Dog Health Questions: How do I get my 4 month old pup to stop biting on our 6 year old dog??

Do I need to spray the older one with apple bitter spray?! Seriously though, we've been trying to introduce this pup to her house mate & she's being a total pain about it. The adult is always sniffing her & willing to sit on the couch & chill, yet the puppy thinks she needs to nibble on her & go nuts. My dog training guide claims I should leash her while the adult is nearby & give her treats when she sits/stays in her spot. But, all that's been doing is getting her more riled up & ready to pounce on the adult! The adult growls at her when the leash is taken out too. Overall, the damn puppy is being nippy anyway. She's a shepherd/lab/chow mix & the adult is mostly labrador. Is there any hope? I wasn't sure if she's just being like this because she's a young dumb-dumb of a puppy.

Animal Husbandry And Other Unnatural Acts: A Career in Dog Training

Recommended Answer:
You are pack leader. Then comes all humans in the family,then comes older dog, puppy is the lowest in pecking order. Keeping a close eye on them, you should allow older dog to discipline the puppy, the way it occurs in nature.
You should walk the puppy at least 45 minutes at a time, this means YOU walking PUPPY, not puppy walking you. You decide on route, and sniffing time. You are the boss.

Dog Training School

• Hit him.


• When your older dog gets tired of it, he/she will let her know! Sometimes it takes another dog to teach the little one to stop biting on them! I have 2 AKC registered shelties, and my little one has already learned a thing or two! He's only 12 weeks old!


• Get a spray bottle with water and spray the puppy whenever she does something bad like this. If that doesn't bother her, make a loud noise like clapping your hands. The point here is to do something unpleasant every time she does something bad. You could also try hitting her on the nose, works for some dogs, but I don't think hitting is a good idea in any form, and sometimes it just makes them more riled up.


• my problem is the other way around, my older dog will not leave the puppy alone. go figure


• whats wrong with you,just let the dog sort it out do not leash one and not the other,that is asking for trouble.
  let them loose and when the bigger dog has had enough he will growl and then bite the little one
  and respect is born ,if they are both males a fight is unavoidable and has to happen in order to establish pecking order,
  they will settle down if nature is given the change to run its course.but dont have one constricted and the other one not
  also pet bopth dogs at the same times and fuss over both at the same time,Dogs like people can get very jalous.


• NEVER HIT YOUR ANIMALS!!! female dogs will always try to be "top dog" your other dog will let her know if she is out of line. I have a 4 yr old male Akita and a 2yrold female Akita. when I first introduced them to each other she did the same thing and my male did let her know when enough was enough. needless to say she is the ruler of him the big Bitc* all females do this and it is normal.


• If you spray the little dog while it is chewing on your other dog there is a good chance that you will get the older dog wet too and that might prove to be very confusing for your adult dog. Same with clapping your hands. You know your adult dog best. Has he/she ever shown aggressiveness towards other dogs? If not let them work it out amongst themselves as much as possible. They can communicate in their own language. If the older dog snaps the little dog it will probably be a warning. Even if the puppy yelps a little. This will work provided that your adult dog is not seriously injuring your puppy.