Hi,

Any advice gladly appreciated !

My 18 wk old sharpei is trying to be the dominant one over my 5 yr old son. As soon as my son sits on floor Roly dives onto his back mounts him and really grabs him tight around his neck. I have to shout and grab him off him and so does my son shout and try to shake him off but there is no way he can get him off without my help.

I need to sort this NOW as he is getting bigger ! he listens to all other commands and have no problems at all or worries with him but he is trying his luck with my son as seeing him as lower down in the pack then him. He has to get his head higher then my sons when doing this and can see what he is doing - is this right is it a domineering thing or playful puppy play ?????

I am aware he doesnt do this to my other children who are bigger then my 5 yr old. He also does not growl at any of us when we take things off him that he shouldnt have but when my 5 yr old tries to take off him when he grabs his toys he will growl at him - obviously they are not ever alone this is always feet in front of me in the living room so I shout NO and I take it off him and he doesnt make a sound - so this put together with the mounting business he is really trying it on.

I need some help as to whether I should be correcting him or my son or both of us together - who is it best coming from. he obeys orders from my son when he says sit and stay but doing this nonsence ! ARGH !

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No Sitty No Biccy !

firstly, he is not being dominant. I would guess that it's exciteable and boisterous play, but obviously it can't go on.

Maybe think about letting your son give him his dinner, maybe teach him a few tricks or do some obedience with him. It would give your son confidence that he can control the pup and also the pup realises that your son is in control.

The pack theory is outdated, so think more in terms of control and respect. The dog should respect you, and you should be in control of him.

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Restrict access between the dog and children.

Use babygates and a light houseline to keep the dog seperate from the children while he learns the rules and some respect. Use a Time Out method when the pup is being boisterous but make sure he gets lots of play, training and exercise too. Try and reduce the incidents of unwanted behaviour by restricting access and reinforce in a positive way all good behaviour/interaction with the kids in a controlled way.

Enrol in a decent training class.

Once you have a handle on the training get the kids to do some basic training.

I know when you bring a puppy into the house their is this idyll about it being the kids best buddy and all that schmultzy american stuff but experience showed me that dogs and kids need to be taught to co exist and at 5 yrs old your boy can't be trusted to know the "rules" (if he is anything like my lad it will take a while ) and you have to manage all interaction until all parties can co exist, which will happen over time

A great book is the Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey and also with a Sharpei i am sure i don't need to tell you how important early socialisation is.

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WOW you both have shocked me with your replies but I take them both on board and thank you for the time to reply.

I have researched this on internet read books etc tried to educate myself as much as possible as this is our first puppy.

I really thought this was a domineering thing as it is horrible to watch and he really holds my son so tight its not nice I thought my son should shout get off and push him off not just sit there and take it - so this is wrong then - he shouldnt shout at him to get off ? So it is just me that says NO then and not my son ? Thank you for this info. Also when the pup picks up a toy that he has managed to find i shall stop my son from saying NO and trying to get from dangling from pups mouth - I shall be one to do it every time.

Thank you very much gladly appreciated.

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No Sitty No Biccy !

Thanks rainybow !

Roly is awesome at commands and listens first time and also listens to my son when he says sit and stay then walks to other end of room with treat and says come - works fantastic.

He was going to the puppy class then stopped for last few weeks following the attack from a jack russel adult dog so hoping to get back there next week now he is fully healed.

As you know the children love having their puppy around and I thought the I was doing right in bringing the puppy up in the household as we live with the children in the living room - not us adjusting to suit the dog so to speak and telling kids to get out lol ! Obviously I am there at all times there is not one instant when I am not there. I tend to only do 15 mins of play time with the children as thats enough then he goes back to his room which is the utility room and babygate seperating so he can't wonder into kitchen anytime suits him BUT can see us at all times and us him.

I am grateful for all the comments thank you

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No Sitty No Biccy !

As said, use babygates and don't leave them alone unsupervised. If it does happen, just try to stay calm and lead the pup away. Might be an idea to put an indoor lead on him for a while so that you can lead him away without grabbing his collar, as this can cause more frustration. Your son can certainly say No, but he should not be shouting or trying to tell him off. If the dog has got one of the children's toys, offer him one of his own toys in exchange; do not try to grab it from him. Once he has let go, put in the word leave so that eventually he associates the word with the action of leaving.

Every animal on the planet likes to hump, yet when a dog does people say he is being dominant! He is just getting excited and is probably quite a muscular little dog, so yes he would be holding on tight. I had to have my younger newfoundland neutered at 12 months, a year earlier than I would have wanted, because he used to grab me around the neck like that and he was in danger of breaking my neck. he was 10 stone at the time.

I doubt your pup is randy just yet, but excitement will cause the same action. It is important to keep the dog calm, not always easy with children around, so give him some time behind a baby gate.

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Pups tend to mount each other in play in the litter. I think the clue is that it is happening when your son is on the floor. I think he possibly seems him more as a playmate than anything else so therefore treats him a such. Kids also tend to be exciteable at that age, that can hype a pup, and they get to a point where they can get so hyped and into the play they shut off to everything else. Shouting, can just be seen as you joining in, your soon thrashing about to throw him off, just becomes part of the game too him and therefore he does it all the more.

I think the answer is that your son doesnt play on the floor when the dog is in, so he is not down at the dogs level. If your son does want to play on the floor with his toys, or hyper games, I would make a dog area in another room,
that you can put him in. With his bed toys and chews. Instruct your son that is the dogs area, when he wants to play on the floor or hyper games, and the dog is to be left alone when in it. I would also step up your training maybe doing a couple of 10/15 minute training sessions a day with the pup.
Getting your son too do some training too under close supervision. Use reward based training with treats. This will teach your son, and the pup that the pup has to work for his treats, by doing as you ask. It might be ab idea to go to training classes, look for small structured well run classes with an accredited trainer, who uses reward based methods. Speak to a couple of trainers first, most will let you go along, and observe a class before you start with the dog. Perhaps you son could go with you and watch too.

If the dog does get hold of anything he shouldnt, inform your son not to grab things, or try too. While you are rectifing the problem, I wouldnt leave them unattended at the moment anyway.

Hope this might be of some help.

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