Hey Guys and Gals,

We just got our puppy Moose a couple days ago and everything has been going great up until today. Today was the first day that he got to meet my five year old son, so I was pretty excited and so was my kid. When he got in the car Moose seemed pretty pumped, but then laid back down in the seat without greeting him. When we got home and got inside my son went to go pet him and Moose growled and seemed to snip at him a little bit. Now every time my son walks by him he kinda moans at him.

I held him and had my son come up and pet him and he was fine. I put him in my sons lap and he was good and started licking him. But still, even after that, he is still moaning at him and just looks mad lol. He's only 8 weeks old so I know there's plenty of time to adapt and I'm sure things will be fine, I just find it odd. I've had a couple of other huskies and neither acted this way, it was quite the opposite.

Just wondering if anyone had any advice or thoughts as to why Moose is acting this way? I'm assuming its him trying to show some dominance and establish himself as the leader, but I'm really not sure.

Thanks in advance

Here's a picture of the little beast!

https://servimg.com/view/18204850/6][img]https://i.servimg.com/u/f70/18/20/48/50/photo115.jpg

Hi and welcome to the forums


There could be a couple of reasons you would be getting that reaction.

The most likely would just be that your son is a very new, and strange, encounter for this 8 week old puppy. Huskies in general are a very trusting breed of humans, as you are well aware, but children bring a totally different dynamic. This is seldom the case is older pups, as I've never met a husky who hated children (though I'm aware they exist), but for an 8 week old puppy I'm sure it just stems from being unsure of this smaller version of you walking around closer to his level.

Another thing to keep in mind is the energy and excitement a 5 year old can bring. They are primal and intense emotions. If your son is anything like my god son it's all PLAY, ENERGY, and FUN. Don't get me wrong, my god son is a very well behaved little man, but he isn't the calmest of people 99% of the time .

This raw emotion is probably intense for an 8 week old pup and it is perfectly normal for any dog to be apprehensive around that.

Moose was probably reassured when you were close during the interactions, and thus was quiet and licking.

Honestly I wouldn't worry at all. Keep on eye on their interactions and I'm sure in no time they will grow into the best of friends. All I would do is try and read Moose. If he looks like he has had enough and wants to relax make your son understand he needs his space. Your son will even probably start to understand when the pup wants to be left alone, and is just as important.

That goes both ways however, and if you feel your son needs some time to decompress it is perfectly acceptable to request that of Moose as well.

Hope that makes sense... I ramble a lot
Welcome again.
~Chris~

Thanks for the quick reply!

So a little time has passed now and it got to the point where Moose would go up to him and let him pet him. Everything seemed to be starting to falling into place until we all went outside. When we got out there as soon as my son showed up he freaked out! I told him to be calm outside and he was and as soon as he got remotely close to him, Moose took off running making a yelping sound and ran to my feet lol. So I picked him up and had my son come over to pet him, when he got close he started moaning and seemed like he was going to nip again. Came back inside and it's like we are starting from scratch again.

I'm sure all it will take is just some time, but it sure is weird! My son isn't crazy all the time, he's got his moments, but I've been keeping him calm around the pup in hopes he will loosen up a bit. We shall see!

My only suggestion is try to let Moose go to your son. Meaning, talk to your son about giving Moose a wide berth and pretty much just ignoring him. This will give Moose the time to feel safe and non-threatened. While Moose gets there, he will probably become more curious about your son and slowly test out approaching him. The point is to let Moose feel in control of the situation so that he isn't afraid. It takes some patience, probably epecially on your son's part, but I think it will work out just fine.