# Why does my puppy put my arm in his mouth?



## Liam (May 10, 2011)

Hi all

My little boy bailey is nearly a year now and i must say he is doing very well apart from his night time zoomie attacks  Any how there was one thing i was just curious to find out a little info on. Every morning when i first se my pup his tail wags like mad and he seems very happy to see me but as soon as i open the kitchen gate he comes up to me and put his mouth round my wrist. It doesn't hurt at all and he is not biting he just seems to put his mouth round me.

I have no idea why he does it or even if its something i shouls stop.

Any ideas why he would do this?

Thanks again


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

It's called mouthing and it's totally normal, but you do want to discourage it. If a dog does that to me, I'm fine because I know what it is, but another person may think it's a bite and freak out. Plus, it's not a good idea to encourage your dog's teeth on anyone's skin. That could make for trouble later on.

There's a sticky called "The Bite Stops Here". You could use those techniques to discourage mouthing. I wouldn't recommend using punishments to correct mouthing. It's a natural behavior that just requires some redirection.


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## NikoBellic (Sep 29, 2011)

Your dog is dominant and aggressive, try grabbing his legs and flipping him on to his back at random times during the day when he isn't expecting it, he will learn who is the alpha. JUST KIDDING!

My dog is always happy to see me when I get home and the feeling is mutual. I get down to pet him and tell him it's great to see him and he likes that, and sometimes when he's really excited he will put his mouth on my arms, and I just say "no" quietly and stop immediately and stand up for a few seconds standing still and then resume. It's less and less frequent, don't know if this technique is working or he's just growing out of it.

Dogs use their mouths like we use hands, so maybe that is their idea of petting us back?

edit: yeah! one hundredth post!


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## Wag_More (Jun 7, 2011)

> Your dog is dominant and aggressive, try grabbing his legs and flipping him on to his back at random times during the day when he isn't expecting it, he will learn who is the alpha. JUST KIDDING!


I LOL'd, haha. Like it was said before, its mouthing. Best to be discouraged, but don't freak out. If you want to discourage it, just don't give attention when the dog is mouthing. When they stop, give attention. He'll learn pretty quick  My dog still mouths (thanks to my husband, who enforces her, sigh) its harmless, but can be misinterpreted.


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