Starting aggression toward son :( Help Please!

[JPsMOM]

Need some serious help with this one...I have no idea what to do. I have 3 kids, the oldest being 12 and the youngest is 7. As a recap we got Jasper at about 10 weeks old. He has been great, no signs of aggression toward anyone or anything. He is now about 17 weeks old, and is starting to show aggression toward my 7 year old. It started with him lightly nipping almost every time my son went to touch him. We are still working on him not being "mouthy" so I didn't think much of it. Then I saw him just walk by my son and nip his leg. My son was just standing there talking to me. I started watching more carefully and realized that Jasper does not act like that toward any of the other kids or adults in the house. Only if he is wound up playing will he get carried away and nip anyone else. I realized Jasper actually wants nothing at all to do with my son. He will get all kinds of excited to see everyone else after school or work, but he couldn't care less when my son walks in the room. When I take Jasper in to give "goodnight kisses" to the girls, he is happy and loving on them...when I take him to my son, he wants nothing to do with it. Tonight he gave him a pretty good nip when he walked over and sat down to pet him. I KNOW my son has not done anything to purposely hurt him or anything like that. He loves animals, especially dogs. We had a boxer a few years ago that was his best friend in the whole wide world, and when we finally got another dog, Jasper, he thought he finally had a new bestie...and he doesn't. I started having my son give him his breakfast to see if that would help, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference at all.

I don't know what to do about this situation. I can't have an animal that bites my children, obviously, no matter how much I love him. I need to know what to do to fix this so we can all be happy, safe, and together! I am willing to do the work, I just don't have any clue what to do.
Thanks in advance....

 

[Hunter's Parade]

I believe there is something he does,maybe it's not hurting him,but just annoying.Like carrying around to much,not letting to sleep.I have 7 years old sister and she has mini dachshund who nipped in her face.Well,yes she doesn't hit the dog and doesn't do anything that hurts it,but she just bother the poor animal all the time,she pics it up all the time and wander around the house like that,bother her when she is sleeping and she thinks it's funny to growl in dogs face and when it backs up run after it growling,so I believe dog doesn't love her.
Watch closely your son,maybe he does something.If it really isn't him(which I don't believe,dogs don't just pick on somebody like that for no reason) than there is a method that nobody loves-dominate over the dog.If there is a choice to give the dog away or alpha roll him,well,no doubt what I would chose.
I have had fight with one of my dogs who is pretty dominant.She was biting me so I responded to that like every normal dog would do.I jumped on her,grabbed her by her neck so she can't bite me and held her like that till she stops fighting.The second she stopped fighting I let her go and that same second I had an angel who listens to my every word and follows me willingly.So I guess there is times when it's worth to be mean and besides I didn't hurt her,she just saw that I'm stronger and there is no chance for her to win me.
Not every issue can be fixed with treats and prays,that's what I believe in.Perhaps your son could build a positive reinforcement and give him treats when he is biting him and hope that one day he will be happy to see him because he gives him treats,but that would take time and I don't believe that he would respect your son.If I would be a dog I would think that he is a fool who prays me for biting him.And I think that he could learn that nothing happens when he is biting his household,even better!He gets rewarded for it!

Perhaps I will get rotten tomatoes now.Oh well.

 

[JPsMOM]

He doesnt pick him up and carry him around, he is not allowed because he is too small to support him properly. I dont let any of the kids carry him actually. I have been watching and i havent seen him do a single thing that any one of the other household members dont do with him, and he isnt alone with him for me to miss something he is doing because Jasper isnt allowed free roam of the house yet. I dont think Jasper is "picking on" my son, i just cant figure out what the issue is that is causing it to happen.

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[Lupita]

Often, it's simply the movements of younger children that set dogs off. If your puppy sees your son as someone unpredictable (and therefore scary) he may just not be comfortable around him.
I would have your son back right off from interaction with the puppy unless it's in extremely positive ways. And by positive, I mean for the puppy. Petting, eye contact etc. are things we view as positive, but most dogs need to learn to associate those things with what they view as positive (food, toys, etc.)
Perhaps you could get a special squeaky toy and some really yummy treats that only your son dispenses. Let JP enjoy these things from your son with no pressure to be petted or held. Then gradually work up to trading pets for treats.
When Lupi showed fear of kids, I had every kid she met give her treats. Even if she barked or growled, she still got treats. Her brain had no choice but to see kids as awesome! Yes, it took a while. The worse the fear, and the longer it's practiced, the more repetitions of positive reinforcement are needed. But things got better over months and Lupi is now one of the most kid-friendly Dachshunds I know.
Alpha-rolling or other forms of punishment do nothing to create positive associations. Especially at this age, your pup is forming ideas about his world. Help him to realize it is a great place.
Also, I noticed he comes from a puppy-mill situation? That means he may not come from temperementally sound stock. Which means extra work on your part to pair handling and social interactions with positive things.
I do hope things improve, but the reality is dogs and kids don't always get along. I had the luxury of teaching Lupi to love kids before I had any living in my home. Living with them may have been too much stress on her at the time. Hopefully JP can overcome his discomfort and be a companion to your whole family.

 

[Hunter's Parade]

Than it is just weird.Maybe he really is just trying to dominate over him,as your son is the youngest of your family.

 

[JPsMOM]

@Lupita- thank you, its good to know there is hope for the situation. My son never gets wild with the dog, but it is very possible that Jasper has simply seen the way he busts in to karate/ninja acts and that is good point that Jasper would see him as unpredictable. Its good to know that i am on the right track too with having my son give breakfast, and i will come up with a good treat that only comes from him. The "tempermental stock" is a good point too. They definately were not breeding with any regard for anything but cash. Lots of food for thought and a good place to start!

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[Lupita]

Oh the karate/ninja stuff-exactly! My nephew thinks it's fun to play dinosaur around our dogs which Lupi is fine with but our puppy (around JP's age) does not care for at all.
Last night at puppy class they actually had all of us choose to pretend to be either an animal, robot or zombie! It was pretty ridiculous, but the point behind it was clear. The puppies got lots of treats as we acted weird, helping them see strange movements as positive.
Also, it probably took a good six months for Lupi to get really comfortable around kids. But she's 6.5 years old now and the last 5 years has been great with all kids she meets. She will actively seek out the children in a group of people, and will tolerate all kinds of shenanigans. This is just to point out that it is a process and can be frustrating at times, but positive reinforcement does work most effectively in the long run.

 

[Nell]

I think there is a possibility it could be fear aggression. What I would suggest is to try to build the relationship between your son and the pup to help re-establish the pecking order at home. For e.g. make sure it is your son who puts the dogs feed bowl down every day for a few weeks, tell every one else not to feed the dog so all treats and food comes from him. Organisation some playtime for them with you to supervise, let him walk him on the lead throw a ball etc.

Supervise them at all times and if there is the slightest sign of any aggression from your pup towards your boy you need to step in immediately and reprimand the pup. Physically remove him from the room (puppy), with best growling voice let him know in no uncertain terms that his behaviour is unacceptable. After a little while tell your son to open the door to let him back in but to not speak to him, he is in disgrace and needs to earn the attention back.

You really do need to address this as soon as possible so it doesn't become a habit as your puppy will develop an over estimated self importance that will get him into all kinds of bother in the future. Make sure also that the pup is in a safe happy place when your boys play rough or are practicing their martial arts as otherwise this will also knock the puppies confidence and just aggravate the situation. Good luck, let us know how things go

 

[Nell]

Just another quick point. If I were you I would stop making excuses for the "mouthing" I know he is a cute puppy but believe me he is a lot cuter than you think. You wouldn't tolerate your children biting you when they were teething and he really is no different. His mum would have definitely not tolerated any nipping and soon put him in his place. Puppies are very much like children, you set the boundaries and he needs to abide by them, mixed messages will only confuse them and encourage bad behaviour. Remember who is in charge here lol!

 

[JPsMOM]

I do excuse the mouthing too much, you are completely right there! I am unsure how to get it stopped completely because he starts wanting to do it immediately when we play. The yelping will stop it sometimes, and we have tried walking away and ignoring him but he will simply walk off and find something else to do! A stern growly "no" will give him pause, but he will start again when you reach for him. That being said, you are right, i do need to be more dilligent.

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