New Pup

Prisoner6409

Well after waiting for ages we finally got our puppy, a 2 mth old Springer Spaniel(boy). We are now training our pup. Only after 3 nights he is settling in fairly well. He sleeps in a crate, with, for now, somebody in the room to let him out for wees etc. during the night. He is eating Cain puppy dry dog food only. My early concerns are about what appears to be aggressive behaviour. He gets these mad spurts of energy where he runs around the garden or room like a mad thing, now I know he is playing but this also includes biting my shoe or leg and kind of growling and or barking at the same time. He also has a tendency to bite your hands when playing. Obviously as a puppy this is harmless but as a grown dog it could develop into an issue.

The other issue is his food, he get say 100g's of dry dog food per meal but never eats even half. We have employed a method where the dog bowl gets removed after about 15-20mins(by which time he has lost interest) weather food is still in it or not but this means he is only eating half the recommended daily intake or there abouts.

I really want to get things right with this puppy from the start as I have seen the carnage created by badly trained dogs, not the dogs fault by any means, so any advice would be appreciated.

bluejelly

Hi OP, I have an 11week old pup who is doing everything as you describe above. It's normal pup behaviour although my pup is at the high end of the scale in regards to the biting & barking I think. At the moment to try & deal with it I say 'no' and move her away, putting her into the utility if she continues to bite & bark, it's not working yet tho. My older dog is quiet & has the patience of a saint so I'm letting her play with a neighbours 2 dogs who seem a bit afraid of her so if things don't improve soon ill prob have to take her to puppy classes.

As regards food, my pup had no interest in dried nuts either so I started using a few spoons of Natures Diet puppy food( natural dog food mix of meat, rice &veg) and she gobbles it down & will now eat the nuts by themselves.

Best of luck with your pup!

lokii

Prisoner6409 wrote: »

Well after waiting for ages we finally got our puppy, a 2 mth old Springer Spaniel(boy). We are now training our pup. Only after 3 nights he is settling in fairly well. He sleeps in a crate, with, for now, somebody in the room to let him out for wees etc. during the night. He is eating Cain puppy dry dog food only. My early concerns are about what appears to be aggressive behaviour. He gets these mad spurts of energy where he runs around the garden or room like a mad thing, now I know he is playing but this also includes biting my shoe or leg and kind of growling and or barking at the same time. He also has a tendency to bite your hands when playing. Obviously as a puppy this is harmless but as a grown dog it could develop into an issue.

The other issue is his food, he get say 100g's of dry dog food per meal but never eats even half. We have employed a method where the dog bowl gets removed after about 15-20mins(by which time he has lost interest) weather food is still in it or not but this means he is only eating half the recommended daily intake or there abouts.

I really want to get things right with this puppy from the start as I have seen the carnage created by badly trained dogs, not the dogs fault by any means, so any advice would be appreciated.

You sound like a responsible owner so I’m sure you’ll overcome these issues but you are right to address it while he is still young. Can’t comment on a specific dog but here are a few general pointers:
- Some dogs have a witching hour. If the hyper behaviour is happening in the evening and around the same time, try to pre-empt it by taking him out for a game of tug or a little exercise and then crate him with a chewy treat (like a Kong) to keep him busy but relaxed in his crate. Do all this before the madness is due to start but once the danger has passed you can take him out of the crate for a while again before bed.
- Most importantly, if these are just mad spurts, there must be times during the day when he is calm. Make sure that you don’t ignore those moments of calmness and only give him attention when he is over-excited. This is sending him a message on how to get your attention. When you find the puppy calm, give a treat, start to play or give praise. Reinforcing the good behaviour will pay off in the long term.
- Puppies are naturally mouthy. Training during hyper times will not work but outside of those times you can do some training that will teach him not to bite. There are plenty of instructions on the web but basically it involves setting up a very mild version of the situation that triggers him. Then treat every time he makes the decision not to bite but backs away or looks away. This is a waiting game but be careful not to teach him to “bite and then backaway” to get a treat (dogs are clever like that!). Plenty of practice and increasing the triggers will work to stop him biting altogether.
- Give him plenty of chew toys for his teeth (they like them cool from the fridge)
- Just because you mentioned the food issue too, consider if there is a connection between the food and the hyper behaviour. Is this the food he is used to and is it good puppy food?
- Don’t forget that if you are training with treats you need to take this out of his daily food allowance
- If you still think he should be eating more, you can try mixing something in to moisten the kibble.
- Goes without saying but if he is loosing weight and still not eating, get him checked by a vet.

Good luck!

Prisoner6409

Thanks guys, it's kinda comforting to know this is normal behaviour. I think you are right about the witching hour, I had no idea a puppy would even have that amount of energy and while it can be funny to look at I know enough from reading the puppy books that puppies are soon dogs and it's much harder to break a dog of bad habits. I appreciate the advice, it's great to have a resource like this at this time.

tk123

OP you could try switching to a better quality grain free food - there's tons of food threads if you do a search or just look at the treads below this one. Comparing my pup to others fed crappy foods they were bouncing off the walls with owners taking them out for hours on end where she was chilled out and relaxed!