Pup Biting Issues HELP

[onebigmickeyfan]

I have Missy 4 mth old dachshund and Casey 6 yr old akita/shepherd mix. Missy is young ,high energy and of coarse wants to play all the time as puppies do, and Casey is a big mello boy. He is happy hanging out with his people. Missy is continually biting on and jumping up on and hanging from Casey's big bushy tail which with Missy's sharp little puppy teeth hurts him.

Casey enjoys playing with Miss, but you can see the tail issue is bugging him and is getting worse. We blocked off a place in the bedroom where he can get away from her when he needs to, but it is also away from us and that isn't fair to Casey he likes to be close. I keep stopping her and telling her no but she is back at it in minutes, she is very stubborn. Casey dosent even want to be in the house lately, as soon as she is let loose he goes to the sliding door and asks to go out to keep away from her.

I want both my puppers to be happy at home and I dont want the little one running the show.

Any ideas???

Lori, Missy and the Case Man

[juliette]

A question and then a comment - firstly, how old was Missy when she was taken from her litter? The reason I ask is that this biting issue is absolutely normal for a young puppy - they tend to use mouth play and biting with their litter mates and it is through that interaction (when the other pup screams or bites back) that they realize that their teeth are SHARP! Depending on when she was taken from her litter will determine if she learned this or not.

Now, I am sure that this is driving Casey mad, but you have to let HIM tell her off as well as you telling her off. Dogs won't stand to be beated up by each other - as pack animals they use aggression and subtle clues to formulate their pack position. Now, they do tend to give puppies a little greater leeway in behaviour, but Casey will eventually tell her what is and isn't appropriate behaviour around him. You have to let this happen (up to the point of one of the dogs getting injured which almost never happens) on their own time and in their own way.

Certainly you need to use your voice to inform her that this is unacceptable behaviour as well - We use the word "off" for all things that the dogs aren't supposed to be on or chew, or do (wide list for such a little word). We reserve NO for aggressive incidents.

That's it - you will see this behaviour die off with a combination of Casey telling her it isn't good behaviour and your corrections.

Good luck!

[onebigmickeyfan]

Thanks so much for the thoughts. Missy turned 9 weeks on Saturday and I picked her up Friday night. So nine weeks. I had not considered it that way. Casey is such a mello guy and I see him jump when she bites too hard. Hopefully between myself and my husband telling her no biting and Casey telling her she'll grow out of it.

Thanks for the advice.

Lori, Missy and the Case Man