re: mothers behavior towards puppy

Question

hazel   here's the situation:

female boxer gave birth to 6 beautiful puppies 9 weeks ago.
female has always been a sweet loving gentle dog. no aggressive
behavior ,ever, exhibited.One exception  she "hates other dogs except the sire.
She was a wonderful mother did all the normal things a mother dog does. 5 of the puppies have gone to their forever homes while one still remains with us in the home, waiting for a new home.The puppy is now 9 weeks old.

here is the problem. Lola the mom, takes a concerning aggressive behavior on the puppy. Lola is fixated on the puppy. She bites at the neck,ears,legs. she chases the pup. The puppy will at first see it as play but quickly begins to seek out shelter from the abuse. At  times the mom actually hurts the pup.

We always supervise their being together, and separate them when it seems stressful to either dog. Our major concern is the puppy will learn inappropriate behaviors towards other dogsor become injured.

Is this behavior normal?I understand a mom's need to correct and train here pups,however this behavior seems to be a little much.

looking forward to your comments

john

Answer
Hazel is adorable.

Mother dogs always "teach" how to be a "big, bad Boxer" by the nipping, biting, chasing, and aggression to a moderate extent. This is normal. The learning puppy will "fight" as taught, and "submit" when proper. This is a "socialization" lesson as well.

However, if you feel that mother is over-reacting and overly aggressive, then you must put her in her place and stop it.

Buy a whistle and get a squirt bottle filled with water.

When mother is overly aggressive with her puppy Hazel, blow the whistle and squirt her in the face with the water bottle. As you do both, verbally chastise her with the usual "no" and whatever commands you use.

Remove her away from the pup; leash her and remove her from the area. If you have a kennel, you can place her in the kennel for a "time-out" which is generally 10 minutes.

Be consistent and routine on the correction.

In the meantime, supervise them together.

The mother is teaching, however, might be somewhat jealous of the puppy's attention she gets. It is kind of normal for a Boxer to be jealous.