New puppy and 6 yr old...help
Thanks in advance for any help. Stacie, Josie and Oliver |
|
|
| Stacie,
Welcome to you and Oliver! This behavior is probably not due to jealousy or aggression - it's more likely due to Oliver associating your daughter as a littermate and this is how they play together. I would recommend getting him enrolled in a positive reinforcement puppy class ASAP. You will need to give Oliver something to chew on (other than your daughter) and teach him some basic commands - like to SIT and REWARD him tremendously with treats. Have your daughter participate in this training and feeding. Ignore the behavior of nipping - stop playing with him when he behaves like this. YOu should also make sure your daughter shouts loudly "OUCH" (which probably won't be difficult - because puppy nips can hurt!) so Oliver knows he's hurt her. You do the same if he nips at you. Try and tire him out as much as possible - a tired puppy is a good puppy! 
Raising OES puppies with children - oh what fun!
I highly recommend the book The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation, by Jan Fennell for anyone raising a puppy (or dog of any age). Good Luck! Kristen |
| We adopted a female OES (8 months) for my son who turned 8. He wanted a dog for his birthday (and Samantha the dog needed a home). We also had the problem of nipping on the backside, so we had to "train" the son to be more of the "alpha dog". When he feeds her, she sits until he says ok. He is the first out the door, not her. It has been a learning experience for all. And lots of fun. We've now had Sam for 4 months and I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel! |
Welcome to the forum to both!  |
| I had the same issue when my ten year old daughter let down her guard down with our Ollie (short for Gedalya-a Hebrew nickname for someone really big). The three year old had no issues because he naturally did all the right things like giving him treats by hand, not letting the puppy take his toys, and starting lots of puppy games. My daughter let the puppy take her stuffed animals, whined like a puppy if Ollie tried to nip, and went in a fetal possition if Ollie tried to play rough. She was not afraid of him, she just liked the dramatic reaction more then the one that took a little more thought. I had her express her status over Ollie by giving him treats by hand for a behaviors well done, getting out the leash to begin a walk, using a firm voice to correct him, not letting him on her bed uninvited, and making a point to keep her head higher then his. It worked wonderfully and was a great lesson for my daughter to learn the value of asserting herself. |
| Welcome to the forum!
Looks like you got a social climber like we did.  OES can be a handful if left unchecked, so you have to work with your daugther to position her as an alpha in the social chain. Your puppy sees her as a member oft he pack and he has the need to assert his position over her, so there are excercises that everyone needs to follow to put your daughter on top of the social structure.
Nipping and biting is normal in puppies because that's how puppies play, what's not acceptable is that they bite your hands or knock you over. What you described here does not look like an agression problem, he's just testing the social structure of your family because he wants to be top dog, so don't worry too much. BritPresSyd & Ollie's Mama pretty much summed up what you need to do. Dominant puppies are cute until they grow and become a handful, and the measures that you need to take are simple. Don't get discouraged if things don't work right away, be patient and consistent and things will improve soon. Good Luck! |
| Hi,
You've recieved great advice so far and I'm only going to offer one more thing. Just remember when your Sheepie uses his sharp puppy teeth on your little girl, it is a good idea for her to yelp or make a noise that makes him realize he's hurt her. (Another poster said should be no problem there!) When puppies play with their littermates a yelp from them often makes them stop..if they become too rough this is when mom usually comes over to investigate. BUT..you need to show the pup acceptable behavior which is why a chew toy is recommended to immediately give to the pup if he/she goes for the hands. If you see them even attempting the nipping..give them the toy. They do eventually "GET IT". hey best of luck to you Marianne and the boys |
| HI and Merry Christmas
I am a new oes owner as well. My oes (comet) is a good boy when it comes to dominance however when we got our wolfx it was different. Coda is approximately 75% wolf so we had to establish dominance right away for our 8 yr old. No beds only our 8 yr old was allowed to feed him and he had to be fed by hand for months regular food and treats alike. We also did exercises with rolling coda on his back having our 8 yr old straddle him hold him down and growl into codas neck. Of course all this was done closely supervised. Coda turned out to be one of the best dogs. He will now give belly to any child and i dont have to worry about a child getting bit (however I always watch him around children). We also reinforced the command no bite (wolves naturally mouth). |
| Thanks to everyone for the advice. I really appreciated the support. Christmas was a bit crazy but we made it through. We traveled to be with family a few hours away and Oliver did pretty well. He ended up spending more time with my boyfriend though. It was nice because he seemed to respond very well in terms of behavior, however, now that we are back home we will have to get back to trying to establish a routine and social order. Oliver was great with my daughter around my boyfriend, but now back at home he is just WILD. The chew toys are helpful and I have called a few obedience classes so I'm not giving up hope. Does anyone know anything about a leash called a "Gentle Leader"? If so any opinions? The two obedience classes I called use this. I'll find out more tomorrow as I am going to meet with the trainer. I am a little apprehensive because the receptionist I spoke with described it as a "muzzle". |
| Stacie,
It's not really a muzzle. It goes around the dogs face - so when they pull it becomes awkward for them so they tend to not pull. My concern would be that an obedience trainer would immediately require a gentle leader from the get-go for puppy class- usually it's something that is used when training becomes problematic. My obedience class wouldn't even allow a choke collar to be used in class. Only when a dog had a problem would they recommend the gentle leader. 
Be sure they are using positive reinforcement training! Kristen |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|