Ripped to shreds

[rippedtoshreds]

Puppy advice please.
We have a springer. Got her at 8 weeks and now she’s 13 weeks.
She’s settled in pretty well, sleeping midnight til 6.30, has had someone home with her pretty much solid since we got her. She’ll settle in her crate in the day time.
She’s eating fine, playing fine etc.
The problem is the bloody biting. It’s horrific. From 6.30am until bed at midnight she just bites, pounces, attacks.
She jumps up for affection and as soon as you pick her up she’s ripping your hair out, or puncturing your hands and arms, even biting noses and faces.
You only have to walk from one side of the room to the other and she’s hanging off your trousers growling or off my shoe laces or slippers.
Every single person who’s come to visit her has puncture wounds in their hands.
The kids are covered in scratches, little bite marks, their clothes are ripped and this is literally happening when walking from the lounge to the toilet. They are separated by stairs gates the entire rest of the time.
If I want the kids to come in the kitchen for lunch then I have to pick them up over the stair gate and carry them to their chairs or they get attacked and bitten on their legs. The whole time the dog is hanging off my jeans biting me while I’m carrying the kids.
We put her in her crate for a minute to calm down, but as soon as she comes out she’s attacking again.
My parents are desperately worried that we’ve got an aggressive dog around the kids, even though she’s only 13 weeks old.
She’s from a registered breeder and is pedigree.
She can’t go out yet as hasn’t had all of her jabs, but I play with her in the garden chucking a ball for 15 minute spells. If anything this ramps up the aggression and she’ll come in all wound up and attack even more.
We take her for car rides and to meet friends dogs which wears her out slightly.
Evenings are the worst. She almost goes into a frenzied attack and we will be sat on the sofa and she’ll just fly through the air at you and basically attack you.
If something has scared her then she’ll attack too.
My LO bought a balloon home from a party. The dog saw it on the other side of the room, started barking manically and then just ran around in a frenzy biting everyone.
I’ve had experience of puppies before, but have never experienced such a bitey aggressive puppy.
Please tell me this is normal for springers and she’ll grow out of it?
I’m so worried that she’ll be an aggressive dog.

[rippedtoshreds]

We have all got the puppy blues.
She’s lovely and we’ve booked her into dog training, she’s got about 30 toys which we try to give her when she’s biting, but she just spits them out and goes back to attacking people.
She’s got the most expensive puppy food, is womed, flead, had vet checks etc and we are doing everything by the book.
It’s just miserable being attacked all day long.

[rippedtoshreds]

In the evenings she is almost so aggressive that it’s hard to pick her up and take her to her crate, as it’s like she’s possessed and she’s biting you hard the whole time you are trying to carry her to her crate.
Myself and my husband are actually scared of her when she behaves like this.
We’ve tried a stuffed kong in the evening to calm her down, it works for maybe 15 minutes, until she realises that attacking people is more fun.
I would say I’m a pretty experienced dog owner, always been around dogs and puppies, but I am just miserable.

[PenelopeFlintstone]

What a nightmare. Someone will be along to give you advice soon, I'm sure.

[Otterseatpuffinsdontthey]

Q

[rippedtoshreds]

I really hope so.
I’m just miserable.
I feel like I’ve not seen my kids for 5 weeks as we’ve been separated by stair gates.
I don’t want the dog in her crate too much, but I have to watch her if she’s got the run of the house and I can’t take her in the lounge with the kids.
I sectioned off some of the hallway for her so I could spend time with the kids while she was contained, but not shut in her crate and within 10 minutes she’d eaten a strip of wall.
I’m just torn between the dog and kids all day.
Having a puppy is not meant to be this aggressive surely? None of my previous pups have and they’ve been rotties and staffies who you would think would be more aggressive than a bloody spaniel.

[Prettyvase]

Take her back. Do not delay. This is miserable for all concerned and will only get worse.

I don't think crating a Springer spaniel is ever a good idea.

She needs to be removed and re-homed with a farming type family with other dogs who she can bite and scratch and not humans.

[Bedsheets4knickers]

I would return her also , she sounds deranged .

[looktothewesternsky]

I'd also return her. Biting kids is really really really not ok!!

[wombatron]

I read carefully twice.... but I would also be calling the breeder and discuss returning her. This doesn't sound like 'normal' puppy mouthing. Have you spoken to a trainer? A vet? If she's from working stock she may not be a suitable pet.

[lazymare]

You either need to get a 1-1 specialist in now or send her back. There's no way you, the kids, or visitors should be getting bitten.

[rippedtoshreds]

She actually quite likes her crate.
I would say that 15% of the time she’s quite affectionate.
If I knew there was an end in sight then I would be happy to persevere, but at the moment we are just all miserable.
I’m wondering if it will improve when she can get some exercise. Our garden is big, but I still think a big run on a field might help?

[Knowivedonewrong]

Are you giving her toys to distract from the biting? Also, I'm sure you are, but telling her a firm NO! when she is biting?

Sounds pretty intense.
When our GR was a pup he used to bite our feet. Out Lab was just as bite too.

We used to give them chew toys to distract from biting us with a firm NO! each time.

When the Lab got too much she would be put in her crate to calm down.
I don't believe for one minute she is aggressive, just being a normal puppy, but she needs boundaries as I'm sure you're aware.

I would also be training her on a lead in the garden and teaching her recall with a whistle too.
Good Luck OP.

[rippedtoshreds]

She’s seen a vet and the vet knows the breeder and said they have never known there to be a problem with any of his pups.
Our vet microchipped her when she was tiny.
She’s a working dog, but it’s 50/50 whether they go to working or family homes and vet said there’s never been any problems either way.

[Hoppinggreen]

Puppies are bitey little buggers and when Ddog was one we got quit a few war wounds but that sounds extreme
Consult a specialist and consider sending back to the breeder, especially with young dc in the house

[Wolfiefan]

The puppy isn’t aggressive. It really isn’t. Mine was the same. Even down to the wall eating!
Watch for over excitement or over tiredness.
Remove most toys. Rotate so they are kept interesting.
Teething things. Freeze stuff in a kong. Frozen carrots. Nylabones.
On lead to meet people and around kids.
Reward for being calm. On a bed equals treat.
One trick I was told. Massive fluffy toy. Preferably in blue or yellow as they can see those colours! Toy stays out of puppy’s reach but in yours. So up high. When the mad biting starts? Wave the toy at puppy height in a figure of eight then toss away. Let puppy murder it. Then remove until next time! (Ideally a toy in each room!)
Constantly offer something that isn’t you when bitten.
Never yelp etc. It overexcites them.
A short training session. Even a few seconds. Can distract from biting.
If it becomes too much? Time out. Even if it just gives you a breather!!

[rippedtoshreds]

We’ve tried yelping, saying no, turning our backs, offering toys when she’s biting.
Nothing helps.
In a way I think she is just a very bitey puppy. But I’ve had puppies before that mouthed, but were never this aggressive.

[GCAcademic]

Why do you think this is aggression rather than the usual biting phase? For what it's worth, spaniels do go through a particularly bad stage of this. My cocker was an utter nightmare at around 5 months. I vividly remember spending Boxing Day 2008 in tears and covered in bruises and bite marks. He grew out of it not long after that.

[Wolfiefan]

Don’t yelp. Be consistent. It passes.
Avoid letting pup get too over stimulated.
How much on/off lead exercise?

[rippedtoshreds]

I don’t know why I think it’s aggression. I think it’s just because it’s unpredictable. I could understand being bitten/mouthed when playing, but when she flies across the room to attack me when I’m just lying on the sofa?
And also it sounds odd, but she has a fixed stare when she’s about to bite. She’s learnt nothing about bite inhibition in 5 weeks. She’s still just as hard as ever.

[rippedtoshreds]

She doesn’t get any exercise. She had a funny reaction after first jabs, was sick and drowsy so vet said wait 4 weeks between jabs instead of 2. So next jabs are next week and then a further week after that until we can take her out.

[tabulahrasa]

Why do much picking her up? Dogs usually don’t like being picked up...


It’s not aggression btw, it’s over excitement and I suspect in the evening, she’s overtired and yep it’s well within normal for puppy mouthing.

[rippedtoshreds]

She jumps up as she wants to be picked up to sit on our laps. But as soon as she’s up she just bites. Sometimes we can pop a toy in her mouth when she’s on our laps, but mostly she’ll spit it out and bite noses, chins, clothes, hands, hair.

[Wolfiefan]

That’ll help. And getting out to training too.
Mine was just the same. I had to wear multiple pairs of thick socks. Had to put joggers over PJs. Holes in all my clothes. Bleeding at times. Couldn’t let the dog round the kids without a lead!
Until you can walk and formally train you need to socialise. Carry etc. Go out in the car. Give pup something to think about. Brain games etc. Snuffle mats. Scatter feed.
What are you feeding BTW? Some foods don’t help the bitiness!!!

[Wolfiefan]

Don’t pick her up.
I would sit on the floor to cuddle. Then could move away if it started.

[rippedtoshreds]

See, now I read not to sit on the floor with puppies as it over excites them, so I’ve been making an effort not to!