The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

So Gabi is 13 weeks old. She's a ball of fun, until she starts biting. We've been very consistent in saying "ouch, no bite" or making a yip and saying "no bite" then ignoring her for a little bit when she is playing and starts biting. She normally does one of two things. She'll either bite again softer and then go do something else while we are ignoring her, or she will start freaking out! She will start growling and biting all over the place, our clothes, the furniture, barking and running and hiding under the chair or in her kennel and tears apart her bed in her kennel. It's like she turns into a mad pup! It kind of scary. We've never hit her or hurt her when she bites so I don't know why she would be afraid.

I need help because I feel like a bad mommy when she does this.

It sounds like she is getting her way and have learned to manipulate you. When my dogs bite as puppies, I put my fingers around their mouth and say "No Bite" and then release. The action or play is also stopped and the pup is ignored until it settles down.

I don't understand how she is manipulating me. We stop all play and ignore her, so she's not getting to play still.

We make her sit before going through doors, she has to sit for food before throwing a ball etc. She does good at these things. I am home with her almost all day, she is in her kennel when I leave to drop off/ pick up my son from school, and sleeps in a smaller kennel by my bed at night. She is generally very well behaved, we don't play tug-o-war, just fetch.

This may sound odd but my Hannah used to get cranky times like a new baby would. She would not listen and become bitey and unruly. We would put her in her crate, not for punishment, but to give her some space and a quiet place. It usually ended she was tired and would nap and then be a sweetie afterwards. By the way, she is a very pretty girl.

Gabi, I like her name and she is a cutie pie! Sounds like you are doing well and your tactic of 'yelping' when she bites and ignoring her always worked for me. I'd continue to ignore her temper tantrum as long as she is not hurting herself or destroying anything. You could offer an alternative chew toy if she is damaging things in venting her frustrations. Something to remember is a dog at any age will do anything for attention, good or bad. They don't like to be ignored and they learn fast what works to get our attention back.
First it's my pup's safety and then I do my best to ignore anything I don't want to continue and praise that which I do.
She sounds like a fast learner, she do fine in short order!

Sounds like a temper tantrum to me. One of my girls (the alpha) age 5 yrs will still go and tear up her bed or blanket when scolded or ignored, we've learned that this is her way of venting her frustration much like a teenager slamming a door I guess. If she is not distroying anything I'd let her have her tantrum and pretty much ignore it, it passes quicker if it gets no attention.
If she is biting softer after doing the ouch/yelp thing I would immediately give her something else to chew on a bullystick or teething toy etc. Don't forget she will be going thru the teething stage and needs a variety of chew toys, frozen washclothes work wonders sometimes. I know when the girls were that age I always had one or two chew toys in my pocket to redirect when they started nipping.
One thing we did that I believe helped to teach them soft mouth was to fill a Kong and freeze it then hold it for them while they licked the filling, us holding it seemed to help more than letting them have it themselves, they got one evey night when dad had his ice cream.

I think your pup is very smart. Some puppies will do that but they will also grow out of that. First it's important to make sure that your pup doesn't act this way because she wants to pee or poo, or eat.
Unfortunately when some pups leave their mom and siblings at 8 weeks of age they do not get time with their mom to teach them how to behave. In some cases it helps having an older dog at home that teaches the young pup. Other times some pups are so smart that they pick up on subtle inconsistencies and therefore they will act like your pup does.

Some puppies don't even respond to yielping or to puting them on their backs. If it doesn't work in 2-3 trials I wouldn't care to do that again. Some puppies learn differently and they mature at different rates. So perhaps such behavior helps some pups but only stresses out other pups or even excites them to play with biting. Here are other methods:

If your pup starts to bite, immediately (without regard for how tired you are or how many times you did that within the last hour) get up and leave your pup for few minutes. Leaving for few seconds will not work, sometimes you need to leave and let your pup play for 5-10 minutes before you go back to bed or go back to sitting on a couch, etc. Just let your pup know that when she bites, you don't allow that and you will not give her any attention. Screaming or yielping is not necessary. I think that in your case it actually excites your dog more.

So whether it's in your bed on on a sofa, just get up and leave to another room.
Don't yielp and give commands when you stay sitting because that's just easy access, and your pup will want to try to play/bite with you, she will try to get your attention regardless of what you say, scream or do. She may think you're playing when you are still around. Also, when you say "no" or "no bite" you have to mean it, and by mean it I mean just leave entirely to another room, don't do anything else.

If she's biting when you're standing, you need to stand taller (good posture, you can even put your hands on your hips) and tell your pup "no biting" and "sit down". She has to know what's allowed, and if she doesn't listen to "no biting" she needs to know that sitting down is what she needs to do at the moment. In many cases that may allow your dog to just calm down.

You should know that screaming, yielping, and playing roughly with a puppy that bites may overexcite the pup, so instead of sleeping your pup will bite, and puppies need to rest as well.

The second method is also about giving a time out. When she bites, just pick her up, take her to a safe bathroom (or another safe room), close the door, count from 100-110 or from 100 to 120 (longer than 20 seconds is not necessary). That time out may allow your pup to settle down (puting my dog in a crate for time-out didn't work because she could still see me). At the end if pup makes noises say "quiet", before you open the door say "sit" and if she sits let her out. It may seem a little controversial (and you may feel very sad - at least I did) but the dog won't get hurt and it may work in just few times. It's much better than getting hurt or prolonging this type of behavior. It's actually amazing, but once you take your dog out of the bathroom she should behave much better.

Doing all this you should see changes immediately, and within
the first 3 weeks it should stop alltogether. I hope this helps. My puppy was impossible at the same age (3 months), at 4 months she was already very good and at 7 months she was an angel. Good luck.

Hello everyone! i am new to this forum :D i got a cocker spaniel 2 weeks ago , she is 3 months now , i have the same problem with my cocker , she bites barks , chews at anything if i don;t give her attention but my major problem is that she is very possesive with her toys at least i see it that way. when i take a toy of her she barks at me and she barks like crazy, i stand up i keep the toy like it;s myself and then she starts biting at me and getting very nervous .. how can i manage thsi behavoiur?is she dominant with me? cause if my boyfriend takes her toy sometime she gets submissive...but with me she acts all crazy and i am the one who's feeding her and putting all my time in her and it is upsetting ... today i took her toy and it was the first time she really barked at me for 10 minutes and bite me hard a few times i closed her in the crate to give her a time-out and she went crazy growlling and barking and getting crazy which never happened before( she used to whine) if anyone could answer my problem i would be very gratefull ( excuse my english i am not american)

Loredana, perhaps she's acting this way with you because she trusts you. I know that my puppy was also biting me the most at 3 months, because I was the person feeding her and doing everything around her. So if she wanted something she would show me by biting, so perhaps you also need to teach her other ways to show you what she wants, e.g. by sitting by the door when she wants to go out etc..

As a rule dogs become possessive when you take things away from them. So never never never never take things away from dogs, that way they never learn to be possessive. Instead of taking away things, either reward with food or treats for giving the toys to you, or just give them more things.

So when you want to take away a toy, show her some food/treats and see if she drops the toys/things, only then take it away, and reward with more food. Even your dog chews on your shoes, ask her to "leave" first and then reward her for "leaving".

I highly recommend doggie zen for teaching dogs how to leave things. Once they know the word when you teach them with pieces of dry food (perhaps it's better to teach before dinner when they get a little hungry, and also don't worry about doing all steps at once, start with 2-3, repeat 2-3 the next day and add another 2-3, and so on) , the knowledge should easily transfer to other situations:
http://www.dogforums.com/dog-training-f ... y-zen.html

I want to quickly add that I never over-relied on treats when it comes to my dog. I usually reward on a variable schedule. My philosophy is to use treats as a way of showing how to behave good, but once they know what it means we want them to do, saying good or being cheerful can be a reward for a job well done.

Also, before eating I ask my dog to sit, or to leave food if she doesn't do it on her own. I ask her to sit before I open the door, and I ask her to do something before treats and even play. That way she knows that when she behaves, something good will happen, but not necessarily it's going to be food. But all this helps dogs, it gives them a job and it helps them communicate with us.

Doggie zen - I taught without a clicker, I first taught, to sit, and the word "good". Sitting is easy because you just put a treat above the head and dogs sit on their own, then immediately "good" and a treat. So that's how I taught the word "good" and in doggie zen I relied on the word "good" instead of a clicker, before allowing my dog to eat treats.

I really hopes this helps.

I agree about training without treats, especially those commands that for their safety or simple behavior

thank you so much for your answers!Lane, i posted here because i always throw her a toy, tell her to fetch (she is very smart when i say "toy" she know what i am meaning even if the toy is in the other room) i keep a treat in my hand and when she feels the smell she let's it go and i have been practicing for some time now but she still finds it hard and turns her head between my hand and toy and growls and when i tell her to fetch and she's close she growls and barks at me . or when i clean with a cloth after her mess she never leaves me alone and if i block her with my hand she growls and really bites me hard...i am full of little holes on my hand that's why i sort of freaked out . Thank you for the link , i will be consistent and hope for the best!

and yes, she always sits when i feed her..she sits when i give her treat but i cannot make her be the 2nd to enter rooms...if i open a door she quickly slides threw it and runs in the room and jumps on the bed and allover and if i put a leash on her she will just start chewing it.when i take her out she always stands like a statue and won;t leave the house so i have to cary her:) i will try with treats all the time i don;t want to be rough on her , one time i put her on her back,...hold her with my hand to relax cause she was so hyper and bitting and she only got worse. she is pretty tough to handle but i love her and at least i have a purpose, making her be nice

1. Avoid or prevent certains situation even before they happen. Predict what your dog wants to do, and prevent unwanted behavior; so to avoid biting and growling: e.g. don't ask her to give the toy back wait until she gives it by herself, when she give it by herself you can reward her. e.g. don't play tug of war now because it will motivate her to growl and bite; if she growls when you play fetch, don't play fetch, instead play games that will challenger her mind like hide and seek, look for things (kong, toys, etc.) - she may be too young to play that, but improvise or help her.

2. Be consequential with commands: Don't give commands unless you mean them. Don't give commands when you are sure your puppy will not listen. When you give a command make sure your puppy will do what you want her to do. Sometimes it may help by removing yourself from the equation, like with my example about biting on the sofa: leaving the room instead of expecting the dog will stop biting.

3. Be consequential with your dog's behavior don't give mixed messages, act the same way every time

4. While play and interaction with your dog is very important, give some time for your dog to play alone (e.g. with a toy, with a kong)

5. Quiet time - puppy needs to learn how to rest and control its emotions. Doggie zen will help tremendously with self-control.


That's like a rule book given to me by a friend who is a dog trainer, after I searched for answers myself. The usually things that can be found in training books or general puppy/dog books were not useful for me. Yielping or putting my puppy on her back overexcited her and did not help with the problem.

RE: cleaning after your pup. It's normal that she's interested in what you are doing. If she wants to play with a cloth, put her in the crate for the cleaning time, and take her out immediately after you are done. Do that especially if the accident happens in the room the crate is located.

RE: entering through doors. She may be still young and without self-control to understand that she should be second to go. After she learns to leave things alone, and after she learns how to stay it will be easier to teach her to stay until she's allowed to go through a door. Many cockers are known for being too excited to stay in one place for long so it may not be easy. To be honest it was never my goal to teach my dog that, so sometimes she waits for me and sometimes she goes first. I know for some it's a big deal about domination, but for me it never was probably because other behavior (at 6+ months) was not indicative of aggression or domination. Same goes for eating first and then giving food for my dog. I've listened to few behavioralists speak and they said that in a pack puppies eat first and adult dogs eat last, i.e. the adults take care of puppies. So puppies may actually disrespect dogs (or people) who eat first, in line with: "oh what a big baby can't wait for food and has to be taken care of first". It's just a different perspective. I won't preach one way or another, just saying i'm not worried about small details like that especially when experts debate these issues. I don't pay attention to this, but I always feed my dog first when I know she's hungry.

RE: leash. spray with bitter apple or dilluted vinegar, she shouldn't chew it afterwards.

Loredana, I'm sure your puppy will become a wonderful dog, don't worry too much just be consequential.