In order to stop a dog from mouthing and jumping it helps understanding why the behavior is occurring in the first place. This means taking a look at the antecedents, basically the events that are seen prior to the exhibition of the behavior, but also taking a look as the possible consequences, in other words, what is the dog achieving by performing the behavior? Excess mouthing and jumping in dogs often occurs as a result of over exuberance and lack of impulse control, and sometimes anxiety, but it can be sometimes also be seen as part of a dog’s aggressive behavior repertoire. If your dog appears aggressive, please play it safe and seek the assistance of a dog behavior professional. In this article, non-aggressive forms of mouthing and jumping are discussed.
Mouthing and Jumping Behavior in Dogs
Mouthing and jumping behaviors in dogs are often categorized as undesirable considering that many dog owners seek out information on how to stop them. While these behaviors are acceptable to many dog owners during puppyhood, as puppies grow and their bodies mature and become bulkier, and more capable of exerting damage, they become more problematic.
Mouthing is a normal dog behavior that is seen in puppies from a very young age. Deprived from having hands with opposable thumbs like children do, pups explore the world with their mouths and use their mouths in their interactions with other puppies and people.
In particular, puppies often mouth humans for the purpose of play, to solicit attention and to get relief from teething. They may sometimes also mouth when picked up or handled in ways they do not appreciate.
Jumping is also a natural behavior (meaning that instinctively dogs are inclined to so, until they are taught to perform more desirable behaviors) that stems from puppy hood. Puppies are often seen jumping in their interactions with their mother and littermates. In their interactions with humans, puppies jump to get closer to human faces and say hello (often attempting to lick) and as part of play or to garner attention.
Mouthing and jumping behaviors are therefore, both natural, common behaviors that are seen in puppies to a smaller or greater extent. Dogs tend to remain youngsters at heart generally until the become socially mature which occurs roughly anywhere between 12 and 36 months of age. Accordingly, dogs who haven’t reached social maturity lack to exhibit the level of maturity, restraint and impulse control seen in older dogs.
Why Do Some Dogs Mouth and Jump More than Others?
Why are some dogs so persistent in mouthing and jumping? And why are some dogs more likely to mouth and jump into adulthood than others? This can be in part due to instincts, genetics and learned behaviors.
As already seen, mouthing and jumping behaviors are both natural communication signals dogs use since early puppyhood. It is therefore normal for puppies to instinctively carry out these behaviors in their interactions with humans as well. Some puppies though may be genetically more predisposed to mouth and jump and exhibit exuberant behaviors than others.
Problems though start when these behaviors are reinforced (often inadvertently!) by well-meaning dog owners and this often leads to the exploitation (for lack of better wording) of these troublesome behaviors. When a natural, instinctive behavior gains a reinforcement history from the owner, things can get rather complicated.
A good part of behavior modification to stop a dog from mouthing and jumping requires several tiers of intervention. One important step is preventing rehearsal of these problematic behaviors through management. On top of this, dog owners should identify (when feasible with the help of a professional) what fuels the behavior and take steps to prevent fueling them, while also training their dogs to perform alternate behaviors in exchange for reinforcers. When trained fluently enough, these alternate behaviors have the potential to become replacement behaviors for the troublesome mouthing and jumping many dog owners wish to see reduced from a dog’s behavior repertoire. Last but not least, dog owners should ensure all their dog’s needs are met so to take a multi-faceted approach.
Tier 1: Preventing Rehearsal of Undesirable Behaviors
When dogs perform undesirable behaviors, these behaviors become more and more ingrained, making them more difficult to overcome. Soon, these behaviors risk becoming default behaviors that dogs perform because they have such a strong history of rehearsal.
Preventing rehearsal of undesirable behaviors is important and this is done through management. As logical as management may sound, it has a very important purpose: the dog is prevented from practicing the problem behavior. Preventing rehearsal of undesirable behaviors such as mouthing and jumping involves no longer exposing dogs to those situations that seem to evoke these behaviors.
Management often takes place through mechanical measures such as through the use of barriers.
For instance, should a dog tend to mouth or jump when an owner comes home from work, it helps to keep the dog confined behind a baby gate. Once the owner is home for some time, and the dog gives signs of settling to the novelty of the owner being home, the dog can then be released once calm enough.
Tier 2: Identifying What Fuel the Behavior
Mouthing and jumping behavior in dogs are often fueled by attention of the positive and negative type, but also other more subtle forms of attention that many times dog owners are not aware of.
Positive, active attention involves the dog owner interacting with the dog when the dog is jumping or mouthing. These forms of interactions involve talking to the dog in friendly tones of voice (Hi pup, I missed you all day!), touching the dog or even playing with the dog as the dog is mouthing and jumping.
Negative attention involves the dog owner interacting with the dog in ways that the dog owner perceives as negative, but that the dog finds still reinforcing, as negative attention is better than no attention. Ever seen a toddler having a tantrum while mom is one phone, just for the sake of being yelled at and gaining some attention?
Scolding the dog (bad dog!) or shouting (no!) or physical interventions such as pushing the dog off, may still be perceived as reinforcing to dogs in need of attention and explains why these behaviors often don’t work to stop the behavior.
And then there are more subtle forms of attention at play. Dog owners may feel as if they are not reinforcing the behavior, when they are, but in subtle ways that the dog still perceives as reinforcing.
A classic example is dog owners turning away giving the back to a dog who is jumping. Often, this turns into a game of turning, with the owner turning some more when the dog jumps again, and then facing the dog, then turning again when the dog jumps again, then turning some more, etc.
To a dog particularly eager for attention or play, this turns into an engaging game of “getting my owner to move every time I mouth or jump.” Indeed, the biggest proof of engagement is the fact that the dog is still sticking by the owner when he could do so many other things.
It helps to turn only once and stay completely immobile like a lamppost, (people checking on their phones are good at this) while ignoring any mouthing, jumping or barking. Dogs are naturally inclined to lose interest in lampposts and eventually leave. While an owner can never become as neutral as a lamppost, the dog should eventually grow bored and disengage by losing interest and moving away or engaging in another behavior (like sitting, which should be reinforced with food or attention.)
A Word About Extinction Bursts
[adinserter block=”2″]A word of caution is needed in regards to extinction bursts when attempting to ignore attention-seeking behaviors. What are exactly extinction bursts? Extinction bursts are dogs behaviors escalating before dwindling, and then, eventually extinguishing. Ignoring the extinction burst is fundamental, otherwise the behavior has a comeback and it becomes even more established than before since it’s put on a variable schedule.
Back to mouthing and jumping in dogs. When dogs have a history of being reinforced for mouthing or jumping (either purposely or inadvertently), the moment the owner ignores them, they will feel compelled to escalate those behaviors. This means, they may mouth harder, jump with more intensity and possibly even try new behaviors such as barking for the purpose of getting their owners to interact.
This is somewhat similar to what people do that day the vending machine fails to deliver that favorite snack they look forward to consuming every day. They will push the release button repeatedly, and perhaps even punch or kick the machine in hopes of it dropping the snack.
Caution is therefore needed during extinction bursts. A little planning ahead may go a long way. If dogs mouth a lot, they may mouth harder, so it may help to wear extra layers of clothing and gloves if the mouthing is often directed towards hands, fingers and legs. For rough mouthing dogs, dog owners should enlist the help of a behavior professional to play it safe and for correct implementation of behavior modification.
Other Potential Causes
Now, it’s important to emphasize here importance of knowing why a dog is mouthing and jumping in the first place. Sure, many dogs jump and mouth in hopes of getting attention or getting their dog owners to interact with them and in these cases, not providing attention as described above is the way to go, but what if a dog is mouthing and jumping to stop a person from walking? If so, stopping could be reinforcing the behavior. Hence, why it’s important identifying what’s the function of the dog’s behavior.
Is the dog jumping and mouthing for attention? Is the dog jumping and mouthing because he wants the owner to stop doing what he is doing? Is the dog jumping and mouthing because he is tired and getting cranky and needs a little break? Is the dog jumping and mouthing because he feels anxious or overly stimulated by something? Is the dog mouthing and jumping because he has too much energy or perhaps he wants to play?
Sometimes, it is not possible to identify the exact underlying cause and only assumptions can be made. In such cases, it may be helpful to just jump straight into behavior modification and train the dog alternate behaviors and highly reinforcing them, so that it becomes a no-brainer for the dog to pick to engage in such behaviors.
Tier 3: How to Stop a Dog From Mouthing and Jumping
Differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors is a helpful method to stop a dog from mouthing and jumping because it tells dogs what we want them to do, and at the same time, it allows the opportunity to create positive associations.
In other words, with differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior, the dog is rewarded for performing behaviors that are incompatible with jumping and mouthing. For instance, a dog who is sitting cannot be jumping up and mouthing at the same time.
If it is possible to identify what the dog is trying to achieve by engaging in the mouthing and jumping behavior, it offers an advantage as those motivators can be used to reinforce the behavior. For instance, does the dog want attention? Then, the attention can be provided contingent upon sitting behavior. Does the dog want to play? Then sitting gets the owner to toss him a ball. Does the dog want food? Then, only sitting unlocks meal preparation; whereas, getting up from sitting and mouthing and jumping, causes the owner to freeze and stop meal preparation.
Alternatively, the dog can be provided with other forms of reinforcement such as high-value treats, games or anything else the dog finds highly reinforcing. It’s important that dog owners commit time for this training, and when no time can be dedicated to training, then the dog should be managed to prevent rehearsal of the troublesome behavior.
Tier 4: Tackling Underlying Causes
As mentioned, often times dogs who are mouthing and jumping are dogs who overly exuberant or seeking attention or soliciting play. These dogs require daily doses of exercise, training and loads of mental stimulation. Using a dog’s dinner to work on this is helpful as every piece of kibble can be used to reinforce behaviors and food can also be used to stuff interactive toys.
Dogs who are mouthing and jumping for attention, should have at least two sessions of 15 minutes a day (morning and evening) dedicated to some form of interaction with their owners. These sessions should include some aerobic forms of play such as tossing a ball or Frisbee (after the dog sits) on top of a daily walk. Attention-seeking dogs should also be rewarded for acting calm and exhibiting appropriate, desirable behaviors. It seems like just too often dogs get attention only when they are misbehaving.
Sometimes, dogs who are mouthing and jumping do so because they are anxious about a situation or they are cranky and tired or want to stop an interaction that the dog perceives as unpleasant. In such cases, it’s important to take notice of the situation and take steps to reduce the chances for such unpleasant emotions to take over in the future.
For example, a dog who starts mouthing and jumping upon seeing people or other dogs approach may be overstimulated or anxious and may be unable to focus well enough to respond to a request to sit or sitting may cause him to feel trapped. In such cases, it may help to toss a handful of treats on the ground upon making such encounters so to prevent the dog from mouthing and jumping and form positive associations as well. Calming aids may be needed sometimes as well. As the dog becomes more relaxed, it may be possible to then teach the dog to engage in alternate behaviors.
As seen, stopping a dog from mouthing and jumping can occur for several reasons and each reason may require a specific approach. If you are having difficulty or your dog mouths hard or appears aggressive, please play it safe and consult with a behavior professional.