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

[Silentnighttwo]

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?

Honestly, the puppy had no idea why you were doing that, but I've no doubt it was uncomfortable for him :(

Hotdog - awful advice.

This might have been wrong but when my puppy bit or nipped - not mouthed or chewed - I held is jaw together (gently) looked him in the eye and said no.

That is awful advice, honestly. The puppy is going to be scared and confused and massively likely to bite out of fear. Physical punishment is not a good idea when it comes to training animals.

It’s amazing how much confidence people have in dogs’ ability to understand English.

People seem to ascribe almost magical powers to “a firm no”.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad for the dogs.

It’s amazing how much confidence people have in dogs’ ability to understand English.

It's not about the precise words though is it? More the tone of voice and the repetitive behaviour involved in saying "no". A firm tone of voice followed by placing the dog on the floor, or stopping play, will eventually teach them that their behaviour is unacceptable.

I read it somewhere. This would only be if the dog bit, not mouthing. Dogs do understand no they understand the tone and body language.

But mouthing is acceptable. They just need to learn to do it to toys and not people
No isn't the right message (even if the dog did understand)
No could mean don't bite, don't bounce, don't look at me, don't make that noise. Etc etc. you need to focus on getting the behaviour you DO want.

If you Google it its is on a few websites as a training method.

"Hold his mouth shut. Very quickly grab your puppy’s mouth, hold it shut and say”No” in a low tone. Place your thumb over the top of his nose and yourfingers below the bottom of the jaw. Hold his mouth closed for a few seconds.
Don’t try to cause any pain. Wait five seconds and then let go. It will take a few times, but your puppy will get the picture."

Then they are shit websites.

10 week old puppies will get easily overexcited and chase yelling small children. There are often lots of teeth involved too! Don't let the child play chase games with the dog - that way lies tears. My pup regularly nipped my DD when we first got him. He is 6 months old now and doesn't but he'd still chase her if she ran and I'd not guarantee he wouldn't jump at her or that there wouldn't be teeth. We taught her how not to wind him up and didn't leave them alone until both had got used to one another. She is nearly 8 and very sensible.

Just found this helpful article on dogs and kids. Its more aimed at adult Labradors but does have a lot of information useful for all dogs www.thelabradorsite.com/dogs-and-kids/

"Hold his mouth shut. Very quickly grab your puppy’s mouth, hold it shut and say”No” in a low tone. Place your thumb over the top of his nose and yourfingers below the bottom of the jaw. Hold his mouth closed for a few seconds.
Don’t try to cause any pain. Wait five seconds and then let go. It will take a few times, but your puppy will get the picture."

I’ve seen some crap on here but jeez, this is in the running for a medal 🙄

Our youngest dog is only 9 weeks old and like all puppies she grabs with her sharp little teeth. I always instantly yelp when a pup nips me and put them down so they understand quickly they are hurting and shouldn’t do it.

I did something very silly the other day though. New puppy was playing with our 2 yr old dog and they were really rough housing, having a grand time. I couldn’t resist all the cuteness and picked up 9 weeks old pup for a kiss and got my bottom lip bitten. She had been play bitting with the 2 yr old dog and did to me the same. It really hurt and drew a spot of blood. I screamed when she did it and our darling little puppy was so apologetic. I just love her. I can kiss her face now even if she’s excited without getting her puppy teeth. She’s such a fast learner.

All puppies bite. It’s how they play with each other and all you need to do it let them know they are not to play like that with humans. Some puppies bite more than others and are harder to teach.

If you Google it its is on a few websites as a training method.

You can find anything being used as a training method if you look hard enough.

Grabbing hold of a dogs face and holding it's mouth shut is never going to be a good idea. You're just going to scare it and provoke it into biting you even harder as soon as you let go! Positive reinforcement is the best way to train a dog. Yes, remove yourself from the situation/place them on the floor if they bite, but for God's sake don't grab it's face!

Another useful article from Pippa Mattison this on on Puppies biting thehappypuppysite.com/biting-puppy/#hard

Yelping in pain doesn't work with all dogs though. We tried it with ours and it just made him more excited - he thought it was a game and kept trying to bite more!

Well it worked on my dog. He's grown into a lovley adult.

You were lucky then. It had nothing to do with your 'training' method, it's just pure luck.

That anyone could think holding a dog's mouth shut is a suitable method of training is unbelievable.

Well it worked on my dog. He's grown into a lovley adult.

That's luck, not good training. Nobody should be holding a dog's mouth shut for any reason!