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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

Puppy trying to kill 5 year old

126 replies

Lau123lau · 04/10/2018 17:25

My 17 week old pup has finally realised humans are not chew toys (for the most part anyway) but seems to think my 5 year old is still fair game. We have tried everything from shutting him in another room, yelping and distraction with toys/commands etc but he isn’t getting the message. He full on lunges at her so standing still isn’t an option as he is drawing blood on her arms and legs. They’re not left alone together but he can be asleep on the sofa one minute and she will move and within a split second he’s clamped to her leg (he’s a whippet so very quick). When we’re out walking him off lead, he will be running round the field one minute and next minute he’s after her again. We do put him back on lead as soon as this happens. I really need a solution as she’s becoming frightened of him. Is it possible he still thinks he’s above her in the ranks and if so, how do we put the little blighter back in his rightful place?

OP posts:

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percheron67 · 04/10/2018 17:35

Every time he does this say "No" in stern voice and make him sit. If you are consistent he will stop. Dogs (and children!) need to be taught acceptable behaviour and good manners at an early age.

Hairpulling · 04/10/2018 17:38

Don't let him on furniture! Anywhere where he is high up he sees him self as dominant over anyone on a lower level than him. Also have her help feed him, also if you can get her to pretend to eat out of his food bowl before giving it to him as the pack leader always eats first. Hope you sort this.

Happygolucky009 · 04/10/2018 17:45

Get him in the garden with a stern telling off and if it continues for another couple of weeks, I woukd look to rehome

moredoll · 04/10/2018 17:49

DD or puppy? If he's drawing blood that's enough, I'd rehome the dog.

Blankscreen · 04/10/2018 17:52

Is the 5 year old a dog or or your daughter?

gamerchick · 04/10/2018 17:54

Is the 5 year old a dog or or your daughter?

Well there's puppy in the title.

Blankscreen · 04/10/2018 17:55

Sorry just seen you said arms.
I don't think you can risk keeping him how long until he bites and scars her face or really injures her.

He will be growing at a much faster rate than your DD. Its really not fair I would get rid of the dog.

ladybee28 · 04/10/2018 17:55

@Blankscreen I wondered the same until I saw the mention of 'arms'. Pretty sure it's OP's daughter.

Blankscreen · 04/10/2018 17:56

I thought the puppy was attacking a 5 year old dog.....

SleepyMcEdie · 04/10/2018 17:58

Your dog keeps attacking your 5 year old child to the point of drawing blood? GET RID OF THE DOG!!! Put your child’s safety above everything else.

Wolfiefan · 04/10/2018 18:04

Puppies bite. It’s what they do. This is not dominance. (The theory has been debunked.) Saying no is pointless. No to what? No running? No jumping? No coming back? No biting?
Keep pup on a lead when she’s around. Yep. Even in the house.
Constantly give something you don’t mind chewed when pup starts.
It’s not a question of rank. It’s about teething, exploring the world and bein overexcited.
What training do you do? Are there “safe” games she can play with him?

Doghorsechicken · 04/10/2018 18:08

Nah my pup used to draw blood when I was a little girl. They go through a bitey stage. It’s what puppies do. They have sharp teeth. Please approach a good dog trainer to help you develop some techniques, they will be able to see what you may be doing wrong. My dog is now 17 years old & we are best friends. Please don’t rehome the dog. To PP, I’m afraid this is what you must think about before getting a puppy. They’re a living breathing animal with their own mind you can’t give up on them and instantly resort to rehoming.

Ellapaella · 04/10/2018 18:11

There's a difference between puppies biting during play and a dog biting in aggression.
It's hard to know which is happening here from your OP.
Has the puppy been socialised properly? They need to learn bite inhibition and the best way for this is to ensure they get plenty of play with other dogs and to make sure you withdraw attention every single time it nips/bites.
I've had a puppy with small DC - we didn't experience anything like this 'lunging' that you describe, that to me sounds aggressive.
Personally i think it sounds quite stressful for your child to be honest - I'd be very worried about a dog/puppy 'lunging' towards a child and would be tempted to re-home.
At the very least you probably need to separate the dog from your daughter and seek professional help with training. Whatever you are doing right now isn't working and isn't effective.

Wolfiefan · 04/10/2018 18:24

Mine lunged. Grabbed clothing and skin too. Put holes in both. It was always in play but it bloody hurt!

RangeRider · 04/10/2018 18:30

They draw blood because they have such sharp little teeth. It's not like an adult dog, it's more like the claws of a kitten.
She needs to go 'ouch' very loudly every time and turn away. It just thinks it's playing. Worked for my puppy - she's a great big softy now (snoring away merrily)

Wolfiefan · 04/10/2018 18:39

Don’t say ouch. Don’t yelp. It can overexcite them.

LittleBLUEsmurfHouse · 04/10/2018 18:57

Get a trainer in I'm not convinced from your post that this is still in the realms of normal puppy mouthing or playing and I've never known a puppy (other than an English bull terrier) draw blood without intent. You need someone to be able to physically see what is going on and to help you stop this before there is a nasty accident.

For now keep puppy and child seperate most of the time and only allow calm short interactions between the two of them.

Also dominance theory goes against science and was based on a flawed study of captive unrelated wolves thrown in together. In the wild wolves live in families with parents and cubs - not alphas and betas. Thus the dog climbing on furniture or you pretending to eat from the dogs bowl before letting him eat, will have no impact on how the dog interacts with people in general!

Wolfiefan · 04/10/2018 19:06

Some do draw blood. Mine certainly did. You can tell if it’s aggression from the body language. Often worse when tired or overexcited.

stressedwoman · 04/10/2018 19:10

I'm an animal lover but my god. Your dog is biting your small child and drawing blood?! What are you thinking, rehome!!

How many stories have to come out in the newspaper of kids being mauled by dogs? I know it's sad but priorities surely!

Shoeshelpplease · 04/10/2018 19:13

Find a recommended puppy behaviourist. We have a new puppy and had one visit for two hours in week one. Best £80 we've ever spent. Could see where we were going wrong and now we have very clear and firm boundaries, mouthing is stopping, as is jumping up, nipping our son etc. Plus the obvious areas of toileting, anxiety etc. Could see a difference from day one after she had been.

We are also following up by attending her puppy training classes weekly.

They should also help you ensure you are feeding correctly including the right food and feeding technique.

You can quickly turn this around with the right help.

Good luck.

mellongoose · 04/10/2018 19:17

I haven't rtft apologies. I read that if you want to show your puppy who is dominant you need to lay him on his back whilst you lean over him.

I would do this yourself a few times, the do it with your 5yo so 5yo is displaying dominance. Then, when you feel comfortable puppy won't snap, get 5yo to do it herself. Closely supervised obvs.

Also get 5yo to make puppy sit for treats and if possible make 5yo present dogs bowl full of food at dinner time. A dog submits to the provider of food.

Also agree with pp about keeping pup off furniture. A low down dog is a submissive dog. Good luck!

mellongoose · 04/10/2018 19:18

Also, when he's on his back stop him from moving/escaping until he submits. Mine didn't take long!

adaline · 04/10/2018 19:23

I'm an animal lover but my god. Your dog is biting your small child and drawing blood?! What are you thinking, rehome!!

It's not a dog yet. It's a puppy and puppies bite. It's what they do. There's no need to rehome a puppy that displays normal puppy behaviour

adaline · 04/10/2018 19:25

NO NO NO.

I wish people would stop repeating the dominance theory. IT HAS BEEN DEBUNKED. Dogs do not see themselves as dominant because they're allowed on the sofa - they like being allowed on the sofa because it's warm and comfortable, and because it means they can sit with their favourite people. They don't need pinning to the floor - that's a sure fire way to make them fearful, and even more likely to bite you.

FFS.

Wolfiefan · 04/10/2018 19:25

@stressedwoman. Puppies mouthe. It’s what they do. It’s how they explore the world and how they play. It’s not an attack and they don’t mean to hurt. It just needs redirecting from a person onto a toy!

@mellongoose that’s outdated and really bad advice. Dominance theory has long since been debunked. Your dog doesn’t need to be submissive and you don’t need to be the pack leader.

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