Brittany Puppy

Question
We have a brittany puppy. Hes about 11 weeks old. When you try to be affectionate with him he bites instead of kisses. We have tried spanking , telling him no and water in the face, he doesnt seem to totally get its wrong. Also he is not getting the concept of going pee and poop outside even though we watch him and take him outside with meals? Is he on track or should be getting it by now? We have had him 2 weeks to a month from the Breeder. I will appreciate any suggestions? Also I know they get lonely and destructive easily, would another puppy help the overal problem at this juncture or make it worse?

Answer
Hi Joshua;
STOP SPANKING!!!!! And stop annoying him with water in the face!!!
Who on earth ever told you to correct a dog like that.
The water in the face could be turning him into a biter because you are doing something mean to him.
I have been raising 2 legged children and dogs and cats and other animals fopr a total of over 65 years, and spanking doesn't work on ANY species.
You are hitting him ( fighting him) and throwing water in his face ( tormenting him). That is why he is biting.
If you continue doing these things, you are going to turn him into a vicious dog that bites anyone and anything that comes near him.
Don't put your face in front og his face when you are petting him.
DON'T wrestle in a rough way with him until you have him better trained. Rough play will just make him worse.
When he nips, push him away and say, "NO!!! bad puppy. Don't bITE!!!!! play nice". After you do this 2 or three times and he continues to bite, stop playing with him, telling him "NO!, I won't play if you are going to bite".
The first time you play with him and he doesn't bit, make a BIG deal of it. Say. "GOOD BOY!!!!!! that's a good boy!!!'
Let him know by those actions that if he bites, nobody willk play with him, but when he doesn't bite, he gets a lot of love and attention.
Don't get another puppy until you learn more about training them.
Petco and Petsmart have weekend group classes. These are very good as they have a qualified trainer to teach you how to handle the dog, give him commands and the proper way to get him to understand you.
If he is having accidents in the house, and you are doing to potty training right,he could be doing it to spite you because you are being mean to him.
I KNOW, you don't intend to be mean to him, but this is the way he sees the spanking and water in the face.
When he goes potty in the house, take him to it, point to it and say "BAD DOG!!!, You do that outside. SHAME on you", and continue to chew him out while you are cleaning it up.
You are just trying to show him this makes you mad.
When he goes outside, make a big deal of it. Praise and pet him. Say is SUCH a loving, pleasant voice, "GOD BOY!!!! You are such a good dog. You are such a SMART boy!!!' Act like he won an Academy award.
Things like that.
Biting is th way puppies play with each other. When they come to live with their human family, they have to learn to play like human children, with no biting.
at 11 weeks old, that would have made him 9 weeks old when you got him.
If that was what we call a backyard breeder, he probably didn't get any of the puppy training a responsible breeder gives to a litter.
A responsible breeder would have talked with you and made sure you ubderstood puppies before he sent one home with you.
He would have told you how to handle the biting ( the puppy would already have had that training from the breeder, in the first place).
Check with Petco and Petsmart, also Man's Best Friend, about puppy classes.
Write me anytime you feel I can help.
No more chewing you out for bad information you got from someone.
Just telling him NO, Don't bite, and stop playing with him if he keeps it up, will in a short time teach him that isn't acceptable if he wants to play.
If you have any more trouble with the potty training, write me and we will go into that one.
It is easy, just takes doing a few things and being consistant.
This is going to turn into a doll of a little companion for you, and you will have lots of pleasant experiences with him.
Puppies, like human babies, don't come with much of an instruction book, but some of us that have been there so many times for so many years, have learned a few tricks that will help you.
Charlotte
Charlotte