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Location: Stirlingshire, Scotland
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 43
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09-09-2010, 05:07 PM
Help!!!17 week Cocker nipping my 3 year old Son
Oh gosh i am feeling so stressed as im a bit unsure as to what to do.my 3 year old son is a bit loud and more often that not he has to be told to be gentle when being near the puppy. He tends to run at the pup in the garden and i have caught hm pretending to kick him. (i made it very clear how wrong this was) I never leave them unattended as i know children can be cruel without meaning to.
At first it started off with the odd growl as he tried to clap him so i started trying to involve my son in the training aspect. Calling his name rewarding with treat and asking to sit then rewarding with treat. I figured it may be dominance in the pup thinking he was higher ranked than my youngest son.Hes perfectly fine with my other son who is 8.
However just now he was laying on the rug and he was gently clapping him , he growled and then snapped!!!
I was pretty shocked as its really not like him to be so aggressive. I picked him up and told him firmly no.
I then asked my toddler to clap him again with me holding his hand to see how he was and he was ok. (not sure if this was the right thing to do but i was in utter disbelief) I think they both got a fright.
Hes due to start his puppy/socializing classes on 27th of this month so i will of course speak to the trainer then.
Is there anything i can do to help at the moment??
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated
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Location: Essex, UK
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,147
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09-09-2010, 07:04 PM
Originally Posted by vgstar44 
my 3 year old son is a bit loud and more often that not he has to be told to be gentle when being near the puppy. He tends to run at the pup in the garden and i have caught hm pretending to kick him.
I`m assuming the pup has now learned that your son (who is just being a baby himself) is likely to hurt him, or is frightening.
Until your son is older you may need to keep them apart except when you are actually training the dog and there fore have your full attention on them.
At first it started off with the odd growl as he tried to clap him so i started trying to involve my son in the training aspect. Calling his name rewarding with treat and asking to sit then rewarding with treat.
That`s a good idea. However, it takes a lot longer to convince a dog NOT to fear than you`d think, so you`ll have to persist for quite a time.
I figured it may be dominance in the pup thinking he was higher ranked than my youngest son.Hes perfectly fine with my other son who is 8.
Dominance is an outdated and mistaken theory. Here`s a good article about it. http://dog-training.suite101.com/art...theory_in_dogs
The reason the pup doesn`t fear your older son is that the older child is less unpredictable. A 3 year old is a different ball game entirely to an 8 year old.
However just now he was laying on the rug and he was gently clapping him , he growled and then snapped!!!
I was pretty shocked as its really not like him to be so aggressive. I picked him up and told him firmly no.
I don`t know what you mean by clapping. To me that`s a noise with your hands - is that what the child was doing? If so, I would expect a pup to react at a loud noise and sudden hand movement, and also the fact the little boy was so close, given that the pup doesn`t trust him.
You cannot force the pup to trust your youngest son, and 3 is very young to understand how threatened a pup can feel so I would keep them apart except under close supervision.
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Location: Stirlingshire, Scotland
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 43
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09-09-2010, 07:28 PM
My scottish slang is coming out with regards to the clapping. I mean he was stroking him.
I think theres a touch of resource guarding with him too as when they are together normally he is fine. Put a toy in there tho and thats where the growling is starting.The more i thought about it i realised he was sitting with one of his toys when my son sat near him to stroke him so the pup was probably in fear he was gonna steal it off him. Like you said im going to try keep them apat for just now for both of there safety.
I really appreciate your advice.
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