Mastiff pup bit my son

[taraann81]

I wouldnt allow the dog on the furniture, ive never seen a pup growl in pain...a yelp and bite yea, but a growl and snap seems unusual. If it was my pup id continue training.and not allow him on the furniture, at least until he learna where he stands At this point he probably seea your son as a littermate, and of xourse weve already discussed children should not be picking up puppies

 

[ruthcatrin]

I'd rather the pup growled then bit. A growl is just the verbalization of the problem and a warning to stop. A pup who growls first is communicating quite well.

 

[taraann81]

True, it just seems unusual to me. Ive raised my share of pups and have never heard one growl out of pain. Ive seen them yelp and bite towards what caused the pain. Still, what little sacrifice would it be to keep him off the.furniture.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Depends on the temperment of pup and who or what is causing the problem and the pup's relationship to them.

 

[taraann81]

Right, so the pup probably sees the child as a littermate....which in my opinion isnt a positive thing. So in my home,pup would loose furniture privledges. But im not an expert by any means

 

[ruthcatrin]

Depends on whether the dog on the furniture is an issue for the OP or not. But removing furniture rights cause the pup objected to being put in a painfull situation A: isn't usefull and B: the pup's not going to make the connection anyways....

 

[taraann81]

Im not suggesting the dog would realize not being allowed on furniture was a result of his growling and bite. I believe a dog that growls and thwn bites a cgild in the face feels that it is at least equal in status as the child, by not allowing the dog on the furniture it would begin to understand where it stands in the "pack"

 

[ruthcatrin]

The dog growled and bit cause the child likely caused him quite a bit of pain and because he hasn't learned that using his teeth isn't an appropriate way to express himself. And although I agree that the pup does need to NOT see the child as another pup the growl doesn't mean that he is, if anything the growl is a sign of respect as its a warning which the pup doesn't have to give. The dog on the couch does not nessecarily follow as part of the problem, if there is one, and if the OP is fine with the dog on the couch the problem can be dealt with without evicting the pup.

 

[ruthcatrin]

You keep coming back to that growl as if its a bad thing. A growl is a GOOD thing. Its a valuable piece of communication that far to many people freak out about or even ignore. I WANT my dog to growl if i'm going something painfull. That way I can STOP before it becomes intolerable for the dog. Or if its something I can't stop, like dealing with an injury, I can take steps to keep he and I safe.

 

[taraann81]

I gueas we will just have to agree to disagree. Revoking furniture is a small price to pay, if it would help the pup see where its place is in the family. Since we are not the pup, we dont know where it sees itslef, so in my opinion prophalactically removing furniture.privledges to help the pup see where it should be in the pack is a fairly harmless reaction. If the dog doeant see the child as his equal, no harm done in reinforcing it. If he does, its the begining of him learning his proper place.

 

[taraann81]

You keep mentioning the growl in your posts too....im not saying its bad. It was just part of the scenario.

 

[GuardDog]

Are you suggesting she should not have it looked at by a doctor?

 

[GuardDog]

you gotta stop the problem at the growling m8, stricter disipline, dont let dog be on funiture, (unless you give him a clear commando telling him its ok) dont let the dog walk b4 you when you walk him, never let him in thru the door Before you wether you go in or out, (Goes for all doors) only behind or beside, pretend to eat from his food b4 u give it to him. dont let him lie with his head / palms on any body part exept your feet / lower part of legs (unless you lie down)and ofc... socialize keep socializing him, this way he will be able to discriminate between a true treat and a misstake, but.. its true that the pup prolly got an uncomfortable experiance when he was lifted.

 

[ruthcatrin]

I gueas we will just have to agree to disagree. Revoking furniture is a small price to pay, if it would help the pup see where its place is in the family. Since we are not the pup, we dont know where it sees itslef, so in my opinion prophalactically removing furniture.privledges to help the pup see where it should be in the pack is a fairly harmless reaction. If the dog doeant see the child as his equal, no harm done in reinforcing it. If he does, its the begining of him learning his proper place.

Teaching bite inhibition has nothing to do with a dogs place in the family. And thats the problem here. The dog didn't bite the kid cause he thought the kid was a playmate, he bit the kid cause the kid caused him pain, the fact that he bit the kid's face is immaterial to the problem, the kid's face was the closest body part. At 13 weeks he'd have bitten an adult who caused just as much pain. Infact if you're really teaching bite inhibition as a factor of a dog's place in the family you're risking the dog deciding that the new stranger he just met isn't a family member and therefor can be bitten.

 

[mx5055]

Totally agreeing with Ruth on this one

 

[ruthcatrin]

Totally agreeing with Ruth on this one

hah, nice to know someone does.

Seriously though. If the problem was the pup playing to rough with the kid then yes, he's got problems seeing the kid as another pup and playmate and he needs to be taught otherwise, but thats not what happened here at all.

 

[taraann81]

Yea bite inhibition needs to be taught too, Im shocked that you picked apart and continue to pick apart my opinion, and suggestion to the OP-really why is my suggestion to keep pup off the furniture so wrong in your eyes and require multiple posts of you trying to say that it is bad advice, while I respond trying to explain why I feel that way. I did not state that keeping pup off the furniture was the be all and end all answer for this scenario I just stated that would be the starting point if it happened in my home. Honestly your desire to prove me wrong is fitting if I suggested she beat, or rehome the pup....but suggesting to keep pup off the furniture? Anyways, I will bow out of this conversation as a mild differing of suggestion is obviously not welcome.

 

[Cody]

hah, nice to know someone does.

Seriously though. If the problem was the pup playing to rough with the kid then yes, he's got problems seeing the kid as another pup and playmate and he needs to be taught otherwise, but thats not what happened here at all.

There are 2 of us that agree Ruth

 

[mx5055]

hah, nice to know someone does.

Seriously though. If the problem was the pup playing to rough with the kid then yes, he's got problems seeing the kid as another pup and playmate and he needs to be taught otherwise, but thats not what happened here at all.

Not usually hard to agree with you Ruth. You are very knowledgeable and give great advice; I am always learning from you. I did voice my concerns regarding the health of the child because I am a retired nurse and felt compelled to say something. That being said, I think the OP has a firm grasp on this situation, has learned from it, and that others comments are just confusing the whole issue. My opinion only of course

 

[ruthcatrin]

Yea bite inhibition needs to be taught too, Im shocked that you picked apart and continue to pick apart my opinion, and suggestion to the OP-really why is my suggestion to keep pup off the furniture so wrong in your eyes and require multiple posts of you trying to say that it is bad advice, while I respond trying to explain why I feel that way. I did not state that keeping pup off the furniture was the be all and end all answer for this scenario I just stated that would be the starting point if it happened in my home. Honestly your desire to prove me wrong is fitting if I suggested she beat, or rehome the pup....but suggesting to keep pup off the furniture? Anyways, I will bow out of this conversation as a mild differing of suggestion is obviously not welcome.

Not usually hard to agree with you Ruth. You are very knowledgeable and give great advice; I am always learning from you. I did voice my concerns regarding the health of the child because I am a retired nurse and felt compelled to say something. That being said, I think the OP has a firm grasp on this situation, has learned from it, and that others comments are just confusing the whole issue. My opinion only of course

See MX5055's post, you were addressing a problem that wasn't the problem and ignoring the real problem, and freaking out cause the pup growled before he bit.......