Help! Hyper puppy!

[AmyM]

The new puppy is driving me insane. She will listen to me almost 100% of the time, she listens to hubby most of the time, but she simply won't obey Kassi. She knows my daughter is afraid of her and she's taking advantage of it - all 5 pounds of her little 9 week old self is dominating my kid.
Kassi tells her "no" when she nips at her, but she also jumps in fear, backs up, and it sounds more like a question than a command. This is the problem, but she is only 7 years old and I can't fuss at her for what the dog does wrong. I'm tyring my best to make her understand that the dog sees fear and takes advantage of it, and she has got to learn to control her and mean business. Just now she was jumping and barking and bit Kassi on the leg (no marks or blood or anything, the dog is playing but doesn't know it bothers Kassi and we don't want her doing this). I had to go hold that dog in a sitting position until she calmed down and it was not fun.
We don't hit her but I have told Kassi to take her fingers and "bite" at the side of the dog's neck really gently just like the moma would do- per watching the dog whiperer. LOL. We've got fun toys to re-direct her attention but it just won't work with Kassi.

I have no problems with the puppy. She even opens her mouth like she's going to nip at me and she gets a mean look and a "pffft" and stops. We've had her for 3 weeks and for me she will fetch, drop, go to the door when she needs to potty, and stop when I say "no". So it's not an issue of her being too little or just not a very smart dog. She's proved to me that she can do it. She just won't behave with anyone else.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! How do I stop this?

[emilyscout]

Do you have a crate for her? If so then keep the pup on a leash at all times). If she starts jumping and nipping at your daughter, have your daughter tell her no. If she doesn't listen then have your daughter take her by the leash and put her in her crate. If she whines and cries in the crate do not let her out until she is quiet(you don't want her to learn that whining and crying gets her out of it, quiet does). If she doesn't whine and cry, then put her in for 5 minutes or so. The puppy will learn that this behavior is not acceptable. That if she acts this way she doesn't get play time. She gets alone time. If you do not have a crate I HIGHLY recommend you get one. Not only does it help with potty training, but it gives them a safe place to go to as well. Just be consisitant and do this everytime. Eventually she will get it.
Also to help your daughter build her confidence have her help out with training the puppy to do commands like sit, down, etc. You and her can search on the internet for ways to teach commands. Get her involved. Eventually she will relax and it will all get better!
And lastly, exercise the pup as much as you can. A tired pup is a good pup. If she chases a ball, then throw a ball in the house. If its not too cold out take her for a walk. Don't play games like tug of war(this encourages the wrestling behavior, plus its not really very good for thier teeth).
Ok, I've rambled enough! Hope this helps and your pup calms down just a wee bit!

[AmyM]

Thank you Emily! We don't have a crate. We've got a nylon fold up zip front kennel type thing my cousin gave us. That might work, we'll have to try it out. She's half bassett hound and half dalmation. Already I'm seeing that hyper dalmation coming out in her. Sheeeesh this is going to take a lot of work!

[BrattyMeg]

I second the crate...my older dog actually loves hers, when she fell and was hurt she had to be in her crate for 6 straight weeks..now when it storms or she's not feeling well she prefers to lay in the crate..feels really safe there

Good luck!!

[roxyrenders]

Emily sure had some good advice. We crated our husky. He's now three and still uses the crate by choice as "his" place to go. Part of the problem is that your daughter is essentially a puppy, too. The pup probably senses her youngness (and lower standing in the "pack" heirarchy) and so is more enthusiastic with wanting to play and/or dominate. Search out Alpha training with dogs...here are a couple to get you started
http://www.malamuterescue.com/alphatraining.html
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/topdog.htm
http://www.husky-petlove.com/husky_alpha_training.html
Granted they are geared more towards Huskies and Malamutes but would think the advice is sound training for any dog. Probably one of the easiest things to do (I think--since your DD is so young) would be the one with feeding time... Kassi could do this as her special chore. Basically she would set up the food dish and eat something tasty of her own while the pup watches and waits. Then she would set the food dish down and make the pup wait (probably with the assistance of a leash) until she gives the OK to go ahead and eat. Would be one way to show her dominance over the puppy with the least amount of physical contact like some of the other exercises you'll read about to establish dominance.

[ColleenSwerb]

I'm A HUGE crate advocate. If they're in the crate when you're not home, then they can't get into anything or hurt themselves. Plus, it's their own little safe place. Tiger loves hers!

Tired puppy = good puppy is 100% true. A good long walk will do wonders.
also, puppies have short attention spans. Try and do training in short bursts, like 3 or 4 minutes at a time. As she gets older you can do it for longer. Definitely involve Kassi in the training when you can. Also, reprimand the puppy EVERY TIME she does something wrong around Kassi. She'll learn that Kassi is higher in the pack quickly, as long as you're consistent.

[lizzyfizzy]

watch the dog whisperer.

[Sue Setiadji]

You have some great advice already. The only thing Id add is to seek out any puppy training schools you might have in the area - we have them all over the place here. Kassi could attend with the puppy and learn how to handle it while its learning to be obedient. The littlest in the family is often the one with the biggest struggle for dominance when a puppy is brought along.

[jocelinsmommy]

we have 5 dogs and getting a 6th and we use crates for ALL of them. Our 3 year old diciplines the 5 we have one whom is MUCH bigger than she is...we gave her a squirt bottle full of water and when she said no at one of our 4 doxies nipping at her she'd spray him...She auctually helps feed them too so that may help her dominance too. She's about as tall as our doxies when they stand on they're back legs. we have 2 dogs that do it when they beg...plus she's also apart of the playing with them. She even "buys" her dogs toys with her "monies". We have 2 doxies that are 4 and 3 and then two that are 2 years old and then our larger dog (husky) is almost 6 months and he's HUGE...we will be getting a lab this coming year to "Add" to the family. Hope my .02 cents helped lol...