Mastiff pup bit my son

[angelbears]

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

I most certainly am! However, if it is serious by all means the child's health is more important. Within the last month there was a thread started here were a dog was quarantined for a simple scratch on the arm. The mom panic, took her child to the doctor. The child was fine, the dog was put in quarantine.

 

[mollyhannah04]

Thanks Ruth for everything you have said, you seem to be well respected on here. We are at the moment working on bite inhibition and would really appreciate your advice on this and the best ways to do this.

 

[mollyhannah04]

Thank you everyone for your comments x

 

[first english]

We have a 21 week old EM named Gus I too had the same thing trying to get Gus to do something he didn't want to do aka get of the couch when he was under 12 weeks of age. At first I was scared thinking that we had brought home a dog that is going to be huge and maybe bite but in the next few months since I have found Gus to be a loving caring pup that just needed to find his place in our home. When you bring home a new pup they don't know what going on everything is also new to them it takes them a little time to learn their manors and place in the pack. I think that with time your pup will learn that biting is wrong and that the people in his life must come first and be respected. He is just a pup and doesn't know right for wrong but with time and proper training I am sure he will turn out to be the great pet that you were hoping he would be.

 

[mollyhannah04]

Thank you first English for your post. This is our first ever Mastiff so just thought asking on here where there are people with plenty of Mastiff experience would be the right thing to do. You are probably right in what you say, we have only had him 3 weeks and already he is showing good signs of being a great family dog and is learning really fast. He is still very young and in the past we have had border collies. As this is a new breed to us i think what happened with my son made me have the same thoughts as you, have we got a dog that is going to be huge and maybe bite. Thank you for your comment i'm sure you are right x

 

[ruthcatrin]

Bite inhibition's not hard, its just repetitive and can seem to take forever.

I'd start by hand feeding him a large portion of his meals. Just the adults first, till you're sure he's figuring out how to do it without snagging fingers (palm and fingers flat, like you're giving a treat to a horse, and put the kibble in your palm, if he's rough grabbing the bite close your hand over it, he WILL chew on your fingers at first, till he licks your hand then he can have the food), and then have your son put his hand inside yours and help feed the pup. Impress on your son that he's only to do it when you can help him or one day you'll find he's pulled the bag of kibble out of the cupboard to feed the dog.....I remember being 5 lol.

When he nips or mouths in play you need to do two things 1: yip a highpitched ow! and then 2: walk away. He bites you go away, this may mean just moving seats, or even leaving the room depending on the situation and whats going on. Just a note on the yip, some pups get more excited when yipped at, in those cases a loud OW! in your normal tone of voice often does the trick instead. He's also more likely to get mouthy in play when he's overly excited, so keep an eye on him and when you see him headed that way stop the play and do calming things, or put him into a short timeout in a puppy proofed bathroom or the like. And remember it does take time to get it through his head. They have NO attention span at this age and so much just goes in one ear and out the other. But he WILL catch on, I promise!

 

[mollyhannah04]

Thank you Ruth for your advice i will take all this on board and do everything you have said i do feel at the moment that most of it is going in one ear and straight out the other. We will get there, thanks again x

 

[ruthcatrin]

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask questions!

 

[mollyhannah04]

Thank you xx

 

[marke]

umm, actually its very normal puppy behavior.....

I've kept pitbulls , bullmastiffs , neos and ddb , and it's not normal for any I've had ....... for one a shot doesn't hurt them ..... I've very seldom even gotten a reaction out a dog/puppy for giving it a shot ......... this is pretty much the reaction I've gotten 100% of the time ....... and this is a collie ....... the dogs I have had, and have , have way higher pain tolerances than collie and such type dogs [video=youtube_share;xmx2wIqdwPU]http://youtu.be/xmx2wIqdwPU[/video]

 

[ruthcatrin]

Not only is it normal, its so normal that my vets office has a tech stand by the dogs head scratching their chin to catch the head before the dog CAN snap. Why do you even have a dog if you detest normal reactions the way you obviously do??

 

[northernmastiff]

I wonder why this is a fight. Normal can be a) a dog laying there doing nothing, b) a dog yelping and trying to flee c) a dog snapping. Actually, breed, and how the puppy was socialized during those first 8 weeks can determine whether they will snap or not.

I had a dog that would try to do the zoomies as soon as the needle went in. Thank goodness the first time he had his shots with us (we adopted him at an older age), he was on the ground and not on the table. He would tuck his tail between his legs and then run, almost like he was stung by a bee and then he would be all rowdy. For him, that was normal and we had to grin and bear it.

When Petey was a puppy, he snapped at the vet when he had his first shots. That is a lab with a high pain tolerance. Most people don't know this but labs have an insanely high pain tolerance. Petey once tore his foot pad open, really bad. He came to the door to be let in, it was night time so I didn't see anything. I looked down at the floor as he ran past and realized he was bleeding severely. My house looked like a murder scene by the time I got him taped up and into the van for the emergency vet and he was acting like nothing was wrong at all. Took seven stitches to fix him up.

All dogs can be different, even in a breed standard. The original OP knows that shots are a problem so she should be prepared for that. I would recommend that she go for visits to the vets just to do a weigh in or get a treat. The growl, snap might have more to do with being scared and then being hurt than any actual aggression or problem. Socialization could alleviate the problem completely. I understand where you are coming from marke but Ruth is correct in saying that it is normal. Some dogs will growl and snap when scared or hurt.

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Thanks Ruth for everything you have said, you seem to be well respected on here. We are at the moment working on bite inhibition and would really appreciate your advice on this and the best ways to do this.

Pfft....We tolerate her

I wonder why this is a fight. Normal can be a) a dog laying there doing nothing, b) a dog yelping and trying to flee c) a dog snapping. Actually, breed, and how the puppy was socialized during those first 8 weeks can determine whether they will snap or not.

I had a dog that would try to do the zoomies as soon as the needle went in. Thank goodness the first time he had his shots with us (we adopted him at an older age), he was on the ground and not on the table. He would tuck his tail between his legs and then run, almost like he was stung by a bee and then he would be all rowdy. For him, that was normal and we had to grin and bear it.

When Petey was a puppy, he snapped at the vet when he had his first shots. That is a lab with a high pain tolerance. Most people don't know this but labs have an insanely high pain tolerance. Petey once tore his foot pad open, really bad. He came to the door to be let in, it was night time so I didn't see anything. I looked down at the floor as he ran past and realized he was bleeding severely. My house looked like a murder scene by the time I got him taped up and into the van for the emergency vet and he was acting like nothing was wrong at all. Took seven stitches to fix him up.

All dogs can be different, even in a breed standard. The original OP knows that shots are a problem so she should be prepared for that. I would recommend that she go for visits to the vets just to do a weigh in or get a treat. The growl, snap might have more to do with being scared and then being hurt than any actual aggression or problem. Socialization could alleviate the problem completely. I understand where you are coming from marke but Ruth is correct in saying that it is normal. Some dogs will growl and snap when scared or hurt.

THANK YOU. I don't know why people insist that dogs are mass produced objects that should be the same in every shape, temp, or form. Dogs are individuals like people.

 

[ruthcatrin]

@ DD lol

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

I've kept pitbulls , bullmastiffs , neos and ddb , and it's not normal for any I've had ....... for one a shot doesn't hurt them ..... I've very seldom even gotten a reaction out a dog/puppy for giving it a shot ......... this is pretty much the reaction I've gotten 100% of the time ....... and this is a collie ....... the dogs I have had, and have , have way higher pain tolerances than collie and such type dogs

In your experience, but that is not the same for all. My boy Stone didn't even flinch when he received his shot. Mason my other boy whined a little bit.

When I was in school I hated the TB shots but tolerate them, a few of my other classmates cried when the shot was given.

The OP's puppy reaction to a shot is normal.

 

[ruthcatrin]

I wonder why this is a fight. Normal can be a) a dog laying there doing nothing, b) a dog yelping and trying to flee c) a dog snapping. Actually, breed, and how the puppy was socialized during those first 8 weeks can determine whether they will snap or not.

Arty didn't used to snap at the vet (well, except for the one time they tried to put an IV in him, but he was miserable sick then), but after the bad experience at his neuter he's jumpy and snappy at the vets office now. They can't even check his teeth, I have to open his mouth for them. We're working on it, but its slow going. But its ONLY at the vets office. My 5yr old nephew (who knows better, but, yah, kids) opened up Arty's mouth to retrieve a toy a few weeks ago, and Arty just licked him (his mother had a heart attack and he got the biggest reaming over dog manners.....).

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

View attachment 25250 @ DD lol

:lol:

 

[northernmastiff]

Arty didn't used to snap at the vet (well, except for the one time they tried to put an IV in him, but he was miserable sick then), but after the bad experience at his neuter he's jumpy and snappy at the vets office now. They can't even check his teeth, I have to open his mouth for them. We're working on it, but its slow going. But its ONLY at the vets office. My 5yr old nephew (who knows better, but, yah, kids) opened up Arty's mouth to retrieve a toy a few weeks ago, and Arty just licked him (his mother had a heart attack and he got the biggest reaming over dog manners.....).

Yeah, I meant that first incidence with a puppy can be a result of how he was socialized during the first 8 weeks. Experience can do a lot. After the first shot, Petey became an A student at the vets and was so good, he became a blood donor. Then one day, he was in giving blood and he had a bad experience. Ever since then, he hates the vets. He wasn't a donor anymore as he couldn't handle that and he hates if it is an older woman with short gray hair that is the vet tech. He won't go with them. The vet tech who took him that time when he had a bad experience was an older, gray haired woman so I often wonder if she did something to him.

 

[mx5055]

Yeah, I meant that first incidence with a puppy can be a result of how he was socialized during the first 8 weeks. Experience can do a lot. After the first shot, Petey became an A student at the vets and was so good, he became a blood donor. Then one day, he was in giving blood and he had a bad experience. Ever since then, he hates the vets. He wasn't a donor anymore as he couldn't handle that and he hates if it is an older woman with short gray hair that is the vet tech. He won't go with them. The vet tech who took him that time when he had a bad experience was an older, gray haired woman so I often wonder if she did something to him.

I have learned from bad experiences (yeah, I should have learned it with the very first experience) that nothing good comes from letting a vet tech/even a vet, take my dog without me back into the inner offices to do anything!! I now know it is my job to protect my dog and make any vet experience they go through as positive as possible, and if they can't accept that I will be there present the entire time with my dog then I will seek a new vet asap. I learned this the hard way, and will never allow it again!

 

[marke]

Not only is it normal, its so normal that my vets office has a tech stand by the dogs head scratching their chin to catch the head before the dog CAN snap. Why do you even have a dog if you detest normal reactions the way you obviously do??

your vet has a tech holding the heads of 2-3 month old pups in order to give them a shot ????? all I can say is it's not normal for dogs I've had ..... I myself have given hundreds of shots and have never had a puppy or adult try to bite me for it ..... I don't think it's a good indication when a vet visit and puppy shot scare an 11 week old pup to the point of biting ..... I've gotten 2-3 month old pups off a plane in Chicago from overseas flights , drove them 8 hours home , opened the crate and had them walk out looking to play like nothing happened ..... maybe there are an abundance of pups out there that scare easily and bite when scared , definitely not a reaction I would want to see , as I do believe it's an indication of the dogs genetic temperament .....personally I would get a handle on the pup and let him know he is a dog , I would never forget that what I knew about him , although my thought is he may not let you forget ..... I've had pups that were very food aggressive at a very young age and it showed through their entire lives ........ I've had pups were aloof at a very young age , it showed throught their entire lives , I've had pups that were timid at a very young age , it showed their entire lives .......I've had pups that were bold , friendly and outgoing , it showed through their entire lives .......