Hello all,
I hope this is the right place for this question. We have a new 10-week-old female GSD puppy. She has been with us for about 2 weeks. We have 2 younger children. Our puppy has growled at our youngest daughter (4yrs old) when the puppy has had a chew bone(stick) and the daughter has reached close to the puppy's face. I strongly corrected her the first time by grabbing her ruff and lifting as Ed has taught she did yelp a little. The most recent time I was not there to make the correction. How concerned should I be by this behavior. She has not acted this way in any other situation. Is this a puppy thing? Or a possible problem?
Well I can tell you this is a BIG problem, the dog should not be allowed to EVER growl at any pack member while eating. This dog thinks she is higer rank then your daughter, you need to correct the snot out of that puppy when she does this to let her know this is not allowed. (Within reason of course, she is only 10 weeks, so be careful not to over do it)
If you need suggestions on how to do this ask up.
She needs to learn order right from the start.. DO NOT WAIT to start this. If you do it will be much harder later and could result in a bite that could have been prevented.
And on a good note, for secondary learning, you can condition her to the word "Phooie" while correcting for this problem, so say "Phooie" then commence the correction, so later in life when you say "Phooie" she will always always remember what happens after that word and you will get a perfect (STOP NOW) response from her everytime.
Leute mögen Hunde, aber Leute LIEBEN ausgebildete Hunde!
Lonny is correct. If your puppy is only 10 weeks old and already posessively growling at your children you have a problem.
For the moment I would recommend not letting your children near the pup when he is engaging in an activity that could present a problem (eating, chewing on a bone, etc.).
How is he with you? Any growling?
Another idea that's sort of contrary to what I said above is if you have a responsible child (older one or one that won't get all squealy and upset) have them feed some kibble to the pup a piece at a time while making the pup sit or down. That way there is no food bowl to get posessive about and the child is making the dog do something to get a reward.
However.......DO NOT TREAT THIS INCIDENT LIGHTLY. If you do not work through this situation this is a potential bite waiting to happen. The pup is smaller now, but in a few months he'll be big enough to seriously overpower your child. Then guess where that dog will be.....Can you say needle?
Our pup does not show any growling to my wife or me. We can take items away from her no problem, and we make a point of having contact with her while she is eating. What actions can I use with my daughter to clearly set her above the puppy. Would including her in the feeding process of the pup help, how about daughter walking the pup on leash. Will her issuing commands change the puppies view? What other actions would set hierarchy of the pack.
Yup, the puppy is treating the kid like a littermate. This is not good. I agree with Caniche, the kids need to take part in the care and feeding of the puppy, within reason, given their ages. Also, keep the kids above puppy's level physically. Don't let them get down on the floor with her, at face level. When playing or interacting with puppy, the kids should be higher than her both physically and psychologically. Hopefully, as she matures, with the right handling and training, she will accept children at her level without percieving it as a challenge or threat. But, as a puppy, there are certain behaviors that will be natural for her, such as playbiting and mouthing, that little kids at her level will only serve to encourage.
I have always taught my kids ,and now grandkids, to respect dogs. When a new puppy comes in, the puppy is given half of his food in his bowel. The second half is given a few kibbles at a time, placed in the bowl by the child (under supervision of course). It's amazing how fast the puppy starts to look at the child as a source of food and not a threat.
Looks at child as a supplier of food, not a source of food. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
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