Thank you for this. We have our first male lab he is almost 5 months. The behavior is so different from the female. He eats everything and I mean everything. I do not know where he even finds some of the stuff he chews on. I do not have a kennel for him I thought the bathroom was a better option as its bigger and he can have access to his water dish while I was at work. Think again he chewed through the door. He is obsessed with socks he even pooped a whole one out the other day. I know he will calm down in time. We are working on the begging at the table at supper at the moment (not well may I add as he thinks its ok to lay under the table when you tell him to go lay down) then comes the head popping out from under again. He is such a sweet gentle boy but wow I am amazed everyday at how much trouble he can find in seconds. If anyone has any advice on something he will find entertaining to chew on besides his bone would be greatly appreciated. I do have tons of toys, kongs, balls and he still loves the socks lol.
Our boy is also 5 months old. He's never been too interested in furniture or clothing but he loves the t.v. remote control. We buy Rope toys which are great for dogs who like to chew materials. Lincoln loves shredding them. We also get Petstages Dogwood Sticks. They are great. He chews them all day. He used to beg at the table but I just turned away and ignored him every time and he gets tired of and goes off and lays down. Frozen Kings also work great .
Hello people. We brought a Lab puppy into our home 3 weeks ago. And she’s now 11 weeks old. In genarel she’s va very pleasen and easy puppy to have around. She has a good sleep routine, she controls her potty without accidents 95% of times. She understands training and is good with ‘sit’, ‘wait’ and leave it. She is patient in sharing treats with the house cat and she’s not much of barger (most of the days) and she sleeps on her without complaining from the first week we got her. UNLESS she’s into the twilight zone. When she’s sleepy our overexcited she bites, barks at everything (including us) doesn’t calm down and has a hard time to go to sleep when we are around. I know that those things are quite normal but it would be great if there could be a balance in her being able to calm down even with people being around. She sleeps in the living witch is (unfurnately) connected to the kitchen and dinning area. So it’s avoidable for us not to use it during her sleeping hours. Even if we don’t engage with her at all. a lot of times she’s still gonna end up getting irritated our overexcited. And won’t calm down our go to sleep until we exit the room put on her favourite lullabies and shut down the lights. Sometimes I really think I’m dealing with a moody teenager rather than baby pup . Any advice our similar experience would be much appreciated.
Thanks for the post, I thought we were doing something wrong. Our pup Daisy is 12 weeks old. We've had her for a month. We love her to death, bit she can be very pushy when she wants attention. She jumps, barks and bites at times. We've already started working with a trainer this past week.
Hi , I had read your post before and liked it but came upon it today again after a particularly difficult week with Isla our pup who's 9 months,she sounds very like Tank!. You made me remember that things do get easier and that there is hope of a calmer,well behaved dog in the future. Thanks for sharing you experiences and encouraging words
Mango is the same. He will be 9 months in 2 days, and still jumpes, pulls on a leash, reacts to people passing us, with or without dogs, goes crazy for cats, does not calm down for more than a few seconds at a time, wants/begs to eat constantely....in general, he listens only when he wants to. Sometimes it feels like all the effort is for nothing. And there are times he makes me so proud.
6 month year old lab..Training going pretty well.Having real issues with keeping him off the couch..Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..
My puppy Willow is 9 weeks old and is extremely good so far touch wood lol She picks things up really quickly. When we eat she jumped up but when told to lied own she does it. She has started to bite gentle and lick hands now. She does eat her poo overnight when we aren't watching her. She is very hungry all the time but is gaining weight so hopefully this will stop when she is pooping out doors. She is due for her next jab worm and flea treatment on Monday 10th Dec then she will be put outside whenever she goes to use the puppy pads. She is really calm and I can leave the room and she just lies on her blanket or if I leave her in the kitchen with the dog gate shut she lies in her basket where she sleeps over night. She has only been here a week so I expect the fun and games to start anytime soon. Thank god for this thread as all new puppy owners have lots of questions. I have pippas books and finding them really helpful. Willow has already learned to sit.
Welcome and Congratulations on your new puppy. Willow sounds like a sweet pup. Have you considered crate training? It helps a lot with potty training especially. Can I suggest a book for you to look at? It's called "Train Your Dog Like A Pro" by Jean Donaldson. It's a great book.
We dont want to crate train her as my rescue spaniel was screwed up after being left for long hours in a crate. We got her at 18 months and could never let her off the lead. Willow is trained to the pads I don't want to undo that she will be able to hold it longer as she grows. She is tiny and can't get in and out of the house as she cant manage the step my other Spaniel puppy was fully house trained at 12 weeks. Willow is a clam and relaxed puppy crate trained pups are destructive as they are confined willow comes and goes as she pleases and so is not stressed at being locked away from us.
Hello all! Monty is now almost 10 months old, he has really calmed down a lot and has generally been fairly well behaved for the last few months, however in the last few weeks we have noticed he seems to have started to relapse a bit. He's started chewing again (nowhere near as badly as when he was younger but still frustrating!), he seems to have lost his recall and has become very stubborn, especially when it comes to bedtime and going in his crate! Is it normal to have this relapse? He generally tends to be worse behaved for my boyfriend and better behaved for me! He's also started barking at my boyfriend a lot which we assume is him trying to assert dominance again (he used to do this as a puppy but only really to my boyfriend, not often with me!) Please tell me we are not alone with this haha! We really thought he had settled down and now he seems to be going backwards!
I have a 12 week old black lab. He’s been amazing to potty train, crate training he’s been good with.. sometimes takes a while to settle at night but he seems to get the routine now he will just bark when he needs to go out to the loo which is fine - quite like that he will let us know when he needs to go! Problems we are having is the biting which I understand should improve over time and consistency so I can just about manage with that at the moment. But he just seems to bark a lot, for attention, boredom, food and anytime he feels like! Has anyone got any tips to help with the constant barking?! My parents have had labs before in my family home but this is my first on my own so I’m open to suggestions!
I’m feeling your pain! Could you share any tips you’ve found to help improve this? My 12 week old pup can be a nightmare with barking, biting and jumping for attention. Trying to ignore it and shutting him in the other room sometimes works but sometimes makes him worse
Hello everyone: Today was a hard day for me w/ my 2 months old lab. I had been training her since we got home a week ago. I am restless, she waking me up a lot. I cried today missing my first well behaved Labrador of 10 years. Even when she was a puppy she was not hyper as my new lab. My husband is gone a lot with the military. But I feel I can't do this anymore. I love her. But I am praying to give patience. Believe me, I do have the patience!!!. I enrolled her in The AKC STAR puppy class for July, when she will 4 months old. I want to walk her now and get that energy out of her. But, in my neighboorhood, people are very irresponsible dogs owners. They leave the dog's feces on the ground. Since my puppy does not have all the shots yet. We played at least 2 hrs/day. I am retired now, I have the time. I don't mind training her. It's the hyperactivity I can't deal with. from 3 am- to 6 am Nonstop. I crated her next to me in my bedroom. but she does cry and cry. and I let her do that. I got to the point today, I left for 20 minutes to the pet store. I got some anxiety plugin if that helps her. ( i add to my countertop).any recommendations? Sleepless in California!!
Thanks so much for posting this, and Hi from sunny Southport, UK. We have just brought home the loveliest, sweetest 8 week + 3 day old pup called Cosmo. He really is a handsome and sweet natured wee guy, the nipping and mouthing and chewing everything in sight aside) toilet trained (apart from the v occasional tiny wee when, one the first occasion he was over excited and the second we failed to read the signs). He was a quiet little guy when he had his imms yesterday, although didn’t much like the car journey there! My friends reckon I have an angel, and even the vet commented on how fab he was, but as a first time puppy owner I feel completely out of my depth and have no point of reference. We have a home visit from a trainer next week but meantime any hints and tips would be welcomed. He’ll sleep in his crate upstairs (we read it was good for the first few nights) but goes crazy in the crate downstairs favouring the sofa (we stupidly let him in his first day here and now I don’t know how to stop it) or his bed at our feet! He’s chilled if we leave the room briefly but don’t see how we’ll ever get him in his downstairs crate! As for the NO word-well that has no impact on most occasions He is wonderful and we’re lucky in that we’re both able to be at home a lot over the summer but I still felt a bit blubby this morning and worried that I was a terrible puppy mummy! Thanks all for being out there!
My cousin told me that when they are in their crate, if they start whining to cover the crate till they get quiet then remove the blanket. Do this several times and they'd eventually get the picture. I did this with Scout for a few nights (it took about 2/3 nights for about 20 min a pop) and then he got the picture and quit whining. Hes 18 months but he's been good in his crate when we put him in there.
Hi Jeanette and Ally Fi, the first couple of weeks with a new puppy can be really tough. Have you read these two articles? Bringing Home A New Puppy Puppy Blues:Coping with Post Puppy Depression I hope you find them helpful. Many puppies are homesick for the first week or two. There are tips to help with the crying in this article: How To Cope With A Crying Puppy You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed. Please let us know how you are getting on. People often feel they are supposed to be happy and grateful for the new puppy in their lives, but puppies are hard work. Sometimes it just helps to have a good moan
Thanks so much for this! I’ll have a read at the articles-just stumbled on your site this afternoon but haven’t had a chance to explore yet! I’m feeling a bit better today-managed to get some sleep which always helps. I used to be a midwife so am trying to tell myself the same things I always told new mums....advice is always easier to give than take though, huh! I’m sure we’ll be fine but knowing there is somewhere to have that moan really helps. Will keep you posted!
Pippa-just read the puppy blues article and I could have written it ( to new mums...well minus the bits about laying down puppy pads and letting them get on with it, or putting them in a crate....the College of Midwives wouldn’t approve of that advice). Feel so much better now! Phew.....
