Puppy growled aggressively and bite my 4 year old

[Sazzlebee]

My puppy Baxter has growled aggressively  and bitten our 4 year old son yesterday and frightened him.

I’m worried about them being together now, my 4 year old was on the stairs trying to get some clothes that Baxter had stolen and dropped on the stairs.

Baxter is 12 nearly 13 weeks old now.

I heard the growl and it didn’t sound friendly or playful, what should we do?

I immediately told him off and placed him in his crate for some time to calm down.

My 4 year old is now terrfied and tries to get away whenever puppy comes near and I am on pins as my instinct is to protect my son and we also have a 2 year old daughter.

We have since installed a baby gate to separate them and we have been encouraged my son to feed and try and teach Baxter some tricks but Baxter completely ignores him.

This evening I got Baxter to sit on my sons knee so he could stroke him and Baxter was licking his face but I have read this is the doggy trying to show dominance, am I reading to much on google??

Can anyone offer any advice please?

[Koslg]

Hi. I’d only let them be together supervised. Is the puppy getting enough rest? He still needs lots of sleep. They are known as cockerdiles.

I’m sure you’ll get better advice but I’d say the puppy is very young and needs calm. He probably thought it’s as a game if he stole the clothes. Mine steals socks and thinks it’s the best game ever. I always pay him with a treat for them!

[MGault]

Rusty is 14 weeks and he kind of did the same with my brother in lw when playing.... he just got a bit too over excited and thought rough fun was a game. We just clapped our hands said no and plonked him in the corner for a minute with no toys and he hasnt done it since.

I hope yours was just playing and was sorry afterwards!

[Digger]

Hi there.
I read this post and wondered why more people hadn't replied but I suspect it's because there are about a million things you want to say about it!
Since my puppy was a terrible biter and I got so much support from the lovely people on here I should step up and write the essay!
I'm going to bullet point it or it will be an epic. Please do not take the blunt delivery as criticism- I'm trying to save time haha!
Is it a working or show type you have?

1) You got a cocker puppy when you already have 2 really small children. Unless you are wonder woman your situation is going to be quite a logistical challenge for quite a long  time, but you may have a fab dog and get lucky.
2)  Puppies bite. Some worse than others, but they all do it. Mine was AWFUL til she was one! And even now, she uses her teeth inappropriately, despite my following all the guidelines from day one. She is just a really mouthy dog and has to put everything in there. Saying that, she has never hurt anyone and does have good bite inhibition.
3) Never ever leave a puppy unsupervised with a young child! I am only just leaving my dog(who is 18months old) with a 7 year old, just for a moment while I quickly pop out of the room to get something and the 7 year old is extensively trained on exactly what to do in the event that the dog starts getting silly. It's not just that the dog might hurt the child but also, the child could do something that could affect the learning of the dog-for instance the child could accidentally fall on the dog and it might then see children as things that hurt. Once the dog is an adult and has had lots of training then the odd accident would hopefully be outweighed by lots if good experiences.
4) I wouldn't worry about noise from a young pup. My dog sounds like a demented cat sometimes. A young pup wants to play fight. It's normal. If there isn't another young pup to play fight with its going to do it with the next best thing. My pup pounced bodily on our granddaughter when she was crawling across the floor once. They are boisterous pups. Take it out and let it play fight with some other friendly dogs the same size.
5) Pretty sure licking is a sign of affection. My dog licks me the most when she's really pleased to see me!
6) Dogs are not 'sorry' after the event. 3 seconds after your pup bit your son, it had forgotten all about it and was thinking about eating your trainers or something. I think it is well agreed nowadays that if you need to correct a dog you have to do it in that very moment or its too late. The fact that you were not there when the incident on the stairs happened means that by the time you got to the dog it probably thought you were telling it off for doing something completely unrelated to the bite-walking through the hall way or something.
A positive thought though- firstly I bet there's nothing whatever nasty about your dog- it's just being a pup. You must watch it like a hawk when it's with the children, as your children will also need to learn how to behave around the dog.
My 18 month old pup (worst bitey pup I have ever known) now plays really well with my 2 year old granddaughter. She has hurt her on occasions- jumping up, trying to grab things out of her hands etc but she is still learning and they are accidents, and the little girl is learning where she has to be careful. There is always an adult close and watching them carefully but they are getting better. Over Christmas it was lovely to see the 2 year old...and the dog...both squeezed into an an old baby bath playing 'boats'! They are pals so don't be disheartened-it will get easier but the next year will be hard work I bet!

Told you it would be an essay!
 Best of luck with your little family-furry and otherwise!

[Willow69]

Hi Sazzlebee, not sure I can offer much more advice than already given but our pup, now nearly 1, was very bitey with us at that age. I never thought it would stop to be honest and was getting a bit worried. She would nip when playing with toys, was forever biting my feet etc. She growls when playing tug with us and it's almost impossible for us to get her to let go of something that she shouldnt have, just locks her jaws and closes her eyes as if shes asleep!! We followed all the advice about stopping play immediately if she bit us rather than the toy. I cant remember exactly when she stopped, around 5/6 months I think. She was/is lovely in every way and we are so grateful to have her in our family BUT I would not trust her alone with young children.
I found having a puppy was a full time job, even with the help of my husband and 2 teenagers. I cannot imagine how I would cope with a puppy and 2 such young children. I would advise never to leave them unsupervised, it sounds like your pup is completly normal. However they are learning all the time too and it might seem very confusing to be around little humans that are not always behaving in a predictable manner. Pups need consistant training and routine to understand what the boundaries are. I hope it all settles down for you soon.

[Digger]

Just found a great thing via another poster's advice to Google the ladder of aggression. You might like this for your children- The blue dog interactive game. I've just ordered it for my grandchildren, looks like great fun and teaches them how to understand dog signs and how to behave around a dog.