HELP! My 9-month-old pup is treating my 7-year-old daughter like a puppy playmate. Whenever he becomes hyper, even if he is playing with someone else, he heads straight for my daughter and mouths, scratches, and jumps on her. (He does the exact same thing to our neighbor's dog.) He is the sweetest thing and we know he is just being playful and isn't meaning to hurt my daughter but the past 2 days he has left decent size scratches on her arms and back.

What should I do??? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.

Have your daughter help with training so that your pup starts seeing her as a source of authority and will bond with her on a human level rather than a puppy level. Have her work on being able to tell him sit when he's being too rough so that she can essentially put him in a time out. Also work on leave it so that if he makes a run at your daughter you can tell him to leave her and he will divert. At 9 months their exercise level is through the roof and they need a lot of exercise and stimulation. Doggy daycare, longer walks, more training. That teenaged phase is coming if not already upon you and they can be real bratty sometimes. Tighten the reigns on him and make him work for everything.

Great ideas! Thank you so much!!!!! I'll let you know how it progresses.

Astro just joined our family last week. He came from really sweet owners but they didn't have enough time for him. Poor baby was kenneled about 8 - 10 hours a day, wasn't exposed to kids on a regular basis and hasn't had much training. (He's already potty trained though so that's a HUGE blessing for us.) We're walking/running him an average of 4 - 6 miles a day and playing in the backyard with him for a few hours in the evening. Right now the only command he actively obeys is "sit". It sounds like "leave it" will be the next one we work on.

Seriously, thanks again for your advice!

Astro and my daughter ♥

At under a year old it's suggested to limit his running, at least on paved surfaces. Joints are growing up until they are a year old and over working them can cause looseness in the joints that will lead to issues later. Best to keep walks to around 45 minutes at a time on softer surfaces like grass. Backyard romping is as much as he wants. They can go forever it seems but if you let them they could pay for it in the long run. Mental stimulation through puzzles and training will help with that energy as well. It usually takes a couple months in a new household for them to really settle in and see how they are going to be. He looks happy to be with you and is no doubt loving his new life as much as it looks like you all are loving having him. He will turn into a great family member for you with time, training, and boundaries. Can't wait to see how it all blooms.

Oh my goodness! I had no idea about the running! We will definitely tone it down for the next few months. Thanks for letting me know!

The last few days we've had our 7-year-old give Astro commands and so far he hasn't puppy jumped on her again. We also found him a 7 mo old golden/husky puppy friend to play with so he has been able to puppy wrestle with an actual puppy. Lol!

Thanks again!

That is great to hear!

Our daughter aged 40 has similar problems with Yuki, with several torn items of clothing as a result. We have discovered the power of ginger, but I would love to know how to stop this behaviour from happening in the first place.

Gillian