BIG PROBLEM

[lola chow]

i have tried all the things in the training forum about bit inhabition and teaching the chow to stop i am now at my wits end these last 2 days she has got my daughters leg and my sons leg (thank god it was my own children) she has applied a little pressure enough to show teeth marks but not to break the skin has anyone any idea of anything else i can do she doesnt mind me or anyone else taking her food bowl she doesnt snatch snacks shes very gentle until it comes to legs and ankles HELP

[Dogdad]

I can't help, I know it is their way of playing, I have scars on my legs from Yoshi too. Good luck

David

[Sirchow]

This is a horrible problem which given the numbers of children Lola is going to come into contact with must be really worrying for you. After thinking about it - and I am no dog expert - I wonder if given that it is the children that she is "biting" that it has to do with the fact that she sees them more as litter mates than anything else. Children tend to move faster and more unpredictably with higher voices. She will probably have played wild games in the past with them and doesn't have the same respect for them as the adults in her life. When we had bad problems with Alfie and aggression we got a dog psychologist to come to the house and she watched how everyone interacted and made suggestions based on that. Some things that might help and perhaps you have tried them is to get the children to feed Lola. She must sit and wait till they give her the bowl which they "eat" out of first so that she sees they are in charge. Little things like she must wait to go through a door after they have. They must raise their status in what ever ways you can think of.

I hope that you find something that works for you as it is scary having an unpredictable dog and I am talking from experience x x x

[kiwani]

...shes very gentle until it comes to legs and ankles HELP

You would focus on inhibiting prey drive. Don't allow her excitement to build, don't allow chasing/tug of war games - but do give her some other physical outlet to burn off stress/excitement. Dogs discharge stress/excitement either through intense exercise (increase walks, hikes, fetch games, etc) or with the mouth (hard chewy treats, shredding cardboard, newspapers, etc) You can also spray the leg clothing/shoes with 100% white vinegar to discourage her and also enforce the 'leave it' command.

Is she at the age of adult teeth setting in the jaws?

[lola chow]

hi she is nine months old she has tried it with me but i have caught her before she has closed her mouth

[Boogie and Linda]

Have you tried working with a trainer? Boogie was terribly mouthy when we got him. I have posted this several times but we almost returned him because he was that bad. We worked with a trainer who also worked with my daughter who was the main one being chewed on and she taught my daughter how to be consistent. The problem with kids is that when they are under attack they tend to squeel and make more commotion which escalates things instead of putting an end to it like an adult will.

[Victory]

Yep, time to work with a trainer. She isn't seeing the children as bosses but as playmates and equals, the grapping of legs and arms is how they play. At nine months she has her full adult teeth and if she was really biting there would be blood. My two play fight with each other all the time, and one of the things they do is grab each other's legs, they have thicker skin than we do and are less apt to leave marks on each other. Your children need to assume a superior role, so they need to be taught to give commands in a way that she will respond to. I'd find a trainer willing to teach then as well as her.

[Victory]

tHE DOG IS NOT ONLY PLAYING, BUT DOING THE WHAT THE BREED DOES NATURALLY= DOMINATE....YOU MUST BE TOP ALPHA FOR THE DOG TO RESPECT YOU AND TAKE THE CONSEQUENCES SERIOUSLY..ooppssss...sorry for yelling...remember you must be more stubborn than the chow in order to gain top alpha status...good luck..pls. pm me and we can realy disect the situation and I would love to help.

Jonathan.

You are quite right Jonathan, the chow does see itself as trying to be dominate of the children, problem is children are naturally submissive, and it's hard to teach them to take control, but not impossible. I learned with my collie, (he was an old time collie, dominate, bossy and more than cabable of showing his teeth when he thought he wanted to) I was a kid too, but I learned then that if I gave a command I had to make him follow it, and I had to learn to not allow him to mouth me in play or for any other reason. Those lessons have helped a lot with these even more stuborn chows.

[carolyn dewrance]

Has he ever heard of the word NO, shout this at him, and make him understand, you are the boss, not him,eveytime he does something you dont like, NO. or as my sister says shout BACK, once he knows these two words, you may be able to control him a bit easier.
Good Luck

[Zhuyos mom]

I know you wrote you tried everything in the training section on bite inhibition. However, I wanted to make sure you read the link on Kiwani's thread located on the "Best of" section: http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=13602 I just read it and it is almost identical to how I've taught my chows not to bite or mouth or use their teeth inappropriately. Please read or reread the link. I used the commands "play nice" when I first see my chow getting excited in playing or going after something. When I feel the energy is getting hyper or rough, I say "bad off" Then if it escalates to a point where it is close to aggressiveness, I say "time out" and make them sit and then I count (1,2,3,4,5...15) to stop the play and lower the energy levels. I then redirect them to either continue to play by saying "okay, go play nice" and/or I directed the chow to get me a specific toy. if the time out was due to something which was too close for comfort, I asked them to either go to their time out blanket or time out "place" and had them stay there for a short period of time alone - I also would read them the riot act and ask them to think about what they just did and I would harrumph like they harrumph when they don't get what they want. After the time out period I ask them to come to me and I thank/praise them and give them a little treat.

To apply all the above with your children's situation, you have to teach your children first what they need to do to help you train Lola the right way to play and be a good citizen. At 9 months, Lola is a tween in human years, so mentally she is in between her youthful exhuberant puppy stage and teenage phase. So you will have to plan it out first then communicate it to your children quite clearly what their actions and responsiblities will be to help Lola understand to respect them. What I would suggest is first to teach Lola in increments.

First, if you can get a strip of something like a Schmacko (if she likes them) and use it to teach her "take it, take it, off". The lesson is to teach her when to take something and when not to with her mouth AND to teach her to use her mouth softly and not her teeth AND MOST IMPORTANTLY to teach her the meaning of "off" in context. So you snip a piece of the Schmacko off and say in a soft tone almost whisper-like "take it" and give it to her by pushing it towards her mouth before she can bite into it. Do it twice and on the third time say with a different inflection "off". On "off", you don't push it inwards, but instead keep it still and don't offer it to her and keep saying "off" if she goes for it. If she doesn't go for it and just sits patiently. Then say "take it" and give it to her, again by pushing it towards her mouth. If at anytime she uses her teeth or if any of her teeth ever touch your skin, you say with inflection "bad! off!" and take the treat away, pause, then proceed with "take it". Do this until the entire Schmacko is finished. Say "good girl, that's it!" That is the first phase of the training. If you feel comfortable with her progress, you have your children watch you do "take it, take it, off" with Lola and then allow them a go with it. Also, I often set a "booby trap". When you trust her enough to not bite and you are not the faint of heart type, take your hand, open handed with fingers together, and place it in her mouth and say "take it". Chances are she'll look at you like "why do you have your hand in my mouth" and will not bite down. If she doesn't bite down, take your hand out and praise like crazy. If she bites down even ever so slighly, you squeel out a very high pitch, owww, as taught in the bite inhibition threads you've read, and again the words "bad! off!". This actually is very similiar to the other bite inhibtion training threads. I use more words and varied inflections to distinguish and associate what is what with a couple more consequences.

Second, when the children are playing around and Lola starts getting excited with them and you or they notice she is aiming for their legs and ankles, say "bad! off!". Have the kids stand still , say "time out" then point to and firmly tell Lola to either sit or go to a specific place like her crate, the next room, to get her toy. When she goes off to follow your "orders", praise her/thank her. Redirecting her is important so she doesn't get into the habit of thinking her biped's legs are the same as playing with the legs of other chows (other dog breeds are often startled by a chows' ankle grabbing prowess).

Give it a try and see if it helps change things around a bit. Sorry this is long. Sorry if it repeats things you have already tried. But thought I would share anyway.

[kiwani]

hi she is nine months old she has tried it with me but i have caught her before she has closed her mouth

At nine months of age, your Chow's developmental phase is closer to a human teenager's. Besides all the metabolic chemical changes going on in the brain, increases in hormones (including stress hormones), there are also hierarchy challenges/testing, there can be increases in aggression dominance, etc. It's like a teenager's "you're not the boss of me" phase. How you handle this maturing phase, can make things worse (using harsh methods, for example) or better. Review the "Developmental Stages...links in the training forum. Realize that you're now dealing with more of an adult Chow.

[kiwani]

Just a question - does your Chow ever get to play with other dogs, jaw-wrestling, etc?

[Judy Fox]

Maxine, I notice Zhuyo's Mum advises you to use words like "play nicely". In my experience, words are very important and chows do understand more than most canines.
We use and have always used the word "Gently" with M & M to varying degrees of sterness - i.e. from "gently Milly" to "Oi, Gently" and that does. A finger on the muzzle whilst using the chosen word. They do learn.

Best of luck.