[YMS_1975]

My one year old Rottie has developed this interesting behaviour. When she greets any of us (family of four), she curls her body up (while standing), and she uses her teeth on our hands, and/or on our feet. She's not biting, and she's not applying any pressure. My sons & I agree that this is her expressing affection to see us again (she missed us). She only seems to do it when she hasn't seen one of us for a few hours. And it doesn't matter where she greets us (at the bottom of the stairs, at the doors, etc.) As soon as she sees one of us and it's been a few hours, that's when she does this. If anybody steps out of the house let's say for up to an hour or two, she won't do it. It has to be for a few hours.

My older son & I don't exactly see eye to eye on how to handle it. He feels it's funny & "cute" that she does this. I, on the other hand, see it as a bad habit that could potentially lead to her biting with force one day (perhaps even unintentionally) and cause harm. Any time I see her greeting anybody and I see her curling her body up, I watch her mouth like a hawk! As soon as I see her open her mouth, I just say : "No biting!" with a stern tone and she'll look at me, walk away, go back to whomever she's greeting, curl her body up again and she'll keep an eye on me, to see if I'm watching her.

Am I being paranoid to want to nip this behaviour in the bud, or am I doing the right thing by stopping her every time?

 

[big black dogs]

It sound like it could be mouthing. This is when they use their mouth gently to show affection. It is common in the breed. My dog grins when she is happy to see us...it looks like a snarl...but it's just her way.
If she is not using teeth, and not hurting you...and only doing it to her family members to show affection and happiness....I don't see anything wrong with it.

If she is getting rough...and doing this to strangers or friends...I would put a stop to it. Just tuck your hands away and tell her "no bite"...It can be caused by excitement and hard to stop. How do you greet her when you come back from being away? Do you start talking to her in a high pitched voice? Baby talk?? I notice that people often cause the excitement, then complain when the dog gets worked up..LOL You do need to be on the same page with the whole family though. Was she mouthy and bitey as a pup?

 

[YMS_1975]

It sound like it could be mouthing. This is when they use their mouth gently to show affection. It is common in the breed. My dog grins when she is happy to see us...it looks like a snarl...but it's just her way.
If she is not using teeth, and not hurting you...and only doing it to her family members to show affection and happiness....I don't see anything wrong with it.

If she is getting rough...and doing this to strangers or friends...I would put a stop to it. Just tuck your hands away and tell her "no bite"...It can be caused by excitement and hard to stop. How do you greet her when you come back from being away? Do you start talking to her in a high pitched voice? Baby talk?? I notice that people often cause the excitement, then complain when the dog gets worked up..LOL You do need to be on the same page with the whole family though. Was she mouthy and bitey as a pup?

Yeah, it's totally an affectionate thing. She never clamped down on us or applied pressure. Imagine her opening her mouth & gently putting your hand in her mouth. You can clearly feel her teeth. If I don't say anything, she'll continue this behaviour, followed by walking away, curling her body up, and goes back to the person she's greeting and playfully (and very gently) paws at & licks your feet.

No, we don't amp up our dogs when we're leaving or coming home. The only time we ever get them riled up by encouraging baby talk is if we see they've had a boring day. Some days you don't do squat, and they feel it.

I just wanted to know if anyone else had experienced such a display of affection. Our Labs (male & female) show affection by wagging their tails, jumping up on us , taking laps around the house (breathing heavily/panting).

It's interesting to observe Sugar's (our Rottie) behavioural differences.

 

[big black dogs]

My first Rottweiler Bruno was very much like that. He showed affection by taking your hand in his mouth. He was a monster sized (way over standard) Rottweiler at 148 lbs (and kept slim because he suffered from HD). Never bit, never hurt...very gentle. If it does not bother you, don't worry about it. Labs can be a bit mouthy too...but they usually like to carry something in their mouth..lol