Aidily asked:
I have a daughter who’s nearly 3 and a son who’s 19 months old. We’ve recently got a rescue puppy from Dogs Trust who is a 6 month old Lurcher ( crossed with a German Shepherd)
I have a daughter who’s nearly 3 and a son who’s 19 months old. We’ve recently got a rescue puppy from Dogs Trust who is a 6 month old Lurcher ( crossed with a German Shepherd)
My problem is when the dog is playing, she gets too rough with the kids.
She tries to play bite, which scares the kids because they don’t know she’s only playing. She has also knocked my son to the ground on several occasions and stands over him trying to play bite him. He gets really frightened by this.
I never leave the dog and kids alone unattended, and I know the puppy doesn’t have any bad intentions, but my kids are now quite wary of the dog.
I’ve been told it will calm down when she gets neutered ( in the next couple of weeks) but how many times is it going to happen in the meantime before my kids get really frightened of her?
( the Dogs Trust assured us the dog as suitable to be homed with kids from age 0+)
Any advice?
Puppies do this. Rest assured she’s not being aggressive – it’s the only way she knows how to play. Don’t physically punish your dog for it, or yell at her… it would be the same as hitting a toddler for pulling at your hair.
When she plays with you, and nips, say Ow! and get up, then leave the room. No one should play with the dog or even be in the presence of the dog for the next two minutes. Playtime should be withdrawn completely and suddenly during this time – like a time-out. After 2 minutes, you can return to the room and play with her, but if she nips again, repeat your actions. Lesson: when she bites, playtime is over. She has to learn to play nice.
In the meantime, it might be better not to let your kids play with her when she is very worked up, just in case she accidentally hurts one of them. Let them play and cuddle with her after she comes back from walks, when she is tired out. It will also help to reinforce to her that lying or sitting down quietly will earn her attention and playing, rather than barking or jumping.
You can read more about bite-inhibition (teaching your pup to play nice) here:
Good luck and thank you for rescuing.
Edit:
I cannot BELIEVE some of the answers I am reading here about rehoming the dog, saying the dog doesn’t know its place in the household, the dog is going to try to take advantage of your kids when it approaches adolescence, the dog is going to end up with nasty aggression problems.
This dog is SIX MONTHS OLD. He has no concept of aggression or anger. It would be like saying that baby is chewing on your finger, eventually he is going to try to take control of the household, better give him away before someone gets hurt. If you think a dog can’t learn I have to play nice if I want to have fun, and I must not be rough with the small people in a matter of weeks, you are sorely underestimating the intelligence of the average canine.
The stuff that The Dog Whisperer says on his show – alpha rolling, eating before the dog, walking through doors before the dog – has nothing to do with dominance. If you want to make sure your dog respects you, practice NILIF and teach your kids to practice it too.
Maybe you could go back to the Dogs Trust and ask them for advice, they might be able to give you some strategies that would help to calm the dog down. In the meantime, I think you are right not to leave them alone together, he sounds like a lovely dog that is just over excited. I would get some advice though before there’s an accident. Good luck!
put the kids up for adoption
I am surprised that Dogs trust did not give you advice on a puppy.She’s only a baby as yet to teeth.You should phone tell them of your concerns personally I think you are thinking of taking her back want some one to tell you to.That may sound harsh I might be wrong if I am then sorry.
Don’t worry, it’s all normal puppy behaviour! Just that big dogs can knock kids over, small dogs can’t. He thinks the kids are puppies in his pack. He will settle down with age but in the meantime you need to be strict with the training. If he gets gets boisterous or bites you need to remove all attention. With adults you get them to turn their back. With kids you might need to put the dog outside or remove the kids. When he is sitting calmly then approach him and give him some praise and attention. Never reward him for unacceptable behaviour. Work on training basics like sit, down, stay etc. When he’s hyper get him to sit for a few seconds.
I’m sure he will be absolutely gorgeous with your children. I remember getting a dog when I was about 4 years old – she was the same age as your guy and was all over us, biting and playing. I was terrified of her! She ended up becoming my best friend for 12 years
Thats a real worry, some dogs are boisterous but as you dont know the full background i would be a little wary, have you tried a dog obedience class? They may be able to help you.
Personally I’d say goodbye to the dog! I’m wary of my son around dogs anyway, and one that is already so boisterous would worry me even more. Even if the kids are being watched, there’s not much you could honestly do if it did decide to turn nasty. Sorry its prob not the answer u want to hear but thats my opinion x
The kids are too young for the dog!!! The puppy will calm down. Chances are since your kids are afraid of her now, they will be afraid of her for years. My son has been afraid of our dog (got him as a puppy) for 2 years. He won’t go in the same room as the dog. He is slowly growing out of it and now knows the dog is playing. But he still gets scared.
I don’t know about the other half of your dog’s heritage, but German Shepherds are large, strong dogs. And they need to be trained.
Granted, your dog is a puppy. But the kids are going to have to learn how to behave too- and that’s the real reason why most shelters are a little picky about who takes their critters home.
Anyway, good luck.
The puppy is doing what comes naturally in a pack and playing with your children like it would play with other puppies, the trouble is your children are not puppies, so the dog should be taught it cannot play in this way, or the play biting could turn into biting too hard, the dog also has to learn its role in your household, that it is not top dog, Read these pages on how to train it.=
good luck but you must stop this play biting now, before it gets out of hand.
This behaviour needs to be stopped right now. What I would recommend is that you ask your vet to give you info on local dog training and behaviour classes. With young children you need to be in control 100% and your dog is going to get bigger and stronger. Training is the only thing that will help you and despite the cost you will not regret doing it. Do it today ….don’t wait for an accident to happen that could involve someone getting hurt. You dog will also be happier knowing its place and having attention from you and your family . If you do nothing the only attention your dog will receive will be negative because it wont know or understand what you want it to do. If your vet cannot recommend someone then the dogs trust will have someone on hand to help.
walk walk walk- she needs exercise and don’t ever leave a child alone with any dog. She will eventually mellow out.
All puppies are like this…it just goes to show how affectionate you puppy is towards your kids…it will calm down in time,but do not show any animosity towards it as he will not understand what he or she has done wrong.By doing that would change the whole nature and character of the puppy which you dont want….just try and be a bit more vigile on the children….they wont come to any harm
ummm the dog will do it as many times as it wants because he just wants to play and he doesnt no that they are scared of him just keep telling him no and everytime he steps back tell him he is a good boy
It amazes me why you would get such a big dog, when your children are so small. That is just like having 3 young kids…..Common sense….. the puppy is learning, the kids are learning, excitement is all around, and now your kids are afraid of him. Puppys are learning about everything just as your babies do, everything needs to be tasted, chewed, as they are cutting teeth too….I suggest reading up on having new puppies…..Wait until your kids, are 7-8 years old or older….
Neutering doesn’t take the puppy out of the dog…..
The Dogs Trust….need to find homes for their dogs…but common sense says if the dog is bigger than your kids, and is a puppy….you are going to have knock down problems, as you cant take the excitement out of the puppy without breaking his spirit….then the dog is ruined…..I would find another home for the dog…..or return the dog to the Dog Trust place…….AND let them know the common sense of it all……
its good to see you never leave the kids with the dog alone
Mmmmm, lots of great answers in here…I think you need to determine if you have the time to actually train a dog this size…watch The Dog Whisperer on Sky 3 if you can….you need to be pack leader, then the rest of the humans then the dog….I would be worried at one point that when the dog reaches adolecence it might try to put your kids down the pack which could be nasty…..actually as they are so young, it probably thinks it’s above them in the pack anyway which might lead to massive problems.
Also you can’t be sure it would never hurt them as you have no idea of the temperament of the parents…..ideally when getting a pup you should see both parents several times.
If you want to keep the dog, proper training the whole family included….lots of exercise, then supervised time with the older kids, where the kid tells the dog to sit and fetch a ball etc.with your help of course because a 3 year old can’t really do this on their own. So the humans are telling the dog what to do not the other way round and keep it to ten minutes a time….
If you cannot dedicate time to your dog I would rehome….
She is still a very young dog and when the kids are excited and playing then the dog is going to get excited aswell. Thats what puppies are like.
When the puppy is ‘mouthing’, stop her. She needs to be taught that that is not acceptable. She will calm down as she gets older, but it also depends on how you train her. She needs to be taught what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Your kids will soon learn how to behave around her as well. But you are going to have set the example.
Sounds like a happy puppy to me – as you have rescued it, you don;t know how well socialised it has been and it clearly hasn’t yet been taught not to put it’s teeth on humans – Puppies learn really quickly though so don’t despair.
Also – barging is typical lurcher behaviour – it doesn;t mean anything to do with aggression/dominance
Excuse me, just exactly WHY did you get a large dog when you have small children. Whatever were you thinking!
Simple answer, get rid of the dog, or swap it for a smaller one, or better still wait until the children are older. dogs and children…….. not a good ideas!