Yesterday Rolo for no apparent reason, I say no apparent reason Rolo had spent more short spells in his crate than he has been used too and after being in his crate for over 2 hours we took him out to toilet and then planned to walk him but he went crazy, growling and snapping at my 6 year old sunk his teeth several times into his knee and his back and obviously he was very very frightened. We then took Rolo out for a walk and he came back and just crashed out. Out of the whole family my youngest gets the most nips and tugs from Rolo. After being bitten he left the room and was inconsolable. I have a few ideas why this could be happening to Josh, he doesn't seem to have had any gentle quiet times with Rolo, it's always frantic and playful. I need to sort this bond out otherwise my youngest will begin to not like what could be his new best friend. Any suggestions appreciated. Kris
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. Well, 2 hours is quite a long time to leave a 12 week old puppy in a crate, but not massively so (1 - 3 hours is the maximum in a day that the ASPCA recommend for a 12 week old) - but if he had also been crated at other times, did it add up to quite a lot? Kids do seems to get nipped by puppies, and you are likely right that its about how children play with puppies. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-labrador-puppy-biting/
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. I would really encourage some gentle down time between Josh and Rolo. Do not allow them to play roughly - Rolo just doesn't understand that he hurts Josh when he bites, he is not being aggressive to him. But small puppies DO bite, and hard - this will lessen with time as he learns. When Rolo is quiet and happy, that is the time for Josh to sit with him and stroke him gently. Under no circumstances should they play unsupervised at this stage, and you need to step in if play starts to get frantic. Puppies are particularly bitey I think when they get overtired, or when they are full of energy they need to work off. Don't worry, this will sort itself out, but you need to protect your boy from those little crocodile teeth at this point!
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. Hi there, I agree with what has already been said. This is not your puppy being aggressive and he has no idea that he is hurting anyone. Also after having quiet time they all do go about crazy letting off steam. I have two 6 year old boys and at this stage they only really had close contact after a good zoom around so she would be calmer. The boys learnt ask before they went near her was she "calm"or "bitey" ! It worked. It does not last long at all though she is now 8 months and for quite a while they have all been fine and happy together (still never unsupervised). They will be best buddies soon, promise
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. I have young grandchildren who want to play, play, play with Chepi. I KNOW that if I play with her too much she gets way too excited and as a young pup would bite, snatch at my clothes etc. so around children I still, at 6 months old, watch them like a hawk. I don't allow chase games and I encourage quiet talk and gentle movements. The pup is not being nasty but just doing puppy play; your pup thinks everybody is a pup too so it's unfair to set the pup up to fail and be told off. Not directed at you personally just generally. Reward quiet behaviour with a quiet praise and gentle stroke. I may seem a kill joy when I won't let me grandchild run around with my pup but tough, I know it's sensible and caring. I remember the mad puppy stage and can well understand that your 6 year old would be frightened. I would ask your child to ignore your pup for a few days to see if your pup will calm down. Best of luck to you all.
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. Hi Kris,sounds like you've had some good advice and suggestions already on what is a difficult and worrying situation. I don't have children of my own but I have a niece and nephew that visit most days...Dexter was 5 months when he came to us and we were past the worst .... We 'trained' the kids not to run around him and if Dexter did get excited and jumped up or was mouthy they were to standstill ,turn their back on him and fold their arms. Best wishes Angela x
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. Really good advice above my daughter is 19 so I don't have this problem daily, but I do have a 5 year old nephew. From day 1 I got him involved in training Harley. She will now sit, drop the ball, give paw and take treats gently from him. This has been done over the past 14 months and they do sometimes runaround together, but still carefully supervised. Good luck
Re: Mad half an hour, now my 6 year old son is scared. Not a killjoy, Jane, but a realist. Puppies and young children are not a good mix. Young children do tend to dart around and speak in high squeaky voice. Just the thing to excite a pup. My 3 year old Granddaughter has very limited, supervised contact with bouncy Molly on a house line. I am looking forward to the time when they can be best friends, but I think I have a little time to wait. I chose a Labrador because of their affinity with children.
