We just got an 8 week old german shepperd puppy. He is a joy to my husband and I. But we have a 5 year old son on the Autism Spectrum with PDD-NOS and severe ADHD. Our son is hyper, has constant anger outbursts, and is always on the move. When we brought the puppy home he wouldn't bite our son. But now that the puppy has been here a week or so, he is charging and biting our son every time he sees him. The puppy is not interested in playing with our son. He seems angry and is eager to bite him. Is it possible that my son's behavior is affecting the puppy? Will the puppy outgrow his anger against my son or will it just get worst? We have never left our son alone with the puppy. But he just doesn't seem to like him. Is this normal behavior in puppies?|||I would be nervous about a young puppy in a home with a child that small even if he was not autistic. Very young children are unpredictable and difficult to control, and small puppies will get over-excited and try to bite. That's a dangerous combination. Yes, it is probable that your son's behavior is affecting the puppy. The puppy may be scared, and attacking to defend himself, or he may think that this is play.
In your position, I would return the puppy to the breeder, and find an older dog who has been around children. But even then, you should never leave the two of them unsupervised.|||An 8 week old puppy doesn't know enough to be "angry"- but he will pick up on your son's energy, which I'm sure he'll have a hard time adjusting to. GSD puppies can be mouthy, and at 8 weeks this is only the beginning. They also can have a tendency to herd and sometimes nip children that are running around frantically just playing, as it can be part of herding instinct. Your son's outbursts and hyper activity is not a good mix for this GSD puppy, maybe any puppy.
While you might love the puppy, it probably was not the best choice for your son. It may be best to return the puppy to the breeder.
add: We don't know where the asker got the puppy, from a breeder with a signed contract or not. If that's the case then likely they are bound by a signed agreement to return the puppy. If not, then a GSD rescue is the alternative.|||Really bad idea to have a puppy with a young child - any young child. Most little kids run around and make dogs very nervous, resulting in the dog thinking he has to defend himself.
Our rescue doesn't adopt out to families with kids under 12 for this very reason.
The fact that your son is hyper and has anger outbursts, is always on the move as you say is a disaster waiting to happen. Not fair to this puppy to be in such an environment.
Please consider rehoming the puppy before something dangerous happens.
It is perfectly normal behavior on the part of the puppy to be afraid and have to defend himsels from your child, I'm sorry you didn't realize this before you got the pup, but please don't get any more dogs.
Try to get the puppy into a german shepherd breed rescue, they will find a good home for him.
It's only going to get worse as the pup gets older - you have a very unstable, dangerous situation here.
Note: For all the "return pup to breeder" advice - NO decent breeder would have sold a pup to a family with a young child, let alone an autistic child. Doubt this breeder will take the pup back and refund your money, so better to try to get it into a german shepherd breed rescue where people will make sure the home suits the pup.|||I am shocked that any reputable breeder would put their puppy in a home with 1. such a young child and 2. A violent child that has so many issues.
No doubt the puppy senses the imbalance in your son, dogs recognize weakness and instabilitly. (I had a dog that had seizures and I had to remove her from my pack as they would attack her)
Please contact the reputable breeder you got the dog from (albeit they sold it too you illegally at less then 7 weeks old- 8 weeks is the minimum age in most states) and tell them you are bringing back the dog.
This is a disaster waiting to happen(when the dog gets older and can do serious harm) and no doubt the dog would be the one to pay with its life when it finally has no choice but to really bite this kid.
I would also worry about this child injuring the dog with his own violent nature.|||I would consult a professional trainer personally. Dogs pick up on lots of things, they don't always understand why a person is showing "anger", they know to defend against it though. 99% percent of behavior in dogs can be fixed so don't lose heart.|||It isn't normal behavior for a puppy, but it isn't normal behavior for a 5-yr-old, either. I know Autism. Your pup needed the week to get used to his new family. Now he's growing and needs chew toys as his mouth outgrows his current teeth. When his adult teeth come in he should be out of the biting habit. Your dog will grow faster then your son and may be bigger than he is for a while. Being bigger means to a dog that he's the dominant one. When the boy gets bigger than the dog he can put him in his place. You should give the boy something that interests him, which for the Autistic is usually creation. Many chefs, artists and gardeners are mildly autistic, and Mozart is said to have been. Give him an instrument, like a kazoo, and some crayons. See which he likes. Maybe he's a builder. Autistic kids need some way to express themselves. I've heard that 'while your kid has a 1 in 25,000 chance of becoming a professional singer, he has a 1 in 166 chance of being autistic.'|||Yes, absolutely likely that your son's behavior is affecting the puppy. This doesn't seem like a good match, but you might want to look into getting a dog specifically trained to help with your son. In some cases what they do is have the puppy spend a few months bonding with you early on (but with some guidance about what kind of interactions the child and puppy should have) and is then sent for training.
http://www.northstardogs.com/donation.sh鈥?/a>|||This puppy is barely old enough have been weaned, and you've put him in a situation he has no idea how to deal with, around a child who is unable to communicate or interact normally with anyone- and now you're surprised that the pup is nipping and biting at your son? COME ON, pal. Where in BLAZES is your COMMON SENSE?? Your son needs to be in at least some kind of program for Autistic children- I would check with your state's Division of Developmental Disabilities and find out how to sign him up for services- because he appears to need them badly. The puppy needs to go back to the breeder, and FAST, because sooner or later, he's going to get hurt or your SON WILL GET hurt, or both- but more likely, it will be the dog who pays the price. Your son has no idea how to respond positively to the pup, and doing this was a big mistake. Nipping and chewing are normal puppy behavior, especially at that age- all dogs need to chew as they mature and grow up. That's how they shed their baby teeth, among other things.
You asked if the dog's behavior will improve, and my answer to you is NO, it won't. Dogs don't think the way people do- they don't get "angry" the way you think. As the puppy gets bigger and older, he will eventually figure out that he can dominate your son, and he may try to dominate YOU, because dogs are pack animals. This will create aggressive behavior and a dangerous situation for everybody. It's also unfair and unrealistic of you to expect that your son will be able to control his anger, which is really a by product of his disability. His hyperactivity isn't helping him either- and of course he's probably taking at least some of his frustration out on the puppy, simply because the pup is a convienent target. For his part, the pup obviously knows or can sense that there is something wrong with your son, even at his tender age- and you can bet he's trying to figure out how to cope with that. The aggression you are seeing is his way of doing this, and if you ignore it, it will continue to escalate until somebody really gets hurt- and then it will be bye-bye doggie.
Send the pup back to the breeder before it's too late, and ask for a refund of the sale price. This is just not going to work out, period- and the dog needs to be put in a different home.|||I am sorry, but I think you should return the puppy to the breeder. Don't give up, though. If you get the right dog, it could really be an asset in your son's life. A young puppy doesn't understand your son's behavior and is afraid and that explains his behavior toward your son. You need help finding the right dog who will remain calm and can become a calming and loving friend toward your son. Try the local Autism Network or even a reputable shelter that will work with you to find the right dog.|||I agree with everything Starlight 1 has said to you. What were you thinking?????
It is highly unlikely that you will be able to return this dog. No breeder worth anything would have sold you the pup in the first place.
Get this poor pup into GSD rescue before he gets euthanized for defending himself.
With the responsibility you have to your child, a dog should be out of the question!
And to the poster who thinks this PUPPY needs some physical corrections, what are YOU thinking? this pup has been put in a no-win situation, and will surely end up dead if not removed from this home. It is inconceivable that you would think a pup can be trained to endure a situation like this for life.|||Couldn't have asked this question in a worst place. The breeders here will tell you to put your son to sleep and put the dog on a pedestal.|||You made the problem way more complicated than necessary. Bottom line: the pup does something inappropriate. Solution: you correct the puppy.
Use a mini or small size prong collar with a pull tab on the puppy. Whenever he does something inappropriate, you grab the tab and give it a snappy tug. Watch his reaction to see how hard you need to pop him. If he doesn't yelp and act submissive following the correction, it wasn't hard enough. If he acts like the world is over for more than 1 minute, be gentler next time. The correction must be hard enough that it sends him into "avoidance" where he's determined not to have anything to do with the situation he was in that got him the correction.
The advice about small children and puppies makes sense for some people -- but everyone has different goals for their dog. There's nothing wrong with puppies, dogs, and small children! I have much smaller toddlers -- two not just one -- and a puppy from a working breed like the GSD only a little bigger even. They're great together.
For sure, they were mostly hands-off until the pup was about 6 months (that's only 4 months away for you). At this age, the puppy is maturing and mellowing and the kids sense he's more approachable. The pup enjoys their abuse so to speak. Of course I supervise them and at this point I'm mostly watching the kids because the pup knows his boundaries and is pretty secure with those. The kids, however, it will be longer before I trust them because they mature more slowly and will need guidance for a little longer -- I would expect your son likewise.
The dog will take the social order from the leader. It's up to you to establish the order -- it's not for the dog to try to figure out what his place is with your son by working it out with your son -- that would be ridiculous. There's no way my two year old could dominate my 26" 65 pound puppy. But the puppy knows very well that my boy is superior because I established the order -- not the dog!
Yes, your puppy will "test" the social order -- for me that happened at 5 months. The dog will test your leadership -- not your son's. The dog will know that the only reason your son is superior to him is because you said so. So he will test you not your son. That's why you'll need to continue to provide consistent leadership to your dog.
For the record, I think the answers here to return the puppy are way off base. It's clear from the question that the boy is not creating the problem here regardless of his diagnosis (which I have an idea is only slightly off "normal" in the opinion of a few academics that spent too long in school). Frankly, I could imagine a puppy growing up with a much more severely affected child -- say for example CP or retardation, which we're clearly not talking about here. On the other hand, oh yeah, a 9 week old puppy is going to play with it's teeth! That's what they've been doing with their litter mates for the first 8 weeks.
For crying out loud, just ask the question without the Autism stuff that is really irrelevant here. All the answers will come back that it's NORMAL for all puppies to bite the heck out of everything and everyone and that it's up to you to teach it not to. Some people will say to "redirect" the puppy, but I still think you need to scruff the puppy or use a collar correction. Check my source in the link. They're a GSD breeder for over 400+ litters!
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