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JEKYL AND HYDE

Q: Our 9 week old Cavalier has started displaying jekyl and hyde personality. He has displayed recent bouts of spastic hyperactivity during the evenings and will run around in circles, chase the cats, bite at toes, etc.. When we try to settle him down he will growl at us and appears to want to nip at our hand in retaliation. Is this behavior normal, or is he displaying aggressive mannerisms which we should take control of before it gets out of hand?

A: You definitely do need to take control of the nipping and growling with a firm rememberable voice, angry facial expression and a period of shunning or pretending like he does not exist. I have watched my own puppies over the years and I think it also might be that you are interrupting a period of necessary activity especially if it is after you arrive home in the evening. You might try letting him play himself down before picking him up, the cats will also keep the activity in check if they need to. The nipping at hands I feel is best handled with a rememberable thump on the nose and a somewhat scary "NO".