouth to remove it, she growled a few times and ultimately snapped.
Like I said, she's not aggressive or territorial about anything else but my worry is if she eats something that has to come out, I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle it. I'd also like to curb this aggressive tendency before it leads to anything else.
What the best way to handle this?
She wasn't always like this and we used to be able to take things out of her mouth when necessary but at this point, she's not having it. For example, last night she had a small candy wrapper in her mouth and when I gently tried open her mouth to remove it, she growled a few times and ultimately snapped.
Like I said, she's not aggressive or territorial about anything else but my worry is if she eats something that has to come out, I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle it. I'd also like to curb this aggressive tendency before it leads to anything else.
What the best way to handle this?
1. work with getting her comfortable having her mouth touched during neutral times when nothing is stuck in it
2. practice "drop it" to reduce how often you need to go in there
One way to achieve 1 would be to start brushing her teeth regularly. They make dog toothpaste that is beef flavor that my dog at least is a huge fan of. Brushing her teeth, or at least trying to, will get her used to human action around her mouth.
You can also try petting her when she's calm and snoozy. Gently pet her back, then work up to her neck, then her head, then the space between her eyes, then her snoot, then her lips. It might take a long time. My dog, who is an absolute sweetheart and has never gotten snippy with me, used to not let me pet him on his snout. Probably because it's annoying. He'd jerk his head away and growl in a noncommittal but obviously unhappy way. Over the last several months I've done the gradual petting while he's curled up and resting, and we've gotten to the point where I can now poke him pretty much anywhere on the nose and mouth and even lift his lips up without him caring one tiny bit. That used to never happen. It just took time and a lot of reassuring, gentle motions that made him realize that I was safe and nothing bad was going to happen to him with my hands on his face.
posted by phunniemee at 6:47 AM on November 23, 2015
2. practice "drop it" to reduce how often you need to go in there
One way to achieve 1 would be to start brushing her teeth regularly. They make dog toothpaste that is beef flavor that my dog at least is a huge fan of. Brushing her teeth, or at least trying to, will get her used to human action around her mouth.
You can also try petting her when she's calm and snoozy. Gently pet her back, then work up to her neck, then her head, then the space between her eyes, then her snoot, then her lips. It might take a long time. My dog, who is an absolute sweetheart and has never gotten snippy with me, used to not let me pet him on his snout. Probably because it's annoying. He'd jerk his head away and growl in a noncommittal but obviously unhappy way. Over the last several months I've done the gradual petting while he's curled up and resting, and we've gotten to the point where I can now poke him pretty much anywhere on the nose and mouth and even lift his lips up without him caring one tiny bit. That used to never happen. It just took time and a lot of reassuring, gentle motions that made him realize that I was safe and nothing bad was going to happen to him with my hands on his face.
posted by phunniemee at 6:47 AM on November 23, 2015
Using force on your dog instead of putting in the time on training some basic obedience is not great for you or the dog.
This is exactly what the command "drop it" and "leave it" are for. Here's a Google search for "drop it." Here's Kikopup on "leave it."
Once you get started on this, she'll be happy to trade whatever she has for something better (a treat, praise.) It's a much more positive method of interacting with your dog.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:48 AM on November 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
This is exactly what the command "drop it" and "leave it" are for. Here's a Google search for "drop it." Here's Kikopup on "leave it."
Once you get started on this, she'll be happy to trade whatever she has for something better (a treat, praise.) It's a much more positive method of interacting with your dog.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:48 AM on November 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
Small dogs are great -- we don't have to think about food on the counter, unlike with biscotti's sister's Irish setter. But there's also a very understandable but not-the-most-useful temptation to just manhandle your small dog into doing what you want because you can get away with it, unlike say a big sheppie.
Anyway:
Offer her something better than she has. Then she will learn that when you want to take something away it's just a prelude to even better things.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:12 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Anyway:
Offer her something better than she has. Then she will learn that when you want to take something away it's just a prelude to even better things.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:12 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, you need "drop it" and "leave it".
I taught my dog "drop it" by putting Q-tips on the floor (something he's always wanted to eat) and then having a bag of cut up hot dogs. He would pick up a Q-tip and I would show him a sliver of hot dog and say "drop it". He could not spit that out fast enough.
That was like, 7 years ago and even now when I say drop it he spits out whatever it is and runs to me all excited because REMEMBER WHEN THERE WAS HOT DOGS!?!? Occasionally I'll still trade him a treat for whatever he's got.
Putting my hands in his mouth (he's a basset hound) was indescribably unpleasant for me so the work was worth it. He still eats Q-tips unless I'm there to tell him not to.
posted by Saminal at 8:38 AM on November 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
I taught my dog "drop it" by putting Q-tips on the floor (something he's always wanted to eat) and then having a bag of cut up hot dogs. He would pick up a Q-tip and I would show him a sliver of hot dog and say "drop it". He could not spit that out fast enough.
That was like, 7 years ago and even now when I say drop it he spits out whatever it is and runs to me all excited because REMEMBER WHEN THERE WAS HOT DOGS!?!? Occasionally I'll still trade him a treat for whatever he's got.
Putting my hands in his mouth (he's a basset hound) was indescribably unpleasant for me so the work was worth it. He still eats Q-tips unless I'm there to tell him not to.
posted by Saminal at 8:38 AM on November 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
Three cheers for "Drop" training. My dog doesn't growl, snap or bite, she'll just very tenaciously hold on to something. Even if it's, like, a sharp branch of thistle that's making her mouth bleed. My vet gave me some advice on "drop" training, using very tiny little treats (I mean like tic tac tiny, which I never thought my 40 pound dog would be interested in). It took surprisingly little time for her to pick it up, maybe an hour to get the idea and maybe two days of occasional practice to get good at it. Smart girl, and much relief!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:42 AM on November 23, 2015
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:42 AM on November 23, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks all. I'm going to work on drop training. We've struggled with the training as our dog doesn't seem to like any of the dozens of training treats we've bought over the last year and I don't like to give of her too much of the things she does love like cheese (which upsets her stomach). But we'll work on that and start being more on consistent on the training front.
posted by gfrobe at 12:45 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by gfrobe at 12:45 PM on November 23, 2015
My dog knows "drop it," and will readily drop her toys or her Kong. But if she gets a tissue from the trash or a table scrap, she will refuse to let go. She thinks because she found it, it's hers. She's pretty willful. Also, I've found nothing worked better for training than individual pieces of dry cat food.
posted by Ruki at 2:45 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by Ruki at 2:45 PM on November 23, 2015
With my resource guarding dog, strangely enough the best reward for him, was to get the resource back as the reward, better than all the cheese in the world. So I'd of course start with something he was allowed to chew, take it, starting for a few seconds, pretend to eat it or just look at it closely, then give it back to him with a good boy, then slowly extend the time.
We have built up now to I can take it & keep it without him getting stressed, because he is used to the idea that the awesome thing isn't going to be taken away from him for forever, he trust me enough to just let me take it. In the case of something he shouldn't be eating, I just keep it now, but make sure to do the take & reward with toys & chews a few times for the rest of the day so he doesn't get set thinking giving up something means it's gone forever. I suspect this is why your dog is growling at you, letting you put your hands in it's mouth means loss of "the cool thing".
posted by wwax at 7:15 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
We have built up now to I can take it & keep it without him getting stressed, because he is used to the idea that the awesome thing isn't going to be taken away from him for forever, he trust me enough to just let me take it. In the case of something he shouldn't be eating, I just keep it now, but make sure to do the take & reward with toys & chews a few times for the rest of the day so he doesn't get set thinking giving up something means it's gone forever. I suspect this is why your dog is growling at you, letting you put your hands in it's mouth means loss of "the cool thing".
posted by wwax at 7:15 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, be aware that most Shih Tzus don't take as well to training as other breeds. They tend to require much more repetition than others.
I say this not to discourage you, but to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel even if your initial efforts only serve to make you think your sweet little pooch is dumb as a post.
I forget where I read it, but supposedly Shih Tzus require over 40 repetitions to begin to grasp things, while a GSD requires less than 20. Experience with my inherited shih tzu has not in any way disabused me of that notion.
posted by wierdo at 10:54 PM on November 23, 2015
I say this not to discourage you, but to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel even if your initial efforts only serve to make you think your sweet little pooch is dumb as a post.
I forget where I read it, but supposedly Shih Tzus require over 40 repetitions to begin to grasp things, while a GSD requires less than 20. Experience with my inherited shih tzu has not in any way disabused me of that notion.
posted by wierdo at 10:54 PM on November 23, 2015
Do you feed her out of a bowl? Like does she get whatever her food allocation is for the day in a food bowl? If so -- no more. All food must be earned. Every single piece of kibble. You can give a few pieces at once to make it go faster, but I guarantee it'll make her a million times more trainable.
We recently took an overweight senior collie mix from uninterested in liver treats to being willing to sit/stay for pieces of regular dry kibble -- just with this change alone. It's totally worth it.
posted by barnone at 3:26 PM on November 24, 2015
We recently took an overweight senior collie mix from uninterested in liver treats to being willing to sit/stay for pieces of regular dry kibble -- just with this change alone. It's totally worth it.
posted by barnone at 3:26 PM on November 24, 2015
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posted by Green Eyed Monster at 6:46 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]