Kids undermining training

[Bafa]

The topic is actually a little more harsh than what it really is like. My kids have actually played a key role in the house breaking, as well as throw a kink in it here and there. This post is on bitting though. We are trying to stop the bitting, since Strawberry is only 7 weeks old its understandable. I have her to where she will repect me enough to attempt nawinging on me several times while I am holding her, but a firm "No!" stops her and she actually turns to licking and I respond with petting and praises.

The problem is my kids are 8 and 6. I their response to the bitting encourages her to bite them more. They will run, or be completely over run by her or jump up on a chair all the while screaming in fear. All of this excites Strawberry and she is associating biting with games due to that. It excites her so much that sometimes she spins around while growling like a viscious animal, barking and even losing her balance and falling over at times. It's quite funny, though that growling and barking sounds quite evil and scary even for a pup. My wife also has a hard time getting her to stop bitting, thouh her actions do not promote it (as far as I know). For some reason Iam the only one that has been able to get her to obey when it comes to this. Even though she still trys to chew my hand here or there I can quickly get her to stop.

Any ideas on this? I realize my kids are just to young too get the psychology of whats going on and how to handle it, but if anyone has any tricks they can give me I'd appreciate it.

 

[lizzybeth727]

Your kids are certainly old enough to understand that when you tell them to stop exciting your puppy, they should do that. If they're not old enough to get that, you shouldn't've gotten such a young dog.

You will have to continue reminding them what to do when the puppy bites them, and let them know that if they do not stop running and screaming, they will not be able to play with the puppy. Then, of course, you'll have to be there to supervise anytime the kids and puppy are interracting, so you can stop them and separate them as needed.

 

[bubbatd]

How old was your pup when you got her ???

 

[Storee's Mom]

I had a dayhome and the kids were NOT allowed to scream, run or act up when the dogs were around. I kept it to a minimum as far as having a dog loose when the kids were here, however they all knew the rules and had a time out if they broke them. They had the option to be on the other side of the gate though. The oldest was six, the others were younger, even my 2 year old had to follow the 'quiet' rule.

If your kids can't behave themselves, keep them and puppy separate until they can - that should bring them in line pretty fast. Bitter apple on their hands can help too if she's grabbing at their hands. She's pretty young to be away from her mother and siblings too, you may want to check into training and socialization (5-8 weeks is when they learn manners and social skills).

Lana

 

[Sch3Dana]

Keeping the pup on leash all the time will help a lot. If she gets too crazy, tether her to a piece of furniture out of range with a chew toy until she calms herself back down. I agree with everyone else- you have to stop the screaming and running. You can try to make a "freeze" game with the kids so that when you say freeze, they do so while you retrieve the wild puppy and hold her leash or tether her til she can calm down.

Toys on strings are a great way to focus the puppy into the biting the right thing. For such a young pup you need something very soft and easy to bite. Put it on a string and play with her like a cat. Your hand (or the kids' hands) will be completely out of reach this way and all the action will be from the toy. If she gets too bitey, say "where's your toy" and find it and make it run, using the string. She will learn to go and get it herself when you say this and then you can play with her with it, but expect that to take several months and longer if she really has to hunt through the house for it. A friend of mine did this with all her dog and when she came home all the dogs would scatter away from the door to go find their toys to greet her with. Very cute and very effective.

 

[Romy]

Have the children keep a chew toy on them at all times, or just have toys everywhere so that one will always be in reach. When the puppy starts nipping have them say, "ah ah!" in a stern voice, and then shove a chew toy in the puppy's mouth. Praise puppy while chewing appropriate toy. It would probably really help your children if you have them rehearse this quite a few times with your supervision, so that if you need to intervene and stop the puppy you can.

We had to do with this our puppy, it worked so well he didn't even chew on our baby's toys, only his stuff.

Also, 7 weeks is awfully young. This is the time in their lives they learn bite inhibition from their mom and siblings. As soon as your puppy is up to date on vaccines, try to find him a well socialized puppy friendly dog or another vaccinated puppy he can have play-dates with. It won't replace his mother, but it will definitely be better than nothing.

 

[jaws98]

I have the same problem! All this talk of 'just don't let your kids scream and get the pup excited' sounds good in theory but not reality. My son is 10. I tell him he needs to be calm and stay still and calmly try to get her interested in another toy.. but I see the puppy attacking him! She bites him all over repeatedly and VERY hard! She has punctured his skin and gave him big scratches.. How can any kid refrain from running or crying and just sit there and get hurt? I have to pull her off of him at times! Like the poster said, I have a better chance of getting my puppy to stop than the rest of the family but there has been a time or two where even I couldn't make her stop and it was very scary!

 

[Sch3Dana]

No kid should have to stand still while he is mauled by little baby needle teeth. Get a leash on that puppy! Teach your son that he can pick up her leash and use it to hold her away from his body until you get there to remove the little shark. He should try to do this with no screaming or excessive movement. When you get there, use the leash to take her somewhere for a time-out. Either put her outside or in a crate or on a short tether somewhere in the house where you can watch her. Do it all very calmly and wait for her to decompress. When she is calm again, go get her and let her have free time again. If you are consistent with this, the puppy should learn to avoid the situations (and emotions) that cause people to put her on time-out.

Of course, you also need to start some obedience training so that the puppy learns how to listen to your commands and communicate better with you. And, you need to provide her with sufficient exercise and chew toys that she has a release for her completely normal energy and playfulness.

 

[lizzybeth727]

^^^Agreed. Great points.

 

[jaws98]

Thank you for the tip about the leash.. but I think it was because of lack of exercise. We walk her 3 times a day and she's outside when my son and his friends are over.. but I read that puppies learn more about nipping from other dogs.. so I asked the neighbor if she would let Cadie play with her 6 yr old dog every day and yesterday was the 2nd time...boy do they have fun!!! She runs and plays non stop for like 2 hrs and then she is worn out and is just the sweetest thing. She still mouths a little but my son is calm and slowly moves his hand out of the way and quits loving on her and she stops... instead of attacking more like she was! Of course, in my previous post I didn't mean to say that I ever let the puppy keep attacking my child- I always removed her and let her calm down.. but it's still scary and I felt bad for him because he loves Cadie so much.
Anyway, you guys are right about puppy training! I'm investigating it now and will just have to go deeper in debt - but this is important..

 

[Sch3Dana]

Glad to hear that all the exercise is helping out. Exercise really is a partial cure for pretty much every behavior problem! It's nice that you have a good playmate that is available every day. Good luck finding some affordable training.