4.10 Dealing with a Mouthy Rottweiler

In this iWoofs we answer a question submitted by a fan.  A listener has a sweet three-your old Rottweiler that likes to mouth people.  He’s never hurt people, but the owner recognizes that this is a potential problem.  With a large, potentially intimidating dog like a Rottweiler it’s a particular pressing problem, because people may be very scared.  Obviously, the first step is teaching the dog “Off”, in conjunction with teaching them Take It & Thank You.  To solidify these skills we can set up a training scenario where we can repeat the visitor at the door sequence and practice until the dog improves.  Also, if you enforce the necessary rules, playing Tug can be an very valuable way to increase control and limit unrequested mouthing.