Hi there,

We have a 10 week old cocker spaniel and can not let him outside for the next 10 days (when his vaccinations will finally be in effect!) The problem is he becomes extremely hyper and then very aggressive, biting my trousers heavily, lunging forward and going for my hands and darting all over the house like a crazy thing and will not listen to any tactic of addressing him.

I am hoping this will subside once we can take him for walks and I know he is a puppy and to some degree this is normal puppy behaviour yet the level of aggression is concerning me. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we A. drain his energy around the house (i play fetch but he gets bored) and B. deal with this eratic behaviour when it occurs?

Also, he gets particularly manic for about 10 mins before he eliminates (not when he wees) has anyone experienced this? Is is normal?

Many thanks for any advice in advance!

This is perfectly normal puppy behaviour, I'm sorry but I am off to bed now.
There are a lot of threads on the forum that address this issue.

He sounds pretty normal to me. Do you mean you don't let him in the garden?? Unless you have unvacc'd dogs on your land, then it's fine for him to go outside.

This is fairly normal for puppy cockers! If he is mouthing, yelp "ow!" in a high-pitched voice and ignore (including cutting eye contact) for about 3 slow seconds then resume interaction as if nothing has happened. Don't tell him off! Also the 'stressed' behaviour prior to weeing is normal - do let him out in your garden (unless you're in a flat??). Ignoring completely until the puppy settles is also helpful when he goes all crazy. Meanwhile, get a trail lead so you can stop him if he is jumping at things you don't want him to. You can try inviting him into rooms he is allowed into and let him explore (without jumping on bed), and introduce toys to him so that he is mentally stimulated too. Also maybe you can use his favourite toy to teach him how to fetch as my cocker generally quite likes retrieving after i taught her how to! Hope that helps until you get to let him out. Good luck!

__________________
Caring for your dog's daily needs
http://www.3wags.co.uk

it is very normal and will phase itself out but look at what food your giving him and make sure its a good one there are lots of threads on this yes

as for the above post, i think the memeber is trying to say let him get accustomed to your house, trying to over pet them (like a toy) just unnerves them ...... they are thinking whats going on!!! pet them when they come to you or are sleeping close, dont just think they are a bag of fun for you. Telling them off at that age is good to do but you have to let them say chew a rug and not the furniture/TV wires so get whats important in place first and let him have a little freedom - theres no point constantly correcting... you can do this when hes more able to understand commands.
do be consisyant though and keep to a firm but fair approach, you have to repeat and repeat ... i find the 4/5 time of asking at that age usually sinks in.
Your shouldnt need to drain the energy out of them, they are usually quite happy to entertain themselves ... as I say look at what your feeding him - a lot of energy bursts and bitings do decrease when they are on a good diet

Just a question to you puppy owners....

The social development of the dogs mind is at it's most crucial at between 4-6 weeks with other dogs and 4-12 weeks with humans. (although some argue that it is up to 16 weeks) After this point it is still possible for dogs to learn social skills, but according to the experts, if it is not done in this window you can really hinder their social behaviour.

My question is: Are puppy owners made aware of this when they buy a puppy?

The reason I am interested is because the OP is basically not allowing the dog out until it is 12 weeks old. According to the experts, it has missed the socialisation period.

It seems to be quite common that people talk about the vaccination procedure, but not about the socialisation period. Am I missing something?

As I only have problematic rescue dogs, I only see the benefits of good socialisation and although agree it is important for the dog to be healthy, an un-socialised dog is more a problem.

Can anybody enlighten me?
x

__________________


Lilly, Max, Henry and Sammy. The joys of my life!

www.rescueremedies.co.uk
www.staffierescue.co.uk

I completely see where you're coming from, though I can't really say much on the matter. I got my pup at 10 weeks old and obviously I couldn't walk him for another 3 weeks or so because of vaccinations. However, I always took him out in my arms wherever I went so he could get used to noises and such. I've had no problems with my Lab, who will be a year old in about 2 weeks or so, until recently as he has developed a fear, which we are sorting out.

However, I'm not sure that all first time dog owners are aware about the socialisation period. I knew, even though he was my first puppy as I have lots of family and friends with dogs, but when I took him to the vets for his first vaccination, my vet also told us that it would be a good idea to take him out to get used to things.

__________________

I don't think puppy owners are made anywhere NEAR aware enough of the importance of socialisation. I think most people have a vague idea that the puppy should meet lots of new people (I've seen loads of people at the school gates with pups in arms, meeting and greeting) but after that, it seems to drop off a bit. They do a couple of school runs and seem to think that's it.

Before I got my latest pup I read up on the different socialisation windows and consequently bombarded my pup with new and positive experiences but not everyone is that interested, frankly.

It has always amazed me, how many people start to take their puppies out but avoid all contact with other dogs for fear of injury etc. I always encourage people with small puppies to let them come and say hello to Alfie. I don't know why they themselves do not ask if it is ok to let their puppies greet other dogs.
They only have to ask other owners if their dogs are ok