Puppy gnawing on my hand

barbiegirl

I just thought I'd ask in case it was more than just a little eccentricity of hers. Sindy likes to gnaw on our hands, not all the time, but when she is over excited and aggitated, it seems to soothe her. It's normally pretty gentle and doesn't hurt, but still this isn't a sign of anything I should be worried about is it?

Paul91

ahh look at the baby wouldn't worry although i would encourage her to stop - just in case she knaws on someones hand she ain't supposed to, when she does it try to say "NO!" in a firm voice, and then replace your hand with a chew toy - how old is she, she might be teething as she looks young

jen_23

Ah she's a cutie!

Sounds like she's just mouthing Nothing to be worried about. Gunnar (7months) still does it.
Like Paul said you can say no or yelp(:D) and give her something you have deemed acceptable to chew on though.

barbiegirl

She's 7 months now, a retriever spaniel cross :-) I'll try getting her to stop, as your right the MIL probably wouldn't appreciate puppy mouth. Though in fairness she only seems to want to gnaw either me or my husband :-)

littlelady

my 2 year old westie does this all the time, especially if he's excited to see me! never hurts but seems to comfort him.

tk123

Our pup is 5 months and doesn't really do it anymore..except when we're out for a walk and people for whatever reason put their fingers in his mouth?!

Roar

littlelady wrote: »

my 2 year old westie does this all the time, especially if he's excited to see me! never hurts but seems to comfort him.

my westie does that too, i think it's just a habit with her. it doesn't bother me and she doesn't really seem to do it with anyone else, as you say i think it's just a comfort thing

TrishAlmighty

The best way of stopping this that I've found so far is by putting some washing-up liquid (obviously non-toxic) on your hands at a time when your dog is likely to try to chew them....it has to be done a few times but if there's a chew toy available she'll soon choose that over the horrible taste of washing-up liquid!

star-pants

If it's not biting (sore) and it's only you (the owners) then I don't see an issue really. My two do it out of excitement when they see us, it's more like mouthing than biting, just sorta 'omg omg omg it's you nom nom' I think it's sweet

You can of course go the route of stopping that by yelping when they do it or a firm 'no' but then yelping means you're telling them it hurts (when it may not hurt at all), so it's up to yourself how exactly you choose to discipline.

edit - sorry meant to say what age is your dog? As Irushe said they might be teething which means they're sore, so chew toys are helpful. I found ice cubes good too, because they can play and chew and it's cool and soothing

lrushe

She could also be teething if she seems a bit aggitated when she does it, some chew toys could help.

barbiegirl

She has loads of chew toys and does use them. At 7 months their could be some teething still. Worked with her last night giving her a toy when she started to chew me, and she went for it. Slowly but surely we'll get her well behaved :-)