Anyone have some advice for my dog behavior problem?

[OnionPatch]

I have a behavior problem with my 3-year-old female German Shepherd, Emma. I've tried lots of different things to solve it and nothing has worked. Maybe someone out there has an idea I haven't tried or something. Anyway, what she does is play bite your arm or hand whenever you pet her. I've had lots of dogs before and always was able to train them out of the play biting stage while they were puppies. This dog will not stop no matter what. At first we hoped she would grow out of it when she was an adult. Then some people kept telling us that shepherds don't "grow up" until they're two. Well, still she didn't stop. It got to the point where I don't even try to pet her anymore than a sneak pat on the back because even though the bite is gentle, it's uncomfortable and gets my arms slopping wet with slobber. Even if someone else is holding her still, she almost cringes when you pet her and reaches around trying to bite. It's like an instant impulse. It's all in a very friendly way, just like a puppy does, but still.

I have a theory. When we got her as a puppy, our daughter was 1 year old. Those two became fast friends. My daughter uses her as a backrest still. The funny thing is that the dog doesn't bite at my daughter anymore when she pets her, only sits nice and calm like a normal dog! But I think when she was young, my daughter let her get away with play biting her all the time even when we were trying to be constant in curbing that behavior. Could this be part of the reason? The lack of consistancy from all family members?

I feel awful because we now have another dog we adopted as a stray and she's very lovable. Maude lays her head nicely on your lap and you can just love and hug her to death and she'll never be so impolite as to bite at you. So she gets lots of loving while my poor Emma rarely gets pets except from my daughter.

I tried all sorts of methods including some I wasn't so eager to try, like smacking her mouth each time. That didn't work. Yelping as if she really, really hurt me didn't work. (worked great on other dogs I've had.) I tried a few other things. No luck.

Anyone have any advice?

[smurfygirl]

1. I don't know if this will work but

you might want to try holding a toy or something she is allowed to chew on and try to get her to grab that instead, then over time give her the toy and then pet her, keep doing this until she is used to not grabbing at something. It will take a lot of consistency.
You will also have to convince others to do this.
Everytime she doesn't grab you give her a treat and lots of praise.
Tell her no with a low growl if she grabs you and make her sit without touching her everytime she does. This should work, I had a similar problem with a shepherd mix we fostered for a while. He finally figured it out.

[OnionPatch]

2. What cute doggies!

Are those all yours? Did you adopt them?

Thanks, I'll give that a try. Sounds like it could work. I think at this point we're in kind of a vicious circle because since she doesn't get petted as much, she gets even more excited when someone tries to pet her. When she's excited, she play bites. Argh.

[roguevalley]

3. try taking her jaw and holding it, saying no bite. keep it up. my boys

used to do that too. they love you soooo much.

[erinlough]

6. My niece's dog, a golden

is a wonderful individual, but she would get over excited when anyone came over and do the play biting thing. They taught her to go get a stuffed animal before she went to the door. She did that most of her first two years and now greets you nicely. She is a great dog.

[China_cat]

4. Remove your arm immediately

and turn your back on her. Ignore her completely. She's still getting a 'payoff' when you scold, tell her no or do any of the other things. Yes, it's negative reinforcement, but it's still reinforcement.

Try also petting coming up from under the chin instead of bringing your hand down to the head. A solid sit/stay can also help.

I have a 12 year old Bouvier who still tries once in a while to get mouthy but nowadays a strong 'aaaaaaaack' turns it into a lick.

Yes, giving toys can be helpful but ignoring really works the best. Ignore her for 10 to 15 minutes then come back with a toy to play with. I'll bet it won't take more than 2 weeks to break the behavior.

[wildeyed]

5. I always give their muzzle a firm squeeze and say 'no bite'

in a growly voice. I don't think hitting would work. Just get the animal more riled up.

Could it be that Emma needs more exercise? Sounds like she is trying to play. Maybe if she was tired, she would be more low key. Good luck!