New Dog Biting

[starone]

My daughter has bought a cockapoo (mixture of cocker spaniel and poodle). He is now four months old and a lovely little dog. He is intelligent because he knew almost immediately how to use the doggie door - so cute too. However, as you can guess, there is a problem - he bites. My daughter says he is playing but as soon as I go in he attacks me, first of all my feet and then he jumps up beside me and bites everything he can reach. His teeth are quite sharp although still his milk teeth. My question is of course, have any of you seasoned dog owners got any suggestions as to how I can deter him. It seems to me that he is trying to show me that I am the bottom of the heap. When I said NO firmly he barked and growled. Help!!

[woofgang]

sorry but pack theory is a total load of botox and saying no (or anything else) firmly won't help either. This is normal pup behaviour and the answer is to teach him to do something else. Can he sit on request? If he can then when you go in, have ready a toy or a chew. Stand still and ask the dog to sit and once he is sat praise him calmly and give the toy or chew. Everyone else has to do the same thing. Dogs are smart and will soon learn that bouncing and biting gets nothing, sitting gets a reward. If he can't sit on request (not stay sat for long, just sit when asked and stay sat till rewarded which should me immediate) then at 4 months why not? While waiting for the sit, stand calmly, don't nag the request and ask for the sit in a calm but happy way.

[jomifl]

/sorry but pack theory is a total load of botox/
got any references for that statement or is it just the current fashionable idea?

[woofgang]

jom, here's a representative link
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/dominance/

google "dog dominance and pack theory disproved research" for a shedload of research based articles. Its not even true in wolves, the research on which it was based observed a group of wolves that were strangers brought together and forced to live in a confined area. Saying that research based on that group is valid in real life is as flawed as saying that Big Brother, or any of the other similar reality based shows, mirrors real life.
If you are seriously interested, i will post a reading list.

[jomifl]

woof, I suspect that the 'truth' lies somewhere between the two views. Dogs (and wolves) don't have to belong to a pack to have behavioural mechanisms. Dogs do become passive when picked up, especially pups. I have seen dogs subdue others simply by pinning them to the ground. Whether this is 'pack' behaviour is probably open to interpretation. There seem to be more experts on dog training than there are dogs :-)

[woofgang]

heres an interesting link
http://www.rmackinnondogtraining.co.uk/dominance.