blessedx5 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 We got him Saturday, he is 8 weeks old. Working on the training is slow going but we are reading and working on it. He has done pretty well with crate training, potting outside. He has normal puppy behavior with mouthing and such....HOWEVER he targets my 8yo dd:confused: First off he loves her long hair so we have to keep it up a lot. At times out of the blue he begins barking at her, grabbing at her clothes and won't stop......not matter what I do....he keeps going back. She walks through the room and he starts, she sits in the chair reading and suddenly he starts. I try to distract him with his toys but he wants only her. I wind up having to crate him and he settles down. DD is obviously getting upset because she getting barked at, scratched, clothes pulled on etc..... She is the ONLY one he does this to and I can't figure out why. She hasn't been rough with him at all. I know training will take time and patience but I can't tolerate him being so aggressive towards her. Any thoughts??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 My first question is how does she react when the puppy does this? Does she turn in to a fun squeaky toy (squealing, jumping, etc..) or does she firmly tell the puppy no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 What kind of puppy is it? Sounds like he is trying to be alpha dog with dd.....OR if he is a herding animal, she may be his sheep. Not sure of advice, but I would get it in check now. The crate should not be used as punishment. I would not let an 8 week old puppy walk around the house. We used a deep rubbermaid tub like a playpen. Then our puppy graduated to being tethered to someone at all times. That made bad habits easy to catch and stop. He also knew who was in control. I thought of it like this....I wouldn't let my 1 year old walk around by himself and not expect him to get into trouble...or expect him to potty train...kwim?? Good luck with your puppy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedx5 Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 she does pull away and gets upset when he does this....she isn't laughing. I have told her to tell him NO but she really doesn't say it loud or bold enough I guess. I am there and tell him NO but I'm also not the one he's bothering. He actually goes to his crate quite a bit and at times he comes out and plays a bit. He doesn't have free reign of the house, only our living room and then he is supervised at all times. If he's in the crate resting or sleeping I may leave the room but otherwise I am here. He's a lab/hound mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fischerl Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 My first question is how does she react when the puppy does this? Does she turn in to a fun squeaky toy (squealing, jumping, etc..) or does she firmly tell the puppy no? :iagree: If he's getting any kind of positive reinforcement, he'll keep doing it. Sounds like he is trying to be alpha dog with dd.....OR if he is a herding animal, she may be his sheep. :iagree: He has to learn that she is in authority over him. Good luck with your new puppy! Hope he provides years of fun and companionship for your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) In addition to what others have mentioned, consider he is young and wants to play. The only way he knows how to play is like a puppy and your daughter isn't cooperating. It's a subtle difference between that and trying to boss her around. It's an important difference, so I'd be really observant for agressive behavior. We had a pup do this play invite thing when my youngest was six or so...it helped him to know the pup wasn't being hostile but inviting him to play. We finally taught the pup how to play with him. N learned to find a toy quickly and toss it for a play session. That little dog was very toy driven. Either way establishing your daughter as an authority over his is good. Can she feed him for a few days? Edited May 23, 2012 by Happy Incomplete thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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