Expert: Delores Beck - 2/10/2011

Question
We have a soon to be 16 week old cocker spaniel puppy.  We bought him form a reputable breeder who breeds for health and temperament.  We got him home at 8½ week.  His mum is very placid but left the litter when they were 6 weeks old, she was not the best mother so the breeder had to step in and assist a bit with feeding before you would normally expect to do so.  His dad is very energetic but very loving.
When we got the pup home, we felt he settled well, no problems with eating, he sleeps on his own without trouble and we have also been able to leave him for some hours alone without any problems.   We have taken him to a puppy socialisation class for the past 5 weeks. He loves meeting dogs and people but he does not have much respect for personal space so he does launch straight in.   When outside the house, it is difficult to get through to his as he is so excited about everything.
Our concern is with his biting and this is not just puppy nipping.  At approx. 10 weeks of age, he seemed briefly to lean to inhibit his bite slightly but after just a couple of days that all changed.  His bites are quite forceful and when you try to retract, he just bites harder.  We have taught him some general obedience such as sit, lie down, wait, fetch and drop, which he is fairly good at (the drop command only working when it suit him though!) and we are also able to remove/touch his food and him when he eats without trouble so we do not think he is generally an aggressive dog.
In the evening when we sit down, he will literally just jump up and start biting.  We have tried yelping but he just bites even harder.  We have then tried to quickly remove him from the room and watch him through a baby gate and let him in after a couple of minutes but it just all kicks off again.  We have bought Kongs and special interactive toys to see if we can keep him preoccupied but his attention span is only a few minutes.  Whenever possible, we try to ignore undesirable behaviour as this works well but when his teeth are stuck in you, it is impossible to adopt this tactic!  It is very rare that I can ever get down on his level without him going in biting; he will rather go for my hands than a toy.  I am concerned that he has not yet learned to inhibit his bite as his adult teeth will soon be on their way.
The problem is also that his bite is getting harder and harder and he goes for any part of you he can get to even your face!  Of course we are working on teaching him not to jump up at all, so once this has been learned, he should hopefully not jump up so much.
We have waited so long for a good puppy to come along and we are now concerned if we can ever tackle this issue so that we can have the dog we hope to have.
Can you help?

Answer
He's okay - he's a puppy and this is what they do.  Giving him a time-out as you do with a child is completely useless.  There has to be an instant ramification to biting.

So here's what to do (I'm giving you two options).

Get a bunch of empty pop/beer cans - fill with about 15 pennies - duct tape the tops shut.
When he bites you say NO in a firm but authoritative voice (no yelling) and with the free hand raise the can in the air and bring it down HARD one time only.

No "shaking" the can - you're after one thundering noise.  No chat - no praise - no scolding - he'll take off - just ignore him.  The message is simple:  You do THAT and THIS happens.
And it happens every single time you bite !

Have these handy - this won't work if you have to go hunt one down.  You know he's going to do it (and, by the way, he's teething) so be ready.  One word - one action!

The other trick is a plastic spray bottle (most supermarkets have these) - fill with water - say NO and spritz him right in the face.  A "spray/mist" - NOT a stream of water.

for some reason my own dogs hate the "mist in the face" more than the thundering noise.

If he jumps up - same tactic - then just turn away.

Always be calm - voice firm but no yelling - and an instant repercussion.