My puppy bit my wife over his bone

[Kedavis]

This has just started last night my 3 month old ds bit my wife when he got the cap off the milk carton and she tried to retrieve it. Now today she gave him a bone he was chewing and a piece broke off and she tried to get it so he wouldn't choke. He bit her on the hand pretty hard drew blood, I'm out of town working so I wasn't there but she sent me a pic of her hand. He doesn't do this to me or them with food it just now is starting with like extra special treats. He doesn't act this way to me it seems to just be with my wife, but I really don't want my daughter to be bit and don't want this to progress. Any correction help would be greatly appreciated, he seems to have a really dominant personality with my wife and daughter. He really likes to bite at there ankles and pant legs,way more than he does with me. Thanks

[Dutchringgirl]

I am sorry to hear that you pup is doing some biting. I hope her hand is okay. I would not treat a puppy, they are too young to know good manners for that as of yet. [ at 5 Sadie still isnt to swift LOL] How old is your daughter? She should not be treating either. The pup should be on a leash at all times while out of the crate and tied to someone that can correct fairly quickly.

Thats all I have for now, Sorry, I have been up the past two nights with Thalie who had an upset tummy, and I cant keep my eyes open much longer. The others will chime in with some great advice.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

Lisa - poor Thalie!!! Hope she feels better.

Remind me of the lines/parents of your pup? At 3 months I hesitate to call it dominance because of a few missing factors. I would call it possession which is an important trait for a dog if he's going to be a protection dog. If not, it's less so.

There's a few options you can try, in combination or individual. And let me apologize now I'm on my phone and we all know how autocorrect can be. First you can play the exchange game. The exchange game is using two items of high value, a bone and say... Roasted turkey or whatever else he likes equally. First you start off by throwing the second value treat near them, preferably a bit away (but not too much) so they have to sorta turn their head. Then you slide the treat they were chewing on (fast!!!) out of their possession. When they turn around, you can treat and give the first treat back, or just give the treat back. Slowly (and I mean slowly) you get closer and closer and they are turned less and less. The idea (feel free to adjust as needed to work with your pup) is that they are learning you coming near their item doesn't mean bad things. It means good things and they always get something of equal value. After a while you can phase out treats and work on removing the item. I always liked to mime removing something or fixing something. Sometimes I would narrate like "I fix, I fix, here ya go!" Or something silly. I would also work on getting close and not removing, in the case of removing a shard/chunk near the dog.

I would also have your wife and daughter enforce rules with the pup. Sounds more like you're the "rule police" (nothing wrong about that) and they may be easier to con. H is like that with my parents - he bosses them around and demands treats and they fold, whereas he knows he can't get pass me easily. It's about being firm and strong, less about punishment. Getting up and walking away can be a very strong signal to a DS pup. Have them do small games of obedience and any house rules all should enforce. All should clear about discipline and enforcing their own rules/commands.

What else? Doing something simple like having them sit before a treat is a good idea... Obedience or a simple game before a big reward... I'm sure I'll think of more. For now I hope that helps.

If your daughter is under 10, I would limit her treating, just because puppies are mouthy for a bit and can bite hard. Drawing blood is unfortunately part of having a DS puppy. I always had teeth marks or scratches on me when H was younger. He used to bite me when I didn't give him a toy and I wouldn't react, just look at him, and either make a high pitched squeak and then say "no bite" and ask for a sit. This is another big part - if they bite, don't scream and thrash and yell - remain calm and either make the high pitched squeak littermates do when they bite too hard or say "no" in a calm voice. If they learn "hey I bite this person and not only did they make a fun noise I got to keep my bone!" You'd be surprised how fast they repeat that.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

Hand feeding! All meals come from your wife's hands. Literally. A portion for fun obedience/learning games and a portion to eat out of her hand (also a good time to work on the wait command). And I second the tethering. The idea of tethering is not so you can just keep an eye on the pup, correct bad behavior, but also so you have a way to enforce commands and also the dog builds... For lack of a better word, respect. He can't go running off when he feels like it but must ask permission/check in. There's still fun non-tethered time too.

[Kedavis]

Thanks for all the great advice, I will definitely be working the exchange with him. It's been a little hard because I've been out of town working,2 more weeks and I'm home for good. I hope my wife and daughter can survive. .lol..BTW my daughter is 13 and she really wants to be involved, but he really test her with biting of the ankles and legs. He is getting better with that aspect though. I've also told her no corrections from her unless I'm there to supervise, I really appreciate all the great advice y'all have given we will get through this and he will be an awesome fella.