# Help my 6 week old puppy bit my 2 year old



## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

My 6 week old puppy chopped down on my 2 year olds hand after he pulled his hair and i mean the puppy was angry not playing he also had a growling and snapping fit after my 10 year old picked him up when he was sleeping ,i really need some adivce on how to handle this. I know puppies play bite but he was not playing at this time


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## Vinnie (Sep 4, 2001)

6 weeks old?

It's very typical of puppies to bite.


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

This was not play bitting as he usually does he was growling and drew blood.


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## Tihannah (Dec 27, 2009)

Hey Neighbor! Welcome to the forums! Where are you at in MS? I'm relatively new to the breed and with my first pup, so I will let some of the more experienced members guide you on this one. I will tell you that your breeder let that pup go about 2 weeks too early. Others will be better able to explain why... Good luck!


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

Oh my never had a pappy act like that and raised around my small children, 6 weeks is too young to be away from his mom, where did you get him?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

don't let the puppy near your 2 year old.
don't let your 10 year old handle your puppy.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Handle it first of all by teaching your children 1. not to startle the puppy when he is sleeping (such as do not pick the puppy up when he is sleeping) and 2. not to pull it's hair, ears, tail, poke it's eyes etc.

At 6 weeks and away from it's "family of origin" the pup will have fewer lessons on bite inhibition than had he stayed with his litter mates and dam a week or two longer.

A GSD pup will stay quite mouthy for at least the first year even with the additional time with Mom & sibs. Really really really teach your children how to behave around the dog and to expect the pup to be mouthy.


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

Please made sure your pup has a vet check and all is ok and healthy. Might not be feeling well. My kids were not exactly gentle with our puppies but none growled ever.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

akittrell said:


> My 6 week old puppy chopped down on my 2 year olds hand after he pulled his hair and i mean the puppy was angry not playing he also had a growling and snapping fit after my 10 year old picked him up when he was sleeping ,i really need some adive on how to handle this.


1) why do you have a puppy at 6 weeks of age? if you bought it from a "breeder" you should take it back and pick it up when its a more appropriate age at least 8 weeks old but since you've probably had it for at least a few days I would leave it there for longer so it can learn things like bite inhibition and important dog behaviors and signals.

2) You should supervise all contact with your children and the puppy. You should teach your children acceptable behavior around the puppy..pulling its fur, ears, etc..are all unacceptable. When the puppy is asleep let it sleep. I'm guessing that the puppy is growling and snapping because you or your children are yelling at it and possibly smacking it for its behavior thats the only reason I can see a 6 week old puppy behaving that way.

Puppies bite, they use their mouths to learn. A 6 week old puppy is a baby it doesn't know any better. FYI I dealt with a bitey pup all the way up to teething around 5 months of age. I strongly suggest you start learning about dog training and behaviors and enroll in a puppy class as soon as possible. Make sure the whole family participates in the training.


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## Vinnie (Sep 4, 2001)

> Last edited by akittrell; Today at 08:28 PM.


I responded at 08:24 PM.

I love it when people edit their posts AFTER someone responds. Nice.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Vinnie said:


> I responded at 08:24 PM.
> 
> I love it when people edit their posts AFTER someone responds. Nice.


I must have typed slow because I read the original post as well


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

Why do you have a 6 week old puppy?
Of COURSE its going bite your 2 yr old. It doesnt know any better.
And it will CONTINUE to bite for a while.
Dont leave them unsupervised together.
ANd please dont even START that this puppy is aggressive at 6 weeks old.
IT NEEDS to be with its mother.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Sounds like some kid training is in order here... 

When your puppy is napping, put him in his puppy crate and tell the kids to leave him alone, let him sleep. Use a pad lock if you have to. The puppy should have a regular sleep schedule, just like your 2 year old. 

At 6 weeks old, the puppy shouldn't be awake for more than 2 hours or you're going to see a meltdown worse than a 2 year old up at midnight.

If your 2 year old was taking a nap and someone picked him/her up, what would the toddler's reaction be? Pretty crabby I bet. 

Puppies aren't exactly like children but a lot of child rearing theory applies to small german shepherds.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

akittrell said:


> This was not play bitting as he usually does he was growling and drew blood.


since none of us were there I can't really comment on the growling other then perhaps it was the playful growl of a puppy like when playing tug or something. As for drawing blood...puppy teeth are like razors. The puppy didn't draw blood on purpose. It still has to learn bite inhibition..which is going to take months. Your child hurt the puppy and the puppy bit back. Its not aggressive


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

great post from a while back about puppy biting.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/puppy-behaviorhttp://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/puppy-behavior/85888-teaching-bite-inhibition.html

Can I sing Otto's song (to the tune of Popeye)

I'm Mighty McBitey Mite
I'm Mighty McBitey Mite
I'll chew on your pant legs and jump in your dinner
I'm Mighty McBitey Mite
WoofWoof

LOL, I haven't actually sung it in about a year. Last night the kids asked me to, Otto looked a bit sad.

(Vinnie, I edited my broken link, not my thoughts, I do that quite often, not good with the proofreading in the little flashy box...)


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## Tihannah (Dec 27, 2009)

Akittrell,
Here is a link that will help you to understand some of the growth stages that your pup is going through. It explains some of your pups behavior at this age and why it is so crucial for the pup to stay with the mother and litter until at least 8 weeks of age.

GSD Development, An Illustrated Guide to the First Year (Plus)

I have 4 children between the ages of 5-10 yrs old, but they have been around dogs all of their lives, so they know the rules. My favorite saying is "THE DOG IS NOT A TOY." If this is your first pup with the kids, then you will have to be strict in their handling of the pup, because you want it to grow to love them. Your 10 yr old will be a lot easier to teach right now, but you will need to be very careful with the 2 yr old. I know GSD's have a reputation for being great family dogs, and they are, but you are dealing with a newborn in completely new surroundings that was pulled from its litter before given the time to learn basic socialization skills. You definitely don't want to establish bad experiences between the pup and your kids, because the pup will then relate pain, hair grabbing, etc. to the kids and may have trouble bonding with them later on.

I hope this will help you some and you haven't been discouraged from further postings and questions for help. Try to research as much as you can on the breed, and check out as much as you can in the puppy section. There are tons of valuable information to be learned as I am still learning myself as my pup is only 6 months old. Look into puppy training classes in your area, youtube, and google as much as possible. I found great training videos on Youtube when I first started training my pup. Its a lot of work, but as your pup grows and develops, you will be amazed at his intelligence and learning ability, so don't let this incident make you think you have a crazy pup. You'll be fine!:hug:


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

I took him to the vet 2 days after I got him he was good except for a few round worms


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

Thank you that makes alot of sense,I appreciate your honesty and kindness,some people were harsh on here which saddens me because I came here for help.


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

I just want to say that I am disappointed that you don't even know me and you are assuming that i have yelled or hit my puppy ,I would never harm an animal i like them more then I do people!!!!!!!!!!!


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

I edited my post to better clarify my problem you don't have to be a jerk.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I know some of these posts come off as harsh, but everyone really is looking out for the sake of your family and your puppy. 

As I'm sure you understand by now, 6 weeks is too young to be away from its mom.

But the growling you heard may have been a frustrated growl, not an aggressive growl. I very, VERY highly doubt you have an 'aggressive' puppy. I've never heard of one. He's a puppy - a baby. You have to teach babies not to hit and bite people. Now that you have this very young puppy, you have to teach your guy not to bite. Normally a lesson his littermates and mother help him learn. But as has been stated before, puppies (especially GSDs) are mouthy for a while. 

Wishing you the best of luck.


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

I got him at 6 weeks because his mother had mastitis and could not feed him anymore and the lady told me her vet said it was ok to send him to my home and when i took him to my vet he said nothing about him being to young or I would have took him back,he will be 7 weeks tomorrow so I have had him a week, I feel bad I took him away from him famiy to early but I am still offended that some of you think I absused my puppy. I waited a ver long time for him and animals are a very big part of my life.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

akittrell said:


> I got him at 6 weeks because his mother had mastitis and could not feed him anymore and the lady told me her vet said it was ok to send him to my home and when i took him to my vet he said nothing about him being to young or I would have took him back,he will be 7 weeks tomorrow so I have had him a week, I feel bad I took him away from him famiy to early but I am still offended that some of you think I absused my puppy. I waited a ver long time for him and animals are a very big part of my life.


for the record I did not say you were abusing your puppy. I know plenty of people that think the correct response to a puppy biting/nipping is to smack it on the muzzle and yell "no" or whatever they want to command. I'm pretty confident that most everyone on this board has at 1 time or another lost their cool and yelled at their dog...those sharp puppy teeth hurt! I'm sorry that you were offended though.

There is more to being with the litter other than feeding, a puppy at that age should begin to eat solid food anyway. There are dog social skills they learn that are very important. Someone already posted a great link about development. If its still an option I would take the pup back so it can learn those skills.

as someone who as you put it "waited a ver long time for him and animals are a very big part of my life." I would have hoped that you had researched the breed and learned what I feel is pretty basic knowledge to anyone thinking about getting a puppy. Thats not meant to insult you just calling it like I see it. Despite that no one here has refused to offer you advice, you've been given some really great advice and links and yes some has been a bit straight forward and seemingly harsh but for me I can't speak for others it comes from passion for the breed and frustration at hearing similar stories all the time. 

Don't be discouraged from posting and asking questions, thats the point of this place to share and learn


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

Thanks I did not see it it that way but it makes alot of sense so I will work on this.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

akittrell said:


> I got him at 6 weeks because his mother had mastitis and could not feed him anymore and the lady told me her vet said it was ok to send him to my home and when i took him to my vet he said nothing about him being to young or I would have took him back,he will be 7 weeks tomorrow so I have had him a week, I feel bad I took him away from him famiy to early but I am still offended that some of you think I absused my puppy. I waited a ver long time for him and animals are a very big part of my life.


What is done is done, enjoy your pup and work with him, learn how to train him so he grows into a great family companion.
Just for others reading this, a six week old puppy would not be nursing any longer, at about 4 weeks they should start eating mushy food, so weaning takes place. From 4 to 8 weeks the mom will be around the litter less, but still with pups to teach them. I read another thread where the pups were sold early because Mom wouldn't feed them after 4 weeks, so the owner sold all the pups. 
This was an oops breeding, rescued from friend found out she was expecting, so the new owner wasn't a breeder. That poster is having the same problem with biting. The lessons mom and littermates can teach is invaluable, the reason to keep pups together til they are 8 weeks.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I had the SAME problem! We got a Siberian Husky puppy, he was 8 weeks old when we got him. We had him for almost 4 weeks and had to get rid of him. HE WAS A NIGHTMARE!!!! He was VERY aggressive. He was food and toy aggressive towards our GSD and he constantly went after my cats pinning them down and was trying to kill them (no doubt in my mind that he wanted to kill them, he was not playing at all). He bit everyone that he met, not play bites, real bite down draw blood and wont let go bites. He CHARGED at us, he growled at us and towards the end he began stalking us! He refused to submit to us (we would lay him on his side and after about 3-4 minutes he would relax so we would let him get up and he'd turn and charge at us!) My Aunt watched him for 4 days and when she was feeding him one night he came up behind her and bit her in her back! She had a huge bruise and he broke her skin. She told me she would never step foot in my house again as long as I had that bast***. When I took him to the Vet she told me that she had not seen a puppy that aggressive in a long time and recommended he start puppy classes at 4 months old and that he be neutered at 5 months old. She also said that he might have pyschological problems not behavioral problems. Anyways the real reason we got rid of him was that he was biting my GSD, he bit his tongue and made him bleed, he would grab him by the lip and pull the skin and he would bit and pull right above my dogs eye!! I was so scared that he would get his eyeball! My GSD has bald spots on his lip and above his eye now. I am sorry say what you want to but there was no way that I was going to keep him after all of that. The puppy found a new home now. One without cats and other dogs and with someone that has experience with the breed. He called me yesterday and told me that the puppy is biting and attacking him and that he is going to work with someone that specializes with Siberian Husky's. I'm glad he's gone and I will NEVER have another Husky again, NEVER!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Also.... I had a Husky/Shepherd mix growing up and I DID ALOT of research on the breed and learned everything I could on them. Yes, puppies bite, I am aware. I raised 2 Chow/Rott/Lab/Border Collie mixes at the same time and I raised my GSD and I raised a Pomeranian from 8 weeks to 20 weeks old. So I know that they bit but they didn't know any better and they were play bites not bite down hard and not let go bites.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Where did you end up "getting rid of him" to? Did the breeder take him back?


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

The breeder told me that she would put him down because she didn't want to resell him. I asked her if she would try to work with him (I mean he is still little, so he may have hope with intense training) she told me she wouldn't. I couldn't give him back to her knowing that he would be put down (or possibly turn into another one of her breeding dogs, and he should NEVER be bred) she also told me that she would not refund my money but give me a new puppy, I did not want a new puppy, I never wanted a Husky again. He was absolutely beautiful but his parents were not top quality dogs and should not have reproduced. Anyways I found a guy that had Siberian Husky's his whole life and knew some could be challenging and I told him everything that happened with the dog and he said that the puppy looked just like his old dog and that he would take him. He asked me how much I paid and when I told him he gave me the exact amount for him! So he took him and he will take him to puppy classes and possibly tech him how to be a sled dog


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## georgiapeach717 (Jan 28, 2010)

i have to think that like people, some dogs just are kinda messed up mentally. Some are probably more aggressive due to bad breeding, or genetics, or chemical makeup...but whatever it is, i am SURE this person was there and can tell if something is aggressive or not. I doubt there is NO records of naturally aggressive puppies.

Also to say to NOT let the kids handle a puppy, well IMO thats rediculous! I am not saying to let small children have an all out assault on the pup, but MOST dogs are brought in to be family members....if I let my 3 year old hold and love on my newborn baby I should SURELY be able to do the same with a puppy....

sadly some posts do come off as if people are blind to any negative light shed on dogs and that dogs are always the victims and people are always the one doing something wrong. I dont care for it, and I dont like how it seems how new posters on here get treated like alien outcasts to be scared off.

Someone cared enough to SEARCH on an internet for HELP on an alarming puppy issue and was met with hostility from some of the responses. Does she get no credit for giving a crap enough to come look for HELP?

maybe I am just tired this morning but I see this more than here and dont care for it.

can we not welcome someone in and try to help without criticizing?

I see all over about POSITIVE training for PUPPIES, but humans looking for help cant get the same? Not every GSD owner is a veteran to the breed and not every puppy owner has grown up with dogs.

To the OP, I hope this is just a phase that passes and your pup can grow healthy and happy in your home. I had a chihuahua dauchshund mix one time who at 8 weeks old was so aggressive with my children, literally snarling and lips raised and growling licking its teeth angry that I gave it back to the owner (who yes, was a BYB) I absolutely knew the difference and with two small kids (laci was a baby at the time) I was not going to take the chance since I have friends who had similar issues and their dogs never changed and dogs and kids have to be kept seperate...and that is NOT what I wanted for a family pet. Good luck to you.


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## Vinnie (Sep 4, 2001)

akittrell said:


> I edited my post to better clarify my problem you don't have to be a jerk.


Is this directed at me? That's kind of rude don't you think? I was just surprised you had edited your original post after I responded and you replied to me. Then you went and edited your first post. I was baffled as to why you would do that. 

Anyway, :shrug: 

Some people are giving you some great & very helpful advice so I'll just let them continue. 

I just want to say that puppy biting is normal. I even find what the OP is describing to be NORMAL puppy behavior. This is NO reason to get rid of a puppy or return it to a breeder. Just like with children, we need to teach the puppy what is acceptable and what is not. We also need to teach children proper behavior around dogs & puppies.


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

Vinnie said:


> Is this directed at me? That's kind of rude don't you think? I was just surprised you had edited your original post after I responded and you replied to me. Then you went and edited your first post. I was baffled as to why you would do that.
> 
> Anyway, :shrug:
> 
> ...


I do not mean to be rude,I was just frustrated because I came looking for help and felt like I was being bashed,I have no intention Of giving Gauge back , or getting rid of him. I look forward to him being a valued family member I just need advice on succesfully raising a happy and healthy GSD
I also need to learn how to properly socialize him with my children properly and you are right I did recieve some good advice and links and I am doing alot of reading. Again I am sorry for being rude. I just want help from people with experience with GSD. I have been a vet tech for 6 years and I know alot but I knoe GSD are special dogs and need to be raised different from other breeds. I don't know if helps or not but he is not the only dog here. I just did not want my black mouth cur to hurt him playing to rough. Should I start socializing them now?


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

akittrell said:


> My 6 week old puppy chopped down on my 2 year olds hand after he pulled his hair


I see nothing wrong with what the puppy did.

Right now your puppy sees the 2 yr old as a littermate and is reacting the same way he would if another puppy grabbed hold of his hair and pulled.

THAT is why puppies need to stay with their littermates AND Mom until at least 7-8 weeks of age. That is the time they learn about bite inhibition. It doesn't matter if Mom has stopped feeding them - they NEED that extra time to learn very important lessons.

If the pup had reacted to his Mom like that she would have corrected him.

Now I'll give my standard chant:

We are Humans.
We are NOT dogs.
We do NOT speak Dog.
We CANNOT speak Dog.

Dogs communicate primarily with their physical being - the way they walk, the way their ears look, the way their mouths act, their fur, their eyes ... all in ways we humans could NEVER imitate.

The best we can do is imitate SOME dog verbal language.

When puppies play and one gets too rough the other will let out a loud YIPE and move away. This lets the other pup know that they got too rough.

So, when you are playing with your puppy and they get too rough, give a loud YIPE (stress the I sound) and walk away. It won't take many of these instances for the pup to learn that too rough = no more play.

But there-in lies the problem - you can't teach a TWO year old human to do that.

The best course of action in your case is to only allow highly supervised interactions between the pup and the child. Any grabbing should be IMMEDIATELY stopped by you and the child removed from the puppy.

Remember - the puppy did *NOTHING *wrong.

As for your vet not commenting on the age - most vets have little (if any) training or knowledge in canine behavior.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

akittrell said:


> I don't know if helps or not but he is not the only dog here. I just did not want my black mouth cur to hurt him playing to rough. Should I start socializing them now?


YES!! 

Another dog will teach the pup about bite inhibition. As long as the adult dog is not physically hurting the pup don't worry if it gets rough with the pup and the pup lets out a yelp now and then. THAT is the second best way to teach bite inhibition.


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## Remo (Sep 8, 2004)

Did you have the opportunity to meet the mother of your pup? If so, was she friendly, or at least tolerant of people?

The reason that I ask is because once our rescue took in an junkyard dog who had a litter of pups. The mother attacked one of our volunteers who had been taking care of her. One of her puppies, at three weeks old, actually growled and believe me, he meant it, at the vet when getting wormed. Pups do get personality traits from their parents. 

I have seen LOTS of puppies over the years, but this was the first time that I had ever witnessed that behavior. My vet said the same thing - he has been practicing long enough to have seen tons of puppies and he had never seen one react like that one did. It is really creepy seeing something so fuzzy and cute as a three week old GSD pup acting like that one did.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> Now I'll give my standard chant:
> 
> We are Humans.
> We are NOT dogs.
> ...


Now why isn't that in your signature so you don't have to keep typing it!oke:


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Kayla's Dad said:


> Now why isn't that in your signature so you don't have to keep typing it!oke:


Good idea!!! I'll see if there's enough room for it.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I have to agree with *GeorgiaPeach717 *

I think some dogs were just bred wrong and have mental issues. People and dogs both experience depression, anxiety, love, fear, aggression, tiredness. So why cant they have mental issues????? Yes, more than half the aggressive dogs in the world can be trained to not be aggressive but some cannot be.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

LaRen616 said:


> I have to agree with *GeorgiaPeach717 *
> 
> I think some dogs were just bred wrong and have mental issues. People and dogs both experience depression, anxiety, love, fear, aggression, tiredness. So why cant they have mental issues????? Yes, more than half the aggressive dogs in the world can be trained to not be aggressive but some cannot be.


Yes, there are dogs that have problems but I would be hard pressed to slap an Aggressive label on a puppy.

That being said the puppy the OP has is *NOT *aggressive. It is being a normal puppy.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

*Lauri & The Gang*


I'm sorry to confuse you : ) I was talking based on the story I posted about my puppy. My puppy was very aggressive.

I think the the OP puppy got hurt and reacted out of that. I dont think that puppy is aggressive.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

LaRen616 said:


> *Lauri & The Gang*
> 
> 
> I'm sorry to confuse you : ) I was talking based on the story I posted about my puppy. My puppy was very aggressive..


I understood that. I still would be very hard pressed to label a 12 week old puppy as aggressive.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

You did not know this puppy, he was a complete nightmare and way out of control. I wonder if the breeder has had that happen to her before because she was unwilling to try to train him, she insisted that he be put down. Her dogs were outside dogs and not allowed inside. I met the father, who was a big loveable but not very well trained beautiful dog, but I did not meet the mother. I spoke to a lady who was a judge at the WestMinster (most likely spelt wrong, I do appologize) Kennel Club show and also breeds Great Danes and she has 5 Danes that are in the top whatever of their breed and she said usually that temperment skips a generation. She said his parents could be well behaved but the grandkids would have the issues. SHE recommended he be put to sleep! I couldn't let that happen


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## Vinnie (Sep 4, 2001)

LaRen616, sorry, I know I'm not Lauri but I'm getting just a tad bit confused by your posts myself. From earlier in this same thread you said;



LaRen616 said:


> *I had the SAME problem!* We got a Siberian Husky puppy, he was 8 weeks old when we got him. We had him for almost 4 weeks and had to get rid of him.


It kind of sounded to me like you were telling the OP that you had been in the "same" boat and you had to return your puppy that was like her's is now. Based on your post I told the OP the following; 


Vinnie said:


> I just want to say that puppy biting is normal. I even find what the OP is describing to be NORMAL puppy behavior. *This is NO reason to get rid of a puppy or return it to a breeder.*


I even question returning a 12 week old puppy for biting & what you've labeled as aggressive behavior but that's probably best discussed in a different thread. This one should probably be geared towards helping the OP and maybe LaRen616 could start a new topic to help answer your questions.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Vinnie......... I was just saying that my puppy was also biting but my case was more severe. Puppy is gone so I dont have a issue that needs to be started on a new thread thank you. I also trust my Vet's opinion over yours. Thanks for your input.


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> I see nothing wrong with what the puppy did.
> 
> Right now your puppy sees the 2 yr old as a littermate and is reacting the same way he would if another puppy grabbed hold of his hair and pulled.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the information is was very helpful, I did not think about it in that manor.


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## akittrell (Mar 10, 2010)

I want to thank everyone for their input some of it helped and some hurt my feelings. I have read everything carefully and I do not think Gauge is agressive it makes more sense to me now. Today he has started playing with my two schnauzers and I have noticed my 5 year old female displining(sp) Gauge when he gets to rough with her, next I will introduce him to my black mouth cur outside.


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## crs996 (Sep 19, 2001)

Thats great that you have another dog that is "showing her the ropes", this will help tremendously. Some other suggestions to research for a new puppy are:

Crate training - if not already done this will help tremendously with housetraining and give your pup a place to cool off and have his own space.

Bite inhibition - Some links have already been posted.

Basic obedience - You can start having your puppy learn basic obedience with treats very soon. There is a wealth of information here on how to do it, but you can start by giving him a treat when he sits on his own and mark it by saying "sit" just as his butt hits the ground. You can also have him drag a leash around (supervised!) to get him used to that. There are lots of fun interactive things you can do with young puppies that will help shape their future behavior. Good luck!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

akittrell said:


> I want to thank everyone for their input some of it helped and some hurt my feelings. I have read everything carefully and I do not think Gauge is agressive it makes more sense to me now. Today he has started playing with my two schnauzers and I have noticed my 5 year old female displining(sp) Gauge when he gets to rough with her, next I will introduce him to my black mouth cur outside.


I would be very careful~your puppy is very young, you want the puppy to have confidence and not feel bullied. A correction from an older dog is ok, as long as it is fair. Supervise constantly and remove the pup if you feel things are getting too ramped up.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Something else I haven't seen anyone else mention is tug toys. When Otto (Mighty McBitey Mite) was a baby, my kids (then 5 y/o boy and 3 1/5 y/o boy girl twins) all had a tug toy they would play with him with. He learned quick, bite the toy, not the kid. My boys it was harder becuase they don't have the ear peircing shriek my daughter has! So if your 2 year old is a girl, you should be golden by just letting her shriek when the puppy nips her. No puppy wants to hear that!

Good job to your other dog for teaching him a bit of bite inhibition. My female GS was 7 when Otto was a little mite, he's 21 months now, has 20lbs on her but he still jumps back 10 feet if she snarks at him (for being a pesky puppy becuase he still is a bit and likes to mess with her sometimes)


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

onyx'girl said:


> I would be very careful~your puppy is very young, you want the puppy to have confidence and not feel bullied. A correction from an older dog is ok, as long as it is fair. Supervise constantly and remove the pup if you feel things are getting too ramped up.


and yes to what Jane said.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

"Help, my 6 week old puppy bit my 2 year old."

Does anyone else think that this statment speaks volumes? 

When my sister's little girls came over to meet Babs' litter, the girls were 1.5 and not quite 2. They had been adopted at 10 months and 1 year old. The puppies were nearly eight weeks old, and already they were too frightening for the elder girl to go in the pen with. But I had a stuffed toy for them and it was still an ok experience all around. 

The next year when they met Jenna's litter, they were two. I put them on a blanket in the pen and then dropped the three week old puppies into the pen on the grass away from the girls one by one. This helped an awful lot. 

Because the puppy has teeth and claws, we have a tendency to believe the dog is at fault if the child/puppy encounter is not positive. But you can reason with a two year old, you can tell them, and you can expect them to do what you say. A six week old puppy is actually more of a baby than a two year old is. 

The good news is that the puppy will mature a whole lot faster than the child. Try to keep the encounters as positive as possible. The child should not be pulling the puppies hair and the older child should not be picking it up when it is sleeping. 

I worry that with children and other dogs the puppy may be a bit much for your family. Sending the puppy back to the breeder at this point will not be terribly hard on anyone involved, canine or human. Waiting for the puppy to eight or ten months old is another story. 

If you do choose to keep the puppy, I would train the older child right away, and limit the younger child's contact with the puppy until the puppy can learn Gentle. I use the words "Gentle with the Baby" and if I trained them to take treats gently from my hand using the Gentle command, it does help. If that doesn't work, placing the pup in its play yard (safe from the child) and in effect stopping the game helps. Pretty soon, the pup should be able to use your Gentle warning to be careful. But right now he is such a baby. I like a play yard wtih puppies more than a crate for this. Your two year old had a play pen probably at one point, think of it as a play pen for your puppy. The crate is a good tool for when you are not home, and for sleeping at night. But a play yard or x-pen is a little larger and more open. 

Good luck juggling kids and dogs and a puppy.

ETA: keep the puppies nails trimmed and dremmeled as puppy nails can draw blood too and can make the encounter scarey and unpleasant for the child too.

Also, most dogs give a puppy a license to do just about anything for 4-5 months old. I would be a little leary of any adult dog correcting a puppy so young.


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