“Mouthing” when stroked

[Princessmardybum]

Just wondering if any one has any suggestions... my year old golden retriever always seems to mouth/bite softly when anyone strokes her. It never hurts us but people find it odd and I’m worried that they see it as aggressive. She’s been seen by a vet and checked over for any pain and it’s not that. She can be lying next to you and as soon as you stroke her she turns and grabs your arm. I’m not sure if she doesn’t like it or it’s her way of interacting with us. Any ideas how to stop it? We stop stroking her when she does it but not sure if there is a better way to handle it. Thank you!

Aww she wants to play, our Ddog is not really into strokes unless he is very sleepy much prefers a good wrestle on the floor.

I think I would follow your train of thought that is, 'does she really like this?'

I know my own dog uses an open mouth as a way to communicate he doesn't want to be fussed right then. He also did use it as play initiatation when young, so pp might also be right here.

The context should be the key. If you stop stroking does she do anything to persuade you to carry on fussing her or interacting with her - or does she go straight back to resting?

I wouldn't be going to stroke a dog that put their mouth on me. Even if it's not aggression, it's not a good way to behave - and you don't want her doing it to a child or a stranger in public.

If she mouthed, I would just withdraw all attention from her every time.

If she mouthed, I would just withdraw all attention from her every time.

I think that's why context is really key - understanding what it is she is trying to achieve with the behaviour.

IF she is trying to communicate she does not want to be stroked/wants to be left alone, then this may reinforce mouthing (negative reinforcement).

Nothing to worry about at all. Gundogs love and need to hold soft things in their mouths. It is absolutely nothing to do with aggression at all.

Think of the job they are breed to do eg pick up birds, soft and warm . They find holding soft things in their mouths pleasurable.

Give her a toy she can hold when she wants to hold your arm.

Depends if she shreds toys or just holds them but soft kong toys may work but make sure it is a soft toy.

A stuffed old sock is also good for some dogs

You can get dog toys without stuffing that she may like.

My one year old GR does this exact same thing and if you let him carry on he can sometimes unintentionally hurt you, so I always withdraw from him before it gets to that point. It's sometimes playful, sometimes seriously saying 'get off' and sometimes I have no idea...

IF she is trying to communicate she does not want to be stroked/wants to be left alone, then this may reinforce mouthing (negative reinforcement).

Okay, so out of curiosity, if your dog mouthed to say "I want to be left alone" how would you train them out of it?

Lots of dogs don't like to be touched when they're resting anyway (which is what OP describes) so this isn't something I would do anyway.

I would be looking for the earlier cues - such as slight body freezes or averting gaze or lip licking or yawning and listening to them first. They are 'safer' communication methods to reinforce.

Plus, with my own dog I would be making a mental note to fuss less or fuss at a different time or not fuss unless invited etc. All depending on the individual dog and what I could tell of their preferences etc.

My gundog does a bit of this (he's 10 months) context is quite important. So he tends to do it when he's excited and is telling us he wants to play, so we anticipate scenarios where he might be excited (someone coming home, new people in the house, that sort of thing) and give him something to hold in his mouth. If he's playful now he tends to approach us with a soft toy and will bow or boop us to ask to engage.

If it is solely she is just snoozing and you pet her and she does it I'd take that as a sign she's not keen and just not stroke her in that scenario?

My boy just can't relax while he's being petted. He has to get involved, lick you, mouth you, just generally join in the fussing. He's a dope. He quite likes being fussed by several people at a time, and being held/contained while fussed. He just can't get enough.

It took me ages to find it but this thread reminded me of the following clip of the most famous GR of all - the lovely Nigel.

twitter.com/gwandshows/status/1260513869165817863?s=21

I would be looking for the earlier cues - such as slight body freezes or averting gaze or lip licking or yawning and listening to them first. They are 'safer' communication methods to reinforce.

I suppose my point is - the dog is resting so not able to give out any earlier cues (as it's eyes are probably closed). So if you stroke it and it mouthes, surely the answer is just to withdraw the strokes?

Again, for me that is why context is so important. Because so much relies on knowing the tiny details.

IF this dog is using mouthing as a way to stop someone stroking it and (a further) IF there really is absolutely nothing between sleeping and mouthing (most dogs will do something else first, albeit maybe very briefly) then I wouldn't stroke at all it that type of scenario.

But there is still likely to be other scenarios in which the setup isn't straight from resting/eyes closed. e.g. resting but with open eyes. These could be the better moments to listen to the other clues iyswim.

There's a lot of IFs there, I realise. As I said earlier, my own dog used to initiate play like this and, when young, would also mouthe for comfort - right up until about a year or two of age. So none of those IFs might apply here.

It could be, as pp have said, just the gundog in her finding an affectionate way to display itself

Thanks so much for all of your responses. I’ll try and give a bit more context. She will often happily be fussed and stroked when sleeping, and might just open her eyes and snuggle back down. It probably happens most when she is more awake eg sitting next to you but watching the world go by. It’s not a quick snappy movement, more of a gradual look around then takes your arm/hand in her mouth. There’s no growling, lip licking etc as others have mentioned. She never tries to walk away or anything. Thinking about it, it does sometimes seem to lead to her getting over excited and jumping up so maybe she is trying to initiate play?? Slightly separately but possibly related, she often wrinkles her nose if you touch her paws. I’ve seen elsewhere that this can be a GR “smile” but it looks a bit snarly to me. Again, no growling or moving away. Have I just got the least affectionate golden retriever ever who doesn’t like being touched!!!

@BigHairyPaws

It took me ages to find it but this thread reminded me of the following clip of the most famous GR of all - the lovely Nigel.

twitter.com/gwandshows/status/1260513869165817863?s=21

Perfect!

@BigHairyPaws

It took me ages to find it but this thread reminded me of the following clip of the most famous GR of all - the lovely Nigel.

twitter.com/gwandshows/status/1260513869165817863?s=21

Gorgeous boy