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The doghouse

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

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Original poster

Puppy just bit my 5 year old - please help me!

94 replies

Silentnighttwo · 06/06/2018 18:39

10 week old working cocker puppy. She’s feisty and has nipped before (I yelp and then turn away and refuse to interact). But generally she’s loving and gentle.

Today she was playing in the garden with my son, running around. I was watching and he wasn’t teasing her. It’s a game they have played lots.

Suddenly she lept up and bit him on the crotch. It’s a proper hard bite, she has left two bloody and bruised teeth marks.

He screamed. I shouted at her, clapped my hands and shouted at her to sit. She kept trying to bite him and I had to pull her off. She’s now in her crate.

Please help! How do I make sure this never ever happens again?

OP posts:

cowfacemonkey · 06/06/2018 19:31

An entirely avoidable situation. No more unsupervised play. Over excited puppies nip and bite. Bloody hurts too.

Shouting at her and punishing her with the crate is all wrong.

Missnearlyvintage · 06/06/2018 19:42

Agree with others here that puppies are nippy, but you didn't know the situation would pan out like this OP so don't be too hard on yourself. You've had a bad experience but you can learn from it. Do explain to DS that the puppy didn't know she was hurting DS and had just got over excited etc. so your DS doesn't get worried about it all, and keep and eye on the bite wound.

Get the two of them back together in a calm neutral environment after having a read up about the best strategies for integrating pups and kids, and start over in a more gentle fashion.

We have cats instead of dogs (PIL have dogs though), and there are strict rules for both kids and cats, and education for all parties is really key here so that everyone can get along, respects each other's space, and everything doesn't end badly when one or both parties get over-excited/ scared etc.

Tinkobell · 06/06/2018 19:45

Try and avoid too many 'tug of war' type games with the pup. For some reason, if overdone, they can become over possessive of the tug item and then snappy. They don't accept when the games over. Instead Ball is good.

Also during puppy 'crazy hour' we do a brief walk and then crate for a while. This definitely kills some of the steam.
Antlers are great pup chews. Finally DO check your pup is getting plenty of day sleep...at 10 weeks they need a huge 18 hours per day of quality rest. People don't realise this but it's vital for growth.

LilCamper · 06/06/2018 19:47

Tug of war is fine as long as the rules are followed.

Pinguine · 06/06/2018 19:51

She's a puppy. That's what puppies do. This is one of the many reasons why people warn, warn and warn again against getting a puppy and expecting it to all be fun and games- and is unfortunately a reason that so many get given up on between the ages of 6 months and 2 years.

Puppies are hard work, and they are very imperfect. They do NOT deserve or require punishment for very normal behaviour in their baby years. 10 weeks is incredibly young!

As a PP said, this is not the same as an aggressive/fearful bite.

A very young child wound up a very young puppy. The inevitable happened. No fault of the puppy.

Failingat40 · 06/06/2018 19:57

For goodness sake, is this your first dog?

It is entirely normal and expected that puppy's mouth and bite during play and exploration.

It is NOT aggression.

Bear in mind puppies need sleep and a cool quiet place to rest during the day, they can become over tired and play up just like toddlers.

Shouting at her won't help, she'll just become confused and fearful of you.

Ignore the biting but remove her and give her a calming down puppy chew and place her in her crate for time out (not punishment)

She will grow out of it.

Pinguine · 06/06/2018 19:58

In terms of what to do from now on, ensure that she has short bouts of excitable fun play and exercise with adults, but encourage calmer play with young children. A sharp 'ah, ah' and pause the game when any mouthing happens- no shouting, grabbing, sending to crate etc. Give her a calm space to retreat away from children for sleep.

Crates should only ever be used as a completely positive space- never, ever as a punishment or result of bad behaviour. It should be her safe space to choose when she wishes, with the door open.

JuicySwan · 06/06/2018 20:01

Rehome the puppy for its own good because you’re as clueless as Sodthegreenfly.

oldbirdy · 06/06/2018 20:02

When I was a kid, we had a border collie mix dog. As a toddler and "teen", he used to 'herd' us kids and nip at our ankles if he got overexcited. He never showed the slightest sign of aggression once he grew up and was the most wonderful dog. A nippy puppy isn't the same as an adult dog who bites.

Pinguine · 06/06/2018 20:03

I should have mentioned as well, it's good to allow very gentle mouthing at this stage but 'ah, ah' and pull hand away when she increases pressure. That helps her learn about levels of pressure from her jaw. At this stage, she mouths everything in order to learn more about it.

Young children though are generally not very good at doing a calm 'ah, ah' and can get carried away with 'telling the dog off' (which 'ah, ah' is not about at all- it's a warning sound that the behaviour is not ok, it is not a reprimand), so it's best to keep mouth training to the adults.

Pinguine · 06/06/2018 20:06

Alternatively the yelping strategy works well too and is something children can do. This video gives a nice explanation:

JuicySwan · 06/06/2018 20:08

Yelping can make puppies worse. It just excites them more.

Pinguine · 06/06/2018 20:10

Yelping can make puppies worse. It just excites them more.

It can if not done correctly- needs to be calm, clear and result in you walking away/withdrawing attention from the puppy briefly. It's a very clear message to them that what they're doing hurts (and is exactly how they naturally learn to control their mouthing of littermates and other dogs- they don't intend to hurt, after all!).

TropicPlunder · 06/06/2018 20:11

Disclaimer: I wouldn't say something so flippant if your pup wasn't a really young baby....
My 4 year old was playing outside with my dog, a 2 year old kid and an adult. My daughter ran in with a very bruised bite mark, looked awful, on her upper arm. The 2 year old child had done it. I told my daughter don't take it personally, he didn't understand that it hurt you. The other mum took 2 year old away to calm down and talk. He was over excited.
There's some good advice from other posters above, apart from some obligatory judging. I agree you should keep their interactions calm, only play with toys and stay close by

Soubriquet · 06/06/2018 20:12

I hope you have experience with dogs because a working cocker spaniel is a terrible dog to have as a first time dog owner.

They are very lively and need a lot of exercise.

Your puppy is 10 weeks old. It isn't biting maliciously. It was a game that got out of hand.

Teach yourself on how to train puppies before locking her in a crate. The totally wrong reaction

JuicySwan · 06/06/2018 20:12

It’s more likely that it’s the game stopping that teaches them not to put teeth on skin rather than the yelp.

Particularly with terrier types. Squeaks just tend to make them bite more.

BiteyShark · 06/06/2018 20:14

I agree with JuicySwan. Yelping made mine worse. Simply stopping play with a short timeout was the most effective for us.

Pinguine · 06/06/2018 20:16

It’s more likely that it’s the game stopping that teaches them not to put teeth on skin rather than the yelp.

Possibly- though the noise stimulus is helpful, like in clicker training. I tend to use 'ah, ah' myself, but as I say, children aren't very good at it and tend to use it in a dominant, 'telling off' type way (I suspect because we tend to tell children off, so they think that dogs need the same) which is unhelpful and encourages very bad training techniques.

JuicySwan · 06/06/2018 20:18

The noise stimulus isn’t helpful if it makes the puppy worse.

adaline · 06/06/2018 20:27

Puppies bite. It's what they do, and yes, it bloody hurts!

When ours starts in play, he gets told a firm "no". We then stop interacting with him and walk away. If he bites while cuddling on the sofa, he gets a firm "no" and placed on the floor. If he gets back up and doesn't bite, then he can stay up. If he bites, we repeat "no" and he goes back on the floor. It doesn't take him long to cotton on but we have to repeat it every time he tries to bite.

The other option is to give a chew toy but this seems to make him more excited because he thinks biting gets him play-time and attention. But different things work for different puppies - you just have to find a method that works for you and stick with it!

adaline · 06/06/2018 20:28

Yelping can make puppies worse. It just excites them more.

We found this as well. Any loud, sudden noise like that excites him and he tries to bite more, or chases to play. A firm "no" and a withdrawal of attention has a much bigger impact on him.

SpanielsAreNuts · 06/06/2018 21:25

You let the very young puppy and a 5year old run around together. The only part of your post that shocks me is that it took more than once for the situation to result in the puppy getting so over excited it bit your child.

Children need to be taught to play calm games with dogs. They shouldn't run around dogs.

With a cocker start getting her fetching toys - IME cockers are very good at retrieving and most importantly giving the toy back, for it to be thrown again, with very little training to do so.

RoadToRivendell · 06/06/2018 22:19

If you had a 10-week old puppy that didn't bite, it would be a first.

Your fault for leaving them unattended, do better going forward!

RoadToRivendell · 06/06/2018 22:22

Your dog bit your child. The dog is not safe. Vet's advice and minimum action is rehome. If anyone will home a dog that has bitten.

Very funny!

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 06/06/2018 22:26

Well now about twenty people have stated the bloody obvious that puppies bite, I shan’t bother to repeat it, I’m sure you’ve got it by now. They’re all very helpful.

What I will say is that my working cocker was the sweetest, gentlest dog ever. Yes I did work him but only at the weekends during the shooting season. The rest of the year we just did normal obedience classes. Not all working cockers are nuts.

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