Thursday, July 30, 2009

What do I do for my biting Great Dane puppy?

I have a male Great Dane that is 7 months old and weights over a hundred pounds. He just nipped my nephew, but didn't hurt him. I'm worried that he might get worse. I also have a Yorkie that is in heat. Could this have something to do with it? Can he be trained better or should I get rid of him. I do have a 3 year old son and he doesn't do this with him.
Answers:
Your dog is a puppy still. Puppies nip %26 bite. He should out grow this phase. Your yorkie that is in heat may have something to do with it. Yes he can be trained better. No don't get rid of him just for being a puppy. Your nephew may have moved too quickly leading the puppy to think he was playing. I wouldn't worry about it since the puppy doesn't do that with your son. I would suggest some obedience training for the puppy. That should put a stop to it.
He can be trained better, but it usually takes a professional. When your nephew is around try muzzling him or putting him in a secure room. If he doesn't do it with your son I think it may be something that the child is doing to him. Either way dog bites are not fun. So take every precaution to keep the two of them apart.
training is a huge waste of time. take charge show him whos boss. if you hit him once or twice he stop biting
well goodness! fix 'em both NOW!!
also just be quick to say NO firmly to him when he goe to nip!
not mean though and dont whip him!
I wouldn't suggest getting rid of the dog, that's just passing your problem off, doesn't help the dog any and it will end up in a pound somewhere. I'd suggest getting a trainer for him and stopping this behavior NOW. It can be done and you have every reason to expect a good outcome, but don't waste time. In the meantime, keep the small ones away from the dog or put a muzzle on him, or a good stern and loud NO!
training is the best way to go. if training doesn't help it would be the safest thing to do but giving the dog away may be best, but try this first. when ever he bites or nipps or knaws or whatever he does with his teeth with other living things u hit them a little bit harder than a tap on their snout and say no in a low tone and stern voice. for the first week or so you may want to put them in a cage when they do this to show they will be punished if they bite. you have to show your dog whos the boss. you are the master, not him. we have done this with my year old, male, wire haired fox terrier who weighs 16 pounds ever since he was tiny. now if you even put your hand hear his mouth he will not bite. he may put your hand in his mouth but he will nto bite cause he knows he will get hit. the only time he bites is when we are playing and your hand accidently gets in the way. hope that helps!
I am a breeder of Great Danes with over 25 years in the breed and you DO NOT hit any dog let alone a 7 mth old Great Dane puppy!!
As big as he is what you have to remember is that he is still just a puppy.
I would'nt think that your Yorkie being in heat would have any
bearing in this case as your dog is far too young to be sexualy active at this age.
What you can do though is to have a rolled up newspaper at hand and if he displays any unwanted behaviour you slap the newspaper on a hard surface which will get his attention and then you give a firm command of NO!!
I would also suggest that if you have done no formal training with your puppy that you enrol him in an obedience course to teach him the basics for becoming a well trained %26 well behaved puppy.
It is also quite possible that your nephew has done something to this youngster previously in a stage where he may have been imprinting his behaviour patterns which has brought on this kind of behaviour.
Children should never be left unsupervised with any dog for any period of time.
In general the Dane is a gentle giant but any dog can be made to be nasty with the incorrect treatment or handling.
My contact is not for the general public and I'm assuming you live in the US if you would like to be put in touch with others in the breed close to you whom may be of help to you you may contact me at this email address Chris@monteralgreatdanes.com
I would also strongly suggest that perhaps you should contact your breeder and ask them for their help as well because they know their own breeding and generally us breeders are only too happy to try and help any of our puppy owners to solve any issues they may come across in the course of rearing their puppies.
I hope this is of some help to you and good luck in resolving the issues you're dealing with at the moment with your puppy.

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