Arghh! at my wits end

[tanvir]

*BIG SIGH OF RELIEF*   
Thankgod i'm not the only one with a crazy cocker pup! I tried the 3 minutes time out in the kitchen just now when oscar mauled my leg, and do you know what-it actually worked! at first he barked, but eventually quitened down. Oscar did his little bouncy cocker spaniel walk back into the room after i opened the door and actually came up to me and LICKED my feet..i was gobsmacked! from  to  in 3 minutes!
i think i have found a method that works.. i found that walking out makes him attack my feet more, yelping makes him think that i am a human squeeky toy and so he carries on, ignoring him isn't a punishment because as long as he has my ankle in his mouth he doesn't need my attention  distractions work for a minute or two, until he remembers how tasty my ankles are!
i don't think i could afford a trainer but i am going to ring the rspca tommorow to see if i can be booked onto a puppy training class. I am definately a big fan of treats being used at every possible opportunity-my pup is not the sensitive type and responds to one thing and one thing only-food, in fact, the only time that he isn't biting me is when he is oh so delicately taking food out of my hands..lol..you'd never imagine that he could draw blood with those same teeth
It is such a huge relief that other people have the same experience with their pup.Before i got oscar i had such a rose tinted view of puppy ownership-i expected cuddles and cocker kisses and a chance to give lots of love 
i'm ready to put in some hard work now so that i can have a future full of cuddles with oscar, perhaps we are just misunderstanding each other a bit at the moment. Can't wait until he has his second vaccination and we can get him out and about in a park to burn off some of that extra puppy energy. i would love to have a PAT dog one day, and before i got a puppy i had decided that i would train him to be perfect and lovely and take him out to care homes etc to make people smile..and then i got oscar and my brother told me that perhaps i am aiming too high    but i reckon with a alot of hard work we might eventually get there!

[tiamaria]

*BIG SIGH OF RELIEF*   
Thankgod i'm not the only one with a crazy cocker pup! I tried the 3 minutes time out in the kitchen just now when oscar mauled my leg, and do you know what-it actually worked! at first he barked, but eventually quitened down. Oscar did his little bouncy cocker spaniel walk back into the room after i opened the door and actually came up to me and LICKED my feet..i was gobsmacked! from  to  in 3 minutes!
i think i have found a method that works.. i found that walking out makes him attack my feet more, yelping makes him think that i am a human squeeky toy and so he carries on, ignoring him isn't a punishment because as long as he has my ankle in his mouth he doesn't need my attention  distractions work for a minute or two, until he remembers how tasty my ankles are!
i don't think i could afford a trainer but i am going to ring the rspca tommorow to see if i can be booked onto a puppy training class. I am definately a big fan of treats being used at every possible opportunity-my pup is not the sensitive type and responds to one thing and one thing only-food, in fact, the only time that he isn't biting me is when he is oh so delicately taking food out of my hands..lol..you'd never imagine that he could draw blood with those same teeth
It is such a huge relief that other people have the same experience with their pup.Before i got oscar i had such a rose tinted view of puppy ownership-i expected cuddles and cocker kisses and a chance to give lots of love 
i'm ready to put in some hard work now so that i can have a future full of cuddles with oscar, perhaps we are just misunderstanding each other a bit at the moment. Can't wait until he has his second vaccination and we can get him out and about in a park to burn off some of that extra puppy energy. i would love to have a PAT dog one day, and before i got a puppy i had decided that i would train him to be perfect and lovely and take him out to care homes etc to make people smile..and then i got oscar and my brother told me that perhaps i am aiming too high    but i reckon with a alot of hard work we might eventually get there!

Aww im so pleased! Yeah the general feeling i get from everyone on here is to put the hard work in early on and reap the rewards later on.  And there is nothing better than a well trained loving happy dog and owner! 

[waggytails]

I know how you feel, Hattie is not to bad at biting at the moment but she is also 10 weeks old and I can honestly say it has been a lot harder than I ever thought it would be, On Wednesday I was sobbing my heart out by the time my husband came home.  The day had been a good one and in the last hour the phone rang and then it all changed and I wondered if there was something in Hattie that made her mad, but after reading on col, I have realised its just normal and she is not the devil.  We have changed the way we play with her to stop her getting over excited. We play with her on the floor and when we want to calm things down we sit back on the sofa and leave her to play on her own.  I think I thought it would be so easy as I have lots of love, time and Patience. But they make you so tired and frustrated.  For me its the tiredness that I find hard.  I hope things improve for you. good luck.

[tanvir]

i totally understand what you are going through waggytails, i too thought that love, time and patience was all that was needed..turns out that what you actually need are industrial strength jeans and boots, and very very tough skin! i personally find the whole dominance game hard work-its against all of my instincts to dominate a little puppy ie, withdrawal of attention, walking through doors infront of him and generally making him feel bottom of the 'pack', but i guess i have to remember that he's like a baby wolf at the moment and needs to learn his place so that he grows up respecting me..but it still makes me feel mean when i have to be strict with him
oscars's at his best when he is fast asleep, lying on his back, little legs twitching, no doubt dreaming that he's chasing after my bare ankles    you'd never imagine that when he woke up he was such cheeky chappy

[Helen]

my advice would be to scrap the dominance theory, he's a domesticated pup not a wolf 

following the recommended advice on here is not dominance, it's just showing clear, consistent and positive  guidelines to a very young dog.

Would be great if you could take him to puppy classes - look for an apdt trainer near you.  I think it's really important, whatever the cost, in the long term.

[Eceni]

Definitely, definitely scrap the dominance theory - it's one of those mind-viruses that has infected dog-training without any single piece of evidence in any behavioural study ever....

and ditch the Gwen Bailey - I've rarely read anything so useless.

Get 'Before and After getting your puppy' by Ian Dunbar which will be a life-saver

then also get

'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training'

read both from cover to cover - they won't take you long and they WILL help so much more than the Bailey book.

There are some others that are good, but they're a good start.  And most important of all, if you can find a trainer who's a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), you can get some good hands-on advice.

this isn't irretreivable, but you do need to act swiftly

very good luck

e

[merry]

Before i got oscar i had such a rose tinted view of puppy ownership-i expected cuddles and cocker kisses and a chance to give lots of love 

I'm sure you won't have to wait long for this and the only thing you'll have to worry about is where he's been licking before he licks you