Puppy who is biting.....

[Marie1]

We have a four month old cocker who is very nippy/tries to bite. We have only had him a week. Problem is my four year old teases him which doesn't help. Advice please?

[Joules]

Don't worry, we have all been there  

First off, please do not allow your 4 year old to tease him    Make sure your pup has a safe place (crate/bed/playpen) where he can go for some peace.  Young pups need a lot of sleep so need to be able to escape to rest quietly when they want to.  You must teach your child that when the pup is in his crate/bed/eating or asleep, he must leave him alone.  

Do not leave them alone unsupervised - use babygates or a puppy playpen to keep them apart when you cannot watch them.  

Finally, puppies bite - it's what they do, it is perfectly normal.    They do grow out of it eventually, but it is very important when you have small people around that you manage it carefully for the safety of the pup and your child.  

Have a read of these threads which will give you some techniques to try:

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=64171.0

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=64170.0

Good luck, and welcome to COL

[Murphys Law]

Sleep, sleep and more sleep.

Murphy was a nightmare when he got tired. The problem was that I mistook the biting for the fact he had too much energy and took him out to 'tire him out' but he was already shattered. The result was more biting.

Now, after every walk or extended play or whenever we think he needs to calm down, Murphy goes in his crate upstairs (not his crate downstairs where he just doesn't settle) He is usually flat out in minutes and we leave him to chill out for 1-2 hours.

The difference is night and day. My wife, who to be frank just plain didn't like Murphy, is now starting to bond with him and the atmosphere of the house is so much better.

Add the fact that he has been teething, but has only three teeth left to fall out, which didn't help either.

I just wish I could turn back the clock because everybody, especially Murphy, would have been a lot happier.

[GeoW]

Totally agree with what Joules has said, a week is a very short time for a puppy to settle in, especially at this time of year. Puppies are hard work and you have doubly difficult training job with a four year old child as well, who must also be trained to understand that the puppy is not a toy to be pulled about and to respect the puppy needs.

Puppies do need a  routine, time to sleep and eat in peace, and ideally a calm environment. We found that the puppy play pen was the best thing we invested in when William was small; it provided a 'time out' space and allowed us to have a rest from him and somewhere for him to calm down when he had the inevitable biting fits, or displayed unacceptable behaviour.

[PennyB]

I agree with all of the above especially that a pup needs respect and despite the time of the year a pup needs structure in their life no matter what's happening around them and in fact their needs need to be paramount not secondary to fit in with everyone else (pups don't come fully trained or with an on off switch either which is why its hard work with a pup and not just about wiping up pee and poo)

[minimoo]

Agree with above , puppies do nip and play bite its perfectly normal , do not allow your four year old to tease him if you do and he gets bitten don't blame the pup , all children should be made to show dogs respect  a week is a very short time to settle in and its xmas , when he gets over excited give him a place where he can have a timeout and calm down , you will get plenty of good advice on this site so stick around  and welcome

[Marie1]

Thanks everyone for the great advice - so glad we joined this forum.

Is there anything in particular we should say or do to the puppy when he starts getting nippy?

[PennyB]

Don't worry, we have all been there  

First off, please do not allow your 4 year old to tease him    Make sure your pup has a safe place (crate/bed/playpen) where he can go for some peace.  Young pups need a lot of sleep so need to be able to escape to rest quietly when they want to.  You must teach your child that when the pup is in his crate/bed/eating or asleep, he must leave him alone.  

Do not leave them alone unsupervised - use babygates or a puppy playpen to keep them apart when you cannot watch them.  

Finally, puppies bite - it's what they do, it is perfectly normal.    They do grow out of it eventually, but it is very important when you have small people around that you manage it carefully for the safety of the pup and your child.  

Have a read of these threads which will give you some techniques to try:

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=64171.0

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=64170.0

Good luck, and welcome to COL

try these links above

[Murphys Law]

Thanks everyone for the great advice - so glad we joined this forum.

Is there anything in particular we should say or do to the puppy when he starts getting nippy?

TH, when Murphy was in one of his over tired bitey moods, nothing I said or did made any difference. The key was to find out what causing them (lack of sleep in Murphy's case) and do something about it.

[PennyB]

Thanks everyone for the great advice - so glad we joined this forum.

Is there anything in particular we should say or do to the puppy when he starts getting nippy?

TH, when Murphy was in one of his over tired bitey moods, nothing I said or did made any difference. The key was to find out what causing them (lack of sleep in Murphy's case) and do something about it.

but that's not to say that pups generally bite/are nippy because they're pups and that's what pups do. As suggested pls look at the links provided and work from there - its all about patience and working through this stage in a positive way (as in positive reinforcement).

Pups will also go through a mad bitey nutty phase at least once a day (its what they do) - I can often time when this sort of thing happens re most pups (I also foster pups) (one pup used to do it at the same time every evening and just race around biting everything in his path - I found at times like this it was best to stand back and let him get on with it - he wasn't tired he just had a burst of energy and was letting off steam)

[Mabels Mum]

Hi  By now hopefully you will have found the other posts about puppy biting (or mouthing) & realise that you have a little 'cockerdile' to deal with. But, as others say, you also have to help your 4 year old understand that the puppy is a sentient being & needs to be treated with respect.

Cockers are very sensitive dogs and respond best to positive training - much like 4 year olds 

If it becomes a battle of you constantly having to tell him off all your lives will become a misery.

Perhaps you could enlist his help in training the pup?  When I have pups I keep handy a 'cleaning up kit'  of bowl, super-absorbent cloths, single-use gloves, poo-bags, kitchen towel, anti-bac wipes & plant sprayer with vinegar/water solution. Your son could be in charge of this. 4 year olds tend to love dressing up - you could give him a badge or a hat & give him a title such as 'Accident Patrol'.  A 'star chart' would be something he can relate to - I'm sure they have star charts at pre-school. You could introduce a star chart for your puppy so that your son can give them a treat & a star everytime the pup 'goes' where they should. In the event of accidents your son will understand that the routine is to sigh, put on the gloves & clean up. You can discuss with him what went wrong - perhaps the puppy scratched on the door when playing - you could ask him if he thought she was asking to go out & suggest that next time they play he lets her out if she does it again?  He can watch to see if she's getting bitey - what does this mean? Would she like a chew? Is she sleepy now? Does she want a wee?
This way you can teach him to 'listen' to his puppy, to see her as a creature who needs care & understanding.
You will be teaching your son some valuable lessons for the future.

[Wmjat]

Hi there

We brought our  pup home in June. In the beginning my youngest son (5yrs my eldest 8yrs) was very timid of Ted due to the puppy biting/mouthing.. Our rule was as soon as Ted started this type of play we would introduced a chew toy that he could play with. His favourite types at that time were material types of toys with ribbons on. I completely agree with everyone else that your boy should be directed in good types of play things that he is allowed to do and types of play that's not going to be good for the pup.. It is difficult and you'll be repeating yourself a 100 times but it will sink in. You will notice a change in play when your puppy stops teething around 6 months or so. We are now at the point where the children realise how to play. We went to puppy classes and our boys were told to stand and be assertive with a strong 'no' if play is becoming too rough. Then try and redirect to good play again with a toy. (We struggle with their idea of assertiveness and bossiness - work in progress here for us.)
It does get better, involve your son in training the pup too, sit, stand, down etc.. The pup will gain respect for his mini owner as he would for yourself training him too..

Don't give up it gets better. Have fun. From Wendy And Ted xx