It has been two weeks tomorrow that I brought home my little monster Rosie. She is 9-1/2 weeks old. She has been a constant source of entertainment (and our only entertainment) for the last two weeks since we basically live in the kitchen now. Crates, baby gates, long sleeves and big heavy slippers have become a way of life in our house. You take your chances with the land shark if you dare step foot in the kitchen without foot protection. Good luck trying to pet her unless she's sleeping or you may get bitten. She's adorable but she is so BITEY! I am really struggling with this aspect. I am doing all the things I need to do with trying to curb the biting so I'm not looking for advice I just need some "propping up" please - someone tell me it will all be over soon I'm tired and frustrated and need to vent. Our first lab Daisy wasn't as bad as this. Plus I want to document this so I can look back at this post a year from now and think, what a drama queen I was. LOL
I understand completely. It is frustrating. For us the bitey face stage wasn't so bad. Lincoln came out of it pretty fast. What frustrated me was the potty training. I had a few crying spells but we got through it. Lincoln is 7 months old and totally potty trained. He'll even come get me when he needs to go out. So don't worry it will get better. The light at the end of the Tunnel just "feels" like it's a million miles away but you'll get there.
Meg was a total land shark...I used to give her cardboard boxes to chomp which kept her busy, my house was a total mess but I was past caring. She grew out of it fairly fast...the timeline is a bit of a blur to be honest. She has never chewed anything since and is a total delight. Stick with it and you will soon be laughing at your holey clothes
This stage was a nightmare for me too. It definitely passes and one day you honestly will look back and smile. For me things started shifting when she was about 4 months, until then I felt under siege. Small stones in a plastic bottle and cardboard boxes were good entertainment for her. Time out for a very short period when it all got too much also helped.
it will soon stop I had the same problem with my boy he is 10 months today, they grow up so fast one day my boy just stopped biting... I got told keep giving him a toy instead of your hand takes a while but they do get it.. good luck
Thanks for replies to read and enjoy as I lie on my living room couch taking a break. I came home from work at 1:30 to see the lovely blood blister bruises on my adult daughter’s arm from Rosie’s bites and then after I was bitten pretty much as soon as I was home I decided we could all use a break and crated her. Both Rosie and daughter snoring away LOL.
I got our puppy Tom, now 18 weeks, after loosing our 4th Lab and I honestly can’t remember any of our others being as bitey as he was. I couldn’t let any of my grandchildren near him as I was so worried about him hurting them. I spent so many days exhauseted, in tears, thinking I had done the wrong thing getting another puppy. I even thought about returning him to the breeder. It didnt help that I have thin skin,as my hands, arms and legs were covered in bruises and scabs, it was actually embarrassing. I think I read every post on here about puppies biting, what you should and shouldn’t do. I tried everything that was suggested but what really made the difference and literally changed him over night completely into the sweet, cuddley puppy I can remember our others were, was changing him to Grain free dry food with the lowest protein I could find. Since that day I can honestly say he has not only stopped biting, he sleeps better, is so chilled out, he even climbs on my lap to go to sleep. He would lick you to death now instead of being a horrible little land shark that no one wanted to go anywhere near. Stick with it, it will get better.
Mine is 25 weeks now and only starts to “bite” anymore when roughhousing. Not with other dogs, just with me it seems. I say “easy” every time I want her to calm down and she listens well. Now I use “easy” quite often and not just for biting. Baths, putting on the leash, brushing, barking at animals on television - whenever. To get to that point I always had durable chew toys for her to satiate her when I could tell all she really wanted to do was sink her teeth into something. Once that subsides in the moment, I started to teach that slow, gentle petting meant she must calm down. I used a clicker and treats and eventually paired that with “easy.” Then I raised the difficulty as she got older. I get her riled up with some intense play or I’ll do some quick petting/hand motions all around her, and when I say “easy” she knows to stop and be calm. The ankle nipping can be tough to deal with but I found the best way to diminish that is to never walk too quickly around her, especially near the face. And if she wants to nip I stand completely idle and wait for her to stop and look up before I take another step.
I still have the scars on my arms from this stage. I cried ALOT. I also didn't like my puppy all that much when he was at his bitiest. I loved him, but he was not fun to be around. It does pass, and it will do so quicker than you think. At 7 months now, and he only every puts your hand in his mouth when he's over tired, and even then it is so gentle. You will get there!
As long as your consistent with your training, it will stop. When Indy was a very young puppy, play time would end abruptly any time she bit us. If we were in the middle of a game or fussing her, the moment she sank her teeth into us we let out a sharp 'OUCH!' and immediately got up and walked away from her. Gradually, she bit us less and less until it was not at all. Keep it up
