Biting & Bruising my sons!!!

[Chris & Boys]

Fozzy Bear is now almost 7 months old. When he wants to play with Boomer, he grabs him at the base of the tail or by the ears and tugs. Unfortunately, when he wants to play with my sons, he grabs at thier arms and legs, mostly. Well, his jaw is so strong that he is leaving bruises and scratches on thier arms. I thought he would be over this mouthing thing by now. I am worried that if this continues, I will have a serious problem on my hands. He knows what "no biting" means, but when he wants to play he just won't quit. He will stop but just bite again and again. I am wondering if a electric training collar will help? I need quick solutions, this is getting totally out of control.

[Chris & Boys]

Thanks. It is frustrating. I thnk they give mixed signals to him. I got some good ideas to start working with. We will have to compare notes. I am off for a walk with the mad man! Thanks.

[jamiegirl]

I went into the site tonight to look for insight regarding the same thing. Our GD is 7 months and she seems to be on a 2nd wave of biting. It has definitely gotten better for about 6 weeks and then, 2 days ago, it started all over. My luck is that she does it only with me. It starts off as excited energy that turns into a battle for dominance between the 2 of us. Turning my back to her also just gave her a different "side" of me for her to bite. She is also over 70 lbs so she has given me a fair share of bruises.

We now have to put the leash back on her wherever she might be. In my case, she gets really riled up when we are in our backyard. She was fine without a leash before but now the need is back. She acts differently when she knows that she could not bite and jump away. If she bites me I give her collar a quick pull and sternly say "No". It is only a flat collar but she gets the point. I am hoping that we are just going through a minor set back but I hear that the teen years are tough. I look at her now as she sleeps peacefully on her bed and I know it is going to get better. I also look to DK to draw strength from people who are going through the same thing. I can't wait to write about how wonderfully calm our GD is in the future.

[Chris & Boys]

I know how you feel. I am working on the "stay" and using a loose leash. One step at a time, right?!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Oh my heaven!!! What a lot of advice! Still having had a herd of young boys around with puppies, I have to put my two cents in
a)This WILL begin to get better, try to be calm and consistent with both your boys and your puppy. Do not try to be perfect. When it is just too much - crate the puppy. Boys and puppies are a wild and crazy combination.
a) Your dog is a puppy and trying to get your boys to play as if they are puppies!
b) The puppy is not dangerous, not even particularily abnormal. Neither are your boys (abnormal)
c) I have trained with an e-collar, I think they are great training tools for certain dogs and certain situations BUT not this one.
d) As usual Adina P gives great thoughtful and useful advice. There is one thing I would add that has worked for me
e) First help your boys to understand that they start the play with your puppy. The puppy never starts the play. If the puppy starts the play, by leaping and grabbing at them, they must not run away. Running away is puppy speak for "yes, I'll play". Try curling up in a very still ball on the floor (arms over ears and hands tucked in), no talking, no moving - this will work on about half of the dogs. Try teaching Fozzy to "get ball or bone" and say that to him when he tries to initiate play. Teach them some things to do, fetch, how to teach a simple trick, etc. That said they will probably still chase and wrestle with the puppy - mine did ( and still does, he is 32, the difference is that as he grew older he learned how to keep it wild and still under control).
f) Using a slim magazine or catalogue ( heaven knows we all have about a zillion of those laying around), fold it in half, when play is too rough ( it does not matter if you know who started it!) swat the nearest flat surface. You should get a nice loud thwack sound. Much easier and better for both boys and puppy than trying to hit a moving target. It is more effective, induces less guilt, and gets everyone's attention. When you have everyone's attention look with your best "mom" look at all of them and say firmly and calmly "Enough". Then just move away. No lecture to the boys, or commiserating either and no talking (attention) to the dog.
You will be surprised at how well this works and how seldom you will need to do it. Good Luck, stay calm and go back to a)

[Chris & Boys]

Thank you for confirming, that this is normal behavior and that my dog is not DANGEROUS. We had a very successful morning. When he got out of line this a.m., the boys immediately got him to do a sit, after a few uh-uhs, and then after a very brief "stay" treated him. They then started praising him, he rolled onto his belly and they loved him up! Great way to start the day! I will be making a list of tactics to start working on with him. Thanks for your advice, it is much appreciated.

[Debbie, Brianna and Duncan]

That is so Awesome I'm so glad to hear you had a great morning. Sorry about my tone earlier, sometimes I type too fast with emotions flowing, you know how it is when you have a house full. :) I don't think he is dangerous, I never did. Keep us posted and we promise to keep up the encouragement. He is a lovely puppy, and I truly believe you guys will get through this training stage. I know it is summer...long sleeve sweatshirts/bluejeans also help when puppies have their 'moments' of spunk. And he will...keep the faith though! Stick to your plane and Have a great week! Good job to you and the boys.

[Kyoko]

Yay! Fozzy Bear!!
I knew you can do it!!

[Lynne B]

I'm glad that you are having some good results, stick to it!~ I looked at those pictures of your boys again, and I have to tell you- when I was little I would play really rough with our dogs, I got welts just like that all over, and then I was afraid to tell my parents. The dogs were great when my parents were around, but when I got them off alone they would jump all over me, play biting and scratching I remember encouraging it and really getting the dogs whipped up to a frenzy!

When my parents noticed the scratches I would give them the stupidest excuses in the world so that they wouldn't try to stop me from rough housing with the dogs...just telling you this because sometimes the results of kids vs dogs ends up looking alot worse than it actually is