Air biting
My parents' dog Abby bites the air when she gets excited. It's actually quite scary looking. She gets this wild look in her eyes and chomps away. She never bites anyone (unless your hand --or butt! gets in the way). My parents want to know what they can do to stop this. They've been trying to give her a toy to chew on, but that's not really working since she's not really chewing on anything in the first place. Oh, and she's about 8 months old... Suggestions? |
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such a sheepie behavior  my two have always done this and they do it in each other's faces when they play. I agree it can be intimidating looking. I wonder if it wasn't part oif their original defensive mechanisms? Huge teeth snapping in the air ...
Oh I digress. I tell mine to cut it out when the get going and play nice. I think your parents are doing the right thing - give her something to do and refocus her energy - sounds liek she could maybe use a little more exercise or a job to do (see any post about chewie for suggestions ) |
kerry wrote: sounds liek she could maybe use a little more exercise or a job to do (see any post about chewie for suggestions
)Lol, just reading about all chewie does makes me tired |
| Is it like fly biting or is it only when she's exciting or playing? |
| Heart seems to do this when she is anxious.
I remember the first time I took her over to play with Harry (sheepiemommie) He so wanted to play and kept getting in her space. I think it scared her and she 'bit the air' to WARN him she was a force to be reckoned with.... 
---Harry just kept at her until she "GOT IT" and started playing. NOW they are the best of friends!!!!!! And LOVE to play, play, play....... |
ButtersStotch wrote: Is it like fly biting or is it only when she's exciting or playing?
What's fly biting? I think it's only/mostly when she's excited or playing. So it's definitely not agressive. The last time I saw her in person was in August and she was doing it then, and it scared me to death! Razor-sharp puppy teeth opening and closing! But apparently she's still doing it. My parents have recently enrolled in a more intense puppy training class but she is still doing this biting thing. They were hoping to get it settled down by Thanksgiving when they're having a bunch of people over. |
barney1 wrote: They were hoping to get it settled down by Thanksgiving when they're having a bunch of people over.
Ahh the beauty of crates. the dog will be much happier too. |
kerry wrote: barney1 wrote: They were hoping to get it settled down by Thanksgiving when they're having a bunch of people over. Ahh the beauty of crates. the dog will be much happier too. Oh, she has a crate and sleeps there and loves it. They're not opposed to putting her in it, but they guests are staying for several days, so the poor dog can't live in it 24/7 for 4 days! |
| we found when the pups were smaller - letting them out under a controlled basis when we had company staying for the holidays ws easiest. and i didn't find it hard to exercise the dogs away from company either - my BIL loved walking them and I got up earlier than the rest of the household who was sleeoing in over the holidays. all in all the dogs were ut a resonable amount of time and happy to be crated the rest of the time - away from the "invaders" |
barney1 wrote: ButtersStotch wrote: Is it like fly biting or is it only when she's exciting or playing? What's fly biting? I think it's only/mostly when she's excited or playing. So it's definitely not agressive. The last time I saw her in person was in August and she was doing it then, and it scared me to death! Razor-sharp puppy teeth opening and closing! But apparently she's still doing it. My parents have recently enrolled in a more intense puppy training class but she is still doing this biting thing. They were hoping to get it settled down by Thanksgiving when they're having a bunch of people over. Some breeds have a tendency to display an OCD like behavior where they snap at imaginary flies. King Charles Cavaliers are one I can think of off the top of my head. Here's a link. http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/flybite/flybite.html It isn't the best but it outlines the behavior. |
| interesting jill - I have had dogs that did just that. I didn't realize it was a condition. |
| Whole Dog Journal did a big piece about it in, I think last month's issue. It was about that and other OCD behavior. It was a pretty interesting read. |
| Interesting. I sent the link to my dad to see if she fits any of what was said. It's so funny listening to my parents--they were so used to having their grown up sheepie that all these normal baby sheepie problems are seeming like big issues to them... |
kerry wrote: interesting jill - I have had dogs that did just that. I didn't realize it was a condition.
Kerry - OCD is not uncommon in BCs. I think it's been on the rise since they started breeding them specifically for agility, or maybe it just seems that way. Some people just like them really wired and some times that wiring is a little loose. Or frayed. Or something 
Of course, it's also a breed that has a relatively high rate of idiopathic epilepsy. In a herding breed I tend to think of it as a fallout from frustrated drive, but who knows? I think I told you I think Sybil is mildly OCD. In her case, it's chewing. When she gets frustrated or stressed (same deal, roughly, physiologically) she MUST chew on SOMETHING. Fortunately not herself, but pretty much anything else if fair game. It's almost compulsive. If she can't find anything to chew on, she licks her brother. Some days he spends the day (and some nights) with his face soaking wet. I know that's a cue to me in her case that she isn't getting enough exericise/mental stimulation. When she does, she stops compulsively chewing/licking. Go figure. Kristine |
| Mags will do something like that when she gets excited....she always seems to to have an itch on her butt! She has to turn around once or twice before she nips her butt and takes care of that itch when she gets excited. It's weird, but funny!
I would just make sure that you tell the "uprights" before hand or when they get there that the puppy has some weird behavior when it gets excited, and to make sure that if they do excite the dog....or it gets excited by itself, that they keep their hands, feet, and butts out of the way! I have found that it is better to tell people of the dogs' behavior BEFORE it happens so that it is not a surprise when it happens. Remember that the dogs have short-term memory and need instant correction, so if they are not used to the correction or being corrected for that particular act, they just go on auto-pilot. Most humans can recall a lot faster (most, not all) and should be able to change their behavior easier then the dog. Also, then you can tell them "I told you so" if they forget. |
| I have a Neardie that has always done this. She does it when she is really happy. She turns her furry face and snaps at the air slowly. It sort of looks like a ceremonial Chinese Lion head you see at festivals. It never occurred to me to be concerned about it.
I am guessing this is something far more obsessive or violent looking? |
| Genevieve does this, too, when she gets too excited during play time. I tell her to knock if off and play nice and usually that works. But, when she was younger, I intervened by physically distracting her. I either stuffed something in her mouth or threw something for her to chase...anything that got her to stop and re-directed her energy. |
QuailTrail wrote: I am guessing this is something far more obsessive or violent looking? Yes, it's totally more violent looking! She isn't violent at all and she's not doing this in any sort of aggressive way, but she is crazy looking and she just gets carried away with it and sometimes her head (teeth--baby teeth too!) runs into objects like fingers and butts |
barney1 wrote: QuailTrail wrote: I am guessing this is something far more obsessive or violent looking? Yes, it's totally more violent looking! She isn't violent at all and she's not doing this in any sort of aggressive way, but she is crazy looking and she just gets carried away with it and sometimes her head (teeth--baby teeth too!) runs into objects like fingers and butts still sounds typical sheepie to me- she needs an outlet for her energy |
kerry wrote: barney1 wrote: QuailTrail wrote: I am guessing this is something far more obsessive or violent looking? Yes, it's totally more violent looking! She isn't violent at all and she's not doing this in any sort of aggressive way, but she is crazy looking and she just gets carried away with it and sometimes her head (teeth--baby teeth too!) runs into objects like fingers and butts still sounds typical sheepie to me- she needs an outlet for her energy She gets as much exercise as they can give her--walks and running her around in their big backyard... I'll ask my dad if he's tried anything I suggested yet. |
| she may need mental stimulation - play find it with her toys or a Kong. work on her obedience with distractions - that really tires them out. |
| i just talked to my dad and he said that their trainer suggested closing her mouth when she does it. He said I don't think so! |
| mine have learned play nice means cut it out - but it really goes back to distractions. |
| Our 4 1/2 month puppy does something similar to "air biting" - but it's more like a snap. Mostly when she's telling us she doesn't want to do something. SIT Winnie. (Snap.) DOWN Winnie. (Snap.) NO Winnie. (Snap.) We talked to our trainer who suggested re-directing her, stuffing a toy in her mouth, or putting her down for a nap. Sometimes the snapping and bitey behavior is because she is tired. |
| My Winny does this too. We rescued her and she came with some "interesting" habbits. We're working on her greeting manners. When a guest comes in she snaps/bites the air and runs around them in a frenzied state. If she's especially happy to see the guest she'll dash through their legs over and over. It's funny but deffinitely not good behavior. I always assumed that the air biting was a herding instinct. |
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