Manic Puppy!

[Manchester_Spaniel]

I am so pleased this has all worked out for you!

I have silently been following this thread with interest as my first ever new cocker spaniel puppy will be coming in Summer 2010 so its a good insight of what to expect - I think a trip to majestic wine and a few cases is on the cards!

Amazing how supportive everyone has been and what good advice, I am so glad your little devil has turned a corner!

Great stuff!!!

[blueroanlover]

Thanks!  That's exciting, I hope Selby settles in quickly - look forward to chatting to you!

[mlynnf50]

Hi well i think I am were you where a couple of weeks ago, I think he is just manic, but only on a night and its me he just wants to attach all the time unless i sit at the computer, so have to sit here to watch TV not much fun, just looked around and guess what he is fast asleep in the crate with the door open, but like you if I say NO he just barks at me so I stand up and turn around so I am not facing him so he bites my trousers I give him his ragger and try to distract him but no he just wants to attack me, you seem to have it sorted so I have the gin in one hand and the tonic in the other!! hic hic...lol and will just try to carry on. its costing me a fortune in hangover cures though.  How is he now?

[blueroanlover]

Hi everyone and thanks to all who have replied since I last sent anything. I'd also like to say thanks for the PMs I  have received.

Well... our little devil did turn a corner and then promptly went right back around it again!

He has had us in tears on more than one occasion...sheer frustration and exhaustion.  We saw the behaviourist who was taken aback by the way he was... in view of the fact that all the recommended advice had not worked she drew up a few other things to try; the main one being just put him in the crate after a maximum of 5 minutes biting; we should not have to put up with more than that.

Anyway nothing has worked much at all; he is as bad as ever - the behaviourist even offered to have him for the day today free of charge, which we gladly accepted!  Of course because he was in a strange house he didn't bite her much! LOL! So we were glad she had actually seen him in our own house so she didn't think we were exaggerating.

It seems that he is very bright; he knows now how to sit, lie, fetch.... and we have now been able to take him out properly and have even let him off the lead - he is marvellous, comes back every time we call.

So he is a bright dog but won't understand that he shouldn't bite. We were advised to give him as much exercise as possible bearing in mind he is only a baby yet and provide lots and lots of distractions to try and persuade him to chew and bite those instead.

Puppy socialisation classes start on Thursday with the same behaviourist/trainer; we are hoping that too will make a difference.

But for now - we still have a problem.. but hope to resolve it one day!! It is not a nice idea that we have to go thru his early months not enjoying his puppyhood; for us, that is the whole point of having a dog from  a tender age... and no dog we have ever had before, have we been so flummoxed by (or so bitten by!!).

Thanks again for all your messages.

[mooching]

I may be a bit late here, coming in near the end of the thread, but I wondered if you'd tried using water when he bites? Either from a small water pistol, or from a plant mister (set on more squirt than spray). Being a spaniel, he may of course just love it, but the shock *might* deter him.

[Karma]

Really wouldn't recommend that.... aversives can make things worse - see the thread pinned at the top of the behaviour board.... 

[blueroanlover]

I may be a bit late here, coming in near the end of the thread, but I wondered if you'd tried using water when he bites? Either from a small water pistol, or from a plant mister (set on more squirt than spray). Being a spaniel, he may of course just love it, but the shock *might* deter him.

thanks for the idea, we had considered it but since even the word NO elicits a reliatory response from him, we thought it might not be a good idea...

We shall keep trying and will let you all know how it goes.

[MaggieR]

I know you're having a tough time - keep up with the advise of the behaviourist tho and let us know how he gets on at puppy class - might be just the outlet he needs 

[SkyeSue]

Doesn't sound like the behaviourist told you anything more than everyone on COL.  What did he say about the fact that your puppy didn't display the same behaviour in his house? Did he think the biting was anything more than just puppy behaviour?

[mooching]

Really wouldn't recommend that.... aversives can make things worse - see the thread pinned at the top of the behaviour board.... 

Thanks for pointing that out - I hadn't seen that.

I

[Lynne L]

Avoiding highly coloured chews/treats etc. may help as well - we found these made Paddy hyper.
Lynne

[blueroanlover]

Doesn't sound like the behaviourist told you anything more than everyone on COL.  What did he say about the fact that your puppy didn't display the same behaviour in his house? Did he think the biting was anything more than just puppy behaviour?

Hi, she said that it was simply because he was in a strange environment; there was another dog around and also a cat; plus lots of strange smells, different things to investigate etc. She thinks it is (cocker) puppy behavioiur, but to an extreme, whereby he doesn't respond at all to anything.  So the only solution is to put him in the crate after 5 mins, leave him for a few minutes unless he goes to sleep and then get him out and try again.. and so on and so on...

She is a well thought of trainer/behaviourist and her view is that as he tends to retaliate against any form of instruction not to bite (and ignore any other things we try and distract him by) then crating is the only thing left for us to do... he is so bright in other ways and a joy to take out - it is strange that he doesn't respond to this problem really. But according to others on here, it is not unusual and could take a while for him to stop. Not a good prospect for us but we are sticking it out... trying not to get TOO exhausted and downhearted.

We would love to cuddle him, we cannot even brush him because unless he is sleepy, we can't get near him! LOL!

[Karma]

I can truly understand how frustrating this is... at least you have the reassurance now that, while it is extreme, it is normal behaviour and not some flaw with your pup (or your interactions with him). 

It WILL get better - and these horrid times will become a distant memory!

[blueroanlover]

Indeed!  Hopefully it will disappear soon - in every other respect he is a great dog.

[Trixie780]

I just wanted to note that Tucker is now one and we have noticed a major change in his behaviour lately.  He is still crazy, still nippy, still a cocker but we are noticing more quiet moments in him.     Tucker is still battling some anxiety issues and we are working with our vet on that, but we are starting to notice less craziness and more normal dog behaviour.  He is incredibly bright and needs a lot of stimulation.  I have to wonder if that wasn't part of the problem.  Our last cocker was so well-behaved and so loveable but not have as bright as Tucker is (I don't mean that in a bad way!).  Tuck is just incredibly smart....perhaps too much for his (and our) own good.    We walk him a lot and need to spend more time on training as it seems to be what really keeps him on his good behaviour.  He also knows "no bite" now which is a HUGE acheivement for him.  Mind you, when he's playing it seems like his brain turns off completely at times and there are moments when he's got a hand in his mouth and we're yelling "no bite" where you can almost see him come out of his crazy world and realize what he's doing.     We never thought we'd make it through that first year and we're on the other side now and looking forward to the next, good and bad.