New Puppy & Young Children

[Robin]

HI,

We just brought home our new 8 week old goldendoodle, Stella.  We have 6 kids ages 13 - 18 months.  All of the kids love Stella and she seems to be doing really well with them.  I was wondering if any of you had any tips to distinguish between puppy play and potential aggression.  Sometimes while running with the kids Stella will start to growl and bark, but she still seems playful.  Is this normal?  She has also started trying to climb on top of the 18 month old and knock him down.  There is also a good bit of "nipping" going on.  Sometimes the sweet doggie kisses will quickly turn into a bit of biting.  It is never rough or too painful, but I don't want this to continue when she is bigger. I know that puppy teething is typical, but when is it something to worry about? 

Thanks for all your help!

Robin

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

We had lots to learn before getting Rip, and early on, and still... Puppy play growling (you can tell the difference) and nipping is normal but I felt like you, and wanted to prevent anything further or even close. It's tiring but you will have to relay the training info to ALL the family. Consistency is so key to their learning. Also some general advice: eye contact and excitement, high pitched greetings, rough games of tug, etc., gets them riled up and sets stage for misbehaving. Exercise him well, then when in house, calm goes a long way. I learned lots quickly from Doggy Dan online. I'd recommend a look as it is easy to watch an online video and learn immediately that way. He is really good with pos reinforcement and his techniques worked for us and lots others on DK. Doggy Dan has five golden rules which create great behavior, I swear. Especially the one where you ignore after separation until the dog is calm for five mins. It is hard with kids cause they always want to love on the dog and play. But love in the right direction - what is best for the pup and helps teach him to be a great dog- is best for everyone. Good luck!!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I just have to say God bless you- I could never do what you are doing! :-)  My husband and I are childless, and I seriously thought I was going to go crazy the first 2 months that we had Winnie...

But, that being said, you are used to an active and likely noisy household, so a pup will probably fit right in to it! Cindy gave you great advice. Aggression in a 8 week old pup would be pretty unusual- all of that biting and growling is normal. They are used to playing with their liter mates that way. The key is to teach the pup what is acceptable play with humans, and what is not. Constantly redirecting the pup to a chew or a toy. Your 18 month old, with the high pitch voice, sweet drooly mouth and diapered bottom is a gold mine for a puppy. :-) My best suggestion would be to give the pup a very limited area of the house when she is out of her crate, supervise, and start using the word "gentle" when she is around you toddler. I know others will chime in with lots of good ideas. 

Best wishes!

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

At this young age, it's ALL puppy play. But not to be encouraged with humans. She's not being bad, but needs to have her energy diverted to something energetic that's harmless. Puppy teeth are razor sharp. Yarrow is my eleventh dog and, even with all my experience, I went through a lot of bandaids in the first couple of months. Patience and consistency are of the utmost importance. Find some training videos, there are many good trainers on YouTube, and make sure everyone old enough to help in training watches them. My favorite rule of thumb is "a tired puppy is a good puppy". And having said that, it's also very important that she have her own space where she can retreat and sleep... a lot.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Great post Deb! I ditto this!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

You might consider an ex-pen or baby corral to keep the pup and the littlest children separated when you can't directly supervise.  Doesn't matter who is inside or who outside actually, just  that the children and the pup can't have inappropriate interactions - children cannot life, carry or hug puppy and puppy can't jump on, nip, or take toys.

[Jody Neeley]

We have an eight week old puppy too, thanks for this discussion! My kids are 4-12yrs old and it answered my questions regarding nipping and play too, your puppy is cute!

[Robin]

Thanks for all of the great advice!  I'm really working on training my kids as much as the dog :0)!  Yesterday, Stella got really wild - barking, growling, nipping.  It was crazy.  Still just puppy play but definitely wild - looked like one of my toddler's tantrums.  I calmly picked her up and put her in her kennel for a few minutes.  After a little bit I opened the door and let her slowly venture out.  She has been a different, calmer dog ever since.  Do any of you ever use "timeouts" with your dog?  Also, a friend recommended keeping a small spray bottle of water around and teaching the kids to spray Stella in the face with water when she gets too wild.  I'm really not sure if I'm comfortable with that.  Do any of you do anything like that?

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

First of all I have to say that I had no children around when Yarrow was little. Her kennel was set up in the kitchen, the only room of the house she was allowed in while she was being potty trained (except bedtime in my room). I only put her into the kennel when I was leaving her home alone to shop or go to a movie. The version of 'time out' that I used was to immediately leave the kitchen area, ending the game wjhen she started to get too wound up and put her teeth into me or my clothing. I went out of her line of sight for only about 30 seconds. She did eventually make the connection between her actions and my departure. Doodles are ever so clever.
I wouldn't be comfortable with the combination of youngsters, a spray bottle and puppy. I think that would quickly turn into a wild game with even more excitement, barking, nipping...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Yes, absolutely time outs!  It gives them a chance to rest and re-group.

[Kim and Jaxson]

from day one I had my 2 yr &4 yr grandkids hand feed Jax his food......Jax is 10 months old now and really listens to them....if he gets a little excited then they can be in control and get him to sit and lay down  

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

This portrait of Jax and your grandchildren gave me a big smile.