Advice on managing puppy biting with three young children at home

[DisneyDreaming2026]

Hello,

I am considering getting a puppy to add to our family.

I am pretty much decided on breed etc (I'd like a Working Cocker Spaniel).

We are used to having pets/dogs and are aware of the time and costs involved.

The only thing that is putting me off is managing the puppy biting stage with three young children. Any advice on this please?

Thank you x

How old?

My advice is to wait. Three young children and a puppy is a bad idea. Furthermore, I would avoid a working cocker with young children. Working cockers are very high energy, slightly bonkers dogs. Three young children and a working cocker sounds like a nightmare with puppy biting being the least of your problems.

How old are your children? Plus a WCS is a high energy breed that needs lots of training and exercise. I'd either wait until the youngest is 8/9 or look into a calmer breed.

Puppies bite, wait until the children are 10+ and can understand this

A wcs and little ones is a disaster waiting to happen. I have much older children so no problem there but mine has been such hard work and I couldn’t have devoted the time I have if I’d had youngsters, toys etc around!

DS was almost 10 by the time we got a puppy which was a great age as he attended training classes with us and was old enough to understand the needs of the pup.

We had a show cocker so not as active as the working type but it was still hard work. I’d really not recommend getting a puppy with three small children, you won’t have sufficient time to train properly.

There's nothing to manage, they just grow out of it. Biting is an important developmental milestone for puppies

Plus WCS can be very sensitive souls. A busy household with younger children might not be suitable. There are lots in rescue because they are misunderstood.

Get a show cocker or wait till your kids are older , puppies bite you just need everyone on board kids flapping and screaming will only make a puppy more excited, they also need naps like babies so if you have young children you might miss those cues.

I have had 6. dogs my adult life and my gorgeous wcs has been the hardest work, and I don't have any children in the house.

Being bitten by a dog is not an important developmental milestone for young children.

Thank you for your advice. As I said in my original post, I am aware of the needs of a puppy. Having had a Springer Spaniel previously I am aware of the high energy. We have decided on a working cocker spaniel, who will be worked, this time.
My children will be 9,7 and 3 when we get the puppy.
I was just after advice on managing the biting, as when I had my previous puppy we didn't have children.

In general it's about managing excitement levels and tiredness. All puppies bite, but some are much mouthier then others (in general that includes spaniels that use their mouths for work).

Imo with children a crate is a godsend. Having a quiet space where puppies can decompress is essential. Over tiredness is your enemy and puppies need far more sleep than you'd think. Having things like stair gates allows them both time away from hyping each other up.

We also use house lines to help manage access and excitement levels, and have lots of things to chew around. Kids need to be taught management techniques as the instinctive run from it makes it worse. Also kids generally really love winding puppies up

A really common mistake to make is when a puppy seems manic, to try and exercise or play abit more to tire them out. A restless small puppy is more likely to be over done vs under whelmed. We talk about it like a kid at the end of a disco, full of fragile franticness that needs a nap rather than more hype. Its important your dog gets enough time and energy, but equally you don't want to be constantly forcing them into crashing

Only you will know how resilient your children will be to fall in love and forgive the gremlin that bites, terrorises and eats their favourite toy.

Would a breeder even sell a WCS to someone with 3 young children?

If so, unfortunately the biting is just something you have to deal with. You would have to keep the kids safe/separate as much as possible, which will be extremely difficult and stressful, and always have something chewey on hand for puppy.
I’ve pretty much taught mine not to jump (she knows the sit command) but I’m not sure you can teach them not to bite. That’s why I admit defeat and use distraction.
I can’t agree that it has anything to do with tiredness with my dPup. There are some days when she’s bitey, and others she’s not, despite how much she has slept or if she is due a nap. It usually means she’s being playful/excited.

We have a puppy thread over on the Dog House forum, and you’ll see how hard most of us are finding it.
My youngest is 12, and I wouldn’t want to be doing it with kids any younger than that.

The temperaments of springers compared to cockers are worlds apart, especially when it comes to children. If you’re not bothered about the energy levels, would you not consider another springer?

We got our dog when DDs were 5&7, looking back I wouldn’t have wanted them to be any younger as it was extremely stressful, especially mornings.

If you’re determined then I’d say you need either a crate or some kind of room divider so you can keep them separate (we use the girls’ old play pen, so like a massive baby gate, spread out across the room as a fence).

But in all honesty I would wait if you value your sanity.

Your three year old, is definitely too young for you to get a puppy. You need to be patient.

The puppies that bite the most are the high energy breeds. If you are determined to get a working cocker, the biting is something you have to get through. Giving the pup plenty of toys for chewing and swapping hands for puppy toys is really all you can do.

A spaniel puppy and 3 young children is a recipe for disaster!

I’m surprised by the comments here, I have a wcs who is 13 now and yes she has a lot of energy but she wasn’t unmanageable.

I have an 8yo and 3yo and a 10 month old golden retriever. I supervised her time with the children to ensure they were leaving her alone when she wanted to sleep. Any nipping of fingers was directed onto a toy but also we had lots of discussion with the children about how “funny” behaviour from a puppy is not funny from a 30kg dog and what they must not encourage her to do (bite/jump up etc). If they didn’t listen then they were moved away from the puppy.

I was referring to the puppy obviously, an important developmental milestone for the puppy.

Thank you for your replies.

Nice to have a positive comment from @tealandteal and a couple of others. I was also surprised by the terrible experiences people seem to be having with a puppy. My Springer Spaniel was amazing, easily trained and we did not have any issues at all with her. She was also full of energy but well trained and never unmanageable.

I seriously would not consider getting a dog with my children if I didn't think I could cope and I really do know what I am doing with one! This is not an overnight decision and I have been waiting for the right time since I lost my previous dog just before my youngest was born. I made the decision to wait until he was three, toilet trained, in preschool and generally a little bit easier. Now I feel I have the time for a dog and can provide a fantastic home for one.

I know the nipping doesn't last long and all pups do it, my post was basically asking how people were managing that rather than being judged for my decision to get a puppy.

I think you manage the kids rather than the puppy in many ways. Obviously it will bite, you need to teach them how to react, not to scream, to turn away etc.
Plenty of quiet time for the puppy too as they need the downtime as I’m sure you know.
We waited til our youngest was 10 before we did it. I actually found a puppy harder than having 4 children under the age of 6!

Bad, bad idea.

can I ask you to explain why please?

Can I ask you to explain why please? Do you have experience?