My 6 y.o loves his (now 10wk old) pup. He lays down and they roll around, he (my son)gently pushes pup and pup will jump and mouth him... its like watching father and son rough-house each other. Wags (the pup!) is generally well behaved about biting, in all situations and knows no means no. Is this play encourage wags to bite, do I stop it?

Pups in a litter rough house and its part of their training. l0 week old pup may get too rough but your six year old should be able to handle the situation. Just keep an eye on this and make sure pup knows his place in the household.

The rough play is fine, but Wags must learn he can never mouth a humans hand. This will be tough going with a 10 week old puppy and a 6 year old. Maybe the best approach is to insist the 6 year old yells ''Ouch!'' and jerks his hand away every time Wags puts his mouth on his had. Then give the dog a chew toy. The dog can chew away while the 6 year old rolls it around, returning the chew to the dogs mouth when it drops it. You will not end the natural mouthing behavior in a week, but must keep working on it. It would be better to keep a close eye on their play to make sure it doesn't get too rough for either one.

I may have already referred you to Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position It is important, well written, and with the additional page on dogs and children, an excellent reference for you. Wags needs to grow up understanding all the 2 legged pack members of the pack out rank him.

I thought my daughter's high school classmate put it very well once when I explained I couldn't let our puppy mouth her hand. ''Yeah, people freak out.''

Wags, the method that labman is describing works extremely well. After the "OUCH", I turn away with my back to the dog, letting him know playtime is over. It teaches them that they are playing too rough and hurting, as it would be with a littermate. That is how they learn what is acceptable "play" behavior. He will learn that biting is not acceptable. But, as labman points out, this will not happen overnight. This is going to take a while since he is still teething.

Another practice you and your kids need to start now is called Gentling. Lay the puppy on his side and gently roll him until he is on his back, speaking in soothing tones. When he stops struggling, let him go and reward him with food treat. Handle his feet, mouth, ears and reward submissive behavior with treat. Repeat these steps daily. Rolling around with your son might confuse the issue as he may view your son as an equal instead a leader. I'm not saying stop playing but you get the picture... also, watch out for the tug-of-war game. I learned that with my terrier mix-he would "win" and think he was the alpha instead of me. Hard to correct.

I really do agree with you regarding the tug of war game. We have a large Walker Hound Lab cross and she is very dominant. Great dog, good in the house, never done any damage. My husband started playing with her like that years ago, and she has been one step up on him ever since !

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Originally Posted by wagsthedog

My 6 y.o loves his (now 10wk old) pup. He lays down and they roll around, he (my son)gently pushes pup and pup will jump and mouth him...its like watching father and son rough-house each other. Wags (the pup!) is generally well behaved about biting, in all situations and knows no means no. Is this play encourage wags to bite, do i stop it?

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Absolutely not... Your sons telling the puppy come all over me I'm the boss of you and I am in control of you. He will do this when he is older and bigger and may really hurt your son? Dipening on how old your son is but. NO... NO... NO... I went too a trainer with my dog for the same dilemma with my pup and daughter I really got scolded by the trainer!

There is nothing wrong with playing tug of war if you are firmly established as leader. If you aren't, you need to be doing much more than avoiding tug of war.

It can be a fun activity. Before she got too old for it, I used to let Aster pull me across the hardwood floor on my chair with casters. Playing tug of war and losing can be a great tool for building confidence in cases of submissive wetting and other things. However, at the end of the game, you need to give the command give or drop and take the rope or toy and put it up.

Thanks all! A little bit of difference with answers? labman, I will check out book, and thanks to u & rubypitball especially... the advice has been great on Q's I have asked & other posts I have seen... will be back!

Wags, that is what makes this web site so great! Sometimes we all agree, sometimes you get a difference of opinion based upon our own unique personal experiences.

Right now, I personally feel, there is nothing wrong with the romping. However, considering the breed that you have, he will grow larger and faster than your son. I think if you can locate a really good training class in your area, it would be most beneficial for you to take him to the puppy training class WITH your son. You be the overseer but let your son start learning through this class, how to be the alpha leader with the pup. Let him learn how to teach your pup to sit, stay, down,. I can guarantee you that both of them will have a great deal of fun and it will create a wonderful bonding opportunity to develop between them. Now is a great time to teach your son what it takes to be a responsible pet owner. You will find if you allow him to actively participate in your dog's training, he will be the one, in a couple of years time, who will come home from school and walk the dog. He will willingly be a participant in the care of your dog. As they both get older, you can count on his help. labman always suggests that if you don't have a good training class in your area, or if you are interested in getting your son into some really wonderful positive group experiences, look around for a 4H club in your area. He will meet other children his age and create some wonderful friendships. He will not only learn about activities he can do with your dog, but so many other things as well.

Looking forward to more of your postings!

Hey Ruby... Sounding dumb, I'm sure... whats a 4H club? I live in Australia and have not heard of this?

My American suppositions. Sorry about that. We do tend to not think about the rest of the world. Very bad. No treats for me today! LOL

Here is a link that explains it: 4-H :: 4HUSA.ORG :: The official site for, by, and about 4-H youth in the United States

I don't know if you have an organization that is akin to this. But, the kids here LOVE this program. I don't know if you know of anything like this in your area. If you don't, ask around. Probably someone at your son's school may know of a program in your area that is comparable to this.

I think that Australia has something similar to 4-H but its main focus is on Horses. It is called Pony Club Australia. See the link below. I belonged to the United States Pony Clubs and 4-H as well, there were many similarities.

Welcome to Pony Club Australia

Ack. Hit the rate button before I could edit, T. Someone at Pony Club might be aware of a similar club for dogs and kids. Wags could contact them and ask.

They should be able to help. Pony Clubs are often the springboard for other clubs. I know in my area the local pony club started a Jack Russell Terrier Organization because so many members had JRTs