Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Romanos
A lot of Corgis use their mouth as you would your hands. So they grab things like a person's hands with their mouth. It's perfectly normal as is the learning curve of how to manage the mouth grabbing and a friendly nip without going hard out. It is the handlers duty to teach a Corgi how far they can go and when it may hurt or is not appropriate. A loud OUCH when grabbed or nipped too harshly usually is all that is required to quite quickly relay to a Corgi to relax their grip a little and come in a little softer. It is very much a puppy thing which I regret because my Taylor does not do grabbing of hands anymore. It use to be such great fun.
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I'm a little confused on the last part of your post-you miss the grabbing of your hands?
As a trainer, regardless of the type of dog, grabbing of hands, nipping at heels, or any sort of behavior that uses the dogs mouth is not acceptable, at all. Granted a dog should be taught what we call bite inhabition or how to bite softly. But making biting a game is what leads to bite issues that I see all the time in training classes.
Let's take a step back-as a puppy within the litter, the pup is taught how hard to bite and when to bite. Following that on, when to bite is the most misunderstood thing new owners know. Owners need to realize that there is a series of warnings that our dogs give us when they feel uncomfortable, stressed or are in fear. First is a look, next is a growl, then a bite. By making biting of any kind acceptable, we leave that dog with no other options but to skip all the other warnings and go straight to bite mode as we have shown the we are acceptable to it and we also don't respect what the bite really means.
Yes puppies chew and bite-a loud OUCH-high pitched, roll them away from you and get up and leave. Substituing a chew bone or toy in place of your hands. Squirt bottle aimed at the leg nipper as you are walking along with a sharp NO. There is a time and a place for all of this with a working dog going to stock. And even those dogs are taught when and with how much pressure to use. It is never a game nor does the handler of that dog allow them to use it when ever they like, or a good handler that is.
It's something that needs to be stopped immediately or you end up with more issues later on.
Cindy and the crew at Foggy Bottm