Hello! Thank you for this this site and this forum. I've visited both frequently since we brought out black lab, Brimley, home. He is 3 months old now and growing so fast. My biggest issue is with Brimley biting. I know that he will eventually grow out of it when he gets his adult teeth, but it is really bad. I have bite marks, welts and scratches all over my arms and legs. When he is in play/bite mode, nothing works. I've tried distracting him with toys. This worked at first, but not so much anymore. When I tell him no in a firm voice, he just "yells" at me and gets more riled up. I've tried taking my attention away completely, but he will just continue to bite and jump on me. The only think that works is me leaving the room, all while he jumps, nips and pulls my clothes as I walk away. When I go back to the room he is in, he goes back at it. I'm so upset and frustrated. He bites my husband, but not nearly as much. He certainly has more respect for him. I'm just his playmate. Any advice? How do I get through the next few months??!!
Do you have a crate? They get too overstimulated from being tired. It's like they don't know they have reached their limit and that they need to take a nap. Pop him in his crate for a little while and you will have a sleeping pup. Another thing that works if your puppy is food stimulated is to disrupt the "nipping" with some tricks. Have him sit, down, or whatever you like and he most of the time he forgets about ripping you to shreds. He may also be trying to tell you something, like he needs to go potty. We would do timeouts when he gets out of control, but sometimes he would end up peeing on the carpet before we get to his crate. Sparky has since then learned how to use a potty bell. He would use it most of the time, but sometimes when we are closer to him than the potty bell, he would get really nippy. We would take him out and he would have a long pee or a poo.
Welcome to the forum! Good advice from xxryu above. It can feel pretty brutal. You have clearly noted that responding to him vocally just encouraged the biting. Removing yourself quietly or gently popping him in a crate is a good idea. And if you have been reading the forum/site you will know not to take him back out until he is quiet (or after his sleep). I found that redirecting chewing too helped. We look after puppies from time to time and a cold or frozen carrot, or the old wetted and knotted frozen teatowl works pretty good. We also have one of those braided fleece tuggy toys that is really popular with chewing puppies. And remember....It WILL pass
Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is eight months old. I know they are crazy crocodiles at this age - All mine have been! It's 100% normal. Take heart, they quickly grow out of it. Wear tight sleeves and skinny jeans - wellies if necessary! Here are some articles with the best advice - more importantly, it WORKS! The only tip which didn't work for mine was the yelping - that just made them even more excited. Don't say 'no' in a firm voice, it will mean nothing to him if it's not trained as a cue. The important thing to remember is that repetition is needed - lots and lots of repetition for them to learn new skills. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-an-overexcited-labrador-puppy/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-play-safely-with-a-labrador/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-training/ .
Me coming along after Mags is pretty useles as you've had such a thorough reply I couldn't add to that ...but I just wanted to stop by after seeing Brimley's photo....what a little cutie! This croco pup stage is grim,I escaped most of it as my dog was 5 months when he came to live with us but I sympathise with every member that comes along to the boards with tales of injuries received.Hang in there and wrap up against the onslaught! Best Wishes Angela x
I agree it's a miserable time. What worked best for me was lifting her and putting her behind the baby gate for half a minute or a little bit longer. Let her back in the room and if it started again, back behind the baby gate. So if there is anywhere you can put him away from you and away from harm for a brief time it'll give you some respite. I always had a toy at hand to put in her mouth also but she was a whirling dervish and difficult to contain. It was pretty hellish but it passed quite quickly and she's gentle as anything now.
Thank you for the response! I have put him in his crate a couple of times, but I stopped when I read somewhere not to use the crate for punishment. So you think it would be OK to do that in this instance? Brimley knows several commands, but he will only do them when he knows he is going to get a treat. Still working on that...
Hello! I have tried redirecting as well. It works most of the time, but I am worried that I am encouraging him by doing that. He bites me when he wants to play. If I give him a toy to distract him, am I just reinforcing the notion that if he bites me, I will play with him?
Hi! Thank you so much for the advice. I will check out these links. I think that I first discovered this site when I was researching to find out if my puppy was aggressive. I was so relieved to learn from you all that he is normal. Brimley knows "leave it" but I am working to get him to "leave it" without a treat.
Thank you so much! I told my husband I should start charging each time people ask to pet him - we could easily pay for all of this treats, toys, etc. We constantly get stopped when we are at parks or anywhere out in public. He is very popular! I had no idea that there this huge culture of people who love labs until we brought home this little guy.
Thank you for the response! I have thought about creating a "time out" area to put him in. For now, I've just been leaving the room when he gets out of control. Each time I return to the room, he immediately starts jumping and biting me. I wonder if it is because he still has access to all of his toys and such so he doesn't much care...
its not really for punishment. sometimes after play, they get too tired and get hyperexcited instead. they don't know any better that they are supposed to settle down, so you remind them. pop him in the crate and its time for nap time. throw in a frozen kong or treat inside the crate so they can munch away to sleep. time out is a little different. when Sparky was 10 months old, he would nip at my fingers and won't stop. i will yell timeout and put him in the crate. he doesn't come out until he lays down and relaxes. now just the mere mention of time out and he stops whatever bad he is doing. well most of the time.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Nothing much to add you have had some great advice. I use to say to my puppy "no teeth", if she didn't stop then I did put her in her crate for a sleep.
We're having the same issue with our Jasper (he's 10 1/2 weeks - we've had him 2 weeks on Saturday). We have a five year-old nephew who met him the day after we got him and got on so well and was really gentle. Our in-law's have a retriever so he's kind of used to dogs, albeit a big old one! He wanted to come see him last weekend but I said no in case he nipped him and scared him. We delayed them coming over till this weekend but the fear of it is still there. It's bad when he nips and gets bad with my husband and I and I really don't want him to do the same to our nephew because he won't understand. I am dreading the weekend now. The distracting with other toys does help sometimes but not so much in last 3-4 days. The only thing we can do is use time out in the crate to let him calm down but we feel really bad having to do that to him and he cries and cries and I sit there feeling truly dreadful shutting him away from us both. We've frozen a carrot so he'll have that later tonight. His 'complete mad time' is usually around 7-9 the last few days and it's hard for my husband and I as this is when we want to wind down and relax before getting ready for bed. Hoping when he can go out walking soon we can calm him a bit that way. I heard consistency is the main thing but wondering how long it will take him to realise? I wish you could just bend down to them and explain to stop it and for them to understand if he gets mad like this that he will get put somewhere quiet / no attention.
No, not at all - the biting is part of his play at the moment. So I would teach 'sit' and get him to sit before you play with him with the toy. When they are 8 weeks old I simply put the toy/chew straight in their mouth to deflect the teeth. By 10/12 weeks they know 'sit' so I ask for a sit before any play. Biting at that age causes me to stand up and turn my back - and leave the room if it persists. Not for long, a few seconds. If they still persist I put them in their crate with a filled Kong. Once again, not for long. We wasn't good pups, not frustrated pups
