Advice Needed

[mrsbull]

I came in here because my little girl was bitten by our puppy today. I am at a loss as to what to do.

First a lil hx. We got out puppy about a week and a half ago. She is now 7 weeks old. The ppl we got her from used to let her play by growling/nibbling. We have been trying to break her of that. So far she is learning,she has yet to master the no biting/puppy bites. She listens ok otherwise. She had not broken skin before today.

She loves to play. Yesterday she was playing with a lil boy and nipping at him (he is 2) and the lil boy was crying I went over to him and swatted my puppy on her ass, yelled and told her no. The lil boy was ok, however when she started nipping at him he was running and laughing hence the puppy thought he was trying to play.

She did stop after I swatted her. I put her in her kennel for her behavior. She has nipped at this lil boy before and was told not to bite him. It has been twice now that she got this one kid. He was not injured AT ALL just a lil scared because when he was trying to get away she was jumping up on him.

Today I was making my DD lunch and my friend was outside watching the kids. The puppy was outside with the kids. My DD was sitting behind a tree so it was hard to witness the event. I guess she was sitting by the tree and holding her puppy and playing (DD is 4 btw). I do not know for sure if the puppy bit her. She said she did bite her but after she said the puppys head hit her.

DD now has a small lac on her upper lip. We took her to the ER and they put a stitch in it. Mainly I took her cause the puppy has not had shots. We have to wait til she is 8 weeks old. Plus DD said she had lost feeling in the lip. It was pretty deep before it clotted up. Like I said it is not really bad. Pretty minor.

My concern is this puppy has gotten kids before. Granted she is just a baby, we are doing our best to make sure this NEVER happens again. I have half a mind to put her down. But she is only a puppy and I do not believe that she intentionally hurt my dd or that other kid. I want to be a good and responsible pet owner and I am at a loss.

Just constructive advice please.

[afib]

it is a puppy still, maybe a muzzle?

[mrsbull]

I was thinking that. However I am not sure it will teach her NOT to bite just prevent it. I mean she is still a puppy 7 weeks. She has to be taught NOT to bite. She is still little enough to train her not to bite/nip.

I hope that makes sense.

We DO tell her in a loud/ stern voice NO and DO NOT BITE OUCH that hurts, and BE NICE. We kennel her when she is mis behaving ect...

[reaper]

She is a puppy, that is what they do. It is hard to stop them from nipping, that is how puppies play.

Keep up the discipline and she will learn over time. Puppies do not know that their little teeth are sharp. They are like a baby. You would not expect a baby not to poop it's diaper. It has to be trained and that comes when they become old enough to understand.

This is another reason why good breeders will not sell puppies until they are 9 weeks or older. It is bad to remove them from their mothers at an early age. Mom is still teaching them. Mother dogs will snap at a puppy that nips to hard. That is how they learn.

Your daughter will heal and she will be fine. They are young and both will learn how to act with each other. I never leave a young child with any dog alone. Kids can be very mean and the dog will bite back, to protect it self.

[Lone Star]

As I said in the chat room, a rolled up newspaper across the bridge of the dogs muzzle works wonders. It doesn't hurt them, but the loud 'pop' made by tne newspaper and the sheer surprise of getting whacked for certain behavior should go a long way to curbing this behavior.

Another trick is to use a spray bottle set to 'straight stream', aiming for the nose works well too.

You want to avoid the 'spanking' of the puppy, because in some dogs, it can lead to or exacerbate hip displasia.

If all else fails, buying a muzzle for the dog may be an option.

You said in the chat room, that you'd hate to have the dog 'put down'. Seems a little drastic to euthanize a puppy for doing what is genetically inherent!

[Ridryder 911]

Normally, I would agree that puppies are harmless. Tragically there was a recent strange event in my state. The puppy was a very small pup and appeared to be very gentle. There is more questions than answers..

Here is the AP report :

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gLyZs1w...12QOLAD9277N6G1

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Police say a puppy has attacked and killed a 2-month-old boy who was left unattended in a swing.

Officer Jason Willingham said Monday the baby was mauled by the Labrador at the boy's home and died at the scene. He says the dog will most likely be destroyed.

Authorities have not yet released the infant's name.

Willingham says the baby's mother and grandmother were home, but nobody was in the room at the time.

Police are unsure why the dog attacked.

The child's body was taken to the Medical Examiner's office. Willingham says police will forward their investigation to the district attorney to determine whether criminal charges are warranted

[Just Plain Ruff]

the cause of your issue is the old owners. Letting her play by growling and nipping.

If you consistently correct your dog and I mean consistently you can break her of the behaviour.

It is senseless to put this puppy down just because the old owners were doofus's and let her bite and growl when playing.

Just continue to correct her and she will begin to learn but I second what Lone said, correcting a behaviour that is in her genetics and nature is going to be difficult.

The other thing I urge you to do is to limit the behaviour and activity that is bringing out the worst in the puppy.

Ergo. letting the dog play with the kids without supervision. someone of authority needs to be watching the dog and correcting the behaviour when it happens rather than correct it afterwards. If the dog is immediately corrected then the behaviour will cease quicker.

ONE NOTE - DO NOT punish the dog for something it did earlier in the day. The dog has no idea what it did and all it understands is that you the owner is beating it for no reason.

[mrsbull]

As far as putting her down I DO AGREE it is a drastic thing to do. I will avoid that at all costs. However I am trying to be a responsible pet owner here. I want it to be the discipline that works.

I am honestly feeling like this is asking for a lawsuit. If it happens again I'm phuked. We live on a military base and it is not like the "outside world" rules are strict in here. Not only can my husband get into trouble he can loose his rank or worse. I do not want it to happen again. It is hard to not be upset here. This is my puppy and she hurt my little girl. I do not know if it was on purpose or not.

On a side note just to clarify. I stated in my previous post that my daughter was NOT unattended, there was an adult outside with her. My DD was behind a tree and my friend did not see what happened.

I do not expect a baby to learn immediately what is ok to do and not ok. I understand that kids and puppies need to be taught on acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It is a learning process for her and I, we are still learning each other. She is still trying to learn what she can and cannot get away with.

I have tried the water spray bottle thing she likes it. She will lick it off of her face and it does not stop the behavior. She will go right back to doing it, even after a firm NO when I sprayed her.

I will try the newspaper thing and hopefully this crap stops. I am not in the mood for a lawsuit. :?

[spenac]

Why not take the puppy to a dog trainer? Probably just a couple of visits and the puppy will be much more fun.

Something that works good to get dogs attn while bad behavior is going on is to place a couple of pennys in an empty washed out coke can. When you see the dog start to be bad shake it while saying no firmly.

[mrsbull]

Why not take the puppy to a dog trainer? Probably just a couple of visits and the puppy will be much more fun.

Something that works good to get dogs attn while bad behavior is going on is to place a couple of pennys in an empty washed out coke can. When you see the dog start to be bad shake it while saying no firmly.

The puppy trainers will not let us enroll her until she is 10 weeks old. We are already registered for that class.

I like the penny idea. Thanks !! Will try that as soon as we get a can available.