3-Month Pup With Excessive Ankle Biting

by Lila Iyer
(Bangalore, India)

Hi all!

My cocker spaniel's ankle-biting is getting worse - he snarls as he goes after my dress and my ankles.

Is this something to be worried about?


Reply from Pauline (Website Owner)

In a word - Yes.

You probably will have something to worry about if your puppy doesn't learn (very soon) that biting humans and snapping and snarling is not acceptable.

This behaviour may not be too harmful at the moment but if he continues biting and snarling into his adulthood you may have real problems.

Although play biting is a natural part of your puppy's development, he needs to learn to control his biting during play.

Puppies usually learn this lesson when playing with their mother and siblings.

If your puppy left the litter before bite inhibition could be learnt, you will need to teach him this yourself.

Bite inhibition is the ability to control how hard (or gently) the puppy bites.

You can learn more about bite inhibition and how to stop your puppy biting here.

Good luck!



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