HELP! My 4 month old puppy is out of control!?

Both of those breeds are known to be very active, playful and exuberant as puppies, but some of the over-excitability can be controlled..

First of all, check the ingredients in his dog food.

You don't want to be feeding him CORN, or FOOD COLORING. Both of those will encourage a hyper-activity.

A grain-free diet will best regulate his metabolism. There are several good brands available. Just ask at your locally owned pet supply shop ( not the major chains)

Taste of the Wild, Canidae Grain-free, Wolfcreek, EVO,and others will be carried by your local dealer.

Next, lets get this fellow's attention. Put a long leash on this pup when your children are around him..This will take only a few days of him wearing the leash, and some dedication. As you have taught him to "sit"..that's a good foundation. As soon as he leaps to jump on a child, or nip at a leg, give a quick tug and release on his leash, with the command, "Sit"..as SOON as he even shows he is catching on, offer praise or a tiny tidbit treat. ( I use "tiny" chunks of chicken breast, like about 1/4 teaspoon or less) Show him it is more fun to obey than to nip or jump.

Get out for more walks. A tired puppy is a good puppy.

Redirect his energies into sports, such as fetch. Keep the tosses at ground level until he is older, but eventually he can graduate to Frisbee-type play.

Here is a good video tutorial on how to teach a puppy to fetch and drop:

http://www.ehow.com/video_2348861_teach-puppy-how-...

No one can tell you how much work a puppy is until you have one, huh? All puppies play bite and most will play bite at least occasionally until they are a year old. I raised kids and dogs and like the other poster said, litle kids and little pups don't mix as well as people imagine they will. I can't imagine a realistic way not to let the kids and dog interact now- someone who says that can't have had kids and pups at the same time. Hang in there. Keep correcting- this is not psycho- it is typical pup play behavior but you need to get on it. The kids might pounce on the pup and push in the side of his cheek in so he bites himself while saying no- he need to learn biting hurts. Substitute a toy- teach him to fetch or have the kids run past him dragging a toy on rope he can pounce on. The next year will not be easy no matter what you do but keep correcting and working with him. Good luck. One day you will have a nice grown dog.

A small puppy is not ideal for families with really small children, because they are a baby of their own. However, if you have already trained him to sit, and you have already house broke him then it shouldn't be hard to keep him from biting anyone. Make sure you have plenty of chew toys available as well s dog bones. He is teething at this age and is really anxious to bite. Have some treats in handy and tell him to sit, reward him. Have your girls walk by past him, and keep him seated, if he does not a tap on the nose and a "no, bad boy" will suffice. Have him do it until he does not try to snap at them. Then have them pet him, etc etc. Reward him every time he does not bite while they are at close proximity, tap him on the nose, and call him a bad boy if he persists. Keep working at it, it won't take long if he's potty trained at 4 months and a lab.

More than likely your puppy is teething or thatks of this as playing. The best way to teach him not to bite is to pinch his lip until he yelps and say no while you are doing it this shows him that you don't like that. Another thing you may want to do is if he is teething feed him ice cubes to help. Make sure you keep chew toys handy as well to give him when he is in a chew mood.

goodluck

The dog is not trained. He should not interract with the children AT ALL until he's been run through a basic obedience program and learned bite inhibition. PRIORITY ONE should be to start training this dog RIGHT NOW to IGNORE THE CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY TWO should be to teach him that there is a very small, specific list of things in the house he has permission to bite when he feels to need to bite something. He should have it clearly explained to him through memorable physical correction that no child or adult is on this list.

You sound like you have a serious problem in the making, as this dog doesn't seem to have had basic obedience training or been given any sense of his place in the house. Don't feel bad. Most families handle this badly, but are lucky enough to have non-dominant dogs with extremely forgiving temperaments that eventually settle down. But the biting of the ankles as the children pass is a problem. He is viewing them as littermates and interracting with them like littermates. There's only a small step to take from this to viewing them as lower members of the household social structure. It doesn't look like aggression now, but guess where it's going once that dog gets to be 1-2 years old and starts feeling the need to control your children for you.

Are you sure he gets plenty of exercise?

He nips at them because he is allowed to. You didn't mention how you correct him for it, so I assume you don't try to fix it.

Watch him. Stalk him. Wait for him to do it. When you see him coiling up to pounce, intercept his play attack by clapping loudly and storming into the room and say "NO PUPPY". or whatever works for you. THe point is to re-direct him off of them and onto you, thwarting his little game. After you have gotten his attention, trade up- Offer him a yummy chew toy or a favorite toy.

The point is to catch him in the act and to startle him, so he knows it's not appropriate.

But you will have to also understand, he is teething, and teething puppies use their mouths more than they should. Just be diligent.

a cocker is alway hyper in it young ages. youll have to take it out in regualr walk in in morning one at 12 one at 4 and one at night to loose all of his energy , or take the dog in a car drive, that might help -roll the window down slightly

OMG he is a puppy, what is it you want from him. To act like a 5 year old dog. Puppies play and puppies bite it is up to you as the owner and the dominate human to train him not to bite and play so rough.

first all dogs are SUPER playful at that age

but he might be teething i know it sounds silly but just go out and get him a really strong rubber toy and play with him with it

another good toy are the ropes they bite on and you tug on the other side of it helps stregthens their jaw

hummm this is how my dog was at that age too lol awww you will miss it later lol

try buying toys for him thats his way of saying he wants to play get the little to girls to play with him with chew toys or toys that squeek!