Hello! I am new here. We just got a Wheaten Terrier who is almost 5 months old. We have a 3 and 5 year old (kids). Our Wheaten, Nittany, is a sweet dog, but she doesn't understand not to bite and jump... and she bites HARD on the kids. I have done the puppy 'yelping' to get her to release from me, but it doesn't work with the kids. They scream and cry and try to get away, but she just latches on harder and jumps all over them. She isn't aggressive, she thinks it is a game. She doesn't respond to clapping, the word 'no', or yelling. When I pry her off of them he keeps on lunging after them. They can be sitting on the couch, not getting her excited, and she will come over and start play biting. Not sure what to do... We love her SO much but we can't have her hurting our kids... We can't leave her alone with them at all.
Sounds like she's treating your children as her litter mates, you might want to contact the breeder/rescue home you got her from for some advise on how to stop her from nipping at your children.
I wish I could. We got her from a family going through a divorce. She was purchased by them from a pet store but they are 3 hours away.
Nittany is only a baby herself, and has had a less than perfect start. She is going to take some time to learn the rules of your house. Could you perhaps provide her with a decent sized crate, or a room with a baby gate, to keep her away from the children when you are not there to supervise. Give her plenty of hard things to play with, and chew on, as she will be starting to shed those sharp baby teeth soon. When she is loose, attach a short house line, so you can catch her more easily, and distract her before she is able to make contact with the children.
Do you have a vets or dog training club near you that do puppy socializing/behaviour courses, which you can attend so they can see how your dog is nipping at your children, [attacking viciously or just playing] its better for them to see what's happening & can advise you on how to stop it.
I used time-outs ( and still do with my youngest ). As soon as they nip, out they go and there they stay until they've calmed down. Pushing, shouting, screaming are all better ways of encouraging your dog to keep nipping as she will think it's the most fun game ever! But a time-out usually works more effectively as the dog loses the source of it's entertainment ( you ) and in addition learns to relax. My dog will happily spend a few hours behind the baby gate in the hall now and automatically knows it means time to settle. Could you keep a light house line on your dog at all times at the moment? This would give you instant access to preventing her from getting at your children. You could tether her to you so she's never out of sight. At the same time I'd continue reinforcing strong 'leave' or 'off' commands. At 5 months she's going to be very bouncy and lack impulse control, but with continued, daily reinforcement she will learn. It's just a trying time for all human family members at this age unfortunately. I'd also look into providing more mentally stimulating games, scatter games in the garden, giving her a frozen Kong or allowancing some of her daily food into activity toys she has to work at. A mentally tired dog is a happy dog
