Need help: my 3-month-old puppy mouths me during harnessing and I have sensitive skin
Hi everyone, I have a 3-month-old Cockapoo and I’m struggling with putting his harness or jacket on before going out. I can just walk him with a collar but it feels cruel to let him go out like this during cold weather. Outside of harness time he’s honestly fine — when I let him out of the kitchen in the morning he greets me, rolls over for belly rubs, lets me cuddle him, and only does a tiny bit of gentle mouthing. I’ve sort of successfully redirected him to only chewing at toys instead of my skin by using a stern ‘No’ and give him another toy immediately. But the moment it becomes “harness time,” everything is stressful.
As soon as I try to slip his paws into the holes or lift his leg even slightly, he gets really overstimulated. He wiggles, pulls his legs out, mouths my hands harder than usual. Today he barked at me when I was struggling with the zipper. If I try to hold the jacket steady to zip it up, he twists around and tries to mouth me again. It’s like the second the harness comes near him his whole behavior changes.
What’s confusing to me is that he let the owner at the local pet shop put on the jacket/harness with minimal resistance — no mouthing, no barking, no wiggling. She did it in literally three seconds. With me, it takes forever and turns into wrestling.
I’m calm when I do it. I use a soft “puppy voice,” I try tuna pâté or lick mats, and I’ve tried putting the harness on the floor instead of the couch. Sometimes he’s calmer, sometimes he’s not, and I still end up with scratched hands and teeth marks.
I’m just getting overwhelmed because this happens every morning the past few days and I don’t want us to start the day stressed. Has anyone had a puppy who ONLY gets bitey during harnessing? Is there a way to make this easier for both of us? Any tips would help a lot
submitted by /u/Traditional-Swim4106
[link] [comments]