How do we stop the biting while chasing kids?

[Stephanie]

I know this is a puppy madness topic, but I'm really hoping to also receive feedback from adult doodle parents who've hopefully succesfully stopped the problem.

 

Our 11 week old goldendoodle, who is for the MAJORITY of the time, FABULOUSLY behaved,calm puppy  doing fantastic on her potty trainin etc -  sees our 7 year old son as a Puppy also - hence the  biting / nipping at pants, legs etc when he takes her out to play or potty.

He does do a good job of being FIRM with her, and has the "NO BITE" down, but everytime he makes a step , when she's in "play mode"  she just won't let go. He can't even take a step w/o her going nuts! He does do the whole, no eye contact, and no play talking - only saying "go out".

 

She does MUCH better with me/ hubby , since she sees us as the leader, and follows my directions better ...how can I also help her to see him as a leader and not a giant playmate (temporarily til the niping/ biting is undercontrol)

 

I have done some reading, where it says , halt ALL the chasing / running with  kids until the puppy has learned all the commands and listens to all family members.  I know I HAVE to get this under control, b/c I have already seen hesitancy by another kid to come into the yard b/c of it.

But at the same time,  taking her potty ( on a leash even) is part of my sons responsibility, but it ends in him being EXTREMELY fristrated w her and not wanting to play b/c of it.

 

I know alot of it will resolve as she matures and learns the nipping rules, just looking for soecific tips to help w/ kiddos.

[Moe]

We have the same problem here. My puppy is 7 mo old and never nips or bites me she is not a big chewer and never nips people when things are calm in the house. When she is out and the kids are running around she will jump up and nip their arms, stomach or legs. When she does this the kids are usually running, she is always in a playful mode but it hurts. Since she is getting bigger it is getting to be a problem. I'm looking for advice also.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When the doodle girls were little, and even now, when my little Niece comes over (she was 3 when we got the puppies) it can be a problem, particularly in the beginning.  I basically took the approach of teaching the Niece rather than the puppies when they were little and I occasionally have to remind her now.  If you run, they are going to chase you.  If you are screaming and laughing and giggling and wiggling, they are going to get rowdy.  Basically, act how you want them to act.  As for the running and nipping in the back yard, I think I would maybe just keep the puppy inside when they are going to the running etc. in the back yard, at least until those puppy teeth are all gone and the puppy learns a few more manners.  You don't want the children becoming afraid of the puppy because the biting hurts.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Well, let me start by saying that this is a completely, non-professional, thought as I didn't have to worry about this at my house so didn't really address it as we went through training, but what about:  Since you say it is your Son's responsibility to take the dog out to potty and that the dog doesn't see him as his leader, what about if your Son was also responsible for the feeding.  If the puppy sees this is where his food is coming from also, maybe he would start to put a little more value into the Son's commands.  Hopefully someone else with more expertise will chime in here, but that is just the first thing that came into my head when I read your post. 

[Stephanie]

thanks,  yes I have thought about this for sure, however  only the dinner meal would apply. Not sure of that would be enough to register w/ the puppy or not.  I feed her @ 5:30 am and @ 11:30  when he's either not up yet or in school.  But on the weekends and night time meals going to start trying this for sure.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I don't think you can expect that your son will be able to appropriately train the puppy on how he's supposed to act.   IMO you will have to be the one to do that training, which will take some consistency and time.  For a while you may have to go out with your son when he walks the puppy, and you'll need to correct  (verbally and/or with a gentle tug to the side with the leash).  The pup needs to learn that YOU are disagreeing with this behavior.  Of course, your son will need to remain calm throughout this whole exercise.  I think that when the puppy is behaving well, either you or your son can reward that with praise and treats.  I would definitely not have the puppy outside at this age while there are kids running around the yard...I believe she's not ready for that level of excitement yet and will not be able to control her normal play bite puppy instincts.

[Stephanie]

yes that makes sense...........  I just struggle w/ the excercise....  I know  when she plays outside she gets that energy out it's great for her....  just not the same as in the hosue.

 

I do supervise almost all the potty visits...and do majority of training.but I agree there has to be lots of training with my son as well.

 

SOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to hitting that 16 week - no more quarrantine mark!   I really look forward to walking her and  letting her get energy out that way as well.

[BG and Gavin]

I remember Dr. Stanley  Coren addressing this issue.  He told the children to "make like a tree and look for rain."  That is stop moving, fold your arms and look up in the sky.

[Stephanie]

Funny!    yes  he does "freeze" but  I guess shes just too young.  She still pulls and bites at pants / legs even when he's still.  like shes saying,  "come one!   run with me!"   LoL

 

going to have to change some things!

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

I have this same problem with Cocoa we got her 8 weeks and she is almost 20 weeks now.  It not getting any better and now that she is bigger she just knocks my daughter down.   My daughter is 4 so 70% of it is my daughter, its hard for a 4yr old to understand you can not run or make noises.  She can not even swing on her swing because that gets the dog going.  So we have to make the kid and the dog share outside time. 

Something about being outside gets cocoa going because if I try to walk out in the yard to get something she jumps and nips at me as well. 

I am hoping this is all a puppy thing that one day will not be an issue (makes me a little nervous since I am due in a couple weeks to have another baby).

But Monday night she starts Manners 101 so we are hoping being out around other people and dogs and training will teach her to settle down some.  We plan to enroll her in more advanced classes later in the summer because we have a feeling these first set of classes are not going to even touch on the problems with the kid & dog.

I think the food thing is a great idea. I was doing this with my dog but the kid started to toss food and dump it all over the floor so I gave up on that idea.  I was having her hand feed the food and sit for her for some.

Since your son is older this will probably not be a problem but 4yr olds like to push the limit.... Think I need to enroll my daughter in training classes and not the dog...LOL

[Leslie J]

I have 7 year old twin boys (who were 5 when Cocoa was a puppy) and I used her puppy behavior to train them as well as her!  From her they learned:

- no running in the house, and

- if you leave toys on the floor she will chew them up

When they forgot, they suffered the logical consequences!

I also worked with Cocoa.  Her rules were:

- if you're chasing and nipping outside you'll have to go on a leash or in the house, and

- if the kids are playing and you're stealing their toys you'll have to go in your crate.

It worked (most of the time!) and now Cocoa is calmer at 2 1/2 and my boys still (usually) don't run in the house or leave toys on the floor.

Now if we could only solve the problem on Shabbat of Cocoa stealing yarmulkes off the heads of little boys...

[Julie and Maggie]

Hi Stephanie! I have faced, am still facing, this similar situation. So as a mom of 8 1/2and 11 1/2 year old boys here is my FWIW 2 cents.

Maggie (10 months) has always regarded my youngest son as another puppy/chew toy. As I said in a previous post, he acts like one too. Even when he is trying to be more serious around her, he has this underlying giggle thing about him. That's just Ben. He's 8. So from 10 pounds now up to 50 pounds and counting, I have had to step in between them, separate them literally, and basically claim my son as MINE. I've tried to let him work it out on his own and find his inner Cesar Millan, but my son just doesn't have it in him at this point. He's 8. And he is a particularly sweet and goofy 8 with good intentions.

My older son, has much more command over Maggie. But he carries himself much differently. His voice is stronger. This is the only time I think his budding aloof-preadolescent-moody-overly confident-tween phase works to his advantage. That and he is a lot more like his dad (ha!)

Other people may have different opinions, but I would have zero expectations on a young child to be able to command that kind of authority with a puppy. Look at how many adults here are here having the same problem. And at the same time, I would have little expectations that a 12 week old puppy would follow the leadership of a young child. I am not saying that it isn't possible. It just doesn't seem likely. And that if you do have a situation where that works then count it as a pleasant surprise. You lucked out. What you are left with is dealing with the reality of the situation. Keep them monitored when they are in the same space and be ready to step in. They are both going to have to grow up and mature into the behaviors you want. She is old enough to learn SIT, so whatever she is doing, try to distract her and just get her to sit. I doubt she will still have your son's pant leg in her mouth when she sits. But if she does take a picture because that would be a riot to share with all of us. :)

Good luck and let us know how things progress.