My dog nips one child but is fine with other kids. What's going on?

Hi there. As far as helping your pup to get comfortable around kids, I would recommend allowing him to observe them at a distance while praising and giving treats. If he seems curious about them and wants to say hello, you can allow him to meet and let the kids offer treats as well. To help avoid mouthing and nipping during greetings, you can teach him to sit for a treat (followed by gentle petting), or have the kids drop treats on the ground for him. This keeps his focus down on the ground while they pet him, which in turn reduces his excitement level and tendency to use his mouth. Puppy nipping and mouthing has nothing whatsoever do to with dominance, and does not need to be "corrected" using any kind of punishment - it's a normal puppy behavior that will resolve on its own with age. Mother dogs are actually extremely tolerant with their pups about mouthing and biting, as they understand that this is normal behavior. Your pup is not trying to be anyone's boss - he's just a normal puppy, doing what comes naturally to him :) Focus on keeping the pup's excitement level down during greetings, give lots of praise and rewards for saying hello calmly. Keep him on-leash leash so that you can move him away from the kids to calm down if he starts to get too wound up - then try greeting again once he's a little more settled. You can also try teaching him to grab a toy when he starts to get excited, or prior to saying hello to a new person - for many dogs, this strategy can be very helpful since it gives them something else to do with their mouth.

I hate to hear this is happening. If you do not want to rehome her, I recommend to work with a professional trainer because this will give you the best results the fastest. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not familiar with reading canine body language and training. A professional trainer is fully capable of reading the body language and then teaching you how to modify this behavior. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.

It could be that Littleboy is nipping at people's ankles out of fear or frustration, and this type of biting can indicate problems with aggression. If he's looking stiff, pulling back his mouth to show his teeth, and has tension in his face, then Littleboy's biting is aggressive and not playful. In that case, I'd recommend having him seen by a professional behavioral expert. Aggression is a difficult and dangerous behavior to train, and that's best left to a professional for safety reasons. I'd speak to your vet about a referral to one. If Littleboy's body and face is relaxed and there's no tension in his body, then he is playing. This behavior you can work with him at home. I will give you a link to the ASPCA's page that gives details on how to train a dog with play biting: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/mouthing-nipping-and-play-biting-adult-dogs

Hello, and thanks for your question. Most “aggression” issues in dogs are ultimately based on fear to some degree, so I would suspect this is at least partially fear based. Maggie knows that your family is her “pack”, and she’s nervous of outsiders. Every time she barks/growls at others and they end up walking away, she may be reinforcing to herself that “hey - this works! I should keep scaring strangers away!” If this is a behavior you want to work on (and I would recommend it, before it escalates to biting a visitor or stranger on the street) I highly recommend recruiting the expertise of a professional. Ideally a veterinary behaviorist, but your primary vet may be able to direct you to trainers they recommend. Behavior concerns require a lot of time, effort, patience, and consistency, and it’s important to give Maggie the right response at the right moment, before she’s too worked up to be receptive to you. A professional can help you learn how to read these subtle signs before Maggie is completely overstimulated. Here’s a link on aggression that may be helpful to you. https://www.petcoach.co/article/aggression-due-to-dominance/ Hope this helps!

It does sound like from your descriptions that Graham is starting to act a little aggressive, and I would take him into a professional behavioral expert as soon as possible for training. I never recommend owners try to train aggressive dogs themselves because it can be dangerous, so it's best left to a professional. Aggressive behavior can escalate, and it can continue to be a problem. Without seeing his behaviors in person, I can't say for sure if your kids are safe around him, but I would not leave him unsupervised with them just to be cautious. I would speak to your vet first thing in the morning about a referral to a behavioral expert.

It sounds like your dog is anxious and uncomfortable around the baby - this is a common problem for many dogs at first. Babies can be very scary to them! By snapping, she is doing her best to defend herself and let you know she is scared. Please do not correct this behavior, as this will only make her more anxious and upset. Instead, listen to what she is telling you and don't allow the baby to approach or bother her. For many dogs, it's best to keep them separated from babies and toddlers using baby gates or other physical barriers until the children are old enough to be gentle and respectful with animals. You can praise her and feed her treats when the baby is nearby to help her associate good things with being around her, but don't allow any direct interaction if your dog is uncomfortable. If you feel that you need more help with this, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate your dog in person. He/she can help you put together a detailed plan to help your dog become more comfortable around the baby and make sure that everyone stays safe. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

That is very concerning and you should definitely not have the baby and the dog in the same room. The best thing would be to have a professional trainer work with your dog to try and modify the behavior, especially if you are planning on having a baby soon. You could also get an Adaptil collar and see if that helps. Your vet could also prescribe an anti-anxiety medication, like Prozac or Trazodone, to see if that helps, too.