[kelpieACD]

Hi everyone - first time poster here.

We recently adopted a kelpie x ACD from a shelter at 8 weeks. He's very clever and was able to pick up basic commands like sit, down, stay, lie and spin very easily. He's very confident and friendly with people and other dogs.

He is now 13 weeks old. He is very bitey and we're struggling to get him to stop. He's especially bad when he's very tired (and doesn't know how to go to sleep). We've tried spraying him with water, holding his snout and time outs but nothing seems to work. We exercise him twice a day (at least a 1.5-2km walk each time to the dog park where he wrestles with other dogs or runs around the oval). He's usually very tired when he gets home because he'll go straight to bed (after some biting).

The other issue we're facing is seperation anxiety. At night he is able to sleep in the crate through the night and the crate sits outside of our bedroom. During the day, he is okay in his play pen as long as one of us are in the same room. The moment we step away from the room he starts crying and this can go on for over an hour. We're able to be with him while we're working from home but we don't want to shock him when we have to go back to work. The seperation anxiety works in our favour at the dog park because he has great recall!

We'd appreciate any tips on how we can work on these two issues!

Cheers

 

[LeoRose]

He's a cross between two breeds that use their mouths for a living. They are called heelers for a reason, namely nipping and biting at livestock's legs when working. Stop spraying him with water, holding his muzzle, etc.and either keep redirecting him onto something he's allowed to chew on (safe toys) or else teach him that biting causes all interaction to stop, either by putting him in his crate or stepping out of the room for a few seconds.

Personally, with rare exceptions, I don't take dogs to the dog park. I especially wouldn't take a puppy who hasn't had all his vaccinations. Also, the odds of having a bad interaction with another dog (that can cause life-long issues) are high. It's far safer to set up play dates with dogs you know are vaccinated and tolerant of puppies, but won't put up with obnoxious behavior.

Kikopup on YouTube is a good source of free training tips and tutorials. This video is on teaching your pup to learn to be alone.

This is her channel. She has tons of videos. Dog Training by Kikopup

For a paid resource, there is a self study class from the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy on separation anxiety. Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - BH325: Home Alone: Treating Separation Anxiety

 

[kelpieACD]

He's a cross between two breeds that use their mouths for a living. They are called heelers for a reason, namely nipping and biting at livestock's legs when working. Stop spraying him with water, holding his muzzle, etc.and either keep redirecting him onto something he's allowed to chew on (safe toys) or else teach him that biting causes all interaction to stop, either by putting him in his crate or stepping out of the room for a few seconds.

Personally, with rare exceptions, I don't take dogs to the dog park. I especially wouldn't take a puppy who hasn't had all his vaccinations. Also, the odds of having a bad interaction with another dog (that can cause life-long issues) are high. It's far safer to set up play dates with dogs you know are vaccinated and tolerant of puppies, but won't put up with obnoxious behavior.

Kikopup on YouTube is a good source of free training tips and tutorials. This video is on teaching your pup to learn to be alone.

This is her channel. She has tons of videos. Dog Training by Kikopup

For a paid resource, there is a self study class from the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy on separation anxiety. Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - BH325: Home Alone: Treating Separation Anxiety

Thanks for your very informative response! We tried holding the muzzle and spraying water only a couple of times but stopped as soon as we realised it was making him more uncomfortable and behave worse. We are now ignoring him for a few seconds if he bites and trying to redirect with chew toys where possible. He knows the 'leave it' command but expects a treat when he moves away and if he doesn't get a treat he tries to go back to biting.

I forgot to mention that he has had all his shots. We take him to a local park with an off leash area (not an actual dog park) so he gets to play with dogs who are very friendly and are comfortable off leash - it gives him a chance to socialise with different dogs with different temperaments. We find that the same dogs come everyday so there is minimal risk. We are wary when we see a new dog who hasn't met our puppy. His play time with other dogs is usually only for a few minutes after we have walked around the park on leash. This is the park at the end of our street so we wanted to get him comfortable with the dogs that regularly show up.

With regards to the seperation anxiety - thanks for sharing the Kikopul video. I have seen it before but hadn't actually tried the training. We will try it and see how it goes!