Have I ruined my puppy?

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Did I do sometthing wrong? The breeder chose Ollie for his calm temperament and that is what we thought too. Until today.Today suddenly I saw a different side of him. He was being playful and energetic. When my 9 year old tried to pet him, he suddenly growled and snapped at her. She was very upset about it. I immediately said 'NO' and distracted him. He was fine for a while. Then while we were playing with him the next time, he kept nipping and chewing at my jacket. When I tried to remove him by saying a stern 'NO' again he started growling and nipping. He was also really wound up and tried to hump my leg. I am so upset! I would have burst into tears if it had not been for my daughters. I pretended to be clam and assertive and removed him from the situation and put him in his crate. He calmed down and had a nap. In my inexperience with raising a puppy, am I doing something horribly wrong? How do I deal with this? I've been trying to search the forums for the past hour but mostly found stuff about normal puppy nipping. Not the dominant behavior he is showing. Ollie is only 9 weeks old and I don't want to lose any time in correcting this behavior.

Oh and he has already been neutered.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I have nothing else to add - you got great advice.
This is a suggestion to an alternative to the crate - This was the best money I ever spent for Charli as a puppy. You can use it indoors, outdoors. When I couldn't watch her or when she was tired and cranky, this is where she went and not into her crate.
I hope this helps! Remember, this will not last so enjoy! Take tons of pictures and videos. Take his height every week - you won't remember! They grow too darned fast.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754775

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Thanks Adrianne! Plan to get this over the weekend.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Have you ever watched a litter of puppies playing? You should see the biting, nipping, snapping & humping that goes on! When one of the pups tries this on the momma dog, she gives them a whop! The momma will spin, growl, snap, sometimes catch a little fur or skin with her snap, and sometimes knock them over with a paw.
Puppies are like children, they will test their limits & sometimes throw a fit, yell "NO!" "MINE!!", and generally be little monsters. Just like a parent, we have to address the issue without overreacting. They expect us to let them know what is and isn't acceptable behaviour. You haven't ruined Ollie, he's just being a puppy and testing his limits.
I have also noticed that puppies see children as their littermates and they will play with them in that rough manner. My Webster used to attack my son, nipping, jumping, etc. This wasn't allowed but we weren't always there to stop it. Today Webster is 1 1/2 and he is the kindest, most gentle dog who treats my son with respect. Our new puppy, Charlotte, is doing the same thing to my son (now 8) and we are working on her learning what is acceptable play and what is unacceptable. (My son calls Charlotte a "shark" or "rattlesnake".) I don't use a crate but I make my puppy sit quietly, sometimes physically restraining her (I don't always like holding a collar because they can pull and choke), until she calms down. Then it's "bygones!" until the next incident happens.

[BG and Gavin]

A couple of things from me: Never approach him to play or pet before sticking a chew toy in his mouth. I had to do this with Gavin (nippy nipperson) until he was through his teething phase and even sometimes after that, He has grown out of it. Also please don't assume that humping is dominance. I believe it is likely just play. Sometimes they have lots of extra energy and just do stuff that feels good/fun. I found little time outs very helpful when Gavin got too wound up. He would go straight to sleep - which kind of confirmed for me he was over stimulated. Just like kids, sometimes they just can't settle themselves and we have to do it for them. Don't worry - everything will be great!

[Natasha]

To reiterate an earlier post - teach the whole family to do the exact same thing when your puppy nips. In our family, we followed our vet's advice and made a loud yipping noise while we turned our back to him and completely ignored him. If he keeps nipping - keep yipping and turning.

It took us about a week, but Rouser finally got the hint.

Removing him from the situation delays your puppy learning what is and is not acceptable behavior. He doesn't understand removal as that doesn't happen in the litter - he understands when he doesn't get what he wants (someone to play with him) or when he gets a bite back. Puppies teach each other how mouthy they can/can't be with each other. Momma gives him a good hard whack with her paw or carefully placed bite/hold to the neck to say "uh uh - I'm not your litter mate - you will treat me with respect and you DON"T bite me." Just something to keep in mind.

NOW - when it comes to growling and playing too rough with your children - your children need to know that it's ok to stop playing with your puppy and you should probably step in just like momma dog would. If you hear a growl, consider putting your puppy on his side and holding him there until he calms down (have you seen "the claw" move?) We only did this a few times for major issues - but not respecting your children (to me) qualifies as a major issue.