Biting aimed more at one person

sorry for all my posts. Our puppies biting is pretty bad towards everyone however he seems to be especially keen on biting my son. Now originally I assumed it was the way my son moved his hands that seemed to excite the puppy but my son can be just walking past, stood still or sat at the kitchen table and the dog will still bite him. My daughter who is only a couple of years older doesn’t seem to receive the same treatment. My mum seems to think it’s a concern and that our puppy thinks he is ‘higher in the pack’ but I’m not sure if this is old school thinking. Is it normal for a puppy to bite one person more than others or is this a cause for concern? Thank you and sorry again for all my posts. Any advice/opinions welcome

 

Does your son play with the puppy a lot? It might be that your puppy wants to start play with him!

 

To be honest no my son doesn’t as he always gets bitten every time he is near him

 

You could try this, anytime your puppy goes to bite him, remove the puppy from the room for a couple minutes and just keep doing it and they will soon learn that if they bite they’re removed from the situation. My puppy went through a little phase where if I was sat at my desk working and she wanted to play with me, she would start growling and biting me and pulling on my clothes and barking. Any time she did it I would take her out of the room and shut the door for a couple of minutes, then let her back in the room and if she did it again it just keep taking her out. She doesn’t do it anymore as she knows I’ll remove her from the room! So you could try that any time he goes to bite your son !

It may also be that (if your son is a child) your puppy sees him as one of his playmates and when puppies play, they bite each other! You could try telling your son anytime the puppy goes to bite him to let out a Loud high pitched squeal as when puppies are playing and bite each other too hard this is what they do to let them know it hurt! It might not work though as I tried this with my puppy and it just got her more excited and bitey

 

Anyone have any experience of this please?

 

There are many similar of posts on her which may have some useful advice.
How are is the pup and how old are your children?

 

My children are 5 and 7. I have tried to observe and see if there is anything that my youngest is doing that my eldest isn’t as I initially put it down to the way my son moves his hands around when walking but even if we are all stood completely still Hunter will automatically jump and bite him. I thought maybe it’s the height as obviously he is quite small so easy for the puppy to jump at him but I’m starting to wonder if he has a dislike for my son. I don’t know how best to deal with it other than keep them completely separate but will this effect the relationship long term?? I don’t want people to think I’m worried about the biting as such because all puppies bite and he does bite all of us...but he also has very placid times with all of us except my son even if my son is still and calm and it does bother me that he is so focused on biting him.

 

Puppies and young children are generally a bad combination. It is highly unlikley that the puppy doesn't like your son, he just has no respect for him and sees him as a good plaything. He probably gets lots of attention when he bites your son as well. I'd be tempted to keep them apart until the puppy is old enough to have got through this phase (not sure how old the pup is). Your son can have nice quiet interactive time with him with you to supervise. He could teach him to sit for a treat and to retrieve. Short sessions fully supervised without any free play together.

 

I totally agree with @5labs . I kept my age 6 twins sons apart from Meg until the biting phase was over. We had child gates on most rooms downstairs. It really did not at all impact on their relationship. They all adore each other and she is the perfect family pet. The biting phase is a nightmare, but it is a phase that will pass. Hang in there

 

Our puppy is 14 weeks. I think you are right about the attention thing because as soon as he bites my son either me and my husband have been then trying to get him off of him.

 

That’s really good to hear that it didn’t effect their relationship. We have baby gates on the doors as well thank goodness as I feel like my son wouldn’t be able to do anything without Hunter biting him. I know it’s like asking how long is a piece of string but how long should we expect this phase for. I feel so bad for my son as he sees my daughter being in the room with Hunter and really wants to but I think it’s for the best that I keep them separate.