Biting clothes

[DanielReed]

My 5 month old Australian Shepard is always going after my 6 year old daughters clothes. Obviously she misses a lot and get her on the legs or arms and it hurts. She doesn’t do this to any of our other kids, (5 yr old boy, 3 yr old girl, 2 yr old boy). Is there something we can do to stop this behavior? We try to have toys or bones nearby to distract her but she can’t keep a dog toy on her 24/7. Is it odd that she only goes after her? We thought maybe it was because she wears dresses a lot but have experimented with shorts and have the same result. She loves the puppy so much but We are getting to the point where she doesn’t want her around because she jumps and nips at her all the time. Any suggestions are appreciated!!

[KouVang]

Hi Daniel,

I'm no pro but I've learned a lot from Adrienne so I can share some of the things from experience. I've learned that training and raising a dog so far boils down to two things: fostering and redirection. Fostering as in creating a safe environment and encouraging wanted behaviors. I find that if I don't want my dog to do certain things, sometimes it is me as the owner who needed to make the environment better. Examples are if I don't want them chewing on things, I need to remove them from the dog's area. I didn't like it that my dog was running around in the backyard all over and eating my garden totally ignoring me. Later, I thought about it and it was on me because I let her loose....now she has a leash on and we are training her first. My dog does bite the clothing of my kids sometimes too. At times I can see that it is the behavior or actions of the kids that causes the dog to do so. They either hug or do such actions that are uncomfortable to the dog, another one is that my son likes to run so him being so little the dog thinks it's play and goes after him. I usually wouldn't let the kids be near the puppy when she is really energetic because she can be really wild.

 

Do you see your daughter doing any sort of actions that may trigger a reaction from the dog?

 

The other suggestion I learned is redirection which I see you are trying to do as well in trying to teach her the right toys to chew on instead of the clothes.

 

Have you looked into the bite inhibition article? Training the dog to bite softely definitely helps as well.

[JMFS]

I have a firsthand perspective for you. It may or may not apply, but I'm recalling my youth and a similar issue.

 

My dad's dog used to do that to me when I was right around the same age as your daughter. It made me mad because she'd tear my dresses! Usually it occurred when I was being hyper and I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I was barely taller than her (Labrador named Chrissy). You might observe the behavior of the kiddos to see how each of them acts around the pup. My brothers were more subdued than I was and they also engaged her less. I was a quiet self-entertaining child, but when it came to that dog I Desperately wanted her attention so I'd act wild because some of the most fun play sessions my dad had with her were when they were play wrestling. I was trying to copy my dad's play style, but I was too small to see it through and ended up with torn dresses. Sometimes modifying the human's behavior will correct the canine's. :) My dad also rarely left Chrissy with us unsupervised. Mainly because we'd ply her with treats . . . but also because she was our size and much stronger.

 

If your daughter Is being a crazy kid around the puppy then she'll need to calm herself and be mindful of how she acts when she's walking or playing around the pooch. I know that's a Lot to ask of a 6-yr old, but my memory of my younger self says that's a good start. She doesn't have to ignore the dog, only be mindful of her excitement level, physical gestures, and vocal volume.

 

The other thing to consider is that your Aussie is a herding dog. She very well may be attempting to herd your daughter. My brother has a mini Aussie and she herds the other dogs, the cat, and whatever humans will allow it (usually unwittingly). If your 6-yr old tends to leave the area the puppy thinks is okay she could be trying to get the kiddo back into the herd. I'm not sure what to do about that, but I'm throwing it out there as a potential reason for the extra attention.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Daniel Reed,

You have received excellent advice by Kouvang and Jennifer M. Couldn't have been worded better!

Nipping is normal behavior for a puppy, especially for a herding breed as Jennifer pointed out. Anything that moves fast and is exciting, gotta get bitten. Children play using their hands, pups play using their mouths. It is not unusual that your pup is particularly attracted to your child because children move quickly, have high-pitch voices and that dress in perpetual motion has become your pup's favorite tug toy. Athough your child may dress some days in shorts, most likely she still moves a lot when the pup nips and this entices the pup to want to play and engage even more.

 

It would be prudent at this point since it seems like your puppy is not under voice control, preventing the constant nipping through management so to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. In other words, when your child is active, the puppy is kept elsewhere. When the puppy is active, your child is elsewhere. This prevents the pup from being overstimulated and put into the position of wanting to constantly nip and tug on clothing.

 

Pups also benefit from some time away from overly stimulating scenarios. It sounds like your pup is with your child for a great amount of time and this promotes inappropriate play the moment boredom sets in. Yes, a bone or a toy may help distract but it's pretty static compared to a child in perpetual motion. An interactive toy stuffed with Kibble ( like a Kong Wobbler) may buy some extra time and keep the pup busy due to the rewards found inside.

 

Using a crate or play pen or simply keeping the pup behind a baby gate with some interactive toy is a good way to provide the pup the opportunity to calm down and possibly take a nap. Many pups are overstimulated when they are cranky. Mornings are also very active times when pups and children may not be a great mix.

 

Training plays an important role in what happens next. Train your puppy to be fluent in responding to a verbal cue or sound (such as the smacking sound from Look into My Eyes) that informs her to come to you for a tasty treat. Use this strategy in case you need her to disengage from an interaction that you feel may become overstimulating. You can find more info on interactions of pups with children here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-puppy-children/

 

Should your puppy catch you off guard and starts acting overstimulated, make sure your child turns "into a "tree" (hands to the side and head facing the floor) when the pup approaches since the more she squeals and runs about the more the pup will want to jump and nip. Trees instead are boring which is why dogs don't interact with them much (other than perhaps to pee on!). Also, you can train your puppy (initially while away from the child) how to target hands, sit and lie down and then, only once the behavior is very fluent, you can ask your child to be calm and with your help ask your pup to perform one behavior in exchange for a tasty treat or a ball tossed at a distance.

 

A disclaimer is warranted here: close surpervision is always a must considering that a 5-month old puppy can case significant injuries to a child's delicate skin. Any sign of overstimulation that may turn into boisterous jumping, nipping and scratching should be promptly redirected. Also, an extra level of protection is offered if you can spend some time training the pup better bite inhibition, here are some tips: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli