How to Prevent Dog Biting – My 9 year Old Dog is Biting my 6 month old Puppy for no Reason?
How to Prevent Dog Biting – My 9 year Old Dog is Biting my 6 month old Puppy for no Reason?
by Laura Henderson
(Indianapolis,Indiana)
How can I prevent my older dog biting my puppy?How can I get my 9 year old 48 lb Beagle Labrador Mix to stop attacking and biting my 6 month old 60 lb chocolate Labrador Rottweiler Mix. He attacks her for no reason, they can be standing in the living room side by side and he just starts attacking. All my puppy ever does to him is lick him all over his face -he gets tired of that and starts growling and sometimes attacks her. It seemed like as my puppy got bigger he started showing more aggression towards her.We’ve had the puppy for almost 5 months and we have 2 other female dogs, all fixed and healthy.
Hi Laura and thanks for your question. Your puppy has now reached an age where he is starting to lose his ‘Puppy License’. When I say this I mean some owners feel ‘oh he’s only a puppy’ and start to let him get away with behavior that would not be accepted in an adult dog. It is quite normal for an adult dog (older dog) to teach a young puppy some manners – a puppy will learn much of it’s behavior from an older dog and how to behave and how NOT to behave. Although it is always a good idea to let dogs figure out for themselves how to behave with each other although human intervention might be necessary if your puppy is at risk.
I would start by introducing both your dog and puppy to each other again but asks a friend to help out. Start by walking your dog and puppy together and give each dog the same amount of attention. Now ask your friend to walk into the House with the older dog and you with the puppy – don’t let them off the leash just let them be together. When you are not able to supervise each dog place them in a crate as this will stop any unwanted behavior. If they do start to be naughty then separate them and place them in separate crates.
Try attending dog training classes with each dog as this will increase their socialization and get them used to being with you, with each other and with other dogs. It will also enable a professional dog trainer to correct any unwanted behavior and reinforce positive behavior at the time that it happens. You can also ask other owners how they cured similar problems.
I would also consider taking your older dog to the vet – Arthritis can affect older dogs and make them much less tolerant and more likely to show aggressive behavior to a small puppy.
Hope this helps
