Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 1/3/2008

Question
I recently got 7 week old half Minature Schnauzer half Chinese Crested Powder Puff, I know what your thinking, for my 74 year old mom.  She lost my dad about four years ago and spends a great deal of time alone so we thought it would be a good idea for her to have a companion.  I volunteered to keep the dog to house break it and then it would go to her.

The pup seems very sweet and wags it's tail ad gives us kisses and such but has this quirky thing of getting aggressive when he is being held by my five year old daughter.  I admit that she does hold him too much and we have to repeatedly tell her to let the puppy go but I would not expect a puppy that young to start growling and proceed to try to reach up to nip at my daughter's face.  We have two other young dogs, a Sheltie and a Golden Retreiver.  We let the Sheltie play with the puppy but the Golden is to big and could accidentally hurt the puppy as he is only four pounds.  With a puppy gate separating them, the puppy growls at the Golden Retreiver but does nothing when I put him in front of Katie, the Golden, but instead starts nipping at my hand, more like a much older dog.  He's does not seem to be playing.

I'm a little worried, no, alot worried that I've taken on a dog as a gift that may end up being a mean dog.  I'll tell this to my husband and he picks up the pup and gets the tail wagging and kisses all over his face.  The same thing happens with my son, although he just lets the puppy come to him and doesn't grab or hold him.

The people who I got the puppy from had adopted an adult Schnauzer that was, unknown to them, pregnant when they adopted her.   They wanted to keep the puppy as he was the only male in the litter but decided they did not have enough time for him.  Do you think they already knew of his tendencies or do you think I'm over-reacting?  My husband sure does!  Sorry so long.

Lisa

Answer
Hi, Lisa,

Just to ease your mind right off the bat, no, I don't think your puppy is innately aggressive or mean. In fact, no dog wants to bite someone he feels socially bonded to.

There IS a bit of a problem in that I think the little guy was taken from his littermates a bit too early. (In my view no pup should leave his mother and littermates before he's at least 8 wks. old.) Puppies who are taken home too soon don't have as much "bite inhibition" as pups who remain in the litter longer.

There's an excellent article on my website, called "How to Stop Puppy Bites," that might be helpful. However, puppies who leave the litter too soon are tougher to deal with. Just keep that in mind.

As for the growling, that's just his way of saying, "I'm scared so back off, please." It does NOT indicate meanness. Even nipping your daughter's face, while not something you'd want to encourage, is, in the dog's mind, an expression of love! He probably feels that he and she are on the same level in terms of size and strength. Head size and the height of someone's eyes (how high the pup has to look up to make eye contact) are two of the most relevant things to a puppy. And other than the Sheltie, your daughter is probably the least intimidating member of the household (in terms of head size, and how their eyes are on the same level when she's holding him). So if you ask me, I think he's actually just playing with her the way he would with another puppy.

Because your husband and son have bigger heads, and are taller, he licks them instead of nipping, because that's his best way of safely reducing his oral tension (licking is one means of sublimating the urge to bite into an acceptable, not to mention safe, behavior). Think of it this way: he'd probably be more likely to lick his mother's face (she has a bigger head) than he would his littermates. He'd be more likely to nip them in affectionate play.

It's important not to punish or scold him for his nipping. That will only put a lid on this instinctive behavior. Instincts are stronger than scolding, so what happens when you try to repress an instinctive behavior is that it will always try to find another outlet, perhaps real biting eventually. That's why it's best to redirect him into a toy, AND to closely monitor your daughter's interactions with him (which I know you're doing your best at already). But remember, no dog wants to bite another animal he feels socially bonded with. It goes against their very nature.

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, let me know.

LCK
www.LeeCharlesKelley.com