Our new golden cocker who nips and bites!!!

[subeeloo]

Hello every1, I'm a newbie, only found this forum this afternoon. We got Sammy 3 weeks ago. Unfortunatley he came with Kennel cough which he is being treated for. Originally our daughter has always wanted a Westie, but when we went looking for one, there was Sammy sitting on his own in with the Westies and Scotties, and we all fell for him!  Apart from the cough, he nips and bites everytime we either have a play or cuddle off him. We have read over the forum about this, but I also came across Rage Syndrome which worried me. Anyone heard of this or have you come across it? He has mastered the art of going out to the garden for the toilet, but anything else, i.e commands for, NO, STOP IT, GET DOWN, NAUGHTY, forget it! He sits when asked, but not for long, so I reckon that is just coincidental. Our children are 15 and 12, so if they were smaller, I'd be quite concerned. We've never had a dog, so this is all very new to us. Can anyone out there can give me some tips on how long it will go on for? Have read it can go on for months till the proper teeth come through                      

[Jane S]

Welcome to Cockers Online How old is your Sammy? All puppies bite & nip - it is normal behaviour & has absolutely nothing to do with Rage Syndrome It will get better with patience & perseverence - you might find our FAQ article on Play Biting useful for hints on how to stop this behaviour:http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/forum/viewt...opic.php?t=2016 Be warned, it can take weeks for training to be effective so don't expect a overnight improvement I'm a little concerned that you have bought a puppy from a kennel selling a number of breeds - it is usually best to buy a pup from a specialist breeder. Did you meet Sammy's Mum or any of his other relatives? If not, you may have bought from a dealer not a breeder so Sammy may have missed out on the socialisation a reputable breeder would offer. As soon as you can (once Sammy has completed his vaccinations), I would recommend you find a Puppy Socialisation/Training class near you so you & Sammy can meet other puppies & learn basic training techniques under the guidance of an experienced trainer. You might be able to find a class if you look here: www.apdt.co.uk

Jane                    

[subeeloo]

....thanks for that Jane. We did get him off a farm, and have since found out what we should have done! He is 12 weeks old, and because of the Kennel cough, he has only had the one jab, his 2nd is on Friday. We were and still are niave. I looked at that site you mentioned earlier on b4 coming online. We will wait a couple of weeks first as we want to try and get him used to a lead. We have got him a weaved one, which is light, but all he wants to do is swizzle around and round and try and chew it off, I suppose this is a natural thing they do till they get used to it. I have tried by holding it at the end by his collar and the looped end with my other hand, but to no avail! Any suggestions???                    

[padfoot]

Hi,
Sorry to be repetitive but this IS normal puppy behaviour. My 10 mth old golden cocker still playbites when he is very excited, although this has improved massively over the last few months.
But all 12 week old puppies nip and bite, you only have to watch them playing together to see this.
I have two 12 week old pups at the moment waiting to be homed and they are very bitey. It's best to turn away and remove all attention from him when he playbites so that he learns it's not acceptable, but it could take some months.

Definitely go to training classes   They're brilliant and will be an excellent way to socialise Sammy.

Good luck                      

[lizzy]

Hiya!

One thing I would recommend you could do is go and buy The Perfect Puppy by
Gwen Bailey. it is a brilliant book for all new puppy owner's covering many subjects. It takes many many months of patience and hard work to train a puppy but with lots of love and time it can be done and the rewards are fantastic

I think dog training would be a good idea as mentioned before!

Good luck and keep smiling!

Lizzy Molly and Evie ( You could always try the library first)                    

[padfoot]

Hiya!

One thing I would recommend you could do is go and buy The Perfect Puppy by
Gwen Bailey. it is a brilliant book for all new puppy owner's covering many subjects.

Agree, the book is brilliant                      

[subeeloo]

Thanks to everyone who have replied to my post. I will definately find out about training classes and look out for that book. We are open to suggestions for anything else we may need to know... :wink:
p.s. can you please tell me how to ignore the nipping or biting when he's at your feet or trousers or jumping up at your coat/jacket:?:  :?:  :?:  :?                    

[padfoot]

p.s. can you please tell me how to ignore the nipping or biting when he's at your feet or trousers or jumping up at your coat/jacket:?:  :?:  :?:  :?

With great difficulty   But do try to ignore it if you can.                    

[bluesmum]

Please believe me when I tell you that this is a phase - a puppy phase, he will grow out of it, he is just learning and he needs your help to do that, I know how hard it is to ignore the little terror stuck on the end of your toe!!! :wink:  but if you persevere and ignore him he will come to realise that this behaviour is not acceptable and that the only reward he will get from this is being ignored which puppies absolutely hate!                    

[Jan/Billy]

Yep I totally agree! When we first got Billy I thought we had picked the naughtiest puppy ever, biting nipping,chewing. Although I must say I have learnt so so much from COL, you must stay in touch. Its great,instant advice!  
Like you we bought Billy from a"dealer", we really had no idea until afterwards why we had done wrong. :oops:  
We take Billy to puppy training classes. He started at 14 weeks and goes every week without fail .He is 7 months now and still goes. He has moved out of the puppy class now and has moved upinto intermediate class now and is the youngest dog there. training classes are not only good for your puppy but it is good for you too, we learnt so so much from the people who run the classes, we received bundles of advise etc.
Billy was a real night mare when we first got him, my hands were so sore due to his biting.His teeth were like razors. He did calm down but it took a while. He socialised a lot with other puppies which often involved him biting the other puppies! it looked so painful but that is how they play! I used ot say a firm NO,if that didnt work i would lock himout of the room for a couple of minutes.It will get better it just takes time                      

[PennyB]

Please believe me when I tell you that this is a phase - a puppy phase, he will grow out of it...

It will also seem like a very long phase at times as well. Don't forget they are like little babies and have very short attention spans and so anything at this age may take longer to understand by your pup than when they are older. It pays to have loads of patience and a sense of humour here.

Once you've got over this phase then there's an equally infuriating phase called adolescence. The little 'Kevins' will then try your patience even more as they now seem to forget everything you thought they'd learned in the 1st place. (Wilf is now 11 months old and has now forgotten the word 'no', and seems to think that it means that I've told him a joke as he then runs around wildly dancing around 'laughing' the only way merry cockers can do!)                    

[Pipers Mummy]

Hi,

We got Piper from somewhere that perhaps we should not have  :cry:  :cry:  

She was such a nipper and biter and one day as I was stopping her from digging up the garden yet again  :roll:  she actually 'turned' on me - growling and having a real paddy  :shock:  :shock:   (Well as much as a 10/11 week old can 'turn' on you!).  That really frightened me and I thought "what have I got here" and was very upset by the incident  

But.......it is all normal puppyhood behaviour and despite having our hands, some clothes and a bit of wallpaper shredded  :shock:  :roll: a few months later we had the most wonderful, loving and kind dog that anyone could wish for       We still cannot believe how such a little terror could turn into something so wonderful  :wink:

We have invested time in taking Piper to doggie classes from 13 weeks and she is well trained now at almost a year and very good with other dogs and people so I would recommend you take Sammy as soon as you can  :wink:   The training classes in my area range from £1.50 - £5.00 so are quite reasonable - that is Wigan though so depending on where you are I guess that could vary quite dramatically  :roll:

Good luck with Sammy and keep in touch with his progress - it will all be worth it in the end                      

[Katina]

Call me crazy if you like  :oops:  but, I simply do the same what adult dogs would do to an "annoying" puppy. First I growl without looking at the pup, if this doesn't work I growl a little louder and show my teeth to the pup. This has worked to all, exept my Ada  . But even she finally got the idea when I bit her :wink: (You should've seen her face, it was something like this  :shock: , and she has _never_ even playbit me since   )                    

[LauraT]

I can only agree with what's gone before. You must remember that dogs explore with their mouths the way that babies explore with their hands.

I've had dogs before and they've all gone through the bitting and "mouthing" stage. When i was a kid my first dog (a border collie) ripped the bottom of my trousers to shreds.

My parents Cocker who is 19 months old and she still mouths when she's excited.

All i can say is be patient, perservere because it'll all be worth while.                    

[Allison]

I am sat here reading this post and laughing,      When we got Sally we thought we had bought the dog from hell, :wink:  she ran frantically around the front room in circles, jumped on you, tried to bite your nose, went into the lying position as if to say chase me then nipped my knuckles, ripped my slippers chewed my laces, stole the coal from the fire( all in a nights work) we were absoubtley worn out. :x .
But for this web site I really dont know what we would of done :roll: . Sally is now 16 months old and the best thing that has ever happened to my husband & I, we adore her and she loves us soooooooooo much    no more biting or nipping, just a soft gentle mouth who licks  and kisses :roll:  what a difference. It is well worth the wait and in 6 months time you will probably replying to another NEWBIE good luck to you and keep your chin up.