# Help! Pup Bullying daouhter & Son



## MCHarmon (Jul 31, 2008)

HELP! Spencer (14 weeks old) is overwhelming my 8 year old daughter. It is almost like he is picking on her and bullying her. He jumps up and nips and then bites her clothing, ripping it and this scares the living daylights out of her. He won't let go until I come running and scold him. Sometimes he even tries again immediately. This morning I took him away and put him in his crate. I have not used the crate as a punishment, but I needed a break. I had to completly change my daughter's clothes and put some bactine on the scratches on her tummy, plus calm her down enough before the school bus arrived. We have been using a trainer and she taught the kids to yelp loudly "OUCH", but this is not working at all. My little girl has really tried but now she is almost in a panic and tears, screaming no. For now, I am not going to let Spencer out with her and will watch him closely in the house too. She is in love with him and I need to solve this. I have stopped a lot of this behavior with me, by grabbing his mouth-muzzle each and everytime he starts to nip or play bite and say sternly "no bite". I think my kids are scared to do this and really don't know how. This stuff is also happening to my 11 year old son who is much bigger but he is scared too. I don't think Spencer is a bad puppy but he has to learn they are the boss too. Spencer isn't a cugo in disguise right? LOL. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for the help.

Happily, but concerned,
MC


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## Lisa_and_Willow. (Dec 18, 2007)

Yelling 'Ouch' didn't work for Willow either, it just made her jump and nip more. Perhaps keeping Spencer on a soft leash would give you and your kids more control over him? And tell your daughter to try and reflect his attention on a toy rather than her. Would he chase a toy if it was thrown?

Good luck!


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## olik (Apr 13, 2008)

do not be afraid of him.They can feel that.Have you try to keep him on the leash when he is around your kids.?Give him something distractive like a chew toy,when he is a wild mood.I hope it's helps.Good luck.


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## MyBaileyGirl (Jun 11, 2008)

What about trying to teach him "off!". Bailey is just as big as my niece and nephew, and she gets right up in their faces, so when she comes near they yell BAILEY OFF! and she turns right around walks away. 
Try this a few times with a treat, when he want it say "off" and when his nose turns away reward him.


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## samchu_mammy (Jun 20, 2008)

I started to use muzzle when Sam is out of control for biting. First time, I'll tell him no. Second time, I'll say enough. Third time, muzzle is on. He's been a little better, hope that it might help you a bit too.


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## Brady's mom (Dec 20, 2007)

This is normal puppy behavior. I went through this with Brady, except it was me he was attacking and he did make me cry on more than one occasion. Having a soft, 4-ft nylon lead on him at all times helped, but really the only thing that worked was letting him grow up a bit. By around 5 months, he'd stopped 99% of that behavior. Now when he gets nippy/jumpy, I give him a quick, small squirt of real Bitter Apple in his mouth, and he stops immediately. 

This is a tough, emotional problem to tackle but it's not an indication of future adult behavior, thank goodness.


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## Sienna's Mom (Oct 23, 2007)

Lisa_and_Willow. said:


> Yelling 'Ouch' didn't work for Willow either, it just made her jump and nip more. Perhaps keeping Spencer on a soft leash would give you and your kids more control over him? And tell your daughter to try and reflect his attention on a toy rather than her. Would he chase a toy if it was thrown?
> 
> Good luck!


I had many problems with Sienna and my son when she was little and it did take time. I do agree, maybe your kids should always carry a toy to give or throw? or what about a squirt bottle or bitter apple? Sometimes, in the mornings, while we are rushing about to leave, I have my son carry the bottle around because Sienna still tries to grab his shirt sleeve because she is wound up and wants the attention.

I have gotten DS to turn around and bring his arms in and ignore Sienna. I know it's hard when they are jumping bitters, but the waving or screaming can excite them even more. 

I actually found an email I sent to our obedience class trainer on the very subject, but Sienna was about 6-8 months. Here is his reply:

If Sienna gets hyper like that, tell her to sit. Why don't you supervise DS training her to sit. Do it inside with no distractions. When she has that down, move outside. When she sits for DS outside really well, then add play to it. Get Sienna hyped up, then have DS tell her to sit. What you will be doing is laying the foundation work, (Sienna sitting for DS) then recreating the situation where she got out of hand so that she learns that she has to listen to DS even when she is hyped up.

Hope this helps, I know what you are going through!!
HUGS!!


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## avincent52 (Jul 23, 2008)

Let me ask a question here (with a puppy on the way and an 11 year old and an 8 year old in the house.)

Isn't it possible, even likely, that the puppy will confuse "Ouch?" (especially the high pitched "ouch" of a kid) with a happy, playtime squeal he'd get while roughhousing with a littermate?

I like the sit idea. 

Also, it seems like a "coin shaker" that others have used to discourage a wound up pup from inappropriate behavior might work. (a dozen pennies in a taped up coke can as a second resort if verbal commands aren't getting his attention. The idea, as I understand it, is to startle the dog just enough to gain control of the situation.)

good luck. It does seem like puppy behavior. I remember my sister's big puppy literally carring my six year old nephew around the house like a play toy. (but he was amazingly gentle with my one year old niece.)
When he grew up a little, he was the best dog ever, and I'm sure yours will be too.

allen


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

I don't have kids, but I do have several young nieces and nephews. When Rookie was a pup and going through this stage, I taught the kids to say "Off!" just once, then cross their arms across their chests, turn their backs, and stand still if Rookie jumped on them. This helped a lot. If the kids are afraid and flailing their arms around and screeching, that can look a lot like play to a puppy. Pulling their arms in close and turning their back is a clear indication that they don't want to play. Plus it gave the kids a sense of control that they were able to do something to stop an unwanted situation rather than having to be rescued.

I found this to be very effective with the older kids. The only one who had a hard time with it was my 3 1/2 year old nephew. I think he was probably just too young to grasp it. Of course, when Rookie was around him, he was on leash and I was never more than a step away so the situation never got out of control. What's interesting is that his two 2 1/2 year old sister was much more effective at turning away when she didn't want Rookie to bother her. She just did it naturally.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

This is definitely normal behavior for a puppy, but not acceptable. We are going through the same thing with our almost 11-week-old pup; however, we don't have any kids. I also would have to recommended the coin shaker. Just put some coins in a metal can and shake it whenever the pup starts to get out of hand. We started doing this with Tucker whenever he will nip at us and our clothes. It has worked wonders. Another thing that helps is, when the pup starts to bite, put a toy in his mouth and then praise him when he takes the toy. I know that you can't ways have a toy in your hand, but that's another thing that works. You are not alone in this! This will pass with time!


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## avincent52 (Jul 23, 2008)

Just don't let the kids make the coin shaker a toy for themselves, because it'll lose it's startle factor, and hence, it's effectiveness.
My son could come over an practice his saxophone everytime the dog acts up... 

best
Allen


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Give the shaker a try, but know that it doesn't work for all dogs. Noises don't really phase Rookie at all.


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## samchu_mammy (Jun 20, 2008)

I agree on the coin in can, but Sam stopped responding to it because he saw us shaking it:doh:! Bitter apple then took the place, Sam hates it, however, many people told me that I shouldn't spray the bitter apple to their mouth. There's another product out there you can use, forgot the name at the moment though.


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## janni518 (Oct 13, 2008)

MCHarmon said:


> HELP! Spencer (14 weeks old) is overwhelming my 8 year old daughter. It is almost like he is picking on her and bullying her. He jumps up and nips and then bites her clothing, ripping it and this scares the living daylights out of her. He won't let go until I come running and scold him. Sometimes he even tries again immediately. This morning I took him away and put him in his crate. I have not used the crate as a punishment, but I needed a break. I had to completly change my daughter's clothes and put some bactine on the scratches on her tummy, plus calm her down enough before the school bus arrived. We have been using a trainer and she taught the kids to yelp loudly "OUCH", but this is not working at all. My little girl has really tried but now she is almost in a panic and tears, screaming no. For now, I am not going to let Spencer out with her and will watch him closely in the house too. She is in love with him and I need to solve this. I have stopped a lot of this behavior with me, by grabbing his mouth-muzzle each and everytime he starts to nip or play bite and say sternly "no bite". I think my kids are scared to do this and really don't know how. This stuff is also happening to my 11 year old son who is much bigger but he is scared too. I don't think Spencer is a bad puppy but he has to learn they are the boss too. Spencer isn't a cugo in disguise right? LOL. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for the help.
> 
> Happily, but concerned,
> MC


 
We had a similar problem with our youngest, Justin. How we handled it was by having the "victim" in this case my son do the corrective acion. Putting the puppy in the crate, putting the puppy on the leash and running him around the yard, making him sit, etc..

Mostly it was high spiritedness (dog), and a bit of timidity on my son's part. Having him be in charge gave him confidence to handle Midas firmly and appropriately and also made it very clear to Midas that Justin was above him in our little pack.

This was all very closely supervised and took a couple of weeks but solved the problem without damaging anyone... body or soul.


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## Sunshine Goldens (Oct 31, 2005)

What did your dog trainer suggest?


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I agree with both wearing a soft leash at excitement prone times and teaching the word "off". How about having the kids feed him, insisting on a nice respectful sit from Spencer first. You'll have to make it happen at first, but I think it helps the puppy separate kids from littermate-level beings. I also think having a mat and a tether (maybe with a chew toy/kong there)in a few different spots is helpful, bc it keeps the pup with the family while allowing the kids a safe retreat. Teaching Spencer mat/bed is easy, and when he's older he won't need a tethered to be sent to a nice, convenient spot. My neighbor has a GSD/Wolf pup and a seven year old daughter- it is just crazy trying to keep the hybrid from nipping and scratching. The brief tether during the before -school rush has really worked for them. Spencer can learn lay down wherever you put his mat. My nieces Kate, 4, and Gracie 8 had to learn to put their palms out(the policeman says stop) into the two puppies vision lines when Tango&Tally were Spencer's age to stop them from joyfully jumping. Kids tend to raise their hands/arms and back up in a way that invites the pup to get excited by accident. If they make a stop sign with their alms, like a volley in tennis, and lean forward- their body language will help. The old cliche a tired puppy is a good puppy is definitely true- giving him a chance to blow off steam and run outside/play with another dog before interacting with kids makes a big difference.


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