Snapping

Hello,
Any advice would be great full.
I have a 19 week old male pup and 2 little girls ( 3 year old and 8month old).
Jenson has practically stopped mouthing with myself and my hubby and my 3year old. Getting really concerned as he is now snapping at myself and my oldest to the point where this morning he has bitten my wrist and left marks. I take jenson to puppy classes and he's coming along a treat with sitting walking on heal etc. I have been advised to get him a soft mussel so he can still eat drink etc but to break the habit? I've followed the advice of the biting section if the website and I'm very firm with him and generally he knows when he is doing something wrong but when it comes to my kids I'm petrified as I don't want them to get hurt ( never leave them in the room together when I'm not there).
It's really worrying me as it's changed from mouthing to snapping.
Please help???

Under what conditions is he snapping ??

If I tell him to get down of the sofa (as he knows he's not ment to) if I take something off him that he shouldn't have and sometimes for no reason at all (think night be over excitement ) x

Can I ask what you're feeding him & what sort of exercise he gets, including what sort of play/interraction with you & your family?

Sorry for all the questions, but it helps to build a proper picture! 

He gets fed on a complete dry food. Is walked 3 times a day (tea time walk is a lot longer approx 45min as don't have pram. I play with him a lot as try to keep him occupied (also involve my older daughter ) ie playing fetch in the garden also some training with rewarding. On a night time when kids r in bed me n my hubby spend a lot of time one on one with him.
The only time I put him in his cage (which is extra large) is when I go out or when I'm getting ready in the mornings as can't watch him with kids or cats.
Hope that gives u a full picture.
Oh and he also goes to puppy class once a week and it was te trainer that suggested a soft mussel x

whats the complete dry food he is on ??

It's a pet shop called jollys home made complete food. I was recommended by the breeder/vet and also friend who also have staffys x

ok I have heard other members talk about Jolly's pet shop but not seen anything on their own food , if it was recommended by the vet and the breeder then hopefully its ok .

Do you do a lot of rough n tumble with him ??

No don't do rough and tumble as don't want him to do that with the kids incase they get hurt x

Firstly I would start up by teaching him some stay for the couch so he knows you are in charge here , and a good strong leave for the stuff he shouldn't have , is the "snapping" here more about trying to get to whatever he had and reclaim it when you take it away , this is where the leave comes in .
How do you remove him from the couch when he is on and how do you take away the stuff he shouldn't have ??

When he takes stuff he shouldn't have he always takes everything under the dinning room table so I have to climb under and as I go to take it he automatically leaves it. I'm trying to teach him leave with his toys etc but that's proving a lot more difficult as he is quite protective with them. If I'm sitting on the floor giving him cuddles he also try's to snap at my face when getting him off the sofa I firstly firmly say no and point to the floor (which sometimes he listens) if not I have to try and either pick him up or get him by his collar.
I just don't no what to do next as felt his mouthing has practically stopped then he has started this. N because he does it to my oldest daughter the bigger and stronger he is getting I'm petrified he's gna really hurt them as if it hurts now it's only going to be worse as he gets bigger .
Also sounds ridiculous but when I tel him off I really try to shout and make my voice deep so he takes more notice as he does pay more attention to my hubby when he's in from work x

Hi i'm no way an expert because my staffy pup is only 12 weeks old. But you say your pup is now 19 weeks and this has now started so could it be juvenile/teen dog attitude starting?
Some male dogs go into this phase at about 5 -6 months and can try to show dominant behaviour to try pushing boundaries for a while because of the hormones. Don't know it was just a thought but maybe i'm wrong.

Hi im def no expert but sasha is the same age and is going through roughly the same behaviour. The last couple of days she has just stopped listening to commands and she actually snapped at me this afternoon cause I wouldn't let her jump all over me . Someone suggested that it may be her starting to go through adolescence as she is also losing her back teeth im guessing we just bear with them and carry on with firm commands not that shes listening to anyone at the moment so im not sure x

Thanks for the advice I'm just glad it's not only my dog doing this as feeling that I am doing something wrong n ESP when kids are involved it makes it more worrying. Just gna stand my ground n hopefully it's just a phase he is going through x

I think it's definitely a phase he could be pushing boundaries to see how far he can get patience & persistence is the key, stick with it, he'll get there

Our Tip is four months old and when she snap we tell her firmly no and all of us (my children are 12 and 9) are all very persistent and consistant.

She had to learn that snapping and biting means play end and she gets a time out. All puppies bite but they have to learn bite inibition. Human skin is a no no. If everyone is consistant the pups learn what is exceptable.

I wonder if you could look at the ingredients for your dog food? If it doesn't have meat as the first named ingredient, or if it has a lot of fillers/grains such as wheat/maize etc then you should maybe think about changing to one that has a better content.

Also a thought - is your pup teething? If so, that will explain any sudden change in behaviour because their gums will be very sore & really getting on their nerves!