# Frustrated puppy mommy



## Emily's mommy (Aug 8, 2011)

Sigh! I am very sad and frustrated today. Emily will be 5 months old on the 10th of October. I adore her and she is sooo cute and wonderful....usually. She still gets really nippy and growly when we try to move her from somewhere. Today when we were out she almost bit my pregnant babysitter when she and her husband tried to get her off the couch (Emily knows them both well, they are not strangers to her). I started to use a throw on the couch for Emily as her cue for when it is ok to be there but the growling and biting make me so upset. Second, I am having a heck of a time with her and my three year old son. She jumps and nips at him almost every time she is with him. I think it's still in play but she can hurt him now that she is bigger. I have to keep her shut in her pen whenever he is around! That is not how I hoped to have a loved family pet! I tried to train her today to sit when he is running around - he did as I said when I bribed him with gummy bears- luckily I didn't give him the liver treats! But she just doesn't seem to get it! My husband keeps telling me not to worry so much since she is still a puppy but she is growing so fast. Please tell me if this is still normal for her age and I will take any more suggestions!! And thanks to whoever has read this entire thing- sorry it's so long!


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

I think it is normal ,i dont have a toddler my children are older but when ever younger children come to the house its a nightmare so how you live with that day in day out i dont know.Your right the problem is your puppy will see your three year old as a playmate and your three year old is too young to understand how to behave around a puppy so that the puppy dosnt get too excited.Prehaps a playpen in the house might be an idea so that Emily has her own space to run around in where she cant injure your son?.

Also by letting her sit on the sofa maybe she thinks shes on the same level as you so thinks she has every right to sit there so dosnt like being moved??

Im sure you could get a trainer to come to your home to help with these types of situations then you would feel more confident in your actions and also the whole familiy would know what is exceptable and what isnt.Your right though i would try and nip this in the bud ASAP because if you leave it and leave it it could get worse.

Good luck hope this helps dx


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## Sezra (May 20, 2011)

Hi. I can appreciate how hard it is for you but it will get better especially if you remain consistent with your training. 

We collected Daisy at 5 months and once she came out of herself we had the same problems with my youngest who is 5. She would chase him, nip his ankles, and sometimes growl. She has improved alot now that she is 7 months but still not perfect. 

Time out is good but needs to be away from the whole family not just the children, so if you have another room you can put her in away from you to calm down that is great. Just don't use her crate or 'safe area'. If she has your son's toys use her own toys as an exchange. It is upsetting when your dog growls because we all want the perfect family dog.  Daisy sometimes does it to Henry if she has one of his toys and he tries to take it back. I stand with Henry and say a firm 'No' and then remove the toy and give ot back to Henry, we then turn our backs and walk away. It is hard as she often chases us , but she is getting better as she grows up.I am not one for dominance theories however I do believe they are like children and need to be guided by you as to what is right or wrong. When training around children use positive reinforcement methods! You want her to associate your son with treats and positive rewards not anything negative! 

Do you feed kibble? If so you could try the Ian Dunbar way of feeding her. Measure out her daily kibble allowance but do not feed her in a bowl, instead get her to earn her food. Whenever she behaves in a way that is good reward her with her food. If she is sitting calmly with your son, reward her, if she sits on the sofa when the blanket is on there, reward her. She will soon learn what you expect from her . I have heard that this works really well but as a RAW feeder I struggled to do this myself as I was not keen on walking round with bits of raw meat! 

Free downloads;

http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

Ian Dunbar training book;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-afte...4557/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317625511&sr=8-1

You will get through this phase!


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## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

first things first a compleat couch ban is a must, if she cant reapect your desison that she is to get of then she doisnt get on. 

second get a lead on her, i light cat lead that she can drag. that way you dont have to be close enought to get bitten. also use this any time your son and her are together. if sbe jumps to snap then give her a light but firm correcton with the lead. you dont want to hurt her just tell her its not acceptable.

also use the lead when training. it can be frustrating but worth it. dont train after a meal even cut out a meal to make her more hungree during training. dont get treats all the time. if she didnt do it anywhere near right dont give her the treat. 

have you joined any training classes. they can realy help as you have somone who can show you things or their will be somone els there who a couple of months ago was having the same problem.


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## Pepster (Jul 22, 2011)

Try not to get too down about it. My puppy was exactly the same. They are so cute and younthink they should be cuddly but sometimes they're not!
Pepper was exactly the same. They do grow out of it. It's like with children, it is just a phase. It does seem like it will won't get any easier but it will
I can't really give you any advise as to how to handle it but I am sure there will be plenty of good advice from others on here as pepper is my first dog and first experience of a puppy but I know exactly how you feel and want to let you know you're not on your own. I really thought I had an aggressive pup at first and couldn't see life ever getting back to normal again but then it just does. We went to training as soon as we could which was more for me than for Pepper so I would learn how to handle her and all of a sudden she did get all cute and cuddly and calm about the house.
Maybe keeping a lead on in the house might help with controlling her around your son? 
Anyway, hope you do get some good help on here, I am sure you will.
Sharon x


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## Rufini (Sep 9, 2011)

I can understand how it must feel  I hope that Emily gets better with you and you can all enjoy your time together  Just keep in there!!


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Hi Sheryl,
Just a quick note to reassure you that it is a phase and most puppies seem to go through this. I have a 7 and 3 year old and went through similar problems. I agree with Sarah's advice on time out and ignoring - it helped a lot. We also did lots of very loud yelping (the kids enjoyed that bit!) and holding hands above heads and turning away. I also worked really hard on the kids too as they just got so over excited and made it worse. I rewarded them with treats when they played appropriately with him. I wish I could remember when I stopped having to tell them all off (the kids and the dog) but I just can't - it just kind of happened .


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## Emily's mommy (Aug 8, 2011)

Thank you for all the advice and reassurance! I will try all the suggestions and bear with it! So glad to talk to people who understand!


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## Sezra (May 20, 2011)

Good luck! x


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## wendywoo (May 11, 2011)

Hello we had a problem with meggie, but every time she was nipping or jumping at or face we put her in another room and shut the door, it didnt take long before she new not to do it, good look


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## weez74 (Feb 9, 2011)

Hi Sheryl,

I agree with everything everyone has said on here, but it worries me that Emily is 5 months old and still doing this - Rosie had grown out of the nipping much earlier than that. I know it might take longer for dogs that aren't around children the whole time, but those that are should learn pretty quickly! I think you really need to take it seriously and do everything people have said here to get her to stop before it becomes ingrained in her. I am sure it will all work, but at the size she is now, you need to make sure she learns quickly, before she does some damage. 

It's a nightmare training a dog when you've got young kids, but I found that a lot of exclusions for bad behaviour (zero tolerance!) and getting her to earn all her rewards (try a search on this forum, I'm sure Enneirda put a post on ages ago about No Free Lunch or something - basically making sure that you never give your dog good things unless they have 'earned' it in some way, like sitting and staying before food gets put down) worked for me. Good luck! It'll all be worth it in the end!


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## weez74 (Feb 9, 2011)

Oh and someone else on here recommended a book that I haven't got round to reading yet about dogs and kids and how to cope! I have high hopes that it will result in a calm household with beautifully trained dogs and children, but somehow, I think that might be a pipe dream.....

I'll try to remember to find the title and post it back on again.


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