# My cockapoo puppy is possessed.



## cockapoo_peanut

Let me start off by saying how much I'm in love with this little creature, she's smart, adorable and (_sometimes_) a lot of fun.

She's 11-weeks-old today, I picked her up when she was about 7.5 weeks (I know that's a little young). About two days after I got her home she started the biting and attacking, which at the time I thought was just cute and normal puppy behavior. It's come to the point now where I can't move without her attacking me, as long as I'm in biting range, she's biting me (it doesn't stop until she falls asleep). 

I've tried everything to no avail, including:

yelping and turning my back/ignoring her (makes her more excited and she gets even more aggressive)
firm "no bite" and taking her by the scruff of the neck to remove her from my hand/foot/pants (makes her more excited and she gets even more aggressive)
giving her a little squirt with the water bottle and a firm "no bite" (makes her more excited and she gets even more aggressive)
putting her in the kitchen (which is gated) and letting her cool off (as soon as she's out, she's biting and attacking again)
tin can with coins it, giving it a shake every time she bites (she attacks the can)
replacing my hands/feet/pants/sleeves with chew toys that she's allowed to have (she'd still rather chew on me)
The only thing that works is when I go to a different floor and that's only because she can't actually get to me, as soon as I come back down she's going wild again.

I'm ensuring she's getting enough exercise, rest/quiet time, puzzle toys, teething toys and other challenging activities to keep her brain active, but she's completely hyperactive no matter what I do. I work during the day but have a walker come in at lunch for 40 mins to play with her, take her for a pee break and feed her, so it's not as if she's acting out from being alone too much. She gets a few little mini-walks in the morning, one at lunch and a few in the evening (on top of potty breaks). She never seems to get tired outside either!

Has anyone else had the same issue? I'm so fed up. I want to enjoy our training and time together but I'm consumed with trying to correct her (...or just plain hiding from her with my feet up on the couch).


----------



## flounder_1

This is all normal behaviour and it will get better I promise. Sounds like you've already tried lots of things to try to stop it and it is about trial and error to see what works. 

I found holding Lolly round the muzzle (holding the mouth closed) gently but firmly until she backed away worked to calm her down. Just another thing for you to try.


----------



## Marzi

And breath!
It will get better, it really will.
She looks gorgeous. Has she had her final jabs yet?
Have you looked into whether there are any good training classes near you.
If I was you I would decide on one way to react and stick with it. 
Consistency and calmness are the best approach.
If you can't cope with her, shut the puppy in the kitchen, if that is a safe place, and only let her be in with you when you are up for the challenge.
Leave a training leash permanently attached so that you can use it to contol her when she is being snappy.
She wants to get a reaction from you - she has yet to learn that is not the right way to get one.
Keep a pot of kibble in every room and use it to reward good behaviour, work on sit and down as commands.
Have tugga toys that you can give her to bite on rather than you.
People who say their puppy never bit have just forgotten!
All puppies go through a crocadog stage.
It is a stage.
Don't gve up your gorgeous girlie will soon be the perfect pup!


----------



## lady amanda

These are the Puppy Blues, we all go through this, you do not have an agressive dog, or a deamon dog, we have all been there, and it will get better! Keep working at it, find what works, and you will have a cuddly best friend one day. It gets better!


----------



## lady amanda

These are the Puppy Blues, we all go through this, you do not have an agressive dog, or a deamon dog, we have all been there, and it will get better! Keep working at it, find what works, and you will have a cuddly best friend one day. It gets better!


----------



## DB1

Hi - oh I do feel for you, my boy was just like this and it seemed an age before he calmed down, I also tried everything - the only thing I will say is like you when I tried a firm approach (holding his muzzle shut with a firm NO) he came back at me and I thought 'well that just makes him worse'...but when it was too late for me to try I found some advice that said if they come back do it again and again until they get the message and don't come back at you, that it usually just takes 3 or 4 times maximum, as I tried everything else I would definitely have given this a go, although I expect some may feel its a little harsh, I guess as long as you are firm but gentle and say no calmly, not getting wound up it would be fine. The only things that made it bearable for us were distraction with other toys (for a very limited time!) and time outs but he did improve loads when he lost his puppy teeth at around 20 weeks - I know that will seem like an age to you now. It could be that she gets overtired as well but without a crate (I don't think you mentioned one in your post), it would be quite hard to enforce rest time.


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

It's kind of a relief knowing I'm not the only one! I'll try to stop over analyzing her behavior and buy myself a bottle of wine instead.

Thanks for all of your replies/suggestions, btw, I think try holding her mouth shut gently, haven't tried that yet.

DB1, I do use a crate for her, I forgot to mention that. She sleeps in it all night (usually without waking for 7-8hrs with no accidents, so I guess I'm lucky in that respect). During the day her crate goes in the kitchen (which is gated off) with the door open, in case she can't hold her bladder until the walker gets there. I think part of the problem is that she's not resting enough when I'm home, she has a hard time letting herself relax with me because she wants to play non-stop. Over the past few days I've been implementing an hour or two in the evening where I put her in her crate in the livingroom and force her to rest. Hopefully that will make a difference too.

Marzi, I've been thinking about keeping the leash on her more inside to help control her a bit more but I've been a bit worried lately that I'm all work and no play with her. I think I may try this as well! _(also, crocadog is completely accurate)_

Lady Amanda, puppy-blues for sure. I'm looking forward to her one year birthday already. Are you sure there isn't a poodle/cocker spaniel/demon hybrid?


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

Also, DB1, I love your dog's face. He's really handsome.


----------



## DB1

Sara, we were calling our pups Gremlin pups last year as they started out so cute then turned into those wild little things!! I was so envious of others that spoke of cuddling their pups as we only got nips not cuddles, but as others have said they do calm down and it feels good being able to tell others that now (and my boy gives lovely cuddles now).


----------



## lady amanda

YEs they are all little Gremlins!!! LOL!


----------



## Jedicrazy

cockapoo_peanut said:


> It's kind of a relief knowing I'm not the only one! I'll try to stop over analyzing her behavior and buy myself a bottle of wine instead.


It's got to be one of the most commonly asked questions on here! Definitely recommend the wine :twothumbs:, a little a patience and consistency and things will settle. In about a year from now you will be looking back and helping someone else with the same question!


----------



## Cat 53

Have you looked at the quality of her food? There may be something in that affecting her behaviour. As for feeling you are always correcting her, she will be happy. Attention, attention, attention is what she is getting. So keep calm you are doing fine.


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

Hmm, I didn't consider her food. She's eating Royal Canine Xsmall Puppy formula, which I think is a fairly reputable brand (?). As far as treats, she gets boiled chicken chopped up into to tiny bites (...she's picky).


----------



## Patricia

Cat53 may be right, it might be worth considering her food. Dolly was on Royal Canin when I got her and I carried on with that for a few weeks. She was a bit of a nightmare too, my husband even got a nice bloody nose or two! Now it might be because she is a little older (17 weeks now) but she is not so 'evil', maybe because she has lots of play fights with her long suffering big brother. I did change her food a few weeks ago and she is now on Burns puppy mini, which she enjoys. I know Royal Canin is a lot higher in protein and fat


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

Patricia said:


> Cat53 may be right, it might be worth considering her food. Dolly was on Royal Canin when I got her and I carried on with that for a few weeks. She was a bit of a nightmare too, my husband even got a nice bloody nose or two! Now it might be because she is a little older (17 weeks now) but she is not so 'evil', maybe because she has lots of play fights with her long suffering big brother. I did change her food a few weeks ago and she is now on Burns puppy mini, which she enjoys. I know Royal Canin is a lot higher in protein and fat


Thanks, I will definitely do some research to find out if there's a food that suits her better. She has a vet appointment this weekend so I may speak to him about it as well.


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

DB1 said:


> Hi - oh I do feel for you, my boy was just like this and it seemed an age before he calmed down, I also tried everything - the only thing I will say is like you when I tried a firm approach (holding his muzzle shut with a firm NO) he came back at me and I thought 'well that just makes him worse'...but when it was too late for me to try I found some advice that said if they come back do it again and again until they get the message and don't come back at you, that it usually just takes 3 or 4 times maximum, as I tried everything else I would definitely have given this a go, although I expect some may feel its a little harsh, I guess as long as you are firm but gentle and say no calmly, not getting wound up it would be fine. The only things that made it bearable for us were distraction with other toys (for a very limited time!) and time outs but he did improve loads when he lost his puppy teeth at around 20 weeks - I know that will seem like an age to you now. It could be that she gets overtired as well but without a crate (I don't think you mentioned one in your post), it would be quite hard to enforce rest time.


I've started holding her muzzle shut and firmly saying "no bite" every time she bites me, she hasn't stopped but she really hates it so I think this may work eventually. It's the only thing (so far) that seems to snap her out of the frenzy! Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.


----------



## DB1

cockapoo_peanut said:


> I've started holding her muzzle shut and firmly saying "no bite" every time she bites me, she hasn't stopped but she really hates it so I think this may work eventually. It's the only thing (so far) that seems to snap her out of the frenzy! Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.


Glad it appears to be working, I guess the thing is to be consistent and do it EVERY time, hopefully it will stop her. (and not give up if she snaps back like I did).


----------



## dio.ren

I thought my Molly was posessed too when we first got her at 8 weeks. She would nip and bite our pants and hang off them it was horrible. We tried everything but she kept coming back for more. 

I can say it does get better she is 19 weeks now and is a lot better. She still likes to play bite but not half as much as before. She is starting to teeth now so I give her lots of chew toys as this seems to help. Another thing that helped was having her play with other dogs cause when she would bite them they would put her in her place. My neighbours have older dogs so this did her a lot of good. They never hurt her but they would pin her when she got out of control. Now we take her to doggie play twice a week so she is with at least 18 other dogs and it made a big difference in her behaviour. 

Time and patience will pay off. Everyone told me it was normal for a puppy to act this way but it can sometimes seem like your puppy is posessed!


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

Thanks everyone, lots of great advice. I'm noticing a difference already with the new correction method, I feel like it's really helping.


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

So it appears that I'll need some one-on-one help from the trainer I'm seeing (she stated puppy school last weekend). Her nipping has turned in to really frenzied 'episodes' whenever I try to get her to do something she doesn't want to do (re: cleaning her eyes, getting checked by the vet, taking things that she's not supposed to have from her). She goes wild, growls, barks, shows her teeth, snaps and bites really hard.

Has anyone else had any similar problems? Hope I can get this sorted out soon!


----------



## Sophie'sMom

Thank goodness we're not the only one with a Crocapoo! Sophie is 5 months and she attacks me and bites me whenever she can. She loves to do her running shark lunge, and bite me as she runs by, runs away when I go for her, and runs by again to bite me. Now she jumps on the couch and bites my arm, etc... When I say No she bites me again! I was hoping she would be a cuddly dog, but she rarely cuddles without the biting starting again.
She has lost several teeth now, and I can honestly say her favorite chew toy is ME!!!
Sophie will be spayed this week on Friday at the Vets. I hope she won't get worse as a result. ARGHHH
Thanks everyone for sharing. I thought I had the only demon dog puppy in the world.

Sophies Mom


----------



## JasperBlack

We used to calmly pin jasper down until he submitted and relaxed! Once he did this we calmly let go and he would 9 times out of 10 go about his own business. Having a lead on them is a good idea as grabbing hold of a snappy crocodile puppy is a nightmare! Good luck and hang in there, they all get there in the end  xx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cockapoo_peanut

Sophie'sMom said:


> Thank goodness we're not the only one with a Crocapoo! Sophie is 5 months and she attacks me and bites me whenever she can. She loves to do her running shark lunge, and bite me as she runs by, runs away when I go for her, and runs by again to bite me. Now she jumps on the couch and bites my arm, etc... When I say No she bites me again! I was hoping she would be a cuddly dog, but she rarely cuddles without the biting starting again.
> She has lost several teeth now, and I can honestly say her favorite chew toy is ME!!!
> Sophie will be spayed this week on Friday at the Vets. I hope she won't get worse as a result. ARGHHH
> Thanks everyone for sharing. I thought I had the only demon dog puppy in the world.
> 
> Sophies Mom


Yep! It's good to know I'm not the only one with a shark-pup (I like to refer to her biting as "sharking"). 

I am starting to see some improvement with Peanut, but she actually does have real behavioral problems (she throws some pretty serious fits). I've been working with a trainer (on top of going to puppy school) and the issue with my pup is frustration tolerance, some puppies have it, some don't. Mine unfortunately does not.  I've been working with her for three-four weeks now and I'm starting to see a difference, but we've got awhile to go yet. I'm doing lots of daily rewards based training and handling exercises to start building her tolerance. I can't do any dominance based training with her as that only makes her more frustrated (I can't even speak in a firm tone, hehe). Everything I do is happy, playful and calm...and there's usually a lot of silly songs being sung to her, which for some reason, she seems to like... 

I've found the only thing that has worked for me is to pop her in my downstairs bathroom every time she bites and say "no biting" in a cheerful tone. After a day or two of her spending A LOT of time in there, she started to get it. I highly recommend puppy proofing the area completely, I made the mistake of leaving toilet paper within reach...

At least she let's me pet her now, I'm still confident that we'll cuddle some day!

Anyway, good luck and I know it will get better for you two soon. I thought I would never see any improvement, but I did (...with the help of a few glasses of wine...every day).


----------



## Qing

Oh Sarah, you are not on your own at all! Don't want to put you off by this, but at 6 months old Cookie is still biting which is very annoying! Only today she jumped up and nipped my leg which was really hurt! She keeps biting my daughters feet, our hands....She had all her teeth came through but the biting still going on, if I tell her no then she'll bark at me , she's got a big attitude ! Although we do get cuddles between bites which is improved from before, but I would like her to stop completely! Isn't 6 months long enough to stop? Now when she gets crazy and start biting, I'll grab some treats and ask her to sit, watch or wait, and that would calm her down...


----------



## Cockapoocarol

DB1 said:


> Hi - oh I do feel for you, my boy was just like this and it seemed an age before he calmed down, I also tried everything - the only thing I will say is like you when I tried a firm approach (holding his muzzle shut with a firm NO) he came back at me and I thought 'well that just makes him worse'...but when it was too late for me to try I found some advice that said if they come back do it again and again until they get the message and don't come back at you, that it usually just takes 3 or 4 times maximum, as I tried everything else I would definitely have given this a go, although I expect some may feel its a little harsh, I guess as long as you are firm but gentle and say no calmly, not getting wound up it would be fine. The only things that made it bearable for us were distraction with other toys (for a very limited time!) and time outs but he did improve loads when he lost his puppy teeth at around 20 weeks - I know that will seem like an age to you now. It could be that she gets overtired as well but without a crate (I don't think you mentioned one in your post), it would be quite hard to enforce rest time.


Glad I’m not alone. Mine caught my finger yesterday, while trying to attack and now I have a 1cm gash on my ring finger. This wasn’t what I was expecting. She just turns into a monster and attacks. She’s 12 weeks today.


----------



## CockapooBoyBruno

Cockapoocarol said:


> Glad I’m not alone. Mine caught my finger yesterday, while trying to attack and now I have a 1cm gash on my ring finger. This wasn’t what I was expecting. She just turns into a monster and attacks. She’s 12 weeks today.


Hi Carol, I have a 14 week old Cockapoo boy, last night he bit my finger so badly I cried, he is a crazy doggie, very aggressive. We have him since 9 weeks old & It's not getting easier. Its getting more difficult actually, He growls / lunges / bites, is very food motivated constantly crying for food. I am bringing him to the vet tomorrow to ensure its not a health issue, maybe he has an ear infection or something. Due to Covid 19 lockdown I can't bring him to puppy training classes unfortunately so I completely sympathise with your situation. Hopefully it gets easier. I am at my wits end.


----------



## Cockapoocarol

CockapooBoyBruno said:


> Hi Carol, I have a 14 week old Cockapoo boy, last night he bit my finger so badly I cried, he is a crazy doggie, very aggressive. We have him since 9 weeks old & It's not getting easier. Its getting more difficult actually, He growls / lunges / bites, is very food motivated constantly crying for food. I am bringing him to the vet tomorrow to ensure its not a health issue, maybe he has an ear infection or something. Due to Covid 19 lockdown I can't bring him to puppy training classes unfortunately so I completely sympathise with your situation. Hopefully it gets easier. I am at my wits end.


I now feel a bit scared of her (not something I want to admit to friends and family). Twice she has lunged at me this evening, I have put her in her crate for a couple of minutes each time. I am sitting at the table, minding my own business. Like Covid 19 it started out seeming not too bad but seems to be heading towards a peak. I’m hoping to flatten the curve - otherwise I won’t be able to cope. I am training her to respond to ‘leave it’, with rewards of course. Ideally I want her to realise I’m not for chewing or biting.


----------

