Author Topic: Puppy biting and snarling at my wife but not me  (Read 1153 times)

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Offline Nelly noodle

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Puppy biting and snarling at my wife but not me
« on: January 12, 2021, 03:56:11 PM »
Hi all, been reading quite a few posts over the past days concerning biting etc but could not see anything concerning my subject.

We lost our last cocker a few years ago and decided to have a break from dogs, as we devoted and gave up a lot of things to him due to his age (passed away at 15 years).

So last year we decided that we was ready to go down the path of getting a new cocker, decided we wanted a different colour and a female so we did not compare Nelly to our boys (Monty and Basil). We did all our research again and waited a long time till the breeder we choose had puppies for sale.

We finally got Nelly at the end of the year (at 8 weeks old), she has been brilliant in training and is a delight most of the time to have. Yes she has her devil moments like we knew she would have. The last few days she has been going out for walks in the real world and been great on the lead.

After two weeks she seems to have taken a dislike to my wife, she is constantly biting her when she picks her up and showing teeth (snarling) at her - the thing is Nelly does not do this to me and seems to love being with me more. This is now causing massive anxiety in my wife every day to the point that she feels like she wants to give her up and made one of the biggest mistakes ever - I know a lot of people have felt the same and got through it but with my wife's anxiety added it has created a new level of stress to her and me.

Can anyone help on why Nelly is doing this to her and if there a solution and also how to calm her down when hyper.

Thanks so much all

Offline cazza

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Re: Puppy biting and snarling at my wife but not me
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2021, 05:45:10 AM »
Hi and welcome to Col

First thing to ask is “when this first started why was your wife picking Nelly up?”  Was it to stop her doing something etc?

I am no expert and this is only my opinion / thoughts

But look at the question and really think about it. I am thinking that Nelly is thinking of your wife as a threat to her in some way. Depending on the reason why you think it started I would start with your wife having some quality fun / playing time / training with Nelly

By the above I am thinking your wife has some treats and asks Nelly to sit and then treats her etc. Just something easy that they both can do. Then work up to your wife stroking Nelly and treating her.

Basically showing Nelly that your wife isn’t a threat

Hopefully someone will be along soon that can provide more help info for you

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: Puppy biting and snarling at my wife but not me
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2021, 07:15:46 AM »
Hi and welcome,
Cazza has made a good point, - also, some pups just don‘t particularly like being picked up, my dog wasn‘t  overly fond, I remember picking him up rather clumsily when he was very small and held him under his tummy which undoubtedly hurt him because he squealed like a piglet! After that, I made sure to always support his bottom.
Your pup might also sense your wife‘s nervousness a bit too, the more she can learn to relax and interact in in a fun way, the quicker their confidence in each other will grow.

Offline Nelly noodle

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Re: Puppy biting and snarling at my wife but not me
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2021, 12:37:32 PM »
Thanks for the replies, my wife started picking Nelly up when we first got her just for cuddles and Nelly was fine with this and she was also training her to sit, lay and wait for her food etc (with great success). Then last week my wife anxiety started to surface and that is when things turned between them so I ended up taking on Nelly more. I do agree I think Nelly is feeding of her anxiety and my wife dislike for her at times. Hopefully over the next few days things will get better and my wife will relax more and her anxiety will ease for them to both bond again.