Holding a soft toy

I may be "preaching" to the converted here but I thought I'd share some advice given to me by a canine behaviourist just in case it helps anyone else.

Dogs that are wary of strangers & feel a bit nervous about meeting new people could well benefit by being given, or taught to hold, a soft toy in their mouths. The soft pressure on the palate has the effect of releasing endorphins in the brain which leads to the dog feeling better & more confident about something it is usually scared of. It can be especially useful for dogs that are wary of strangers coming into your home (& has the added benefit of stopping, or at least muting, any excited barking!).

As well as making the dog feel better, it also has the "aaah" factor for the visitor as seeing a large breed dog carrying a teddy bear generally makes the visitor smile, thereby making a soft facial expression, feeling less worried themselves & therefore also helping the dog not to feel as nervous.

In my experience, many non-dog people take this as a sign that the dog is bringing them something as a present & then proceed to try to take the toy away from the dog ~ which is definitely not the intention! ~ so you may have to explain to visitors that they shouldn't try to take the toy.

It has worked wonderfully with one of my dogs who was a nervous rescue lab & it has also helped many nervous dogs in the local rescue kennels. Some dogs "teach" themselves to do this as they seem to instinctively learn that this helps ~ I suppose much like us reaching for a glass of wine in times of stress.

Unfortunately mine would tear soft toys to bits immediately. The sight of a teddy having it`s eyes ripped out and then being disembowelled probably would not give the right impression.

Lol at that! I would try this with Dan but he won't hold things in his mouth!

I quite like the idea of the dogs looking intimidating to anyone who comes to the door though. Keeps the wrong sorts away!

Same here,

But I do think that it is a good piece of advice and one that I don't think has been raised on Dogsey before (well not that I can recollect).

Hi Wilbar for me that is a useful interpretation of a behaviour thank you and sort of confirms my previous assumptions (thought I hadn't thought about the benefit of soft pressure on the palette).

As you point out some dogs pick up a toy when visitors arrive . I have always considered this to be a form of displacement activity, something some dogs do naturally to 'occupy' their attention when they are a little unsure of a situation. It is a behaviour I have always encouraged.

My current dog does this and she also does the same thing and dances around when I have been out and arrive back. On these occasions I consider her actions to be what I call 'redirected excitement', she is so excited she doesn't quite know what to do . This is a similar behaviour to that which we see in some small children , when they are very excited they will dance around and squeal.

That is interesting
and just reminded me of the most lovely sight I saw last year
A great dane gently carrying a huge teddy bear, his owners said he was v nervous and wouldnt go out for a walk at all unless teddy came too

With the hassles with my neighbours from noise ( ) I have been encouraging Ben when he brings something to the door
It dosent seem to calm him down, he is still crying and giving whole body wiggles but it does stop him barking - until Mia grabs it out his mouth then they have a game of chase

Yes it is a good idea (with a non-destructive dog).
A friend of mine had a big black dog and to stop the intimidation factor she had him wear a bright bandanna. Her current Giant Schnauzer bitch has a selection of pink ones.

Glad to hear that snippet has been of use but I appreciate the difficulties with destructive dogs

I suppose it could also be described as a displacement activity when self-taught or self-initiated ~ the dog feels a bit wary/unconfident/uncertain & doesn't know what to do, so it does something that helps it cope with the situation, i.e. grab a toy to hold

My favourite example was the little terrier at a guest house I used to stay in. Obviously there were lots of strangers coming & going, so this little dog decided that it felt better if it had a toy to hold. Much to the guests amusement, the dog's favourite toy was a Margaret Thatcher doll

I think I can match that Wilbar Years ago we went to stay in a beautiful country house hotel . My son was only two years old at the time and had a much loved toy, a badger which he took everywhere.

On arriving at the hotel we got out of the car my son clutching his beloved toy and a golden retriever rushed up and snatched the badger.

The embarrassed owner of the hotel told us the dog made a habit of rushing up and grabbing guests possessions and running around with them he didn't know why . The dog was usually shut away in the owners quarters but occasional escaped to perform his stealing game.

If the dog was ignored it soon dropped its prize and much to everyones relief badger was returned to us unharmed.

my Lobo chooses a favourite toy and suckles it,but rather than doing it when he is nervous he does it when 'chillin' so i guess its like me seating down and having a choc munch after a hard day his son also does it with a tennis ball,will sit and pop for hours but neither dog will hold things in their mouths when nervous