My 8-week-old puppy is biting. Will he be dangerous to my children?

I do not blame you for being very concerned, and I'm sorry for your daughter's injury. Because you cannot teach an eighteen-month-old how to respond to the puppy in such a way as to minimize the possibility of another incident, there is a reason to believe it could happen again. I would return the puppy to the breeder if you can, explaining the reason why. Perhaps Buzz is just not suitable for a home with small children. There is such a thing as temperament testing, which can be done through your local kennel club. Though not foolproof, this can give you some idea how a puppy will react in a variety of circumstances. This may not be the breed mix for you, or it may be that you simply need to go to another source for your puppy. There are many factors involved here, and I would be happy to discuss the situation at length with you. If you are interested, just click on the prompt to initiate a consult.

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.

Saban is very cute! Biting and mouthing is very normal for puppies this age - and since it sounds like he was taken from his mom and littermates much too early, it's likely that his bite inhibition and general play skills aren't as good as they would be in most puppies. This doesn't mean that he can't learn, but it does mean that you'll need to be very patient with him, and you may need to enlist professional help to get things on the right track if you're having trouble. In general, we want to focus on redirecting puppies to something more appropriate when they start to bite our hands, feet, clothing, etc. - so when he does this, I would grab one of his toys and encourage him to bite it instead, then reward by tugging on the toy and engaging in play. I would also make sure that he has plenty of things to lay and chew on, such as bully sticks, rawhide chews, cow or pig ears, and puzzle toys such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. If he isn't already enrolled in a good puppy kindergarten class, I would also start this right away. You can search for a qualified trainer offering classes in your area here: www.ccpdt.org. If you are not seeing improvement in the next few weeks or if things are getting worse, then I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate him in person to help determine if what you are seeing is normal or not, and can also put together a detailed plan to help you address the issues he's having. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Congratulations on adding Teddy to your family! Puppies can be frustrating at times. The behavior described is consistent with a frustrated puppy. It is not unusual for a puppy that is frustrated to bark, growl or completely ignore things that you say. He is not trying to exert dominance he just may not really understand what you are asking. Your best bet for getting Teddy to follow your directions is to have a consistent training plan and use high-value rewards. When you tell him no, he doesn't really understand what you want him to do. You will likely have better luck telling him what you would like him to do. For example, if you want him to walk nicely on a leash it's better to teach him a look command rather than just yank on the leash to get him to go where you want. Using a look command will tell him what you want him to do which is keep his eyes on you rather than what's going on in the neighborhood. This is a great resource for starting a training program with your puppy: http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/store/The-Puppy-Primer.html

What you are describing may be normal puppy behavior for Bear because some puppies respond very poorly to dominance type of behavioral training. However, I would be concerned with the behaviors that you are describing. I would recommend contacting your veterinarian or the foster organization for a recommendation on a trainer to work with to have someone else observe Bear's behavior to help you decide where to go from here. The longer this behavior continues, the more serious it will be become, so this needs to be dealt with immediately. In the meantime, I would not reprimand or challenge Bear since that seems to escalate the situation. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thank you for using PetCoach. At 8 weeks old the puppy will still need to be vaccinated, as it has probably only had 1 or 2 distemper parvo vaccinations. He likely has not received a rabies vaccination this young. Please see a doctor about your bite wound. This book is great for puppy behavior. https://www.dogwise.com/perfect-puppy-in-7-days/ It is important to determine is Prince is truly being aggressive or just an overactive puppy with no manners. Puppies will normally bite while playing, but he needs to be redirected to biting a more appropriate toy. If he is truly aggressive at 8 weeks of age, he needs significant intervention with a reputable positive reinforcement dog trainer or veterinary behaviourist.

I agree with the decision to take him back to the SPCA. There are two things you can do with a situation like this. 1. Hire a trainer. Have them work with you, your kids and Bear to try to fix the situation. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. My concern with this is now your daughter will be cautious around him. She may never develop the relationship you would want with him because of this episode. 2. Take him back to the SPCA. There is nothing wrong with this. Know that not all dogs are good for all families. They have plenty of dogs and there are plenty of other rescues in your area that have amazing dogs. I do not like the fact that Bear growled or that he is nippy. As a Shepherd/Lab mix they get to be big and he will be a lot stronger later in life. I also do not want your daughter to now have a fear of dogs. This Rescue is called Poor Paws. I have a lot of experience with them and they do an amazing job. http://www.poorpawsrescue.com I hope your daughter feels better soon and thank you for using PetCoach.