@Tiffany, does this behaviour happen at certain times of the day, ie early evening, or first thing in the morning?
the trainer who has puppy kindergarten has anger issues, He uses shock collars and hard leash controls of popping till they bleed. No other puppy classes in our area. I socialize her daily. Going somewhere. I use these times as well with distractions for small obedience training and good behaviors. I hear all of you, yet I feel doomed. I have never had a pup like this. She is our 3rd lab ! This is hard with a disabled child !!!
it happens when she is tired morning, afternoon and late evenings it seems the most. None yesterday am, no different routine. This am strongest attacks.
I can't routine walk, my sons care is not routine, my life is not routine...I can't guarantee that to happen. Esp. in winter months. My son cannot be left alone and wheelchair bound. I can't get care for him for a dinner date with my husband, let alone to walk a dog.
She will grow out of it, honestly, if you treat her with kindness and understanding. Some pups are certainly a lot, lot rougher than others and I can understand why it's so demoralising, especially when you have your son to consider. My Willow wasn't anywhere near as bad as some, but she was certainly more of a terror when she was tired, and I can relate to the frenzied behaviour that can't be stopped. The best thing to do is recognise that she's just over threshold, just like a baby gets when they're over tired, and she needs a snooze. Pop her in her crate in the same room as you, with a friendly "sleepy time!", or maybe a frozen Kong or other long-life treat to settle down with. Don't worry, you're not reinforcing the biting, you're just recognising what she can't yet; that she needs some time to settle. By staying in the same room as her, you're not abandoning her, and it's not a punishment at all. Just quiet time. At other times, when she's less OTT, you can play nicely with her, and if she bites too hard, stop the game immediately and walk away. It doesn't have to be for long, and shouldn't be. Ten, twenty seconds, as long as it takes for her to be calm. Then reinitiate play. She'll learn that biting means the fun ends. But there's no point trying to get her to learn this when she's over threshold. So spare a few minutes in your busy day when she's calmer to have some sessions of nice playtime, when she's already settled and not pestering you to play. Good luck!
@Tiffany, exactly the same times as I had with Maisie and it did suddenly stop. As soon as I recognised the behaviour it was a matter of distracting her immediately and changing what was going on, even if that meant a couple of minutes in timeout. I wonder if your pup is picking up that you are worried/stressed about this? The reason I say that is that Maisie would "go" for my youngest son who was becoming frightened of the "crocopup".
Thanks so much, I am in tears today. This has been to much ! And I am trying very hard and working very hard to understand and fix it. I will work on the crate idea, I like that.
They can be little monsters, and very hard to love at times. I had a mantra, "This will pass. This will pass!". It got me through some tough times. Well, that and gin
I really feel for you as my Mole was very very bitey, and had the same as you, targeting the legs if I stood still etc. It was very very different to my last lab and seemed to go on forever but by 4 months he was much better and by 6 months he had pretty much stopped (as had those sharp puppy teeth). He is still very keen on chewing (toys, plastic bottles, kongs etc) so I think he is just a mouthiest lab than my last. However he doesn't bite me any more. Kongs and chews of all sorts were my friend. Rawhide strips (supervised) and rice bones. He needed to chew and these ensured it wasn't me. No over excited games in the garden as they always ended up with biting at this stage and time outs for short periods when he did it. I am sure it's not aggression but it sure feels aggressive at the time. Consistency, crate time outs, kongs and chews and you will get there. I honestly didn't think I would and we now have the most lovely (teenagerish) dog who understands the word gentle (I used it a lot in training him when giving treats). You will get out the other side but I really feel your pain. Sam and Mole (7.5 mo)
Definitely agree with @samandmole I had to provide Duncan with tons of chew toys, Kongs, rawhides, etc. things that kept his attention and that he would chew on and get his biting out on something besides me for awhile -- the rawhides and chews and such I gave him were literally a god send during the worst weeks that I was in tears and I definitely had to do crate time outs as well until he was calmed down because turning my back did NOT work and he would just bite my legs and go for areas he could reach when my back was turned. Also agree that by 4 months it was getting better and now at 5months it is much much better
I hope so! It is hard to bond and love them with such intense attacks. Will work on different exercising and the crate training. I am glad I am not on a desert island. thanks Bridgit3789.
Poor you, you really do have an awful lot on your plate. But on the upside you now know that what you are experiencing is perfectly normal puppy behaviour. Most of us have been through the same experience, but without the additional difficulties you have. When a puppy is that wound up there is nothing you can do, no way you can reach them. The best, the only way you can deal with it is to put her somewhere where she can no longer hurt you. Walk away, calm down and can I say, it is perfectly acceptable to not like your puppy when they are behaving badly. When she is calm let her out and start again This will not be a quick fix. There are no quick fixes in dog training. TV programmes which claim to train your dog in 5 minutes are totally dishonest. Programmes are edited only to show the end result, not the time and effort put in and the many times it didn't work. Most of us on this site do not agree with dominance theory. You may be able to wrestle your dog to the ground and pin her there now, but an adult Labrador is a large powerful dog and that is a completely different proposition I would never use an electric shock collar on a dog, let alone a puppy, they are barbaric. Positive, gentle training methods are now being used all over the world. One of the reasons they are gaining in popularity is that they have been proven to work extremely well. Pippa's "Happy Puppy" book is a good place to start. Always feel free to come here for a moan. There were times I really didn't like Molly, times when I thought "What have I done" (we are retired). But I stuck it out and trained her calmly and consistently and she is now loved family member and is sat watching me calmly as I type.
Really try some impulse control instead of some of this - although calm in new places and new distractions is good of course so don't stop getting her out and about. You want to train focus, settle, resisting the temptation to dash for things she wants, and turning away from exciting things. A good book is "control unleashed - the puppy programme". Also try "learning games" by Kay Lawrence for more ideas of things to train.
Hi Tiffany, you really do have your hands full. I remember this stage very well and found it really hard and I didn't have a child to look after as well. I'd had shoulder surgery though and only had the use of one arm at the time, the one Dexter was usually hanging off, biting and biting, oh boy does it hurt. Don't be frightened to use the crate, I found it was the only thing that worked, if I knew he was tired it was straight in the crate before he got too bad, for a snooze. Some days he was in and out like a youo, other days not so often. If I stood and ignored him, he'd be jumping up and biting my arms, legs, bottom, back......... I had no chance of getting him off my arm so I'd slip my jacket off, yes hot summer and I was stuck in a fleece jacket , get him in his crate attached to the sleeve still, shut the door enough so he couldn't get out then once he let go of the sleeve, remove my jacket and close the door up. The time varied from 1 minute to however long he slept for. But he did stop the biting stage and I'm sure your little one will too. There is light at the end of the tunnel, you will make it through. X
I do feel for you @Tiffany I have a 16 week crocopup who had me in tears yesterday - and I don't have the added consideration of a child, let alone a disabled child. I find time out's until he is calm or had a sleep are the only things that work - as with you if I turn my back my legs and butt get bitten instead of my hands and arms - at the moment my hands and arms look like a dot to dot abstract picture, lots and lots of red dots all over However, today has been a better day . One saviour I have found is frozen chicken wings...after playing with, attacking and devouring one Bailey settles down for a doze and is quite happy and content . I don't see this as rewarding bad behaviour as he has to calm down before he gets a chicken wing, and now whenever the freezer opens my crocopup runs and sits calmly by my side! We all are either going through it, or have been through it. I know that at times when in full crocopup mode it does seem like a personal attack, but really it isn't - my boy has just had a case of zoomies, followed by biting, followed by time out to calm down, a frozen chicken wing and is now asleep on my foot while I'm typing. Keep going and come back whenever you need comfort, advice (from those more experienced than me), sympathy or recommendations for a stiff drink!
You've got lots of sympathy from many of us - we've all been there in varying circumstances. A stuffed kong in a crate (with the puppy too!) is great for a bit of respite while you have the gin! Hard chew toys, like nylabones, are good too, but best supervised. One of mine used to have mad moments when she used to charge suddenly, looking wild. It sounds as if she (and you) have had a hard time with her health too, but she will grow out of the crocopup stage eventually, although it seems endless while it lasts.
