I've no idea, I didn't invent it. It's very commonly used across forums, as I've used various forums since 1998 I've got in the habit of doing it also.

As I said though, I can't take any credit for making it up and have no idea where it came from or the rationale behind it.

Goodness knows, it sounds a very twee kind of thing to me.

I can understand shortening some words like ... other half to OH, as its something you would use in normal every day life's conversations.... my OH is .......... but how many people go around saying.... my dear son, my dear daughter, my dear hubby in real life

Anyway straying of track some what , back to your topic of thread.

A 16 wk old puppy is not aggressive, he is playing as most puppies do, and you have found out their play can be very boisterous and puppies teeth can hurt a lot when they do play.

Smacking him on the nose is not the answer, it will only achieve one thing, and that will make him head shy and a head shy dog is a dog that may react to anyone he feels is going to hurt him... a head shy dog with young children around is not a good combination to have.

The biting at you when he was on the lead is simply him having fun, and has been said already a crying child can stimulate his play. its simply like two toddlers playing rough, it will always end in tears as one gets over stimulated and ends up hurting the other.

You have to remember you have a giant breed and for a good while to come will have to find other ways to exhaust his energy levels , due to restricted exersice.

He is going to grow in to a huge dog, and unless you can channel his energy , he is going to find ways of doing it himself,

Although his behaviour is normal, that does not mean you have to accept his boisterousness, you have to find a way to teach him what is acceptable and what is not.

The bite stops here is a good place to start.

It will help you understand why your pup is acting the way he is ,

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discu...c=64170.0;wap2

I agree with the above post.

A 16 week old isnt capable of being agressive. Puppies come preprogrammed to be "submissive". Sometimes their behaviour can be perceived that way - but really it is just play, boisterousness and over excitement that is obviously inappropriate to do on a human - but they dont realise that because they can play big rough and tough with other dogs. Part of growing up is them realising what is acceptable for us or not.

Those little milk teeth are dagger sharp - that will be the only reason it made holes and scratched - not because he wanted to draw blood or anything malicious. They get wound up very easily and being outside with extra excitement probably made it a very exciteable situation.

Its really important that you stay as calm as possible and dont get into an "argument" with them. Be firm and calm, the most I ever needed for a reprimand with my boy when he was a pup (and staffy pups are mega energy bundles too lol) was a firm "Ah ah" and I found that a stern finger wag helped. It is hard when you are outside, but it does get better the more mature they become. I realyl wouldnt recommend any collar grabbing - as thats definitely likely to get you a nip either out of fear or thinking you want to start wrestling or play fighting. I know it will have been a spur of the moment desperation thing but again a smack on the nose may do more harm than good in an already tense situation.

I really dont see his behaviour as aggressive, it sounds like he is learning his manners and it is a really hard time with being a puppy owner but you have to push through, remember to stay calm and be firm but fair and consistent with all your training.

[QUOTE=Zuluandnaomi;2335244]
A 16 week old isnt capable of being agressive. Puppies come preprogrammed to be "submissive".[\QUOTE]

Really???????????????????????????????????????????

16 weeks! Puppy mad half hour couple with the height of teething that adds to the frustration.

I'd echo the sentiment of adding training into your evening stroll rather than him settling under the bench. It will help to tire him out in a good way and will also set him up for good behaviour in future.

oh just another pointer, I would slowly move him off the IAMs on to a high quality brand food....iams and the likes are packed with not very much other than flavourings and other nasties that can contribute to being a bit hyper and a surprising amount of other negative behaviours. My boy on Bakers was a nightmare, when I realised it wasnt a good food I switched him to Arden Grange and have never looked back! I can always tell if someone has given him a sneaky pedigree treat or something like that! A good quality diet and sufficient exercise (when possible due to age) are 2 really key things to having a happy, well balanced dog I think.

At 16 weeks a pup/dog is WELL capable of being aggressive.

I think I might well have reacted just as you did given the situation you were in. A smack on the nose is not ideal but in a panic situation it isn't going to do any harm. The trick is to make sure you don't get into the same or similar situation again---because the chances are nexct time he will be waiting for the smack and be ready to go back at you.

You need help to teach him to be calm in various situations, can you contact any local trainers/behaviourists to help you?

Did you see his parents? If so were they quite go'ey dogs or were they placid? I was involved with a mad bernese pup once and it is quite hard to handle a dog that size with no inhibitions and no training.

BTW---I knew what DS meant and I can't see any problem with using it, nor am I on any other forums apart from as an occassional visitor.

rune

Thank you

In the meantime, I've also spoken to his sire's breeder and had some great advice, that's very similar to your non-judgemental advice.

Both his parents are very placid, as is he the rest of the time, even his mad half hours are NOTHING like last night, which is the point I was trying to get across, but obviously didn't make myself understood.

I had no option but to hold his collar, it was literally the only position we could be in where he wasn't sinking his teeth into me, and meaning to hurt or not, it flipping well did hurt. This episode went on for quite a while as I was unable to get him home while he was acting like this, 25kgs of dog laying on the ground isn't movable.

He's back at puppy school tonight so I'll speak to them about it also.

Thanks again. x

I went on mums net when we were expecting and I had the same problem getting my head around all this dear stuff as well and asked t tojohem why they don't just say daughter etc as I couldn't understand half the threads. I got told off L O L. My fiance was worse she couldn't hack more than a day!

I went on mums net when we were expecting and I had the same problem getting my head around all this dear stuff as well and asked them why they don't just say daughter etc as I couldn't understand half the threads. I got told off L O L. My fiance was worse she couldn't hack more than a day!