can anyone help me? puppy growling and snapping at my children

i have an 11 week old bitch who i have had for 3 weeks,and who is pretty good in most ways, she is toilet trained, will sit, lay down, leave it and stay when told to...she seems to understand the word no also. however, she has begun to growl and snap at my youngest children aged 6 and 2. i just dont know what to do...any advice will be greatly appreciated...at the minute i try not to let my children near her and wont leave them in a room with the puppy without an adult. i love her to bits and shes great in every other way. how can i get her out of this asap...help!!

she still a pup (all breeds does this) and only being comsistant and over time will stop the growl and snapping. dog are like kids you cant teach them over night it time and a good teacher.

my dog used to do this.I either told him "NO!" and sent him to his bed or told him "NO!" and put him in the kitchen by himself for 10 minutes. It worked pretty well for me.
Like steve said,she's still a pup.she's still pushing the boundries.

yeah i know she will learn eventually, just a bit scary when shes snapping at their faces. i do tell her no and put her in her bed for 5 minutes and ignore her. i will persevere with her and keep going with what ive been doing so far and hopefully it will pay off

It will pay off, and to be honest I wouldn't leave the kiddies and pup unsupervised anyway. It will click one day, just be consistent with the training Xx

Just tell it no and yelp then ignore her and she will soon stop

you cant let her get away with it once the tell her off the next mins becasue you will confused her, comsistant is the key & when she older doing couple of hours of walks every day she be a great family pet remember a tired dog is a good dog a untired & bored is a problem dong

i never leave her alone with the children. i tried the yelping thing with me and that worked she doesnt try and bite me anymore...however trying to get my 2 year old to do it isnt happening lol....she never gets away with it, always gets put in the kitchen but she will do it again half hour later, i do keep putting her back and hoping that she will learn soon enough she is brilliant in every other way!

She will learn as long as you are consistent. Don't let her get 'over excited' around the kids. Does she have a crate? Its a good place for them to take a break, I don't have kids but excited kids = excited dog lol! Have you taught littlies quiet time with her too Xx

yes i am very consistent with her...she doesnt have a crate no as i didnt really want to use one if i could find another way to deal with it...she does get overexcited in the mornings when they come down and also when 2 of them come home from school...shes with my 2 year old all day so tends to just sleep..at night when they all begin to chill out i sit with the children and the pup sits with us and shes quite happy to be stroked and cuddled by them for a while and then just begins to want to bite them! i make sure they dnt play rough with her as it only encourages her x

Imo, I think a crate could really help, short term that is, just whilst she calms. It would give you a break and her.

I haven't used one myself but I haven't kids. From what I have learnt they can be very benifical.

She learn in time, thats a promise but a crate for a short period could help her realise when excited time is to be. Only a thought as she will grow out of it in time Xx

It's just how puppy are i can't see them doing any harm but you do need to teach them both kids and the puppy there no need to go over the top.

yeah i think i might look into getting a crate just for those times when she does start playing up. the kitchen isnt working so that might do the trick shes very clever and i know deep down she will learn eventually x

the kitchen will work but it's not going work in 3 weeks, it take times, you cant just teach your dog to behave like you cant do with your kids it's take time.

It might be worth a go, kiddies need to learn to behave around her too, it'll be her safe haven from them

She will learn, there so quick too. Good luck I really think it could help Xx

It sounds to me like she's playing (pups will growl & snap while they play), but that it's getting out of hand.

When your children come home from school, get them to ignore her completely until she's calmed down. Then they can give her quiet & gentle fuss. They mustn't even look at her till she's calmed down. Same if she gets over excited at any time - tell her "No!" firmly & just get up & turn your back (children must do this too). Don't interract at all. If she carries on, calmly pick her up & either put her out of the room or into her crate/bed, whichever you decide to use.

A little more difficult with a 2 year old, but watch them carefully & as soon as your pup seems to be getting too lively with your youngest child, tell her "No!" and turn her away (the pup, not your child!). Try gently stroking the soft skin just inside & at the top of her back leg - it usually calms them down fairly quickly.

Staffy pups play hard. All you can do is teach them what is acceptable & what isn't. It will take a little while to completely get through, but as long as you're consistent (and so are all the family) she'll get there!

i know it will take time and not just 3 tries, hence why i have been consistent with her for 2 weeks!...yes i make sure my kids handle her gently and calmly, its harder with a 2 year old but i dont leave them alone together and encourage my 2 year old to sit with her and be gently with me sitting with them. thankyou janey she will learn soon enough xx

Sounds like you are on the right track. Just be consistant and don't leave her alone unsupervised.

hi caryll...thankyou for that, i will get them not to interact with her as soon as they come in, which they do tend to do...it usually lasts about 10 minutes then shes calm again.yeah i agree i do think she is playing but it seems to be getting worse....my 2 year old does tell her no and walk away (believe it or not! you dont know my daughter lol) and the pup has a few times walked away. thankyou, i will try what you said x

Just a thought. What are you feeding her? Is she getting hyperactive after a feed?

shes on pedigree, puppy dry food...no she doesnt, she goes straight to sleep after a feed x

I agree with what everybody else has said above too. Great advice.

She is still only very young, and they do try to push the boundaries and find out what they can and can't get away with. When my RoXy was young she would growl at myself and my daughters if we picked her up to move her from somewhere which was out of bounds for her ( such as my daughters beds, or the couch ) We told her a firm NO and moved her to a suitable area. I too was worried when she did this ( I can imagine it's a lot more of a worry with real littlies around ) but was told it was because she was still so young, and would grow out of it. Sure enough, she did....and is now such a friendly girl, not even the tiniest hint of nastiness in any situation.
Please continue being consistent, this is what she needs.

Good luck, and if you have any further concerns or questions....ask away. Somebody here will be able to offer some advice/assistance.

Let us know how things go.

I have two young children as well. What works for us is pretty much what Caryll suggested.
1) plenty of exercise so she's tired
2) no interaction when she's excited
3) interaction stops when dog becomes excited
4) into the crate for some "down time" for kids and dog
5) staying really close by when dog and youngest child together so I can step in
She sounds like a very normal puppy to me Rascal was exactly like this at that age! She's now 6mths old and getting better, but is still prone to grabbing the kids arms or legs when she's over-excited
Our plan at the moment is some consistent inside/outside time and walks twice a day.
All the best, sounds like you're on top of things
Sharon

tishasweet wrote:shes on pedigree, puppy dry food...no she doesnt, she goes straight to sleep after a feed x

You could try her on a different food to see if it's affecting her energy levels at all. I'm not over keen on pedigree dog food, too many fillers, but I know others who like it.

You've gotten some good advice. She sounds like a normal or even calmer than normal puppy. A crate can help - and it might be good to teach the kids to leave the puppy alone while in the crate so it becomes a place the puppy can go to relax if things get too crazy.

I don't like giving puppies kibble in a bowl (or at least not often) as I appreciate anything that tires the puppy out. There are many ways of making dinner a challenge - either using the kibble as reward for learning new tricks, stuffing it into a kong or an empty soda bottle (you can cut a few extra holes in the bottle initially if she finds it hard to get the kibble out, but they usually learn to spin the bottle around for the treats very quickly), hide it around the kitchen/living room etc before letting her in to search for it, trowing it on the floor or on the grass for her to pick up one piece at a time.. Plenty of things you can do!

My wee staff is 5 months, when i 1st got her she tried to boss my youngest girl (6 years old) about a bit, all dogs are pack animals, and for the 1st few weeks she didn't know her role in the family, just make sure she knows you and your family are all above her in the pack, i also make sure the dog doesn't annoy the kids when they are having their dinner etc and the kids allow her to have her food without them annoying her, it stops my wee staff from begging, just be firm with them, no means no, never back down and everything well turm out fine

thanks everyone for all the advice.....she was weaned on2 dry food and shes happy on it so i just carried on with it really....she has other treats that she has to work for, shes got a treat ball that shes beginning to get the hang of.....no i never let her into the room when my children are eating and dont allow the kids near her when shes eating. they have been doing the yelp thing when she nips and i still place her in the kitchen and yesterday she only ended up in there 3 times... so shes getting there! in all honesty..my friend has a puppy, her brother...and he is a lot more energetic and nippy compared to her so im quite lucky really!

I've always made sure that my children are in the same room when my dogs are fed. They are not, however, allowed to touch/interfere with the dog at first. After the first day or two, when I put food down & let the dog eat (I always make them sit & wait until I tell them "ok") I'll gently say "leave" and just push the pup away from its food for a couple of seconds, then say "ok" and let him go back to it. After afew sessions like that, I'll say leave and pick up the food bowl & then immediately put it down again. As soon as the pup is comfortable with that, I let the children do it one at a time, and never both of them at the same meal, if you see what I mean.

All of my dogs have been great with food - never food possessive/aggressive. Anyone can take their food away because they know they'll get it back.

I do this because a friend, many years ago, had a really friendly, gentle labrador. However, he was extremely food aggressive & nobody had ever tried to do anything about it. The owner then had a baby, and when she was a toddler she tried to pick up the dog's food - as toddlers are likely to do - and the result was horrific.

shes never been aggressive with her food i have let my children be the ones to feed her as well not just me or my partner....and shes fine. i know a couple of dogs that are aggressive with their food and its not nice. my friends pup, who was from the same litter is really agressive with his food and shes currently trying to get past that...so i'll pass wot u have said onto her