My Cocker Spanial pups nipping problem is getting very out of hand

[Mihika Bedi]

I allways wanted an even tempered dog, and i read on Wikipedia that a cocker spanial is a good bet, a female is softer than a male and a blue ( or orange ) roan is better than a solid. Shes a lovely dog and shes about 11 weeks old. But she nips

Q1 - What i want to know is the difference between a nipping mood and aggressive behaviour.

My vet told me that she is showing signs of aggression, more than a normal female, blue roan cocker, because she goes grrr whenever we excite her, mildly rough play her, or just generally when she sees a trouser or hand flaying, and sometimes she just decides to go grrr and attacks ( yes - attacks ) her toys. She attempts to attack my hands at times, and allmost allways stops when i yelp or give her a toy. But slowly shes stopping less. Yesterday she drew a little blood from my finger.

Q2 - the right approach to handle this

Now im also getting conflicting advice. One kind of advice ( net and friends ) is that physical punishment makes aggressive dogs more aggressive so i should yelp in pain, yell one loud word to her, ignore, give her chew things, ..............teach her not to nip in a mild manner

The other advice is that shes trying to dominate, so i have to show her who the master is , and my vet says that i should hold her jaws from above so her teeth hurt her gums, another friend says to mildly pop her head

What do you suggest ?

[Delilah]

I agree with your friends who say to yelp in pain. My pit/lab was always nipping as a puppy. everytime we said 'ouch!' and pulled our hand away. she still does it when she gets really excited and we do the same thing; she'll learn! Now when we do it she gets really timid and licks like crazy wherever she nipped. Dont get frustrated. This is a dog we are talking about. And a puppy at that! She will grow out of it. Its your job to teach her. Try to stay calm and think of the big picture; everything you do with her today will make her the dog she is tomorrow. Im sure she'll be a great dog!say

[Nancy]

Yelling OUCH in a high voice is a good idea. Along with this, you stop the play time. You walk away from your pup. In doing this you are punishing by taking away what she wants, which is to play with you. Your dog is not dominant. All puppies nip. While they have their baby teeth and their jaw is not completley developed you want to develop what is called a "soft mouth" that is that the dog will not chomp down on your hand as an adult.
You need to teach her that humans hurt when they are bitten. Also by withdrawing from the play and not giving her attention you have shown her she has done an undesiraable behavior.
Never, Never use physical punishment. This will only make your dog afraid of you and possibly promote aggression out of fear.

Nancy

[Nancy]

It did hurt him. Your dog stopped nipping out of fear
Nancy

[bobbie]

I agree with Nancy. The pup must be walked often also to drain tension and high energy. Long walks. The cocker is a breed that likes prey and attacking a toy and really ripping it up is agression and killing in the dog world. No physical punisment whatsoever. Aprroach dog from the side . Do not cower over dog to pet. No rough play either. Please speak with a trainer or get books from library and really learn the breed and what they want that U are not providing as well as become Alpha . Remember, the dog who U feed is not respecting U. This is an alpha role the dog is portraying as evidently U are not in control. All pups nip is correct, but it Stops after the first time. I have trained k-9 unit German shepherds over 35 yrs and other breeds as well. Nipping is not acceptable after the first time , U stop it. Hope this helps, bobbie

[Sarah: Wren&Cricket&Paco's Momma]

Please do not hit her or make her bite herself! it doesnt work and just makes the dog more stressed out. using non aggresive methods is best. when she bites too hard yelp like a dog does when a sibling hurts it, she was taken away from her mother and siblings too early, the mother shoudl teach them bite inhibition. then stand up, cross your arms, and turn your back on the dog, let the dog knwo taht if you play to hard, playtime is over.

Sarah, Wren and Cricket's Momma