Lunging and biting

[MICHAEL ABBOTT]

We have a 4 1/2 month old female Cocker Spaniel.  Can't get her to stop lunging and biting.  She bites me more than my husband.  She also bites at pant legs around the ankles and loves to grab my winter coat when I'm wearing it.  This is our 4th Cocker Spaniel and none of the others lunged or bit at us this much.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

Some pups may be more nippy than others, and it seems like your pup is very attracted to fabric. 

Ideally, we would train these pups some obedience skills so to redirect them, but this can take some time to train, so in the meanwhile I would suggest using the kibble toss/ball toss strategies explained in the article below at least until those obedience skills have been trained to fluent enough level. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/replacement-behaviors-to-stop-puppy-biting/

More games:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

I would also suggest staying away from your pup (or keeping your pup in an exercise  pen) when you wear that particular coat so to prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior (turning coat play into a habit) or having a flirt pole handy so to keep her busy with that rather than your coat. 

Once your pup is better under control and attentive to your cues, you can then start adding wearing the coat to further proof her training. With these pups, I like to introduce a "watch and resist" game, where I ask them to sit and stay "nicely put" as they watch me wiggle the coat or scarf nearby their face around without them nipping.  I then praise and reward their non-nipping behavior. 

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne