[kmaw]

Hi Everyone

Cadbury is now 12 weeks old and he's lovly in everyway except the mouth ( I think he thinks he a crocodile).
I have a daughter who loves him to bits (she's 6) however that's were the problem starts, they wind each other up and me!!!!!!

Caitlin just want's to stroke and cuddle him, he want's to bite and scratch, she's covered in marks at the moment. I try and watch them the best I can but some times you have to leave the room and within two mins she screaming/crying he's running around the house attached to a part of her clothing. We have tried the No and walk away, it doesn't work with him, he thinks it's another game. We tried the give him one of his toys to chew whilst she strokes him NO WAY....
I'm running out of idea's anyone out there help
I love them both individually but together it's not working..

Thanks

karen

 

[Maddie]

Sounds like he's got to learn his place in your "pack". From what you describe it sounds like he thinks your daughter is below him in the hierarchy, maye she has shown that she is afraid of him and now he is taking advantage. My sister had the same problem with her eldest daughter and her Goldie. The dog was always taking advantage and nipping my niece on the back of her neck! Not funny (Ellie was about 5 at the time). We had to teach Ellie and the pup at the same time.

Your daughter needs to be made aware that the puppy cannot do that sort of thing, she is the boss, not the dog and she must not be afraid. One thing I told my neice to do was whenever the dog came and tried to nip her was to stand very tall and still, hands firmly by side and turn away slightly and shout, very loudly, "NO!" No running away or flapping of hands or squealing or the dog will think it's a game. If you do try something like this, make sure they are under supervision, just in case.

One other thing that may help reinforce the hierarchy is for your daughter to be given the "responsibility" of feeding. By this I mean make the dog think it is her feeding him not you and make him wait for his food (try even putting it down and him not being allowed to eat it until your daughter gives the go ahead).

Whatever you try it's going to be tricky to start with but not impossible. It'll just take time.

Good luck.

 

[kmaw]

Hi

Thanks for that, however she does shout No stands tall keeps her hands out of his way but he still jumps up and tries to bite, if she's sat on the rug watching tv he will try and bite her hair or the back of her neck. Caitlin feeds him on a night time and he's not allowed to touch it until she tells him too, so your advice is welcomed but I've already tired them and still he thinks he's the boss.

 

[Jessie]

Jessie used to play nip my two children (8 and 3) when she was little, I think that you just need to be consistent with yours (and your daughters)approach and have faith that it will stop. 12 weeks is really young, I assume that you've only had the dog for 3 or 4 weeks, so they are still settling in and getting used to each other.

My 8 year old used to play hyper games with the dog so she kept nipping at him long after she had learnt that it wasn't acceptable with the rest of us, but he soon learnt to be consistent and be in charge of the games so that they didn't degenerate into a frantic chasing and nipping game. Funnily enough my 3 year old was tougher with Jessie from the beginning and although she is smaller, she did as we told her all the time with Jessie so Jessie was clear who was the boss 8)

Keep at it, saying no and do whatever you can to always be around to supervise. We have crate trained Jessie so I would put her in there if I wasn't able to supervise when she was younger (part of toilet training as well) and even now we have a baby gate between the front room and the rest of the house so if the kids are sitting down doing homework or quiet reading we can keep Jess in the other room so that they get the quiet time they need.

Hope that helps

 

[Fiona_M]

I would suggest that a crate for the puupy in the same room as Caitlin might be an idea, just for a while. They can still see each other, but can get used to each other's presence without winding the other up.

Sometimes its more difficult to teach the child - I had to work on Merlin (daughter) to get her to ignore the puppy. 'Mum, Talla's being bitey again' usually meant 'I tried to cuddle her'

 

[denmarkhse]

Hi Karen, no exactly what you mean, we are going through exactly the same thing with our puppy Lucca who is nearly 8 weeks old and my two children aged 10 & 8. This morning has been 'hell' trying to detach the dog from one or other of the children, Lily-may has run upstairs screaming as he had bitten her really hard and she was not even playing with him! It is an interesting point about the 'pack' issue - although both children have been very consistant in there response to Lucca and very hands on in the care of him, perhaps this is an issue we need to re-address? Obviously we will just keep on trying and as everyone says I am sure it will get better. My concern is though that this could put the children off him - I have already noticed that they 'escape' upstairs more just to avoid him, which is not what any of us want

Keep me updated of how it is going

Sarah
x

 

[shelley]

Hi Karen and Sarah

Looks like we are all in the same boat!! Holly 14 weeks can still be a nightmare with kids at times.., or is it they can be a nightmare with her?

HOWEVER we have noticed a big improvement in this over the last couple of weeks. W've tried several different tactics and dont know if these have had an effect or she is generally calming down a TINY bit.

Some things we tried included....

Holly... Attaching a long lead at times so if she is chasing after kids we can control her by taking hold of lead and we dont have to chase after her.
Used time out a lot just to calm her down
Lots of rewards for sitting etc.
on top of what others have already said

KIDS... Made a reward chart for the kids (sounds sad i know - must be the teacher in me!) Basically i said that we would give them a star every time they dealt properly with Holly. This either meant the correct reaction when she was nipping/chasing or... sitting with a toy with her, stroking gently. After a few stars they got a mini treat. It worked really well as it encouraged them to stand straight arms folded and not run off, but also to interact with her nicely. I too was afraid that the kids were just avoiding her ... especially my eldest who has more sense than the toddler and this encouraged him to keep trying to play with her too even if just for a few minutes. My kids are two and half and five and they really responded to this.

For my own sanity, if i am doing something where i cannot keep an eye on them e.g. cooking tea ( a hellish time on the best of occasions) I seperated them. Kids into the living room , or if i only had my toddler with me then Holly into crate but with a nice chew or bone to keep her happy. We're quite lucky i think as she loves her crate.

............Play Traffic lights. My little one never responds to EVIE stop it! Well she is TWO! :roll: So if she is playing and Holly is getting hyper i shout red light and she has to freeze at the Stop traffic light - fold arms etc.. and they can only go again with a GReen light. Sounds daft.. but the kids think its a game and its a way of getting them to respond quickly.

These things seemed to make life a bit less chaotic if nothing else. She still nips etc and is a nightmare for grabbing any toy that is moving but i have to say i think she is calmer with kids and more importantly kids are better with her.

Mind you, i dont want to give impression that everything is rosy as Holly is very snappy with us at the mo. if you try to get items off her, get her off the sofa etc. There have been times this week when she is more like a snapping crocodile than a dogIn fact i think she's trying to see who really rules the roost (ME of course!!!) But hopefully this might give you an idea of something to try. I was at the end of my tether too a few weeks ago but in that area at least things are looking up...

 

[shelley]

Sorry for the length of that last post - didnt realize how much i waffle. 8O

Shelley

 

[Rebel1]

hi guys
well it sounds as if you are all doing a great job with your little crocs oopps sorry i mean pups :lol: yes those teeth are a night mare and i think we all have the scars to prove it 8O it really does get better but it is a big battle. i think more time is spent on teaching the pups that it is not acceptable in the first few months than anything else.
shelly that is a really good idea to make a game of it for the kids and then reward them as well. it really keeps them invoved with the whole process. i know how hard i found it with max who is now 9 months and i dont have the added prob of young kids. the amount of times i was ready to give up in the first few months i lost count of. it wasnt untill i found this site and people with pups the same age and going thru the same things and i could rant rave and waffle that i felt more confident with max.
keep it up guys we are all here for you

 

[bruceybonus]

Biting Thing

Hi, I have been reading from this site for weeks and have got lots of great tips however, I am having a nightmate with my 15 week old, biting all the time, I have tried the NO command, putting him in the kitchen as a punishment but as soon as I let him out he starts over again, he has now started running after me and biting me from behind as I try and walk away from him. Is there anything else I can try or is it just keep battling with him. Apart from this he is great.

 

[lablover]

Hi bruceybonus
Distraction, replacing yourself with something he can chew (ie toy) and walking away do work. It just takes time and consistency. Whilst time outs are useful, by the time you've got him and put him in the kitchen as a punishment, he probably doesn't remember what he's being punished for, and does he understand yet what 'no' means. If you ever see a dam telling an over bity pup off, she gives it a short sharp growl - so it is in no doubt that it has done something unacceptable and walks away, end of attention/play.
There's some useful info here
puppy biting
regards Jenny

 

[bruceybonus]

Biting

Hi Jenny, have tried replacing with toys works for a short while, thanks for the link having read it, he seems to be at his worst when he is tired so I will look out for that. Will go back into battle now and see how we get on!!!!

 

[Karen_theArtist]

I tried countless methods to stop Corbie biting as when he plays he gets excited and nips. We'd shut him out, ignore him, stood up and crossed arms, gave toys, but nothing really worked.

The last week I tried a different method I made up myself. When he started to nip I said no biting and made him sit. When he did this I rewarded him with a treat and said No Biting before I gave it. Now when he starts biting I'll say No Biting and he'll sit down and wait for his treat! It's still not 100% but its the best success I've had so far.

He's nearly 7 months old now, and although he doesn't bite like he would do when he was little, he'll still nip and you can imagine what that feels like at that age! Anything to stop getting bruises on my arms :roll:

 

[Amandajvv]

Below is an extract from the website www.understandinganimals.com

--------------------------------------

You will have noticed (probably to your cost) that puppies like to
chew. They explore the world through their teeth and they particularly
like nibbling people! While this is tolerable in a puppy, having a
fully grown dog bite on your arm, even playfully, can be a painful
experience.

Teaching bite inhibition will not stop your puppy chewing on your hands
completely, but it will teach him that human skin is very delicate. If
he is ever going to close his jaws around a human hand or leg he must
do so very gently. This has two advantages over just telling him off if
he bites you:

1. Trying to stop a young puppy biting you completely is very
difficult. As soon as he gets excited he is bound to bite.

2. Stopping him biting altogether teaches him nothing about the
strength of his jaws. If a puppy is taught to bite gently the chances
are that, if he is put in a situation where he feels forced to bite, he
will initially not break the skin.

Teaching bite inhibition to your puppy is very simple. Basically you
just copy what puppies do to each other when they play. When play gets
a bit rough resulting in one puppy biting another, the injured dog
squeals, stopping the game for a few minutes. This way they learn to
play moderately gently in order to keep the game going. So, next time
you are playing with your puppy, choose a level of biting which is not
acceptable to you. As soon as your puppy bites, squeal hard and turn
your back on him for 30 seconds. Your puppy will soon realise that,
just as when playing with other dogs, in order to carry on the game he
must be very gentle. Over time you can decrease the amount of pressure
you allow before squealing. How quickly your puppy responds depends on
how consistent you are and how accurately you time your squeals.
---------------------------------------------------

Personally everyone is diff and what works for one might not work for the other. The only way forward though is to be consistent.

Good luck!
Amanda

 

[bruceybonus]

Kids biting

Karen, WOW, I tried your trick and 80% it worked, which means less bruises for me, THABK YOU. I couldnt believe it the first time bruce came to me for a cuddle and not a bite, he was asleep for at least 50 mins next to me not been banished GREAT!! He went to sleep on me instead of me looking for him for a cuddle and him for a bite he was so relaxed. Thank you so much.

 

[anando]

though i dont have much experince with puppies and children together i do have a demon spawn puppy at my home so i have 2 pointers

1) keep a long leash tied to her...if the pup chases ur kid get a hold of her and say NO! or something

2) give food to ur KID first and then to the puppy.make sure the puppy sees this..initially the pup might not liek it and might want to jump or bite ur kid so keep an eye on that. later the pup will realise his/her place in the pack

 

[mazie3]

bitting and stuff

wow I thought I was the only one with this problem I have a 9 weeks old pup and when my 9 yr old daughter starts to play it goes really well until the play gets out of hand and mazie gets behind her and jumps on her back so she can't get to her and bits her hair or finds some way to lach on to her back I have to be really carefully and trying to calm both of them down onw thing I am glad about this makes her cry but does not make her affraid to play again after the sting wears off.

Karen I am going to sure use your trick along with a puppy kindergarten class but have trouble finding one in baltimore over the summer how does anyone feel about the training classes at petsmart i have mixed feelings about it but somethime I don't think I really know what I am doing and would be better off if someone could show me more.

Question should the crate be used as a naughty corner for a short time.

mazie's mom[color=] [/color]

 

[Goldentouch]

We have exactly the same biting/nipping with our pup too.
Leos 14 weeks or so now and constantly biting.
When my younger brother wants to play with him he just constantly bites and has made my brother a little fearful of him.
Its hard with the walk away and ignoring/standing still as Leo still jumps up scratching into you.
Its gets very hard sometimes and it feels like every playtime with the puppy turns into a "NO" session :roll:

I'm sure the majority of them go through this stage, we have been through it with previous puppies and they have basically just grown out of it, hopfully this will happen in time with Leo too.