Then went off on holiday, for a couple of weeks, leaving the Puppy with my Daughters to look after.
Before he went, the Pup had been receiving some training, from a professional, and, probably will get some more when Son returns.
Trouble is , though, that the Puppy is frightening the little Grandchildren because, when he gets excited, he bites their hands.
Not vicious, not snapping he just takes their Hands (and ours) in his mouth and
squeezes.
He can be asked to āCome hereā and "sit, and he does that.
There must be a way to fix the biting?
I suggested a muzzle, but the Daughters say no to that.
I think stopping a dog biting is one of the easiest things to correct, a firm, loud, cross āNoā when the dog tries to bite will soon cure it. It is like any training though you have to be absolutely consistent all the time. None of my dogs would bite even if you tried to make them except if they were protecting you or a member of the family.
No need for a muzzle.
Teaching them to walk at heel without pulling is much harder.
Hi Ted the ābitingā is mouthing and the way a puppy explores the world.
The puppy needs to be taught bite inhibition here is a video explaining itā¦
Thatās what they are trying to do, problem is, he gets worse when the kids are playing. He wants to join in, (natural) and is doing these little nips.
Weāre working on it.
Having had continuous family dogs, across all of my life, I donāt think Iāve come across this before.
I have to say that really surprises me. All puppies nip, or āmouthā as Meg has said. Iāve never come across a puppy that doesnāt do this. I remember warning one of our pups āIāll bite your earā when she nipped us. One day I did exactly that, but very, very gently. It was just a little nip on her ear just about enough for her to feel it. After that, if she used her teeth on us, all we had to say was āIāll bite your earā and she stopped . Iām not for one minute suggesting this is the way to go about it, but it worked for us!
Megās video is a kind way of teaching pups, Ted.
I would NOT shout at him, and definitely not muzzle a young pup.
Muzzling to me, is much the same as tying your hands behind your back to stop you doing something. It might make you unable to do it, but will never help you understand why its wrong.
Some people advocate saying quite a loud āOuchā followed immediately by ending the game, because it is a kind of ādoggy languageā which they can understand if done correctly.
If you watch a litter of pups playing and one bites his sibling too hard, the recipient usually yelps and stops play, so game ends. Same sort of idea to mimic.
Lastly Ted, just a thought, but how old are the Grandchildren? Are they exciteable around the puppy? Have they been brought up around dogs?
Just wondering if they are very young because some children squeal and and tease puppies, so they need to learn too - not just the pup. Itās a two-way thing.
Good luck.
I agree, Bathsheba. Itās natural.
Itās how they have always played their litter mates until they get a little older and learn humans donāt play the same way.
Itās a natural puppy thing and there is a good chance, once his milk teeth have gone, he will stop naturally.
In the interim, what my hubby used to do was just grab the snout and hold a puppies mouth shut for a short period. They donāt like it and soon stop.
As for the kids, if they walk away, ignoring the pup, they soon get that message too.
Why is everythng so damn difficult for the modern generation, traning a dog is not rocket science why would you need a professional? All it takes is time and effort.
A local cat Buttons ( can be seen on the cat lovers thread) had a tendency to bite and scratch in fact one neighbour even reported him to tge SSPCA, anyway it took a bit of tike as he wasnāt my cat but now he is a different beast though will let you know if you have crossed the line.
A pet means a commitment, patience and time a puppy is young and needs to be taught what he can and cannot do.
It amazes me too that people employ professionals to train a dog basic manners still I suppose if you canāt do it needs must .
Puppies all nip and have sharp teeth and of course they love to play with children .
It rather depends too on how old the children are if they very little you have to watch out for them little faces can get scarred so easily and the child fearful of dogs forever .
Basically stop them doing it by holding them away from the children and saying no firmly as you would to a child The main thing is that a competent adult remains present with the puppy and small children at all times making sure that play does not get out of hand
My children never had the slightest trouble with puppies they loved them and played with them but they were used to dogs and not afraid of them .
Heās probably got into the habit of doing it,when he starts biting give him a chewing toy that he can chew but have to keep doing it until he gets into the habit.
Same here, Muddy.
Kids just need to understand ā doggy languageā so they know when to let an animal eat in peace, sleep in peace, and when heās had enough.
I think ignoring these basics is often why children get bitten eventually.
the ābitingā is mouthing and the way a puppy explores the world.
. Iām not for one minute suggesting this is the way to go about it, but it worked for us!