FRAP? Mouthy?

[peep_erz]

Sifting through the forums I have come across the term "FRAP" or "frapping". In context I take it to mean zooming around and/or butt tucking. Am I correct?

I've also noticed a lot of people train their dogs to be non-mouthy dogs. I've always had labs so I do a lot of "bitey-face" training to make sure they know how strong their bite is. This keeps their strength level down and gives them a soft mouth. Is this not ok to do with corgis?

[funnyfarm]

I can't speak for everyone here but I allow/encourage my dogs to mouth because it is necessary in my training of a working dog. I would think that most pet folks would not appreciate a good nip when warranted, lol. But bite inhibition is a good thing to establish.
You are spot on as far as the frapping goes, by the way.

[Jespah]

I would agree with Kerry in that most pet owners who are not training their dogs to work sheep/cattle do not encourage mouthiness. Some even do zero tolerance with people mouthiness - depending on the dog's personality, it may be necessary to go zero tolerance.

How do you do "bitey-face" training?

And yep, FRAP is a Corgi term for the zoomies. :BIGGRIN"

Deb

[peep_erz]

yay I got frapping right!

My bitey-face training is basically wrestling with the dog like other dogs would using my hand as the other dogs face. Lots of grabbing and pulling and "biting" in the face area. When the dog grabs hold of my hand with its mouth I gauge the pressure. If the bite is too hard I stop playing and give a firm NO. If the bite is soft I resume playing and bite back with my hand. This gives me reassurance that if the pup does get overly excited and starts to bite that the bites will be soft. This also comes from the line of thinking with big dogs like retreivers, boxers, and pits. You want at lease some control over the big powerful mouth.

[Dillydoodle]

We do play tug with Dillon but we do not allow him to mouth our hands ever.. That is grounds for stopping the game, no matter how hard or soft the bite. With Gus, however, he does this thing where he holds your hand in his mouth ever so gently, to get your attention.. it is not a bite... and he also does this thing where he licks and gently nibbles your hand ... it is endearing... and he is so very gentle so he is allowed..

[Penutsma]

I trained Delilah not to nip by making the sound a puppy makes when it is hurt. I have used it on all my dogs. I have never had one bite me or anyone else to my knowledge. Basically, we will rough-house play and when the puppy nipped me or attempted to bite me like it would a littermate, I would 'yelp'. The surprised look on their faces is priceless. Once they learned that the nip/bite hurt me, it stopped. I don't remember it ever taking more than a couple of times. I've told friends trying to stop their puppy from nipping and it has worked for them too.

It has NOT stopped them (Delilah) from biting at toys or squirrels or in the case of Delilah - Checkers or Gator when they got between her and her ball! All of my dogs learn VERY early who the alpha is in my home! I roll them over, stare them down while they are on their backs and hold my hand gently, but firmly over their necks. When they start wiggling, I say "NO" in a louder voice. They stop and I let them up. It is all part of our playtime, but they know not to push me. They get time outs - in the box.....

[Westwood]

With Henry we do not allow any mouthing at all. He was a pretty nippy little puppy so we worked hard to get him to stop and he's very good about it now. Luke on the other hand was never a bitey puppy. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I had to correct him, and most were probably an accident (meant to grab the toy and got my finger instead kind of stuff). He does this thing where he will sort of hold your hand in his mouth when he greets you or we're cuddling on the couch...never any pressure...so we do allow that. He seemed confused when we tried to correct him for it, like "but mum I was being NICE!" :LAUGH:

[Dillydoodle]

Jane, that is exactly what Gus will do as well... like if i try to take my hand away while he is licking it , he will put his paw on my arm to keep it where it is , and /or he will take my hand gently in his mouth... It is so cute.. initially when we frist had this happen ( when we got him) i was concerned that he was going to bite or it would escalate, so i corrected him... and the look on his face about broke my heart...he was sooo sad... he doesn't like to be corrected ( he rarely needs a correction as he is really a good boy) and gets very upset... so since he is super gentle, i allow it with us.. and he never does this to anyone but me and my husband. +WUBCLUB+

[peep_erz]

Strummer has been holding my wrist breifly in his mouth and licking it. I'm taking it as a sign of affection.

He also "bit" me his first day home. He jumped on the couch and I told him no. He went into a submissive crouch and wouldn't budge. I went to nudge him and he swooped around and had his mouth open on my wrist but he never bit down at all. He just had his mouth on me and then swiftly took it back.

I also feel his teeth on me when he is jumping around trailing me. Its hard to tell whether it is intentional or accidental. I expected the herding thing for him to nip at my heels but it hasn't been my heels. Mostly my hand as it swings back.

[Jespah]

The nipping at the heels and ankles is the herding thing - he may be reacting to your swinging hand in that same manner. My first Corgi Riley shredded a pair of jeans at the hem - they were my dog-walking pants. :BIGGRIN"