New puppy: is this normal?

[NaughtyDogMum]

I have a 10 week old cocker spaniel puppy. He’s my first dog and I’ve wanted one for ages. He’s settled in well to our home and is confident (and bossy!) Lives with myself, DP and DS10.

First couple of days pup was docile, affectionate and sweet, a dream ❤️. Since then he’s found his feet and although he is still be loving and sweet for a good part of the time, he lets me carry him on walks and licks every person he meets. He has also learned to sit, lay down and give me his paw 🙂 However he also gets over stimulated very easily at home and his behaviour becomes quite extreme… so much so that I’m worried whether it is normal normal.

He bites (to be expected.) But he also growls and barks at us while biting us, refuses to let go and keeps coming back in for more when we ignore the behaviour. Basically we get savaged which feels like more than the expected puppy biting. This is not just nipping, it is growling, biting, barking, hanging on and shaking 🙁.

We have followed advice and ignored him when he gets like this and tried to redirect his attention but the behaviour seems to be getting worse rather than better. The vet advised us to push him away with a firm ‘no’ or a yelp which seems to encourage him more. If we remove ourselves and leave him in timeout, he may settle for a bit but still tends to be just as bad when he comes out.

The only thing that seems to help is a nap, but he is very resistant to these. Although he likes his crate, if we put him in while he is in this state he just cries and doesn’t settle which makes him even more aggro. He probably sleeps about 15-16 hours a day which isn’t quite as much as recommended:

Any guidance from other puppy or cocker spaniel owners greatly appreciated. Does this sound normal or a bit extreme? I’m worried 😕

Extremely normal! Cockers are nicknamed cockerdiles for good reason

As you've realised, the answer is sleep. They should be sleeping around 18/20 hours a day at that age.

If he won't settle in a crate I would tether him to you with a lead and pop him on someone's lap.

Defo ignore your vets advice

Have a look at Facebook group Dog Training Advice and Support. It's run by qualified behaviourists and there's loads of info on puppy biting.

It's normal!

I have a pup, who is a couple of weeks older than yours and I definitely agree with lack of sleep/naps being the main culprit. I would just add that in addition to naps/enough sleep, outlets like chewing/licking are really good for helping them bring themselves down from those manic hooligan moments. They just get so worked up that they are incapable of reigning themselves back in.

With my boy I put him in his puppy run with something really delicious (currently a piece of beef hide) that he can really get his teeth into, then sit close by to supervise him. I have a specific fleece blanket that I put on his bed for him to chew on and now, when he sees the blanket come out he knows it means the chew is coming, so stops being a lunatic and shoots into his bed to wait for it. It works every time. After a minutes of intensive chewing and I can see him physically relax. When I want to take the chew away, I scatter some of his favourite treats on the floor just by his bed and take his chew away while he’s busy eating those. If he looks back for the chew, I do some calm training and reward him for that, which engages his brain so he forgets the chew.

Mines a terrier and if he whips himself up into a frenzy and turns into a land-shark, it’s either sleep or chewing that calms him down.

More sleep! Enforced if you need to ie in a crate or safe calm space

Find a good trainer! It’ll be worth the money

Make sure they don’t need the toilet etc and try crate games in easy peasy puppy squeezy book but I would personally sit quietly next to the crate and ignore the whining until they go to sleep, so they aren’t getting fomo because you are there then build up there confidence of sleeping calmly in the crate.

brain games tire them out so hunting for there food in the grass or even round the room etc will help tire them.

also consider the environment they are in, we had to really calm our house down until ours was older and can settle amongst a busy house

He bites (to be expected.) But he also growls and barks at us while biting us, refuses to let go and keeps coming back in for more when we ignore the behaviour. Basically we get savaged which feels like more than the expected puppy biting. This is not just nipping, it is growling, biting, barking, hanging on and shaking 🙁.

This sounds exactly like a ten week old cocker

It really, really does and it will get better - but probably not for quite a few weeks yet and not totally good for a few months. Ignoring is not a short term fix for puppy behaviours. It's an long term investment in the adult dog and I think it helps to think of it as such so that you don't expect it to have made a different within a few hours, days or even a few weeks.

The growling and barking sound exactly like play growling and barking. One of the primary purposes of play is to practice hunting and fighting so that those skills are there if he ever needs them as an adult. Biology doesn't yet know he'll never need to do either and he is practising on you! But with no intent behind it oher than how much fun it feels to be a little menace

Some good advice above, though I personally am never convinced that the best tool isn't just time itself - i.e. most dogs grow out of it, regardless of what we do - unless actually encouraged to keep at it.

Does he cry in his crate if you are sat alongside? At that age mine wouldn't have settled in her crate without me if over tired. But I used to sit down beside her and talk and tell her if she was still awake in 5 minutes she could come out again. She was always asleep in 5 minutes!

Enforced naps. They Resist for a bit and then just deflate

Another vote for enforced naps. They aren't called cockerdiles for nothing.

Thank you all for all your advice! Honestly so relieved to hear this is normal 😅 There are loads of good tips here for me to consider and hopefully get the little monkey to sleep a bit better!

Our puppy is 10.5wks. she's a labradoodle. 'Shake and kill' is her favourite play game and, if mega excited, can try this on us.

Our strategy is to have something on hand to swap in - we say 'No' firmly and then swap in a toy she can do this to instead. We then praise the playing with her toy.

I think the mega-excitement is just part and parcel of having a very young dog though.

Mine was an utter nightmare for the first two/three months we had him - those needle sharp teeth are not nice! One day when my partner was away with work I called him in tears saying the puppy had bitten me and I’d had a steristrip my hand!

Once he got to about 5 months he was an absolute dream. What saved us were cow ears, yak chews and tying a knot in an old tea towel, covering it in water and putting it in the freezer. Mr Tea Towel is still a firm favourite at 9 months old.

We also realised that he was not getting anywhere near enough sleep, and even though he put up a fuss and acted like he hated his crate he was popped in there around every hour/two he was up. It does get better! He will now nap anywhere in the house and loves his crate at bedtime

I’ve been through this with a couple of Belgian Malinois puppies. They love to bite and may not care if you yelp. I’d recommend letting him bite a rag in play sessions. You can even tie it on a string and drag it around.

Anytime you have the puppy out, you need to have food, toys or both. Be proactive and get him into the food or toys before he bites you. Use a few treats to lure him outside to potty. You need to manage him and have him in an exercise pen/playpen some of the time with rotating toys and chews. Set it up so you don’t have to say no to your puppy. This will help your relationship.

Here’s a video of a puppy playing with a bite rag. This can turn into a great obedience reward. My dogs will search for missing people just for a chance at playing tug with a toy. Once your puppy is into tugging the rag, you can start asking for him to sit in the middle of a play session to get the tug again. If you practice obedience when he’s really excited, then he’ll be used to listening to you when he’s excited.