[Sharandsons]

I already know that Maggy is very mouthy and nips and chews and grabs ankles, pants, shirts, you name it... and we're working on that, but this is a little different. When she does it to my daughter, who is four and also the smallest member of the house, it's different. (We have six people, four are children, but the boys are a lot bigger and I don't know if this has anything to do with it, pack wise, to the dog) Any who, when Maggy does the whole "nip your pants as soon as you move" thing to her, she also barks at her and kind of has a stand off with her. She doesn't so that with anyone else. It freaks my kid out and though I am trying to teach her to react firmly and calmly, of course being a four year old girl she screeches and over reacts. Obviously getting Maggy more excited. Is Maggy going for a pack spot sense my daughter is the smallest/weakest one in the house or is it simply because my daughter reacts like that? Maggy never barks at anyone else in the home like that. It's like the dog is trying to keep her from moving or something. Any tricks, advice, or insight? I'm willing to train the kid as well as the dog though I think the dogs gonna be easier!

 

[MikeyMerciless]

Maybe since she's small, she's easier to play with. Small dogs/puppies don't usually mess with the big dogs, so maybe that's what starts it. But yea, the screaming is just going to get her more wild.

 

[Sunstreaked]

Sorry, don't know how old your pup is, but is tethering her to you possible? It sounds like play/herding with your 4 year old, but even my pup at 5 months (and 40 pounds) can get me off balance. It would be a lot worse with a little kid. With her tethered to you, it would give you a lot more control over each of these incidents and possibly help your daughter not be so scared if mom is there to take care of her and the pup.

Just a thought.

 

[Sharandsons]

It sounds like play/herding with your 4 year old

All I can say to myself right now is a big old DUH! That makes perfect sense! She certainly wasn't being aggressive with her but she had a bossy air about her. She does chew on her more then anyone ese and I am sure that's cause it's so much fun to make her squeal like that, but the herding completely explains why it looked like she was intentionally trying to back her in a corner and keep her there. I feel like a light bulb just went of in my head, now that I know what it is I'm going to look into it more. Thank you so much!!! (I knew they where herders, just up until now it always seemed like an after thought, as I have never seen that behavior in one) Until now of course lol.

 

[Bunch of Rascals]

The tethering idea is a good one. It was the only thing that worked with our puppy and our 5 year old. I think because of their size, more hyper nature, faster movements, etc they definitely see them as more of a playmate than the other members of your family. We taught him leave it with the leash on at all times if Alijah was around and when he was reliable enough to understand the command we let him "roam free." Make sure you keep lots of treats at the ready to praise and reward when she backs off, even when she needs a little tug to do so. She will pick it up fast as long as you are consistent. The problem with leaving her off leash while you are trying to fix this behavior is that she isn't corrected every time and she wont really understand that it's not ok ALL the time. Look up the sticky on bite-inhibition too. You want to teach her to have a soft mouth. Don't PUNISH when she nips...just redirect and praise when she "leaves it." I hope that made sense.