Our elderly dog passed away a year ago (he was 20 years old), so my siblings, my mom and I thought that we are ready to adopt a puppy. So we did just that, bought home a Spaniel mix.
His mother was a pure Spaniel, his father a mutt. That was 3 weeks ago. At first he was very shy and quiet. Then he started attacking hands and feet, biting hard, but he would stop after a firm “NO”. Now however... He bites until I smack him and even then he thinks that I’m playing. He usually barks, growls and snarls at my hands. My arms are full of purple bruises and are generally a bloody mess, along my feet. My family is in a similar state.
Now he is NOT an agressive dog, because after “playtime” he comes and lies next to me or climbs in my lap, licks my hands etc. He also doesn’t growl or anything at feeding time.
He isn’t “stupid” either because I already taught him to sign when he has to use the bathroom. We have accidents, but its working.
I'm literally at my witts end. Ignoring him doesn’t work because his bite is very painful. Redirecting with a toy or food works for a while, basically until he doesn’t see any bodyparts nearby.
A few days ago he started climbing up the back of the couch and biting, scratchig our hair and ears. I'm trying to correct him by grabbing him firmly and putting him on the ground.
Oh yeah. My other problem is that we can’t keep him off the couch.
And as I wrote at the beginning, before him we had a dog for 20 years. So I'm no stranger to training and handling dogs.
I don’t want to hit him because that is not the solution. And I understand puppy biting and his need to chew, but ... what the hell am I supposed to do here?
Is it maybe a Pack thing? Is he unsure where he belongs in our “Pack”?
I'm the only one who he pays attention to, he is a little bit spooked by my mom and he usually ignores my sister and brother.
All I know about him, that he was the smallest in the litter, and probably had to fight off his bigger siblings. I know also that he wasn’t trained at all. And there were young children at the house from where we adopted him from. Maybe they were playing too rough with the pups?
I have no clue.
So please help. My arms are literally bleeding as I type this.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
His mother was a pure Spaniel, his father a mutt. That was 3 weeks ago. At first he was very shy and quiet. Then he started attacking hands and feet, biting hard, but he would stop after a firm “NO”. Now however... He bites until I smack him and even then he thinks that I’m playing. He usually barks, growls and snarls at my hands. My arms are full of purple bruises and are generally a bloody mess, along my feet. My family is in a similar state.
Now he is NOT an agressive dog, because after “playtime” he comes and lies next to me or climbs in my lap, licks my hands etc. He also doesn’t growl or anything at feeding time.
He isn’t “stupid” either because I already taught him to sign when he has to use the bathroom. We have accidents, but its working.
I'm literally at my witts end. Ignoring him doesn’t work because his bite is very painful. Redirecting with a toy or food works for a while, basically until he doesn’t see any bodyparts nearby.
A few days ago he started climbing up the back of the couch and biting, scratchig our hair and ears. I'm trying to correct him by grabbing him firmly and putting him on the ground.
Oh yeah. My other problem is that we can’t keep him off the couch.
And as I wrote at the beginning, before him we had a dog for 20 years. So I'm no stranger to training and handling dogs.
I don’t want to hit him because that is not the solution. And I understand puppy biting and his need to chew, but ... what the hell am I supposed to do here?
Is it maybe a Pack thing? Is he unsure where he belongs in our “Pack”?
I'm the only one who he pays attention to, he is a little bit spooked by my mom and he usually ignores my sister and brother.
All I know about him, that he was the smallest in the litter, and probably had to fight off his bigger siblings. I know also that he wasn’t trained at all. And there were young children at the house from where we adopted him from. Maybe they were playing too rough with the pups?
I have no clue.
So please help. My arms are literally bleeding as I type this.
Thanks in advance for any advice!