My 9 week old male dobermann is biting - I have read all the books and articles telling me what to do - to walk way from the situation, make loud yelping noise etc but its upsetting to see him drawing blood from my 10 yr old daughter. The thing is, I have owned a dobermann dog before and, though he chewed and 'mouthed' abit, I dont ever remember him being this bad. I would like to hear from anyone who has had this problem and they puppy has got over it - how long does it usually take? He will be going to training classes as soon as he is able to and I do take training very seriously. Are there any tips other than what I have already read? I guess there is no quick fix but reassurance would be helpful, thanks.

I have no experience with dobermans BUT I would remove either puppy or daughter!  IMV, the longer you let this "playing" go on, the harder the habit will be to break!   You say you have had dobies before that didn't bit & chew like this - but I'll bet that you didn't have a 10 year old at the same time ;) .

Just restrict their playtimes, for the time being.

Margot

It would be quite difficult to remove one or the other as we live in the same house and the dog is a family pet - My daughter is used to dogs as she grew up with a weimaraner and she acts sensibly. I am sure he will grow out of this as long as we are consistent with our training and our actions. You are correct that I did not have a 10 year old when I had my last dobe but having said that, I really feel that he would not have been quite the same as he seemed to have a calmer, more sedate disposition even from being a pup. This little guy is gorgeous though and when he's good he's VERY good - It's just this biting lark! Perseverence is the key I suppose!

i dont think they meant remove one or the either completely ... more separate when the biting is happening by either your daughter going to her bedroom or putting the dog in another room until hes calmed down :-)

Children do seem to stimulate more "lively" play in puppies, even the most well behaved children :)  They are simply more animated than adults and have naturally higher pitched voices, consequently puppies get more excited I agree with the others you need to build in time out one way or another.

Puppies find children very exciting! Children make jerky, erratic movements, they have higher-pitched voices, they're physically smaller than overpowering giant adults - they're more like other puppies. So they get treated like other puppies. The way to stop this is to not allow your pup to become too wound up. Get your daughter to stay calm, and slow-moving, and to talk quietly when she's around the pup. If she's 'boring' (in the pup's eyes!) then he won't get over-excited.

Hope this helps.
:)

Thanks for advice and yes I agree children are louder and incite more reaction from a young pup. He actually bites ME too, usually when he's been chewing/biting one of his toys as though he just doesnt kow when to stop. I guess its just normal exuberance and to be expected. I try to praise him when he's acting as he should. i.e licking, doing as he's told, sitting etc.

He's only 9 weeks - you will have a while to go before he stops this,and he may get worse! ;)

I explained in another post that my dog was nicknamed Mad Bitey Puppy - she was a shocker - but what helped was consistent, kind but firm training and using time outs (for a very short time - say, 3 minutes) and being prepared to do that a lot. Some owners have great success with the "3 strikes and you're out" rule... so on the 3rd timeout, it's for longer, say half an hour.

Also use a word to show that "that" behaviour is wht the time out is for - ie pup bites, owner says "Ah!" or someother chosen word.

It works very well IME. A lady in Sweden with a very high drive adult dog has been using this (the dog used to bite her) and it has worked very well. Time outs can be behind a child gate rather than in the garden.

Hth a bit
Lindsay
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