1-year-old Staffie is still VERY mouthy — normal, or a serious problem??
Hey guys! I’m looking for some advice from other Staffie owners.
Bandit has just turned one, and he’s still extremely mouthy when he gets excited or wants to play. For example, my boyfriend and I basically can’t cuddle or get too close to each other without Bandit jumping in and play-biting us, and when he’s really excited he tends to bite harder than he normally would.
There’s no aggression behind it at all — it’s very clearly play — but he gets way too rough, and I definitely wouldn’t trust that kind of play around a child.
We give him plenty of appropriate outlets: chew toys, bones, sniffing games, play, etc.
I also know Staffies tend to be much more mouthy than the average breed, but I’m struggling to figure out where the line is between “yep, that’s a Staffie” and something we should be actively correcting.
I’ve spoken to several trainers, but none seem particularly familiar with Staffies. Our current trainer was surprised he’s still this mouthy at one and said mouthing is usually associated with the teething stage, which doesn’t really line up with what I’ve heard from Staffie owners.
Were yours still very mouthy at this age?
Did they naturally grow out of some of it?
What ACTUALLY worked for teaching them to play more gently?
How do you handle it when they get overexcited and the play-biting gets too rough?
We need all the advice we can get ♥️