Help - puppy biting dog!

Moominmamma

Hi

I live out in the sticks, have a young baby to look after and don't drive so in true MSE style I've bagged myself a little job puppy-sitting for one of my neighbours .

My problem is that my neighbour has encouraged me to take my dog with me when I go to see the puppy (a terrier) in order to socialise her etc and this wouldn't be a problem except that she keeps biting his ankles!!! I am really at a loss as to what to do, I'm sure she's not being agressive because when we arrive she always lies down in the submissive position in front of my dog and they're both wagging their tails but as soon as they start to play and he starts running around her favourite game is to weave around his legs and nip him (his tongue is also a firm favourite whenever it's hanging out!!)

If he would just give her a bit of a growl or something then maybe she'd stop but he's a labrador and the soppiest dog on the face of the earth, I don't think he's got a growl in him...he did sit on her the other day, but I'd like to think it was accidental

She's a lovely puppy and it would be a shame for them both if I need to stop taking my dog with me but I don't like to see my dog being terrorised, bless him, so any suggestions as to how to get her to stop would be hugely appreciated.

M x

kaya

somebody needs to discipline the puppy by the sounds of it, people with small dogs like terriers tend not to be as strict with them as they would be with a bigger dog "ahh, bless him, he's humping his cuddly toy " are the type of statements i usually hear, wouldnt be as funny if it was a rotweiller! the puppy needs to be taught that your dog is not a chew toy by its owners

WeirdoMagnet

Puppies learn by 'playing' with other dogs. With their litter-mates, they learn about bite inhibition, and important dog-socialisation skills.

I would divert his attention onto something else - like a chewy toy. You could attach a house line (short lead) to his collar to guide hime (not pull him) away from your dog, and give the pup a 'time out' period. If you are consistent, he'll soon learn that everytime he does it, he gets a time out, and will learn to play nicely. Remember he is only a puppy, and needs to learn what is/is not acceptable, with both his canine AND human friends. He needs to learn, but he does not to be disciplined - as far as he knows he's just being a dog! Indeed using some disciplinary methods could exacerbate the problem.

You could take them both for a (short) walk together - that would tire the pup out and he would be less likely to chew your dogs ankles! It would also mean that he got used to your dog without having the chance to practise the unwanted behaviour.

For more advice, you could try posting on the training and behaviour forum on DogPages - there are lots of experienced dog trainers on there who use dog-friendly training methods.

Good luck!

Georgie

Wolfsbayne

Im having exactly the same problem! I have a 14 week old puppy and a 10 year old dog (not brilliantly well either, heart problems and arthritis). The pup is always using the dog as a chew toy, playing tug with his tail and trying to play fight. It's not nasty but the older dog won't bark or growl but joins in, then humps the pup and is then poorly later on in the day.

Im going to try the lead thing but usually when we do the time out thing (bu putting pup in crate for 10 minutes), as soon as he comes out he goes straight back to doing it again!

Moominmamma

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply . The pup drew blood yesterday by biting my poor boy's tongue, so I decided enough was enough and rang his owner (who I never normally see) to ask whether she had any ideas how to handle it. She has just started taking the pup to classes and said in order to stop her when she was doing anything naughty she had a plastic bottle with a handful of pebbles in that I should shake at the puppy and she would (hopefully!) stop as she didn't like the noise... Well I was a bit sceptical to be honest but it worked!!! As soon as I rattled the bottle she stopped almost instantly, I shook it each time she went to nip my dog, and then obviously praised her when she played nicely with him and after 20 minutes or so of this she was lying down beside him cuddling up :T

Wolfsbayne, I don't know if it's a universal thing, or just something this particular pup doesn't like, but if I were you I'd certainly give it a go!

Thanks again for all your replies.

M x

Raksha

You gotta be careful with any type of noise aversion (like rattle cans, pebble bottles etc) and water sprays, as some puppies just can't cope with the fright they can give. Far better to 'restrict, redirect, and reward' - whilst it's great that the pup has an older dog to play with, it really should be looking on human beings as the best source of all the good things in life.

Keldin

It's a puppy. Biting is what they do. They need to learn bondaries just like children. It's entirely possible that your dog is putting up with it because it realises it's a puppy and doesn't know better.
Eventually it will be told off by your dog or another one and it will learn. I'd be careful trying anything too drastic as it doesn't need discipline it just needs teaching but distracting the pup with a slight noise when she's getting carried away shouldn't do any harm.
I'd leave the major training to the pups owner but if they're taking it to classes thats a good start so I would say it will learn in time.

K