A soon to be room mate has very aggressive pup

[SarahFair]

Hey yall..
Ok to give you a little insite..

We are closing on a house friday and to make ends meet my boyfriend and Is bestfriend will be moving in with us. We have a 14 month old child and a 2 year old shepherd mix also..

Ok so heres the deal..This pup is just flat out, I dont want to say mean because he is a pup, but out of control. He has just come into this really. I was there the night he picked him up. He was all calm and sweet, but a scared pup will be. The guy he got him from said that the dog that bred with the mom (whos a mutt they saved from a house) was a pitbull but I just really think he wants to say his dog bred with a pitbull. Hes a nice guy, good friend, whatever. So anyways lets get down to whats been happening..
In the past few days the pup has just been out of control with biting people. I understand a pups going to bite but he is breaking skin and just WONT STOP! The room mate tries to tell him NO with a stern voice but that makes the puppy lash out more (whos about 14 15 weeks old). I told him tell him NO in a calm voice and try not to push him away because he thinks thats play. Well last night we brought our dog over to make sure they play good. (We have introduced them 1x befor) He kept biting her. She would take it and take it until it was to much. When it was just to much she would knock him back, hold him down, and growl then just go back to what she was doing. The pup would leave her alone for awhile but then go back at it. Well when I was around the house and out of sight and the baby came down the pup attacked it (my boyfriend [the babys father] saw the whole thing so it wasnt like he was left alone with the pup). He now has a 5 inch scratch down his face (my son..not the pup). As soon as the puppy sees him he jumps on him growling and biting him. I told the room mate to start squirting him with water and tell him NO at the same time when he doesnt want him to bite. I read to do this somewhere, cant really remeber.

I just remember when we got our dog (at 3 months old) she was NEVER EVER as aggressive as this pup is. Maybe its just the age?

Is squirting him the right thing to do or should he attempt something else?
OR
Do you think this pup is just too aggressive to move in with us?

[whatszmatter]

the pup isn't aggressive, its a puppy, it doesn't even know what aggression is yet. redirect him when he's biting to something else like a toy, it works. Don't put your son and the puppy in the same area where your son can be scratched and bitten.

Puppies don't magically know they aren't supposed to bite and use their mouths, my guess is since it was from a questionable "breeder" it didn't get enough time with its litter mates to lean bite inhibition, and it wasn't and isn't being socialized.

[SarahFair]

The pup was with his litter mates till he was 12 weeks. Stayed with them 24/7. But neways..He tries to give him his 'bear'. Hell bite it for a second and go back to biting people. He doesnt seem to want a toy but a live thing that will play back..

[dr2little]

This pup just need to clearly understand human rules. I'm getting from your post that no straight forward, consistent message has been given and that he's just getting confused.

If he's 3 months old, it's very unlikely he's aggressive but like whatzs said, he's a puppy doing what a puppy knows. They investigate everything with their mouths, play using their mouths and really need to know that dog/dog play isn't appropriate with humans.

You have already inadvertantly "taught" him bite inhibition. He knows that it hurts when he bites you, now he needs to know that it's not OK to put teeth on human skin, clothing, shoes...etc.

The best way to do this is to remove him from play the second that his teeth touch you....EVERY SINGLE TIME. What I would do is play with him (always gently, no tug-a-war, wrestling) and when he uses his teeth, I would give him a firm "NO BITE" verbal only command and then ignore him. Some puppies will be very insistant and try to continue playing..nipping and chasing. In this case, I would find a way to confine him (maybe a leash attached to a door nob IN YOUR PRESENCE AND UNDER SUPERVISIO), or a baby gate so that he can still see you but can't get to you.
This confinement or "TIME OUT" should only last for about 2 minutes or so and then when you take him out of 'TIME OUT" it should be done in a very low key manor.
I'm running out the door to a session right now but I'll check back in later for questions....and to proof (sorry if this is confusing or full of typos:D ) I just wanted to give you something to work with before I left.

Please do not have baby and puppy within nipping distance....the pup is too young to know better and those little baby puppy chompers can accidently do some real damage...

[whatszmatter]

but the living thing can't play back, everything stops when he's biting you, and when he's on the appropriate toy, then play resumes. This has to happen every time. Puppies don't like to play with things that don't move, and maybe he needs a new toy, the bear just doesn't do it for him. Trust me, we train the mouthiest dogs on the face of the earth and they all learn what is appropraite to bite and what isn't, it just takes time, patience, and consistency. If others are going to be around that won't follow the rules (as in no movement and redirection on to something else) then the puppy and those people need to be seperated.

You're right for not pushing him away, it will just be enticing him to play more. Let the other dog, put him in his place when he's getting to rowdy as well. as long as its just nasty growling and some showing of teeth its perfectly normal.

[mrose_s]

make sure when you tell this pup "no" its not just stopping that bit of the game. stand up and walk away. this way the game completley stops. OR take the pup to another room so it won;t see biting as a way to deter people

[bubbatd]

This may be more than just puppyhood . I sure would watchful for the sake of the baby !