Why do dogs play bite their owners?
If your dog is play biting, it’s a sign of affection; it’s gentle, he looks happy, and he might even be laying down. An aggressive dog, however, will growl, bark, or snarl, his body will be tense, and he’ll show his teeth. Aggressive bites are often faster than a play bite, and the big difference is you’ll feel it.
What is Mouthing? “Mouthing is when a dog puts his teeth and mouth over a person’s skin while using little or no pressure from his jaw.” says dog trainer and expert Mikkel Becker on Vetstreet.com. “It’s not to be mistaken for aggressive biting, which is done out of fear or frustration.”
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#4: They want affection
Your dog loves all the ways you show them your love.
In fact, they love to be petted all the time. And they always find ways to get you to engage with them.
First, they grab your arm with their mouth or paws. It makes you look at those soulful eyes. And now they have your attention.
Next, they would lay their chin on your lap. Or lean against your leg.
So you reach out to pet them, perhaps give them ear or belly scratches. And when you stop, they grab your arm. They wouldn’t let go of it.
Their relaxed or expectant facial expression seems to say something.
Kind of like saying, ‘Why did you stop, human?’
In that case, they grab your arm because they want you to keep petting them.
Just like what this cutie does:
Aside from wanting affection, they grab your arm as a return of affection. Or perhaps they’re directing your hand to where they want more scratches.
This DOG grabs EVERYTHING in the house! (Cesar911 Shorts)
If your dog grabs your arm, you may be wondering whats going on in Rovers mind when he does this. Of course, the behavior is not be pleasant if your dog is holding on to your arm with an alligator bite. Puppies are notorious for nipping arms with their needle-sharp teeth. Fortunately, most “crocopups” outgrow this nipping stage.
Much more tolerable are those cases of puppies or dogs who place their owners arm in their mouth, but do so without biting or applying pressure. Regardless of whether your dog has a gentle touch or a vice-like bite, you may be wondering, whats going on in Rovers head. Knowing the context in which this behavior happens, may turn helpful.
Deprived from the dexterity unique to our hands, puppies and dogs have a tendency to use their mouths in the same manner as we would use our hands. So just like a person touching someones arm, dogs may grab their owners arms with their mouth as a way to solicit attention.
Your dog may want to engage you in petting him or he may simply desire any form of attention from you, and yes, even if its attention of the negative type. So if, upon your dog grabbing your arm in his mouth, you look at your dog, talk to your dog (or even scold your dog) or push him away, in your dogs eyes this all qualifies as attention.
Many dog behaviors (including the undesirable ones) establish as a result of reinforcement. Behaviors that are reinforced, tend to to strengthen and repeat while behaviors that are not reinforced, tend to weaken and extinguish. Those are the “laws of reinforcement.”
With this in mind, consider that, to many dogs, attention (even of the negative type) is highly reinforcing, especially if such dogs have been left alone for a good part of the day and strongly crave engagement with their owners.
Heres a fact: dogs have many needs. Other than food, water and a comfy place to sleep, dogs need to be provided with ample opportunities for exercise, play, training, mental stimulation and socialization.
Dogs also crave affection and engagement from their owners. When these needs are not met, dogs may rehearse problem behaviors that grant them some sort of engagement -and this includes barking, jumping and biting the owners arms!
Many dogs who grab arms with their mouths are puppies. Puppies are very mouthy beings and their sharp teeth can easily cause lots of scrapes. Puppies explore the world through their mouths and use their mouths for play.
After leaving their littermates and mom around the age of 8 to 12 weeks, puppies have been playing and interacting with their brothers and sisters through mouth play. It therefore, comes only natural to them to want to interact with their owners the same exact way.
Play is important to puppies just as it is for kids, so stopping a puppy from wanting to play is wrong. Puppies should be provided with ample of opportunities to play.
However, puppies should be taught some very valuable lessons: that humans have much more sensitive skin than dogs, and that there are alternate forms of play that dont require constantly biting their owners arms, hands, fingers, legs and feet.
When provided with lots of guidance and feedback, puppies can learn to stop biting body parts, but its not something that will happen overnight. As puppies mature though, they eventually become less likely to engage in obnoxious behaviors and will learn to seek out other forms of play. So just as they stop chasing their tails, puppies eventually stop using human arms as pin cushions.
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An endearing trait often described by many dog owners are dogs who very gently grab peoples hands or arms to conduct them someplace special.
“Quincy tends to gently mouth a persons wrist or hand and takes him or her to the yard. He only does this with very few people he really likes,” said Martha, the owner of a large, but very kind German shepherd I once trained.
Some dog owners describe it as a person holding another persons hand. Just like a child would grasp another childs hand saying: “Come with me!” these dogs are sort of “holding hands” with their favorite humans.
Sometimes, dogs may grab peoples arms in a persistent, even aggressive manner. This can be due to frustration, overstimulation, fear-based defensive aggression, redirected aggression or resource guarding.
Often, dogs bite because they want distance or they want their owners to stop doing something in particular that the dog perceives as unpleasant or frightening (e.g. having their paws touched).
Regardless of the underlying cause, if your dog shows aggression when grabbing your arm or if your dog bites hard causing you injuries, you should seek the intervention of a dog behavior professional using humane, force-free behavior modification methods.
This is important as dogs who tend to bite are likely to repeat the behavior and things can escalate quickly if not addressed in a timely manner.
Did you know? Its a popular misconception that dogs trained in the sport of Schutzhund to bite the padded arm of the “agitator” are aggressive. Carissa Kuehn claims: “This misconception is similar to saying training a child to do karate makes him more likely to hit people. In actuality, the reverse is true. Training a child in martial arts helps them develop confidence, respect, and self-control.”
As seen, dogs grab arms for several possible reasons. If you are struggling to figure out why your dog is doing this, your best bet is to consult with a dog behavior professional who can assess the behavior and provide the most appropriate strategy to modify the behavior. Also, consult with a professional if you believe your dog is grabbing your arms aggressively.