puppy growling & biting should we worry

[two2many]

hi , i had a thread two weeks ago where i was looking for advice on cavaliers , well still haven't gotten our pup yet but my sister has gotten a springer spaniel 10 days ago , he is only 8weeks & 4 days old but yesterday has started to growl & nip her dc's she is getting nervous of him i think the biting is normal as all pups nip & chew everything they get their mouths around , but the growling ? is that also normal ? TIA

Don't tell them off for this behaviour. A quick "Ow" to notify them of your "distress" at any mouthing and then withdraw yourself until calm behaviour returns. Then go back to giving attention. Initially you will get excitement again so repeat the withdrawal - stand up, remove hands, don't flap about, no eye contact etc. They soon learn the best way to get the attention they want is to stop mouthing. Same for jumping up - ignore them until they are calm, it's no fun to keep jumping if nothing happens.

Growling is a normal part of puppy behaviour. The pup is trying to get attention most likely - ignore until calm as above.

thanks i was over there this morning with DD & pup jumped up & bit her leg , dd got scared so i picked pup up & put him in his basket for a few mins & we all left the room to have a cuppa , when we came back to him he was much calmer , but its my nephews (11yrs & 16yrs) who he keeps growling at , sister is a bit

My mum's 12 week ckcs does this but he also does it when playing with toys so only when he is over excited.

We remove the kids from him if he does it. But perfectly normal IMO.

I would strongly suggest that everyone goes and spends time and reads the relevant literature before getting a puppy there seems to be so many threads on here that just shown the ignorance that people have regarding dogs.

Growling and nipping are perfectly normal puppy behaviour. To be honest I would be worried if the pup was not doing this.

The puppy needs to learn what level of biting hurts and when to stop so as already suggested above a loud ow and remove the hand etc will show the puppy that is not acceptable. No need to tell them off or shout at them.

Re the growling at this age it is definately play acting and does not mean that your dog is going to turn into a savage child eating dog. Direct the play into something positive and you will have a happy well adjusted puppy.

If the puppy is only growling at specific people I would suggest that the dog is fearful/or over stimulated by these people and needs more careful socialisation to help with this. The teenagers may need to alter their approach and behaviour with the puppy. Maybe to keep things calmer when the puppy is around.

An 8 week old pup can not just be left to its own devices it needs a large amount of stimulation (to stop developing unneccasary behaviours eg jumping up, niping) and to use up its bursts of energy in a constructive way. If the puppy jumps up remove it and then side track it with a game that you find acceptable. If you leave the pup to work it out for itself it will nip , jump up and chew all the more.

Do get your sister asap to get a good trainer to help her with the puppy Try the APDT website for names.

i knew the nipping was normal as i said in my op but the growling is a bit
thanks though as i will put my sisters mind at rest as to it being normal
when we were younger my parents had a really vicious golden cocker & he would growl & bite at only 6weeks old but got worse as he got older , her new pup is adorable though .