Puppy nipping at children???

[youngwife]

As much as we adore Colby (dog), he has a slight issue. He does not usually try to snap at the adults or older kids, but he does on rare occasion growl and nip at the little ones if they take something he's not suppose to have away. They don't get seriously hurt, he usually just ends up scratching them. I make sure to be the dominant, and run him off or correct him verbally.

Tonight, though, he showed a little more aggression than he ever has. My son had been rough playing with him (not hurting or anything), which I told him to stop, and he did. Well, afterward Colby(dog) started not letting him come near him. He would growl and slightly lunged. I yelled at him and ran him away, and then threw (well, not literally) him in the crate.

1.) What caused this? Do you think it was the rough play prior? (Please don't post a "duh?" kind of response...this is our first indoor dog. )

2.) Am I handling this right? My daughter and I are pretty much the Alphas (I think), as he follow one of us and lays down at our feet all of the time.

3.) What do I need to do training wise?? Have the kids practice training him or take turns feeding him?

Thanks!

[mom0810]

Ummm, yeah, I would get thee to a training class asap.

You should read Mother Knows Best or the MOnks of New Skete. Verbal correction isn't going to cut it with this dog. You are about to have a dog bite on your hands...

Leash and collar corrections are necessary with a dog like this and you should have a lead on this dog all the time. You have a very confused dog on your hands...

You can PM me (PLEASE) if you need any other help. I am very worried about what is going on in your home.

[midnightmommy]

People tend to forget that while a dog gives dominance to one or two people in the family they need to give it to everyone. The best way I have ever seen this is not with yelling, scruff rolling, or corrective collars. This can all lead to in problems when used by children. They either don't do it correctly or the dog gets upset and bites. The best thing you can do is grab the dog treats and teach the dog to obey the kids for treats. You also need to teach the dog to switch it's favorite toy or treat for a better treat. This helps, but your kids need to know to never take a toy from the dog. That's your job. Some dogs you can get away with letting anyone take things away and some you can't. At least not without a lot of work. This is all a start, but I would suggest a class or two in positive reinforcement being that this is your first indoor dog. The rules for indoor dogs and kids are very different than outdoor.

[betsyj]

Yes no more rough play. My rule is anything I would not allow my child to do to me or another kid he can not do to the dog either. You do need hands on help since there are children involved and it sounds like he is a resource guarder.

The thing about resource guarding is it gets worse and the bites are usually hard and sadly a kids face is right at dog mouth level. This is not a do it yourself problem that you will fix with corrections. This is a professional trainer issue. Where are you located if you don't mind me asking? I may know someone in your area.

[youngwife]

Thank you for your concerns and warnings....

Unfortunately, there is no $$ for training at this time. I live in Mississippi, and even if I could afford one, I can't begin to think of where I would find one. IF this is a must, we may have to consider giving him away.

He is on a leash all of the time because he still can't be trusted not to poo/pee in the house.

We have just started trying to feed him raw, and we've noticed him carrying the raw food off, and guarding it more. He never did that with the plain ole' dog food.

The incident with my son had NEVER happened before. We've not been training him as much lately because of time, and my oldest not feeling up to it.

He also, at times, will play/love on the kids. My oldest had taught the little ones to yelp a high pitched squeal and look for rain if he nipped when he was younger. This seemed to help with the frisky puppy-ness.

Is there any way to salvage this relationship with out a trainer??

Thank you for your advice!

[mom0810]

I would invest in a good book, then. The ones I recommended in my other post are ones that I don't think any puppy owner should start without. They are SO great at illustrating the points of puppy and dog training, with great illustrations, and easy explanations. Like having a dog trainer in your home!

A trainer + the books would be ideal. But you do need to do SOMETHING different and soon.

I would go back to the kibble if the raw food has induced resource-guarding. That was a red flag to me. If he was doing fine on the kibble, go back to it.
Things were going okay then, right?

Go back to square one and read the book (s) I recommended. Dog Training For Dummies is also a good one, by Wendy Volhard.

Amazon can get you the books by the end of the week, and by the weekend you can start changing things. This dog's whole world needs to change if he even THINKS he can growl at your kids. His entire world view needs a shake-up. Quickly.

Just curious, what kind of breed is this?

[youngwife]

We've had a shake up before when he nipped and scratched my 4yod's hand. Things improved until now...since we've slacked up. The raw diet has just brought out more instinctive behavior, I think. He was NOT eating the kibble. So, maybe we do need to take away the raw privilege for now.

We are suspecting there is some terrier in him, but he was given to us, so we don't know. We were told he was "full Pomeranian"!! Ha! I don't think so, now.

Here is a thread that I posted that has links to pics....
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1074183

Thank you SO much for the book recommendations. We well get these pronto!

Blessings,

Rebecca

[betsyj]

Also get him off the couch (I looked at your pics of him and saw him on the couch). He needs to be on the floor and not up high with you or the kids.

In regards to the kibble-get him small breed kibble, put it on the floor and give him 15 minutes to eat it-make sure no kids are around him either. If he doesn't, pick it up and put it away. That may help him get back into kibble. Choose a decent kibble as well, not one with a lot of fillers.

Is he neutered yet? If not you need to do that ASAP-most dog bites come from un-neutered males.

I would also check out Childproofing Your Dog as well-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0446670162/...reative=380549

[youngwife]

We were using Iams puppy good.

We will go back (again) to no dog on the couch or bed.

We will try the kibble...do you have any recommendations??

We *think* he is neutered, but we're not sure...I know that sounds funny, but we can't tell if he is or not. Would it be really obvious on a small dog???

Thank you so much for the link and advice.

To everyone:

[mom0810]

On a puppy that small, it would be hard to tell. They would be smaller than peas, and they could be retained. I am an expert puppy-nutter-feeler, but it is really hard to learn. You stand the puppy up on its back feet and with two fingers, starting by the penis, you slowly pull down. Then you can feel them with our thumb when you pull them down.

Iams is fine. Not spectacular, but okay. You could try another kibble, but I would just get him back on the Iams for now. There are about to be many other changes in his life. Dog food can wait.

If he is part Chi, then that could be a lot of the growly issue. I would say staying off the furniture is an excellent idea. Dogs associate height with dominance. So if he is above eye level to the kids... there you go. He's been thinking he is "king of the hill" for a while.

Any other help you need, I am happy to help.

[gingerstar]

If you are looking at books for doing your own training, I love My Smart Puppy for thorough, detailed training info. (Thanks to betsy, who mentioned it!)

[youngwife]

Thank you all for your advice.

Just in the day that we have significantly changed our behavior, Colby is behaving so much more submissive.

I think he is confused because we vacillate between keeping him in line, and adoring him since he is just so darn adorable!!

I appreciate your help in pointing us in to the right direction.

Blessings to you all,

Rebecca

[mom0810]

This is really common with little dogs. I rescued a little shih tzu mix once, and since he was so small, it was easier to just pick him up and move him if he was doing something wrong than to correct him. I know, me, the dog trainer. Needless to say, I created a spoiled rotten monster (that was actually his name, Monster) that thought he was king of the hill!

We changed things and I rehomed him eventually, but this kind of thing happens all the time with little dogs. It's very easy to fall in to.. even for us pros!