I have a friend who has owned dogs for a number of years that has told me Taz is softmouthed unlike other GSDs and seeing as we're pretty sure he is not all GSD now we are trying to figure out what he may have in him. How can i be sure he is softmouthed? is there something I can do to determine if she was right and also can you suggest other breeds that are softmouthed so we can narrow down what else he is. I thought maybe he was part rotty but apparently they arent soft mouthed either. Thanks

Any dog can be soft mouthed if taught bite inhibition from an early age.....

Gwen Barrington's keeper never had any trouble teaching her GSDs to retrieve soft mouthed, they were used along with her Irish Water Spaniels

If you think about it they have to be, look at how gently a bitch can pick up her puppies. :D  My breed has great big teeth and very little lip but are still pretty soft mouthed.

soft mouthed menad the teeth at the side (I never listend in biology) don't touch.  It is commonly found in many gundogs, especially retrvers, who have to carry game without damaging it.  A soft mouth allows the game to be carried firmly (cannie teeth can link) but side teeth don't touch!

There is a little more involved with a soft mouth than geometry Ice_queen. It would need to be a pretty thin Pheasant if that was all there was in it. When carrying a Pheasant no teeth could possibly get nearer to each other than four to five inches! Soft mouth is a state of mind not a geometrical equation. The dog needs to not want to hurt what it's carrying.

Regards, John

Not much help, but try placing a whole unboiled egg in his mouth.  All my labs (apart from puppies) will carry an egg, they dont hold it, but cup it, the palate does not touch the egg. Both Emma and Penny will take me gently by the hand and lead me as well, and rarely a tooth mark is left on my skin. Quite often on a walk, Emma will hold my hand for 10mins or so. I have also noticed that when my labs pick up it is a quick single pick, no fidgeting or positioning. This seems to be in their make-up since only one of them is being trained for gunwork, the rest are pets and show.

My lab bitch when we got her, aged 1, really snatched at treats - she was in fact unknown to anyone, pregnant, so that didn't help! However, it's an area we've really had to work on but she's still a bit unpredictable, especially when really excited. I want to use her as a "Pat" dog & she has her assessment in 2 weeks' time. I can see this is the area she may fall down on. Incidentally, she recently picked up a whole raw egg in the street with no problems!!

Talking of finding an egg in the street..... One of my flatcoats found a very very old pheasants egg while we were out picking up. He very gently picked it up and brought it to hand, totally intact. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade him to leave it behind, so I had to break it, and it stank!

Hi AnimalLover,
I think that I can honestly say that ALL dogs are soft-mouthed.  It's just the teeth that are bloody hard.

:p   :rolleyes:   :D

Harry C.

lol @ Harry!!!

Fiona

My Dobe has a very soft mouth, in the summer he hunts out hedgehogs and carrys them :0 he never has hurt one or done any damage to his mouth, i check him all over but he knows excacly were they are, i have even tried going to different places but if there is a Hedgehog about he will find it, normally the poor things get dropped on the floor and i have to put him back on the lead and they unroll after a while and trot back to where he found them

My Akitas are very soft mouthed, but then they have been taught bite inhibition from day 1. On the other hand, my Manchester Terrier Cross and Westie are both very hard mouthed and recieved the very same training!
I think its mainly a breed related thing but there is always the odd exception to the rule.
GM