Muppet.
I'm at a loss as to what to do. He's not *biting* her, but rather "catching" her with his mouth, in play. She is just so little and twitchy and flighty, her every movement invites "play" from him. I've tried smacking him, pinching his mouth shut, keeping him leashed ( although the second he gets off the leash he goes after her) and even keeping him outside more.. nothing is helping. And he's tall enough now that her shoulders and face are starting to get within reach. Muzzle? Is a muzzle appropriate for this? If so, what's the appropriate way to use it?I'm just hitting a brick wall. I do NOT want to give up on this dog, but her arms and legs.......... it's just killing me seeing her all beat up like this. I didn't have any issues like this with Cloe or Lola, so I have no idea how to treat it.
What do I do?
8 comments:
I think that half the problem is the dog, half is the kid...so BOTH sides need to change their behavior. Have Raegan help in keeping the dog from nipping her. He leaves Kael alone?? If so, she should be able to change whatever it is that she is doing differently that makes the dog play harder with her than it does with Kael.
And....maybe they look bad, but she is just an easy bruiser. If it bothered her, she would probably play less with the dog or play softer.
It's just how she moves. She swings her arms around and flaps her hands, it's just how she goes through this world of ours. She isn't playing *with* him, she's just playing and he runs up and grabs her. She doesn't like it. But she doesn't cry or anything anymore either, so there is that. I don't know how I can teach her or even ask her to stop moving, you know? She's four! Kael is himself a bumbling puppy and Muppet has always left him alone. I think part of the problem is Muppet thinks he's dominant over rae ( because she's a girl, maybe?) we still have regular "beatings" because he mounts her frequently, etc. He's just rough with her. I've shown her how to discipline him, smack his nose, say these words, etc. But she's "flirty" in her movements so even if his nose is smacked, he thinks she's playing. I know this is something he will eventually outgrow, I just want to still like him when he gets there.
We have a standard poodle puppy (6 months old and 45 lb already), and we have had similar problems. Tried all sorts of stuff and nothing worked. I brought a trainer to our house for advice. She taught us all to really yell "OW!" whenever he touches his teeth to skin or clothing. It has worked wonders. The key is to be LOUD and consistent (everyone in the family does it). We also use a squirt gun with water on him when he starts getting too jumpy. That works well too. Of course it's important to back all this up with positive training so he gets lots of rewards and TONS of exercise ("a tired dog is a good dog"). Hope this helps.
He's a puppy. He does NOT need a muzzle. He needs to be trained. There is nothing wrong with this dog that a little training wouldn't fix.
He's also probably bored. I agree with Kristen on the exercise. Have you been taking him for walks?
He gets walks every other day or so, but we wear him out throwing balls, etc. I don't think he's bored, but more that he's overstimulated by her flappy happy movements? And having some dominance issues that are making it worse. he doesn't use his mouth on anyone else in the house. I got some advise elsewhere to make sure he sees her as dominant, so starting today we're having her sit-feed him, and having her spend extra time with things like throwing his ball and rewarding him for good behaviors, so he sees her as less of an equal and litter mate and more as one of those people in charge of him.
I'm not looking to get rid of him, I know he's a great smart dog that just needs work, I guess I was just looking for advice on what to do to help train him, as I'm aware that that's all that needs to happen.
With my bigger dog Omar (Shepard chow mix) we had a lot of those issues, he just liked to mouth us as a pup, and chew etc and did not realize he was as big as he was. The other person suggested the yelling of OW very loudly and then ignoring the pup after the behaviour for several minutes and that truly worked for us, as well as yelling NO BITE. When Omart gets rough when him and Lucas are playing like fools I just remind him sternly NO BITE, he is not biting but mouthing and playing nicely, he is just 75 lbs now and I want him to remember to be gentle, it really works, Like kids, consistency is the key
I work w/a trainer and we use pinch collars.
it is a collar that has prongs on it that prick the neck momentarily but then collapse on the neck. you could google them.
this dog should not be left alone w/your children until this is under control. period.
if he is mounting your child he definitely believes he is dominate and this will not work in the long run. It isn't because she is a girl, it is because he is getting away with it.
YOU (or hubby) need to be dominate in the picture. dog is not left alone or aloud access to child unless you 9(or hubby) are present. Dog is not allowed to rough house with child, at this point, ever.
dog may play with toys, play with you and hubby or sit somewhere, but child is not dogs toy or anything of the ilk.
sorry. i know you don't know me, but this kind of stuff really upsets me. child can foreseeably get really hurt, or worse, in the future and then you will feel terrible and get rid of the dog.
dog needs boundaries that only you or hubby can provide.
child needs safety that only you or hubby can provide.
i hope i didn't offend you.
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