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New Puppy - biting & drawing blood! Aack!!

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  GreatDaneMom 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, I am a new member - pleased to meet you all. I have a 8.5 week old Llasa Apso/Jack Russel pup we got about a week ago. The first week went well, without incidence of biting except for the normal pup biting which I have always ignored when he bit too hard. I would yelp, say 'NO!' and then walk away from him.

Well last night he was given a real meat bone, a rib bone (in case that makes a difference, lol). When my 2 year old daughter came by him, she wanted to see it and tried to free if from him and growled loudly like I have never heard before and bit her hand. :eek: Seeing this I was stunned and did the same thing to see if the behavior would repeat itself (bad move on my part, lol) and sure enough, he bit the crud out of my hand and drew blood in several spots. :eek: I yelled my head off and after the bite, told him 'NO!' again, however, he growled whenever anyone came close to him for quite a while, like he was still on guard despite the fact I removed the 'offending' bone.

This morning was no exception either, as it happened again when he was chewing his bone - our Lynx Point Siamese came 'too close' to him as he was chewing his bone and aggressively growled, barked, and then and went after our cat and tried to bite him (who is 19 lbs and 5x bigger than he!) I am not sure if I should have done this, but I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck (so he couldnt bite me, which he was trying to do) and looked him in the eyes and very loudly and sternly said "NO BITING!" I then put him down, ignored him, and took his bone from him.

Ok, my concern is that he will really hurt my 2 year old. If he would have bit her as hard as he did me last night, it probably would have pierced one of her fingers. How do I nip this in the bud right now before it gets out of hand....I am very distressed since my daughter Brooklyn loves to play with him and I have noticed an increase in his growling toward her as well when she tries to pick him up.

Help! :confused:
 
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#2 ·
You need to see a trainer in person. ASAP. We could talk about food agression problems etc. on here and toss some ideas around, but if your child's well being is in danger...You need professional help immediately before your child is seriously hurt, because of course your kid is too young to know how to be safe around the dog. GET HELP.
I wish you the best of luck,
please update on your progress!
Kim
 
#3 ·
I am new to this forum and I don't have a dog yet, but LuLu will be apart of my family very soon. I have been reading, "Puppy Preschool: Raising Your Puppy Right" by John Ross (1996). This book talks about biting. You need to check this book out at the library or buy one. I think you will find it very helpful. Good luck!
 
#4 ·
I am sure it is a great book. I personally am interested in learning about training techniques and applying them on my own without a trainer. In this situation however, I really strongly feel that there is absolutely no margin for error. Therefore the owners and the dog need direction from an experienced trainer immediately. If there was no child in the house it would be another story. I cannot stress this enough, please please see a trainer.
Kim
 
#5 ·
SecondChance, I totally agree with you. I would recomend anyone seeing a trainer in a case like this. You can't take chances when you have children, pets and other adults around. The book I mentioned above was written by a Vet. He has trained many dogs and was a Radio Talk Show Host giving advise on training dogs. I think the author makes a lot of sense and I plan to use the kind and gentle training techniques he talks about and illustrates on my own puppy. But since the puppy above is showing this type of aggression, I would see a professional. Good luck.
 
#6 ·
I second (third) the advice of seeking professional help.

Having said that, most dogs don't want their food fooled around with while they are eating it. This is not meant as an excuse, as your dog should really never be excused for biting you, but it should act as a warning. If your dog is protective of its food, then you need to train the dog, but you also need to train your child not to bother the dog while it's eating. The same goes for the picking up. I don't know many dogs (not even "lap" dogs) who really enjoy being picked up and held, especially by a wobbly two-year-old. Teach your daughter to respect the dog's space at the same time you are teaching the dog how to treat your daughter.
 
#7 ·
FilleBelle, you are definately right about most dogs not being happy about having their food fooled around with, and his growling when she tries to pick him up isn't unreasonable! Dogs are allowed to have boundaries to. I imagine it is pretty challenging to teach such a young child how to respect a dog, but I agree that it is absolutely necessary. Hopefully she can find a trainer who is willing to work with the kid as well so they can find a balance. AndreaD I think it is admirable that you have done your research and have devised a training strategy before you have even gotten your dog. You are a model responsible dog owner!
 
#8 ·
Sounds like your dog has alpha dog issues, i.e., he thinks he is the leader of the pack (including you, your child and the cat) and will defend his food from you guys (his subordinates in his eyes).
 
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