Springer Biting

[fay 75]

i have 11 week old pup who has now started to attack me when i put feed down when she eats if i put my hand down shes attacked me today for the first time so i slaped her and said no ive done this 3 times dis morning to see and she done it everytime ive just fed her there and she done it again so she got another slap of me any advice on this please thanxs

[patterdale 673]

Looks like she may had been dominant pup in litter.if she does it again bite her back and take bowl away and keep doing it until she stops.you've got to show her you're in charge

[fay 75]

im taking it away from her but shes never done this before i have had since she is 4 weeks due to the mother not taking to them im more concernd if the child goes near her when shes eating other than that shes grand not a bother ive noticed when she done it and i slapeed her her she went a bit worse at me

[buggsbunny 4]

I would try feeding her all her food with your hand not in a bowl try it for a week or so see if she is any better

[stroller 341]

good advice from bugs, I would stop slapping her and just scruff her and put her on her back like another more dominant dog would do, don't let her move until she is calm. Good luck

[fay 75]

tanxs lads still the tought of such a young dog with this behaviour is quiet disturbing ill try what u say and see how she gets on still shes young so hopefuly she will snap out of it fairly quick

[Casso 1,261]

I wouldn't go down the route of slapping her on this issue, hand feeding is the way to go

 

She is expressing some resistance to you for what ever reason , to overcome resistance I would make her push through the resistance of your left hand to get to the food in your right , just hold your hand on her chest and make her push to get the food in your other hand , done for long enough the pup will eventually push at full force

 

It achieves two things it gives the pup a huge sense of fulfilment and it will overcome any negative resistance the pup holds for you

It takes a bit more work then just throwing the bowl down but you will see results , assured

Best of luck with your pup , they're great at that age it would be a shame to spoil it over a misunderstanding

[fay 75]

very interesting reply mate i tink she is doing it as the other dog has attacked over a bone n she feels the need to do the same towards the food i hope im right on this tho if not all what use have said wil be taken into fect n tried much appreciated

[stroller 341]

I like Casso reply just got to think of things a different way

[fay 75]

well ive fed her last night with my hand in the bowel she never tried now thi morning i put it in she was ok but i might of left it in a bit to long cause she snarled again so i scruffed her like use said and took the food away was i doing right on leaving it in and moving it around or did i just enoy her by leaving it in tanxs

[stroller 341]

I think you are going to have to be more consistent and make sure you sit with her at every meal until you see a change and even then you will need to keep an eye on her

[skycat 6,173]

A dog should never see you as someone it has to defend its food from. Dog should see you as GIVING food, not taking it away. This way you build up complete trust between you and the dog. Trouble is, if the pup hasn't yet learned this, you slapping it, scruffing it, will only make the pup more defensive and potentially ruin a good relationship between you and the dog.

 

Never feed a pup when there are other dogs around which could make if more defensive. Only hand feed for at least 3 days. Sit next to pup so you don't loom over it like a big giant. You are trying to build trust and confidence here, not dominate a tiny pup when there is absolutely no need to do so.

 

Then sit next to pup and bowl, put one small piece of food in the bowl, don't leave your hand there, let pup eat the food. It should then look at you to see if there is any more. Then you put another small bit of food in the bowl, repeat until all the food is gone. By doing this the pup only expects you to put food into the bowl, not take it away, and it looks to you as the provider of food, not the stealer of food.

 

Don't forget that a very young pup like yours may still be feeling it has to fight for its food against littermates. It will gradually learn that you do not come into this category, but only if you behave correctly and don't put even more fear and defensiveness into the pup.

[fay 75]

thanxs sky cat very interesting she gets fed on her own all the time i tink this started over a bone out the back and she got scruffed by the other dog other than that she is a joy to have she doesnt do it al the time just yesterday and today

[Casso 1,261]

I can't see the point of scuffing her with the same hand you expect her not to react to when you stick it into the bowl beside her, think about it ,

 

Getting to the point now where we're disciplining pup straight out of the crib and expecting them to comprehend exactly why, no wonder so many are looking out through the bars of shelters

The bowl + hand equals bad news for the pup, hand feed and for gods sake don't put any more fear into the little mite

[fay 75]

hant been to bad now fed her from the hand grnd i tink ive being to misleading with this the dog does not attack at every meal only the other day but still enough for me to b worried inanyways ive set with her rubbed her put my hand in the bowel and noting tonight just fed not bad done the same but then she growled so i did react n give a tap my fault but after that she was grand again so tink this way is working so far but ill try not react to a tap but its hard not to when a dog is going to bite you