Need help with 11 week old cockapoo

[Sadlysadsad]

So, I am used to dogs and puppies, having had several over the years, but I’ve never really had a puppy that is as mouthy as this one.

Out of the blue he’s started at the kids legs/jumpers/trousers. As soon as they walk into the room he’s at their legs, he’s ripped several pairs of trousers, but also caught my daughter a few times on the legs when she’s in shorts. It doesn’t matter what they are wearing.

I’ve told them from the word go that they need to stand still and if they don’t have a toy then call me and I will divert him, which I do, only I’m finding that within seconds he’s back at them and I’m having to remove him to his crate or the garden, literally having to pick him up.

Today my eldest (15) has had her trousers ripped and he would not divert, she’s then tried to put him in his cage and he’s mouthed her arms, ripping her top.

They aren’t walking in and creating a fuss, this is often just while they walk into the room, or whilst they are sitting on the settee. He’s just suddenly becoming crazily over excited. They know not to greet him unless he’s calm and not to get down on the floor with him.

He has a crate he goes to, he has plenty of games and downtime. He’s doing well with training, and he came from a family known to us, so he’s not been farmed or never been around children, I know the mum and the dad, and none of the others seem to be particularly like this as far as I know.

He doesn’t do it to me, so I know this is a behaviour he can control somewhat, but I’m at a bit of a loss what to try now.

He’s due to start going out in the next day or so for walks, which may address things slightly, but the behaviour actually seems to be getting worse.

Ive always had bigger dogs and it’s never been a huge issue, but this one is throwing me a bit.

Our cockerpoo was a bit mouthy with the kids when young. He just wanted them to play. We used to get them to walk around with snake toys that he could pull on the other end of when they moved around. They watched tv under blankets so he couldn’t reach them! We also got lots of soft toys for him as he doesn’t have a particularly strong jaw so dog nylabones etc didn’t interest him but he loves to rip open a soft toy. We never told him off for doing it as they’re a sensitive breed and anxiety can exacerbate the desire to chew. He totally grew out of it when his adult teeth came in and he’s the most adorable snuggler on the sofa now… all the kids adore him (now!).

@WildFeathers the kids love him, and 90% of the time he’s great, cuddly and plays ball with them, but the younger ones are getting a bit nervous because of the grabbing them and the eldest is not happy at her clothes being ripped.
He’s got some softer toys which he loves, but also Kongs and more robust things, which he also loves, so he has plenty to sink his teeth into. It’s just somehow from nowhere this has turned into the kids being what he’s sinking his teeth into and he’s now broken skin several times.

It doesn’t happen to me. He tried it once, got told no and that was that, so I know he’s just doing it to them because he can get away with it.
99% of the time I’m there and I stop it immediately but eldest was alone today (she’s 15 so not a small child) and out of nowhere he’s shredded her trousers and her top. She says she did what I said, but he just carried on, which is a bit concerning.

They don't call em cockerdiles for nothing...

I'd just get some wellies and wear them round the house for now. He'll grow out of it.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you've not really had mouth-focussed breeds before?

This is really, really typical spaniel puppy behaviour. It's also pretty typical of poodles - especially the standard. It also tends to go alongside dogs that, just because of their natural personality, struggle a bit more with impulse control or who have increased emotional responses.

He tried it once, got told no and that was that, so I know he’s just doing it to them because he can get away with it.

Maybe. But maybe he is also more excited by them ("plays ball with them") and so less able to regulate his emotional reaction to seeing them. Or maybe he is more anxious around them, possibly because of thie reaction - and this is making his behaviour more extreme ("the younger ones are getting a bit nervous")

As pp has said, they will grow out of it. It'll take forever and test your limits but they will. The trick - in the meantime - is to prevent them doing too much damage to the relationship between your children and the puppy. This comes down to control. If you distract your puppy and within mins he is back at their feet, then use a lightweight house lead to stop him being able to.

Indoor wellies is also a nice idea.

A baby gate that allows them to get back out the room easily.

He's also getting into the window to start teething which is painful and makes them more likely to bite (for pain relief) and more cranky. Look to see if frozen teething toys might help a little bit.

It sounds very familiar...our cockapoo was exactly the same at that age and came as a bit of a shock as first time dog owners. I knew they bit and chewed but hasn't realised just how much. Finding puppy teeth all over the house was very disconcerting - I found 2 stuck together with some blood and a tiny bit of gum once, absolutely terrifying but he was fine.

I'd echo pp - lots of distraction, stair gate if needed, wellies, lead to fix him in one place and the things that you're doing already. This stage will pass - and then you'll move onto other stages of craziness!

Oh, and if you soak a tea towel in water, wring it out, tie it into a tight knot and then freeze it you have a great free chew toy for his razor sharp needles to gnaw on.

Yep, going to be honest, I’ve never done the smaller breeds as they were never my thing really. I’ve had Boxers, Dobermans etc, but I really wanted something smaller this time so we could all take some responsibility for walks etc, so I’ve never encountered more than a little bit of puppy mouthing.

I think I’m going to have to try the house lead, that was next on my list to try, but I didn’t know if that would be more of a faff trying to get hold of that to pull him away!

I do agree, he sees me as “dinner person and person in charge” although I do play with him, but the kids are obviously kids and they play ball far more than I do, so yeah I think he sees them and immediately wants a game.

I’ve started getting them onboard with training so he can see them as something other than a giant kong, so it’s a work in progress

Boxers, Dobermans

Lovely dogs - but they tend to have shorter puppyhoods, be a bit less excitable, plus have not been bred to carry anything, which is where the desperate need to have something in their mouths comes from in spaniels etc.

When they are older, this tends to manifest as carrying shoes and socks around everywhere. But as puppies this tends to go hand in hand with lots of mouthing-as-play.

Including the kids in training games is also a nice way to help shape the relationship between them.

Instead of getting your children to chuck a ball for him, can you encourage them to do scenting games instead? That way, he'll be using his brain and tiring himself out, not getting all hyped up.

Cockers are hunting dogs and excellent at following their nose - so, get the DC to hide the ball around the house and ask the dog to find it (there are lots of tutorials for this online). Or, use his food and get him to sniff it out - scatter it in the grass, or hide it around the house for him to find. You can even hide it under cups etc. and get him to figure out which cup it's under.

You want to work his brain more than you work his body at this age.

He seems to understand that he's below you in the pecking order, but not understand that he's below your kids. Since they are big kids, they probably need to be firm with him, just like you are, without necessarily having to refer to you. Years ago, my kids (teens not little) had to be firm with our small dog and he now understands. A clever little dog can see who's boss and who's the "weakest" and hence who he can get the better of.

We have done some bits of this. Tbh he’s very intelligent and learns very quickly, he’s learned to sit and go down certainly quicker than any Boxer I had did (one never managed to actually learn successfully how to do it!)
I think intelligence work is probably the way forward with him

I think the idea is that 10 minutes of sniffing/brain work is the equivalent of an hour of physical exercise - so several short training sessions throughout the day could work wonders.

We have a beagle - so a really scent-driven dog, and the best thing to tire him out is a slow, sniffy walk on the lead. Obviously you can't do that with yours yet, but you could try and replicate the sniffing around the house by using his food or toys as a reward.

Good luck! It does get easier - especially once they can get out and about properly.

Cockapoo breeder here.

I can't believe some are recommending yous were wellies 🤦🏻‍♀️ you shouldn't have to change your life for a puppy!

They are extremely mouthy and excitable as pups. Also because of the spaniel in them they have their "person" and it's usually the one who feeds them. With that they tend to be more respectful and better behaved. Everyone should be feeding him. Included the kids.

As for the nipping/mouthy everyone needs to tell them NO with an authority tone. If they continue pin them down sharply. This is what their mother would do. He'll eventually get the gist. Also he should be sleeping 18-19 hours a day puppies get mouthy when their tired so pop him in his crate closed the door and that will force him to nap.

I think pecking order view to dogs has been largely discounted now - as it was based on observations of non-related wolves forced together in capacity whereas in the wild wolves live in harmonious family packs. I expect as pp mentioned it more about getting more excited around the kids and their energy than a question of respect.

Op, it won’t feel it at the moment but it will be a very narrow window in time that this happens for so as pp said it’s about preserving all of your relationships with your pup during this phase and trying not to create any anxiety for your pup. I used to not leave the pup alone with the kids during this phase including the older teens. If I was out, pup was in his crate. We definitely stopped shutting the crate door by the time he was a year old. He’s a total delight now and the easiest dog we’ve ever had (having had larger breeds before) now he’s a little older.

I do agree that more sleep will likely help too.

Personally I’m not a fan of pining dogs down or using any type of forced control. Views on dog training has really changed in recent times (as has child rearing) and it’s perfectly possible to have a well behaved dog without dominating or intimidating them. It’s impossible to replicate the relationship their mother would have with them.

I don’t pin dogs and I never have tbh, although I appreciate that it’s a way that works for some and they like to use it. I do remember back in the day a lot of trainers doing it.

I think he’s just decided that the children are some kind of walking toy to play with and that I am not!
The whole thing has just caught me by surprise because although I’m experienced I’m experienced with totally different breeds and now I own this yapping fur-ball who is cute but raids my washing basket and is regularly running around with my giant mummy pants in his mouth, or who has whipped a shoe away before you’ve got it on!

Please don't pin him down - it's been a long time since a reputable breeder, trainer or behaviourist has suggested that. Wellies saved our feet until the biting stage was past (with the other interventions as mentioned already on here)

If you want to try some scent work in the house then you could try our cockapoo's favourite game. Cut up some old rags and put them in a jam jar with a load of cloves for a week or so until the rags take on the scent of the cloves. Take out the rags and hide them around a room (and then the whole house once he's used to the scent). Put the opened jar of cloves under his nose, say 'mark it', and then say 'go find'. Say go find only once, don't keep saying it unless he's a bit stuck in which case you can remind him to find. Reward and praise each time he finds a rag - ours likes a small food treat which I'll take from his daily food allowance.

Oh, and put the rags back in the jar with the cloves and reseal after each game

Bloody hell there’s some terrifyingly outdated advice on this thread. I’m shocked. Do NOT pin down your puppy please for gods sake. This is just horrible.

Ha ha! Ours always loved a pair of pants to run around with too. I’d forgotten that till you said.

My sister’s spaniel mix had an issue of excited mouthing when people entered a room, we shoved a soft toy in her mouth every time and now, when I visit, she goes and gets a toy to hold in her mouth and press into our legs. It’s called self-muzzling, and my border collie mix lurcher does the same when the vacuum comes out because she used to try and fight it and we had to shove a toy in her mouth to distract her.

My mum has a 4 month old cockerpoo and the nipping was off the charts to start with. It has calmed down a lot already. I thought lab bitiness was full on, but this is another level. My thoughts would be ensure lots and lots of naps for your puppy to avoid the hyper behaviour. Lots of short bursts of training games. Sit, wait, down, come etc. Scatter kibble in the garden for some focussed sniffing around. I am sure as an experienced dog owner you already know all this! I find her pup is a nightmare with my very tolerant 2 year old lab. She jumps up and tries to bite her ears repeatedly. I just stick her on a lead, divert with some training games or ask my mum if she should go in her crate. My mum is very much of the school of "they'll work it out" but I can see my dog getting pissed off.

@SirChenjins love that game! off to find some cloves!

You want an adult dog to bring you a toy when he’s excited to see you and wants a game, yes?

Thats great dog behaviour. So you need to teach him. Every time he bites shove a toy in. Telling him off doesn’t teach him anything. Try that with my terrier and she’d bite harder 😉. I’m sat here in the hoodie I wore when she was a pup and it’s full of holes. Good clothes were put away. Husband who WFH wore his wellies.

By five months she’d learnt her toys were for biting and it stopped. As an adolescent she can be mouthy when she wants a game and forgets herself or gets over aroused. Terriers have poor impulse control as they don’t need it to kill things. So we have now a ‘go get your toy’ if she gets that glint in her eye and she bombs off and brings that to us to have a great game. A lot of the time she looks at us, thinks, then gets the toy. Job done.

Play is SO important to dogs mentally if you want a nice, chilled adult. Don’t underestimate it and don’t punish it.

It’s a great game @ilovesushi! - very useful if your dog is a bit hyper and needs calming, or if it’s terrible weather and you can’t go out for whatever reason as it can really tire them out. We did a scentwork course and the trainer suggested it for those situations.