CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Puppies => Topic started by: Rachel1992 on March 25, 2014, 08:27:56 PM
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So, my pup just turned 6 months and is as naughty as can be! Ever since I brought him home at 8 weeks he's loved chewing the settee, that much theres now a big hole in the bottom... When anyone tells him NO! in a stern voice he carries on but harder, if you try and get him off the settee or move him away that's when he gets frustrated and starts barking, baring his teeth and lunging at you trying to bite! It's like he hates the word NO! >:D So it's like whenever we tell him off he starts to get annoyed and bites you!
He also loves jumping up at tables, sometimes knocking drinks over or pinching whatever has been left there. I've heard people say make sure you're setting boundries but how exactly is this done?
Another thing he loves to do is bring all sorts from the garden, today because it's been rainy he's brought me 3 snails! Is this just my cocker or is anyone elses clearing their garden? :005:
Any advice would be very much appreciated as today I'm feeling so fed up and just wanting him to be a good little boy :-\
Also, if anyone elses Cocker is this crazy I'd love to know, just so I know I'm not alone in this one :P
Don't get me wrong he is a wonderful puppy and I love him to pieces, just would love for the biting and naughtiness to get a bit better :lol:
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No advice re the chewing I'm afraid but just wanted to say that if he's picking up snails to ask your vet about a wormer that covers lungworms too!
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How much sleep is he getting?
Murphy was the same and used to react to the word NO too. He was just over tired and we were walking him more thinking he had too much energy. Once we started enforcing sleep time in his crate things improved dramatically. Now Murphy responds perfectly to a stern no if he is up to no good.
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He sleeps through the night in his crate but I don't tend to put him in it in the day for him to sleep, and he doesn't seem to sleep well out of it. Do you think I should give him some time to rest throughout the day?
Also, he is on a wormer already that covers lungworm thanks for advice :D
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Murphy would stay awake from morning until bed time if we let him when he was younger. He could get very narky. At six months they really do need at least a couple of sleeps during the day in my opinion.
The behaviour you describe does sound very much like over tiredness to me.
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So grateful for your comments! Going to try giving him a bit of crate time during the day and see if it helps!
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Charlie is 7 months and is put for a sleep in his crate for 1 - 1.5 hrs in the morning and again after his tea. I'm also careful he is not over walked on the lead. If he doesn't have nap time he too gets over excited and more naughty than normal. Try it for a few days and see if it helps.
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Oh and the behaviour your describing mirrors his too so your not alone. Charlie can even jump onto the dining room table from the floor!!
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Haha, glad I'm not the only one going through this! Will definitely put him in his crate for nap time tomorrow see if it helps! How long do you walk Charlie for? I don't want to be over walking him either! Though it is hard to tell sometimes as Dylan can go for hours on end haha :o
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If it's just on lead it's no more than 40 mins and off lead I try to keep to an hour otherwise he gets restless in the evening. He's always been an exuberant puppy but did actually listen to the word no today when he was trying to dig a tunnel in the carpet! :)
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Also another tip, if he gets over tired do some quick training with him, sit, liedown, sit, stand. Repeat x5 and after this Charlie seems to settle!
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Does he have things which he can "legally" chew? Nylabones, rawhide, natural chews? At 6 months he may still be teething and will want to get his teeth into anything he can! When he's chewing the sofa do you distract him with some else like a chew or a toy, something you don't mind him biting?
Do you do any training with him? Could he be bored? Training is the best way to build a relationship with him, and "set boundaries" as it were, and will also tire him out! Clicker training is good and there are plenty of websites and videos on youtube showing you how to do it. Does he have a kong you could give him his meals/ snacks in, which will make him use his brain?
Could you put him in a crate/ pen for "time out" when he is acting up? Sometimes having your attention taken away from them is the best deterrent!
Also as Murphy says, sometimes the temptation is to run them ragged to try and use up their excess energy and calm them down and it often has the opposite affect, so make sure he gets plenty of naps!
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That sounds around the amount of lead and off lead walks I give him so that's all good! I can't wait for the day when Dylan actually responds to the word NO haha! Yeah, another thing he loves doing is scratching at the corner of the carpet :embarassed:
He's good at sit, lie down etc so will also try giving this a go! :D
Thanks HBP, he has endless different kinds of toys which he can chew on! I have noticed he seems a bit more "bitey" when I can see a wobbly tooth! When he's in the mood to chew the sofa, wiggling a toy around in front of him does not seem to distract him at all, actually seems impossible to distract him when he is determined he wants to chew the sofa! I keep trying though. I've done a small amount of clicker training which he responds very well to! Can learn commands in a few days! Maybe I need to do this more often though...
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When he's teething try ice cubes and frozen carrots and if you've not invested in a stag bar try one, they don't all like them but for us it's a god send
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When Henry was this age, we had a range of chews, from bones, to rawhide, to tea towels, ice cubes ... We tried a different one each day, to try to keep him off the sofa! They do grow out of it eventually ! We now have a new sofa.... A nice leather one.
We also used to keep him out of the living room when he was most chewy.... I'm sure you do all this already...it does pass as they get older!
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As silly as it sounds perhaps just not using the word NO might help! He obviously assocoates that with you being annoyed and him not getting his own way hence the frustration.... perhaps STOP or AH! (works well in our house :005:). If he stops doing the thing you want him to stop for even a second then get in there and treat him.
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HBP is right. Using the word no probably means nothing to him. It can be repeated so often when we have pups that it's easy to forget that they don't necessarily know what it means! I use a sharp ah ah for Archie. I taught it to him by playing hide and seek games. I hid a favourite toy then let him in to look for it. If he was in the right area I said good boy. The nearer he was, the more enthusiastically I said it. If he went the wrong way I said ah ah. It was amazing how quickly he cottoned on to this while still having fun! He now knows that ah ah means he's doing something wrong. Archie was a dreadful chewer and my sofas were also a favourite. I found that the best deterrent was deep heat spray. Never spray it when pup is anywhere near though as it's quite strong for sensitive noses. Spray with him out of the room and wait a minute or so. Others have used olbas oil with similar effect. It doesn't last long but does seems to break the habit long enough to divert attention onto something that is permitted.
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Thank you. I'll try a new word and see if it helps. He's playing with an ice cube as we speak haha he loves it.
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How did it go today?
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He seemed to be quite a bit less naughty, did a few short clicker training sessions with him to keep him occupied, although now all of a sudden he's taken to stealing the cushions off the settee >:( he never bothered before haha. Crazy doggy
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:005: :005: :005:
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haha cocker puppies are nuts! My little boy is a cheeky monster and knows hes not supposed to be chewing the sofa- he does it when im ironing or cooking etc, when im actually sat with him he prefers his bones :/ attention seeking little mite! THANKFULLY so far no damage!
Hes getting better though, we just move him away from the sofa and give him something he can chew and praise him for chewing it... it does seem to be working. Ive found "no" doesnt really work for my boy either, praise for doing the right thing seems to be working much better!
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This sounds very much like our pup Mils. She was crazy!
(Still is) We have tried so much with Millie with nipping-
I thought it was getting more aggressive so spoke to a lady at pets at home and she was great.
She Suggested a pet corrector ( pressurised air in a can) say a firm no before and then use pet corrector. It took less than a week for Millie to realise she hated the
Noise and responded straight away to "no" (she used to
Bark back too or lunge at me) she hasn't nipped since.
We have also managed to stop jumping up and on the sofa by the same "no" but added down to the command.
Cockers are very clever put your trust into a method and stick with it :)
Sarah
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This sounds very much like our pup Mils. She was crazy!
(Still is) We have tried so much with Millie with nipping-
I thought it was getting more aggressive so spoke to a lady at pets at home and she was great.
She Suggested a pet corrector ( pressurised air in a can) say a firm no before and then use pet corrector. It took less than a week for Millie to realise she hated the
Noise and responded straight away to "no" (she used to
Bark back too or lunge at me) she hasn't nipped since.
We have also managed to stop jumping up and on the sofa by the same "no" but added down to the command.
This forum doesn't recommend or support the use of aversives such as the one you've usedSarahMK. This link http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=83594.msg1240763#msg1240763 explains why aversives are not a good way to train.
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i have a 6 month old orange roan girl, lively and gorgeous is how i describe her!. she is not really a chewer but if she tries i find a voice noise rather than a 'no' works better. Her worst trait is digging holes in the garden!
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Dylan is still exactly the same :( I'm giving him 2 naps a day in his crate, I've tried ignoring him when he lunges and barks at me but it's difficult because now he's started to jump up and bite my arm! He doesn't listen to any word when he's in this mood! I've also tried to make him sit but he just runs around then comes back to bark and bite. Arghhhh driving me insane as I love him so much and it's upsetting when he goes mental :'(
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The only way we taught Bonnie to stop biting was to leave the room every time she did it. She was really bad and even used to try jumping for my face with teeth snarling >:D I was convinced she was a vicious dog.
'No' didn't work, sleeps didn't work, ignoring her or turning our backs didn't work. Leaving the room did. It took time and some days we were in,out,in,out,in,out. Only for a minute at a time or less but she eventually clicked that if she bit us we left. Once we went back in, we always made a fuss of her and if she bit us again, we left immediately. So wish we had recorded us as we must have looked hilarious with all 3 of us getting up, leaving room, waiting behind door then going back in, every few minutes :005:
She is now 14 months and the softest, silliest and still nuttiest girl around who will snuggle all day long. Not an ounce of viciousness in her. Its hard work but worth it xxx
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Will definitely give that a go. Just started putting him in his crate when he does it for 5 mins but don't want him to associate his crate with being naughty.
Any tips on food? When we eat he has to go upstairs because most of the time he jumps up to snatch the food off our plates.
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When you eat can you put him in his crate with a chew to keep him occupied? Or behind a babygate with a chew so that he's not entirely separated from you, can still see you, but has something nice to occupy him.
You could also try teaching him a "settle" on a piece of bedding or a mat so that he understands there are times when you want him to settle down and stay in one place without actually confining him. When I've got a bit more time later on I'll have a look for a Youtube video that I seem to remember which is a good one about teaching "settle".