kids and chows...training help

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5withchow
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kids and chows...training help

Post by 5withchow »

We just adopted a 2 month old chow mix (not sure what she's mixed with). Kadi is approximately 2 months old. She is in a very very nippy stage. Is a dog trainable at 2 months old to stop nipping? My kids are 5, 9, and 12...so there is lots of nipping opportunity available. When Kadi comes up to you and you try to pet her, she immediately goes for the nipping instead of letting you pet her. My kids are really excited to have Kadi at home and I want them to continue enjoy playing with her instead of being fearful of being nipped. Tips and Suggestions are appreciated. Also, we currently do not have the yard fenced in, so all outdoor play time is on a leash. If she gets plenty of walking time, is this going to be a problem? Another post indicated that chows couldn't take too much outdoor time especially in hot weather.
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JasonandNat
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by JasonandNat »

Rather simple. Bite back. Use your hand, foot if standing, poke your pup in the sides. It's all about startling a thinking reaction into them. The goal is for them to think before acting, not far off from the goals most people desire for children. Your in charge. You let your dog, groom your dog, feed your dog when you want to. And in the order you want the house to be, in this case everyone is above the dog. Period.
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Chow Chow Mama
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by Chow Chow Mama »

Hannah was a very nippy puppy and those little teeth are like razor blades cutting through your skin. With her I would yell OUCH and our play time or petting time would stop.
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Victory
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by Victory »

If you go to the training section you will see an entire thread on bite inhibition, (stopping the nipping) That kind of behavior is a dominance behavior and is to be discouraged asap, two months, 8 weeks is the perfect age to teach it. She's already had the beginning of the training with her mom and sibs and now it's time for you to continue the training. I began teaching my boy the minute I got him at 8 weeks and in less than a week, he didn't do it. Timeouts are the key, if she kissed, (gives licks), that's okay, if she touchs with her cold noses that's okay, but mouthing of anykind, trying to grab with her mouth or teeth should get an instant, firm NO, and then walk away from her, don't even look at her, if she tries to follow, put her in her kennel or a spot that is just hers and refuse to have anything to do with her for 2-5 minutes, (as she gets older increase the time), this is exactly the behavior she would earn from her mom and sibs for playing too rough, she has to learn that with humans she doesn't nip or mouth at all.

Pushing or poking may not work, some chows will ignore mild discomfort to continue doing what they are doing, it really depends on the chow or chow/mix. But they ALL hate timeouts and being ignored. I would especially discourage this method being used by young children. If the chow sees it as an escalation in assertiveness the youngest child could get bit harder, right now that's puppy teeth but in two more months the teeth will be those of an adult and in four months the teeth and bite will be those of a young adult, you want to teach proper and complete bite inhibiton and that NO means all playing stops because you, (the dog) just crossed a line that doesn't get crossed.

keeping her tied out while outside and playing with your kids is fine, however never allow anyone to tease her while she is tied out, this has been shown to be a cause of aggression in many dogs, they are tied out, basically trapped and someone teases and teases, they snap the tie and go after the first thing they see. Or they are tied out alone, getting bored and pacing, they get loose and again go after the first thing they see. Walking her will help bond, help with discipline and training, and believe it or not help her get the correct amount of exercise and keep her brain stimulated. Hanging out in her own yard tied or not she'll get bored, she'll only move a little and really won't get proper exercise.

Chows can tolerate heat as long as it is dry heat. High humidity and high temps are what is bad for them. They need plenty of access to a place to cool off, plenty of water. In the summers an indoor place with a tile, linoleum or wood floor, a fan or A/C and plenty of water is best for them. You don't want her running around the backyard with the kids during the heat of the day either, explain to the kids that she is wearing a really nice fur coat and she can't take it off so she's hot all the time. If she's got enough retriever in her she might like playing in water though so she could do that, but only if she likes it, most chows don't like getting those feet wet though so it'll depend on which breed she takes after.

Please make use of the training section.
Victory, Darkwind, (our angel), Firesong, and Dreamdancer
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chowpups
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by chowpups »

We took Nikki to training as soon as she had her shots and they taught us not to let teeth touch skin. The ouch,the firm NO, the turning away, the time outs what ever works you need to do.. We had a piece of lattice that we just put across the door in the kitchen and put her there for 5 min. with the firm NO BITE. ( didn't want her crate to be the time out place) and that worked better than even the ouch yelling . The ouch yelling kind of got her more excited.. every dog is different so like I said try them if one doesn't seem to work try another. But its important that she stop nipping. We have a 2 yr.old g.son that we make him put Nikki in a sit position before he plays with her or feeds her and she seems to understand that he is above her now in rank.. And on the other hand we are teaching him to be gentle around her and not tease her or poke at her.. Even though shes very mild mannered with him, its just good that children learn some respect for a pet also.. I did notice in training classes some of parents brought a child with them, I thought that was a good idea.. one lady had 6 children and each week she brought one to class.
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Boogie and Linda
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by Boogie and Linda »

We had the same problem when we got our first chow puppy and the advice about saying no loudly and firmly and then a time out really does work. It is hard for kids though so you will have to train them at the same time. Kids tend to kind of whine or scream and flail around instead of being firm which the puppy will mistake for play and the puppy will want to mouth them even more. You need to make sure the whole family uses the same method and your puppy will stop in no time. Don't give up. You can fix it.
Megabit
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by Megabit »

We have a Chow that is well trained. She is 3 years old now but with the kids in school and me starting a new job, she spends a lot of time by herself. We have a fenced backyard so she has room to run, but not a lot of attention until the evenings. The kids want to get another dog to have as a playmate to our Chow. In fact, they want to get a husky. Do these breeds get along well together? Is this a good idea?
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chowpups
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Re: kids and chows...training help

Post by chowpups »

megabit
You might want to put this question on a thread of its own. There is actually a member on here that has chows and huskies and would be able to answer this the best. She has 3 chows and a group of huskies that all live together. (sorry I forgot how many huskies).
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