# Please help. Puppy teething/nipping way too hard on children.



## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

My 14 week old GSD puppy is concerning us. 

He is teething heavily which we know is normal but one thing is concerning us. When my wife goes upstairs, which is gated off for potty training reasons, Our pup cries from separation anxiety and then takes it out on our 10 year old twins by jumping up at them on the couch and nipping at them. (Pretty hard I may say). Sometimes my wife is upstairs for only a few minutes to do chores. 

We have read many posts about teething with many different opinions. This behavior appears to be nipping as well as teething. We have been told by other posters that a 14 week old pup is too young to establish dominance or hierarchy but it appears that he is taking his stress out on the kids.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.


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## Oskar's Human (Jan 22, 2014)

I'm no expert but I would think he might be trying to play with them not necessarily taking his stress out on them. I would think he is whining after your wife leaves because his playmate has left the room, he sees the other humans and he thinks maybe they will play with me. After all, biting you is their way of trying to get you to play with them.

Nevertheless, when they bite it hurts. Have you tried bully sticks? How much exersize is he getting and is there any chance you can increase it? Also have the kids sit with a bunch of toys next to them so they can redirect this behavior.


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

I would crate the puppy when your wife is unable to supervise him. We have a crate upstairs and downstairs which made things easy when paisley was young.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

It sounds like boredom and attention-seeking behavior. Puppies lack impulse control, there's nothing going on up there keeping them from going, "mom's gone so maybe they'll play with me! Hey, hey, hey pay attention to me!" They tend to ask for attention with their mouths. It's not a stress response, but one of an excited puppy who lacks other outlets. 

What are you guys doing for training/exercise? Now is the prime time to start teaching manners and impulse control.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

My first thought was to recommend putting the kids up. But the other people are right - put the puppy up or put the puppy on a line & take him upstairs. (yeah, I have a puppy, I know how this works...)


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

For exercise I walk him or jog him around the block and we have him chasing toys and balls in the house.



LoveEcho said:


> It sounds like boredom and attention-seeking behavior. Puppies lack impulse control, there's nothing going on up there keeping them from going, "mom's gone so maybe they'll play with me! Hey, hey, hey pay attention to me!" They tend to ask for attention with their mouths. It's not a stress response, but one of an excited puppy who lacks other outlets.
> 
> What are you guys doing for training/exercise? Now is the prime time to start teaching manners and impulse control.


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Sometimes she literally goes upstairs for minutes and the dog will hard nip the kids feet or toes. The dog's crate is upstairs for potty training at night but we gated the upstairs off during the day so we can have a constant eye on him. He also has peed on the upstairs carpeted bedrooms. 




middleofnowhere said:


> My first thought was to recommend putting the kids up. But the other people are right - put the puppy up or put the puppy on a line & take him upstairs. (yeah, I have a puppy, I know how this works...)


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

mspiker03 said:


> I would crate the puppy when your wife is unable to supervise him. We have a crate upstairs and downstairs which made things easy when paisley was young.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Agreed - crate when not supervised by the adult. I don't see this as separation anxiety at all - normal pup behavior.

The pup sees the kids as play things - loads of fun. Kids typically have their arms & legs waving in the air - high pitched screams. Very appealing to the pup & tried to engage in play using his mouth - he doesn't have a soft mouth yet. Teach the kids how to interact with the dog. Hopefully training has begun with the pup. At 14 weeks mine was a wild thing


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Have toys everywhere that can be quickly stuffed into your pup's mouth. Makes for a messy home, but you don't want your kids teachers thinking they're getting abused at home.

Maybe your wife can give you and your kids a verbal warning that she's going upstairs or away from the pup so you can get ready for the landshark.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

mspiker03 said:


> I would crate the puppy when your wife is unable to supervise him. We have a crate upstairs and downstairs which made things easy when paisley was young.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Absolutely. Teething and nipping are two different things. When his adult teeth starting coming in, (usually happens in the 4-6 month old range), his mouth may be painful, but that shouldn't cause him to bite more. 

Nipping can be out of frustration, or he's being playful and doesn't understand that human skin is delicate, and he hasn't been taught bite inhibition, or a combination of both. Dominance has nothing to do with it - biting is normal puppy behavior, that's how he played with his littermates. It's up to us to teach them that biting hurts, and to train them how to use their mouths appropriately.

Also, he probably doesn't have separation anxiety. Our dogs prefer to be with us when we're home, but are perfectly fine being left behind when we have to go somewhere.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Danny G said:


> For exercise I walk him or jog him around the block and we have him chasing toys and balls in the house.


So what about training? 

Try getting a second crate for downstairs, and crate when you can't supervise 110%.


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## nktigger99 (Aug 22, 2006)

Maybe a puppy playpen....you can get an xpen or use a plastic kiddo pen....that is what I will be using in the living room for our pup if I am not right there....I have small kids so can't take any chances. 

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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Yes. Good idea.



LoveEcho said:


> So what about training?
> 
> Try getting a second crate for downstairs, and crate when you can't supervise 110%.
> 
> ...


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## Tratkins (Feb 15, 2014)

We have two children also (2 girls 7 and 10 years old) and a 14 week old GSD. I (the mom) am also the primary trainer/caregiver for the dog (and the kids! LOL). We were having the same issue with our dog when I wasn't around too. We had a trainer/behaviorists come over for a "Puppy Manners" class at our home and he gave us some good tips. 

Every morning when our kids come downstairs, the dog was running up to them and barking and doing the same thing you describe on the couch nipping at their feet. The dog REALLY wants them to play. So now, every morning before the kids even wake up, I put treats and toys on the stairs so they are armed and ready to go when the pup comes at them. They are instructed to not come downstairs calling for the dog and trying to get him all wired up though. They ignore the dog until he comes to them. Once the dog comes at them, they call him over to pantry "Come on Samson let's get a treat!" The dog will follow them and they do a couple of commands that he has mastered like sit and shake with the dog and get some treats and he comes out of his "craze". Funny how he is a perfect angel right next to the pantry door! When he is crazy, the girls have toys to put in his mouth quick (always have two toys!) It has gotten MUCH better over the last couple of weeks. Samson "helps" me take the girls to school every morning and he sits so nicely between them usually laying his head calmly on one of their laps so I know he loves them. But when they are walking through the house, their little legs must look like a piece of chicken because he goes for them every time! LOL 

I give my kids treats to put in their pockets everyday to keep engaging him in some commands and to calm him down. Every time I do the laundry, I find treats in all of our pants pockets! It gets better and the trainer that evaluated our dog said he is completely normal and that it is much better than some of the GSD's that he sees that actually hide from kids. Count our blessings, right? By the way, our dog loves frozen carrots, ice cubes, marrow bones, and bully sticks to keep his mouth busy while he is awake but when we can't play with him.

We have been working on training the kids how to interact with the dog as much as training the dog how to interact with the kids and that is paying off a lot For example, when we are playing outside, the dog wants to chase the kids. Trainer said to give the kids a rope toy/knotted towel to make sure the dog knew he was chasing "the object", not the child. I don't know how old your kids are, but we let ours feed, walk and play fetch with our dog and I usually give our dog a good hour playtime before I pick up the girls from school so he's a little worn out. Good luck and I look forward to seeing our dogs "grow up together" on the internet!


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## sourdough44 (Oct 26, 2013)

Doesn't anybody here know how to stop a dog/puppy from biting?? When the nipping gets strong & more serious it's time for a measured response.

A relative had a litter of pups(not G.S.) last Summer, they kept 2 and had the Mom too. He told me how one pup bit him hard when it got older. One FIRM correction and never to done again.

This stuffing a chew toy in the mouth or calling for more exercise is falling short of what needs to be done. Penning up to avoid contact isn't the answer either. They will need to be trusted with all family members eventually.

Time for a coffee refill.


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Thank you everybody, for your help on this issue. 

I see that there is an array of different opinions on how to tackle this issue but I appreciate the input from everyone.


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Sourdough, can you be a little more specific on your corrective measures?



sourdough44 said:


> Doesn't anybody here know how to stop a dog/puppy from biting?? When the nipping gets strong & more serious it's time for a measured response.
> 
> A relative had a litter of pups(not G.S.) last Summer, they kept 2 and had the Mom too. He told me how one pup bit him hard when it got older. One FIRM correction and never to done again.
> 
> ...


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

How come when someone asks for puppy biting help, 20 people post excellent information on how to deal with puppy biting, but the one post that said "I scruffed, gave the dog a correction that he'll never forget" is the one that gets all the attention?

Puppy biting is PLAYING. Tratkins gave EXCELLENT advice on how to manage it. It is a phase puppies NEED to go through - rescues that have grown up in isolation go through a nipping/biting phase as their emotional/social development catches up after they are adopted and exposed to a normal life. One would not punish or spank a toddler that wants to play: You would give the child age-appropriate toys, and supervise accordingly. 

This is not a quick fix, and people need to know that pups go through a land-shark phase when they bring a GSD puppy into the house and be ready to be patient with it.


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## sourdough44 (Oct 26, 2013)

Just to clarify, I'm not talking about spanking the puppy out of a pup. Just saying as the dog grows the boundaries should be more sharply defined. As is often mentioned, a good portion of nippiness with be outgrown.

By all means inundate them with the chew toys & all. Then again there can be some behavior that should not be tolerated. Like most everything, certain methods may work for some & not others. One should sift though advice to pick & choose.


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Because he was the only one who didn't give specific information. That's why I asked clarification. Everybody else said exactly what they did.

I thank all for the excellent advice.



Castlemaid said:


> How come when someone asks for puppy biting help, 20 people post excellent information on how to deal with puppy biting, but the one post that said "I scruffed, gave the dog a correction that he'll never forget" is the one that gets all the attention?
> 
> Puppy biting is PLAYING. Tratkins gave EXCELLENT advice on how to manage it. It is a phase puppies NEED to go through - rescues that have grown up in isolation go through a nipping/biting phase as their emotional/social development catches up after they are adopted and exposed to a normal life. One would not punish or spank a toddler that wants to play: You would give the child age-appropriate toys, and supervise accordingly.
> 
> This is not a quick fix, and people need to know that pups go through a land-shark phase when they bring a GSD puppy into the house and be ready to be patient with it.


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Excellent info. Thanks a million!




Tratkins said:


> We have two children also (2 girls 7 and 10 years old) and a 14 week old GSD. I (the mom) am also the primary trainer/caregiver for the dog (and the kids! LOL). We were having the same issue with our dog when I wasn't around too. We had a trainer/behaviorists come over for a "Puppy Manners" class at our home and he gave us some good tips.
> 
> Every morning when our kids come downstairs, the dog was running up to them and barking and doing the same thing you describe on the couch nipping at their feet. The dog REALLY wants them to play. So now, every morning before the kids even wake up, I put treats and toys on the stairs so they are armed and ready to go when the pup comes at them. They are instructed to not come downstairs calling for the dog and trying to get him all wired up though. They ignore the dog until he comes to them. Once the dog comes at them, they call him over to pantry "Come on Samson let's get a treat!" The dog will follow them and they do a couple of commands that he has mastered like sit and shake with the dog and get some treats and he comes out of his "craze". Funny how he is a perfect angel right next to the pantry door! When he is crazy, the girls have toys to put in his mouth quick (always have two toys!) It has gotten MUCH better over the last couple of weeks. Samson "helps" me take the girls to school every morning and he sits so nicely between them usually laying his head calmly on one of their laps so I know he loves them. But when they are walking through the house, their little legs must look like a piece of chicken because he goes for them every time! LOL
> 
> ...


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## Tratkins (Feb 15, 2014)

You are very welcome! I can tell with everyday that goes by, our dog is understanding more and more how things work in our house (and the world). At first, of course all pups deserve a little grace.  as they mature, they figure it out with our guidance. we took our dog to eat at an outdoor cafe yesterday for lunch and I was so pleased with his behavior! He laid right by my feet and chewed a bully stick and eventually went to sleep.


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

Do you give him constant access to the Bully Stick or save it for when you really need to distract his nippy behavior?




Tratkins said:


> You are very welcome! I can tell with everyday that goes by, our dog is understanding more and more how things work in our house (and the world). At first, of course all pups deserve a little grace.  as they mature, they figure it out with our guidance. we took our dog to eat at an outdoor cafe yesterday for lunch and I was so pleased with his behavior! He laid right by my feet and chewed a bully stick and eventually went to sleep.


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## Tratkins (Feb 15, 2014)

I only give them when he is supervised and as a special treat so not always available. For instance, if he is being especially nippy (which we really don't have to deal with too much anymore...hallelujah!), we will give home one. There were lots of walkers, birds, and a couple of dogs that walked by the patio last week during lunch. I knew the bully stick would keep his attention and off of the distractions around him so I took one with me. 

We are now up to increasing distractions with his obedience training so I am always prepared with his favorites. I also took a Baggie of boiled chicken with me. He looked up at a dog, I used the "watch me" command and treated him as soon as he looked my way. Takes his focus off distraction and back on to me. If he was laying there and being good, I treated him. I am trying really hard to treat the behavior I want so he doesn't learn the naughty stuff. I am admittedly a novice at this, but so far we couldn't be happier with how he is coming along.

How is your dog doing with the new tactics?


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## Danny G (Feb 22, 2014)

He is a little calmer now. Thanks.

I think the hardest part is to train the kids to constantly keep toys on them. 

I also find that my pup respects my girl with the more outgoing and aggressive personality. My other girl who is passive and timid, usually gets nipped more.

I'm going to try one of those Bully Sticks. One thing that seems to help is giving my pup a Kong toy with Peanut Butter spread inside.


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