In the club where I work with dogs mouthing and nipping on human in any way is considered dominatiton and should allways been corrected from humans.I started working in that club 1.5 ago and my dogs are 8 years and 5.5 years old so we already had basic obedience and authority questions solved.
Rea my 5.5 year old is a shepherd mix who when we play and pet nips gently on me she never ever hurts me,she also mouths my arms or my face.I always considered this to be affectionate behavior.Tea just mouths arms.They also lick my arms,chin,neck and face.Now I have watched my dogs playing with each other and they show affection beetwen themselves the same way.Their is never an isssue of dominance beetwen them when they play like that.Will I have corected them as puppies for hard bites I never corected dogs if they were gentle.they dont do this to anyone else in household.But they are my dogs which means that I walk them,feed them and train them.Why are people so afraid of this behavior in dogs.Will licking can pass the minute the dog show teths it is called dominance.To me this just the way they show affection.If the dogs knows soft bite than I dont understand where is the problem.Of course my dogs know that I am in charge and will they love to keep me in shape with their antics they never actually challenge me physically.So what is your opinion of this? Is this dominance and if you think so why?Or is it just that somewhere in the back of most people heads is that story that dogs are just waiting the moment to take leadership away?From what I know about dogs they are more subtle than we and if something is brewing than you would get your fair shair of warnings from a dog.
Rea my 5.5 year old is a shepherd mix who when we play and pet nips gently on me she never ever hurts me,she also mouths my arms or my face.I always considered this to be affectionate behavior.Tea just mouths arms.They also lick my arms,chin,neck and face.Now I have watched my dogs playing with each other and they show affection beetwen themselves the same way.Their is never an isssue of dominance beetwen them when they play like that.Will I have corected them as puppies for hard bites I never corected dogs if they were gentle.they dont do this to anyone else in household.But they are my dogs which means that I walk them,feed them and train them.Why are people so afraid of this behavior in dogs.Will licking can pass the minute the dog show teths it is called dominance.To me this just the way they show affection.If the dogs knows soft bite than I dont understand where is the problem.Of course my dogs know that I am in charge and will they love to keep me in shape with their antics they never actually challenge me physically.So what is your opinion of this? Is this dominance and if you think so why?Or is it just that somewhere in the back of most people heads is that story that dogs are just waiting the moment to take leadership away?From what I know about dogs they are more subtle than we and if something is brewing than you would get your fair shair of warnings from a dog.