Author Topic: Really struggling with the biting again  (Read 894 times)

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Offline bessymate4eva

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Really struggling with the biting again
« on: July 10, 2017, 04:53:49 PM »
I know I have posted before about this. Our 10 week old puppy lucy is biting constantly. Ive tried the 'ouch really loudly and ahah but it only seems to make her more excited and thus bite more. Giving her naps did seem to be helpful which I am continuing to do but today she has been worse than ever I think she is really testing me  :005:. Ive also tried ignoring her when she starts biting or putting her in another room away from me but she just doesnt seem bothered and just starts to get into mischief whatever room she is in .  >:D For example today I played fetch with her as she likes to go fetch the ball and brings it back to me which I praise her for. Often though when she brings the ball back she starts biting me thinking it is more fun to bite me than play with the ball and starts running round and biting and once she gets hold wont listen to let go. Its really difficult to distract her when she is like this. >:(. I just feel like nothing seems to be working. Its literally driving us nuts. I really want to try and nip this in the bud before she gets older and the bites begin to hurt. I think I must be going wrong somewhere   :huh:

Offline Londongirl

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Re: Really struggling with the biting again
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2017, 05:42:50 PM »
You're not doing anything wrong. This is SO normal for her age. She will grow out of it, and in the meantime you just need to concentrate on managing it as best you can. I well remember how absolutely infuriating it is to have a puppy hanging off your leg.

If saying 'ouch' or yelping makes her worse, stop doing it. I know it's generally the advice given, but I think exciteable little pups like Cockers just feed on the energy. In fact that's something I learned early on with Henry - energy in = energy out. Keeping my voice and movements very, very calm did help calm him down.

Ignoring her and separating yourself from her isn't really about making her 'bothered', more about giving yourself time to cool off!

Rather than playing ball, can you get a long tuggy toy that you can also fling? So then she can have a good game of tug when she brings it back, while keeping your hands safe.

One final thing: I remember with Henry that behaviours would be at their very worst just before a big developmental leap. So many neurons firing off in their little brains. So a bad day doesn't necessarily mean a step backwards. It can mean a big step forwards is just around the corner.
Rachael (me) and Henry (him)


Offline Theo961

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Re: Really struggling with the biting again
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2017, 06:01:19 PM »
We don't call them cockerdiles for nothing.  >:D She is still very young, I don't think Reese started to stop this until he was about 4 or 5mths old!  >:D Good advice from London girl, it is much worse when they get over tired so keep on making sure she gets enough rest. It does get better.  ;)

Offline juju

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Re: Really struggling with the biting again
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2017, 06:11:45 PM »
Izzy was a terrible biter. For weeks my hands were covered in tiny red marks. The only thing that worked was time out. If I was in the kitchen, I would put her in the puppy pen or I would go into the living and shut the gate behind me and totally ignore her for half a minute or so. Izzy was a terrible attention seeker, (still is if she gets the chance!) and I noticed an improvement over a few days.

Offline bessymate4eva

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Re: Really struggling with the biting again
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2017, 06:37:20 PM »
Thankyou for the advice everyone. Ive recently bought her a big tug rope toy and she loves it (thankyou londongirl for the idea) and it helps a lot getting her to pull on that and not my clothes  :005:. I will make sure she has lots of rest time too and hopefully it will get a little better. I guess I forgot how hard it was having a puppy again  :lol:

Offline 6thSense

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Re: Really struggling with the biting again
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2017, 08:43:48 PM »
Perfectly normal I'm afraid. I have a 16 week old pup at mo, so I'm going through it too. They grow out of it. ;)
xxxxxx 🐕 Sarah & 'Chamerl' Cocker Crew 🐕 xxxxxx