Hi there.
I read this post and wondered why more people hadn't replied but I suspect it's because there are about a million things you want to say about it!
Since my puppy was a terrible biter and I got so much support from the lovely people on here I should step up and write the essay!
I'm going to bullet point it or it will be an epic. Please do not take the blunt delivery as criticism- I'm trying to save time haha!
Is it a working or show type you have?
1) You got a cocker puppy when you already have 2 really small children. Unless you are wonder woman your situation is going to be quite a logistical challenge for quite a long time, but you may have a fab dog and get lucky.
2) Puppies bite. Some worse than others, but they all do it. Mine was AWFUL til she was one! And even now, she uses her teeth inappropriately, despite my following all the guidelines from day one. She is just a really mouthy dog and has to put everything in there. Saying that, she has never hurt anyone and does have good bite inhibition.
3) Never ever leave a puppy unsupervised with a young child! I am only just leaving my dog(who is 18months old) with a 7 year old, just for a moment while I quickly pop out of the room to get something and the 7 year old is extensively trained on exactly what to do in the event that the dog starts getting silly. It's not just that the dog might hurt the child but also, the child could do something that could affect the learning of the dog-for instance the child could accidentally fall on the dog and it might then see children as things that hurt. Once the dog is an adult and has had lots of training then the odd accident would hopefully be outweighed by lots if good experiences.
4) I wouldn't worry about noise from a young pup. My dog sounds like a demented cat sometimes. A young pup wants to play fight. It's normal. If there isn't another young pup to play fight with its going to do it with the next best thing. My pup pounced bodily on our granddaughter when she was crawling across the floor once. They are boisterous pups. Take it out and let it play fight with some other friendly dogs the same size.
5) Pretty sure licking is a sign of affection. My dog licks me the most when she's really pleased to see me!
6) Dogs are not 'sorry' after the event. 3 seconds after your pup bit your son, it had forgotten all about it and was thinking about eating your trainers or something. I think it is well agreed nowadays that if you need to correct a dog you have to do it in that very moment or its too late. The fact that you were not there when the incident on the stairs happened means that by the time you got to the dog it probably thought you were telling it off for doing something completely unrelated to the bite-walking through the hall way or something.
A positive thought though- firstly I bet there's nothing whatever nasty about your dog- it's just being a pup. You must watch it like a hawk when it's with the children, as your children will also need to learn how to behave around the dog.
My 18 month old pup (worst bitey pup I have ever known) now plays really well with my 2 year old granddaughter. She has hurt her on occasions- jumping up, trying to grab things out of her hands etc but she is still learning and they are accidents, and the little girl is learning where she has to be careful. There is always an adult close and watching them carefully but they are getting better. Over Christmas it was lovely to see the 2 year old...and the dog...both squeezed into an an old baby bath playing 'boats'! They are pals so don't be disheartened-it will get easier but the next year will be hard work I bet!
Told you it would be an essay!
Best of luck with your little family-furry and otherwise!