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Will not stop biting at the kids clothing

tlink34

Member
Sissy is almost 14 weeks and she pushes my 6 year old around and bites and tugs at his clothing. He doesn't know how to make her stop so I have to make her by calling her off with a clap and a no. How Can I train my 6 year old to dominate this girl so they can have a good relationship. I truly believe she does it because he is "weak" to her. Our toddler is 17 months and has more control of Sissy because he will crawl over her, push her around and is basically unafraid of her. The 6 year old has some natural wariness from the pup biting at him in play.
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Keep Sissy on a leash around the house so when she starts to bite, push and tug at the 6 yrs old clothes, you have control of her.

First I'd like to say that your son is not the weak one and he needs to dominate Sissy. Sissy is 14 weeks old and probably thinks this is playing. Does your son get on the floor with her? Does your son play with her? Does your son pull at her or poke at her? Does he run from her? All of these behaviors can be signs to a pup to play.

To teach the pup not to do this, have her on a leash while the kids are awake. When the son comes into the room, watch them both to see what behavior goes on. When Sissy gets excited and starts the biting, etc. Tell her "no" in a firm, calm voice and make her sit. When she sits, reward her. Use positive reinforcement and reward her when she does what you want her to do.

Give her alternatives to biting on your son. She is teething and needs something else to chew, i.e. ropes, kongs with treats, ice cubes with treats in the middle, frozen wash cloths, nylabones, stuff animals, etc.

Has she had OB training? Is this your first puppy? You want to show Sissy what you want her to do with consistent training. What kind of mastiff is she?

Please see below to help you with your pup:

First, you want to crate train him. Make sure you have a blanket, stuffed animal (about his size) and white noise (ticking clock or ipod with soft music) so he can sleep. He's used to cuddling with siblings.

Second: you want to keep him in a room with a family member. Mastiffs need to be near their family members.

Third: you want to start his food regimen. Are you feeding him what the breeder fed him? If yes, ok. If not, you need to do a slow transition to the new food. Mastiffs are allergic to chicken and grain in kibble. Slow transition is to feed 1/4 of new food with 3/4's of old food for 3-4 days. Transition to 1/2 new and 1/2 old foods for 3-4 days. Transition to 3/4 new and 1/4 old for 3-4 days. Transition to 100% new food. If at anytime he has diarrhea, return to former transition amounts until diarrhea stops.

Fourth: You want to keep the leash on him for a few hours each day while in the house so he gets used to it.

Fifth: Keep him away from dog areas because he hasn't had his 2nd set of shots leaving him prone to getting parvo or other illness. Keep him in your yard and place newspapers down where he will walk on the ground. This is very important!

Sixth: Start basic commands. Train for about 5 minutes per day and slowing increase time. Teach one command at a time. Once they master one command, move onto another command.


Mastiffs can be extremely stubborn and if you get frustrated with them, they will shut down. Some mastiffs do not do well with yelling.

Number one command is sit. Teach him to sit, by placing a treat in front of his head and move it to the back causing him to sit to get the treat. When he sits, tell him good sit and give him the treat.

Second command should be "focus/look" This will help you tremendously when he's over 100 lbs. Put him into sit. With a treat in your hand (let him smell it), put the treat up to your eyes and tell him to look or focus. He may only do this for about 1-2 seconds. As soon as he looks at your eyes, tell him good look or good focus and give the treat. Some mastiffs (DDBs generally) do not like to look anyone in the eyes for long because that means a challenge to them. Titan is up to 25 seconds of looking at me.

Other commands to teach is stay, come, leave it and drop it.

When you are training and if he does not do as you ask, then tell him no no no and redirect back to command in a normal voice. The only time a stern and somewhat loud NO should be used is when they are doing something that can cause harm to themselves or others.

For example, when I'm doing the look at me training with Titan. He will look at me and then his eyes will move to the left or right. I say, "no no no, look at me" and returns to the look at me.

When they do what you want them to do, get all giddy and excited and say "Yes, good look!" I clap, giggle, and sometimes do a little dance. My dog looks at me like, really woman?

Puppies should not do any heavy exercise or walking for the first year. Stairs should be maneuvered while on leash (even in the house) especially going down the stairs. Most mastiffs (DDBs especially) can be very lazy but they still need to exercise. Puppies should not be walked for more than 15-20 minutes and do your best to avoid heavy running or jumping.

Mastiffs should not be neutered/spayed until 18 months to 2 years. NO MATTER what the vet says. Early neutering can cause growth problems.

Enjoy your baby! Have lots of patience! The pup will reward you with love and loyalty!
 

mx5055

Well-Known Member
I think we make a good tag team...like in wrestling. hehehehehehehe[/QUOTe

LOL Too funny!! I'm also sure you know me well enough by now that I would never agree with anyone I didn't agree with!!! (I'm even confused with the sentence I just wrote!!) :)
 

tlink34

Member
Thanks. Yes my 6 year old is doing all the things that signal play to a pup. I get that but she cannot be tearing holes in his clothing. Not acceptable. I will keep her on a leash so we can fix what's happening. When she starts biting his clothes he pushes her away and she loves it..lol

Sissy has plenty of chew toys that we redirect to. We are crate training but use it only for sleep time and when we have to be away from the house. I let her play outside with the kids but apparently she isn't ready to play with them unsupervised just yet.

Not my first pup, but my first mastiff.
No OB training except what I am teaching her as needed.
 

naomi

Active Member
My ddb is doing the same thing to all my kiddies I get a treat out and show him saying leave it he lets go and I reward him saying good boy yes sometimes he starts again straight away but I'm keeping at it because one day it will click into places that listening is good and rewarding ignorance not so much lol
 

mx5055

Well-Known Member
Thanks. Yes my 6 year old is doing all the things that signal play to a pup. I get that but she cannot be tearing holes in his clothing. Not acceptable. I will keep her on a leash so we can fix what's happening. When she starts biting his clothes he pushes her away and she loves it..lol

Sissy has plenty of chew toys that we redirect to. We are crate training but use it only for sleep time and when we have to be away from the house. I let her play outside with the kids but apparently she isn't ready to play with them unsupervised just yet.

Not my first pup, but my first mastiff.
No OB training except what I am teaching her as needed.[/QUOTe

Honestly, I don't believe dogs and children should EVER play alone together unsupervised; it's an unsafe practice. Also, It's better to teach your pup as much as possible; not on an "as needed" basis. Your pup will grow fast, and there are certain commands that you want to hope will be etched in that pups mind by the time you need them. If you wait until you need them, then you will be behind in the game :)
 

tlink34

Member
I understand what you are saying Cindy and I knew by typing it that someone would disagree with the practice. It is my goal that this dog play with my children unsupervised in a manner I find appropriate. We will train to that desired effect.
 

mx5055

Well-Known Member
i understand what you are saying cindy and i knew by typing it that someone would disagree with the practice. It is my goal that this dog play with my children unsupervised in a manner i find appropriate. We will train to that desired effect.

​ok
 

taraann81

Well-Known Member
Our pup is still very young, so not as big as yours. I've taught my 4 year old if puppy gets pushy to "act like a tree" he stands still, Crosses his arms and looks away....he likes to "be a tree" and will day to me "on a tree....puppies don't chase, bite trees" it only takes pup a min to settle when my son stops moving and them he usually sits and looks at him....my son then praises him. It's working we'll for us. This of course won't work if your pup is large enough now to knock your son down. I also agree with everything above too. But this is just something easy for a young child to learn/do if pup starts the behavior when he happens to not be on leash.
 

cinnamon roll

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
When my EM was doing this my 7 yr old would use a stern voice "no" and turn his back to her and not move. She would mainly do this after they came home from school and she was over excited to see them. It worked pretty quickly. Just try to supervise the play until your pup doesn't see them as a littermate/playmate. Do you notice a common denominator when she starts doing this? Also they can redirect her attention with a toy.
 

cookiedough39

Well-Known Member
I would also suggest that you let your 6 yr old walk your puppy (supervised) while on the leash. This will help teach your puppy lean who is in authority. This works assuming your puppy is not pulling and tugging on the leash. Having my 5 yr old son walk Carma (22 weeks old) worked very well for me. Now I have started to let my 3 yr old daughter walk her and she does great. Now anybody in my household can give Carma a command and she listens.