I had been reading articles and books about puppies aggressive Behaviour. I am finding myself confused with all this info. My labrador girl can become very aggressive, jumps on me and tries to bite me. Then she likes to play catch me if you can game. Sometimes I just had enough. I am into the point can't deal with this behavior. I use her crate and give her quiet time to calm down. I admit that I have been yelling at her lately. She jumped on my face, ready to bite me (while picking up her dinner dish to clean). I was scared. she is making me to the point to be so angry person. I don't like it. ! She will not be ready to start her AKC Star puppy classes until the end of July. I contacted many trainers to help with this situation. But they are so expensive. and many will not take puppies with all the proper vaccines.
Hi @Jeannette Chwaliszewski I know that puppies can test one's patience. I think you have to let go of the label of a very aggressive puppy. Your puppy does not sound aggressive to me. It is typical Lab puppy behaviour. Mouthy and over the top. It will all pass. But you have to display leadership. Show her what you want. I had a chocolate Lab, who was a nightmares a puppy. She took every opportunity to bite me on the back of my legs. I kept thinking I had made a big mistake. She turned out to be the most loving, faithful and gentlest Lab I have ever owned. Keep up with the time outs, when she loses the plot. It is important to make them say only 2 to 3 minutes in length. You need enough repetitions for the dog to learn that bad manners loses your company. No yelling. No impatience. Just quietly put her in the most boring room you can find. She needs to learn that bad manners have consequences. Above all you need to reinforce, reinforce, and reinforce all the good things you observe. I don't understand the American system. Why would they require her to be 4 months old before taking her and you to be members of a class? Here in Australia we have pre-puppy school, then puppy school.
Hi Jeannette, Puppies can test your will to live. What you describe seems pretty normal. When Johnny, our lab mix, came to us at 4 months, he was a biting, leaping, barking monster, and yes during one of the most intense situations I felt the flash of fear. Fortunately I found this forum that reassured me this wasn't unusual for some puppies. My arms were black and blue, my shirts were in tatters, I lost two down vests, and a winter coat thanks to "Jaws" the pup. The SF SPCA has lots of training classes and offers individual sessions @$125: https://www.sfspca.org/behavior-training/train-your-dog When we adopted 9 w/o Maggie in January I was *determined* not to have a repeat so I talked my way into a local SPCA puppy class (over 8 wks but under 4 mos.) that had already started. You could try this. If you have experience with dogs, tell them, and stress the current difficulties. So take a deep breath, realize your pup is almost certainly not aggressive or deliberately trying to make you nuts. Follow Michael's advice and trust that over time the biting will stop. Have you tried putting the pup on a leash indoors while she runs around? This can help with time outs. Johnny was at his worst when over and understimulated. Kongs filled with kibble and peanut butter (search for recipes) and snuffle mats were good choices for us. Let us know how you get on.
Ha Ha. The American "system" is there is no system. I suspect the age requirement in the AKC Star class is related to liability since puppies don't get their final parvo shot until 14-16 weeks. Our local SPCA puppy class (over 8 wks and up to 16 wks) required that puppies be carried into the facility and handlers had to wear shoe covers in the classroom with the pups. This was to reduce the risk of parvo so it's not surprising that AKC wants to reduce the risk even further since they are likely to work with purebred (read "expensive") puppies. To give credit where credit is due, mixed breed dogs are welcome in this class. In my city private trainers and Petco stores offer classes for puppies over 8 wks. Personally I was willing to accept the small risk for the benefit of having a wonderful certified (CPTD-KSA) trainer to get us started on the right foot. The only problem I had was Maggie's size: at 9 wks she was 18 lbs and by last class she was 35+ lbs, so lots of exercise.
Thanks @anthena for the information. Interesting. Doesn't make a great deal of sense to me. The harm from failing to socialise properly exceeds the possible cost of parvo. Or is it the case that the probability of parvo is high? Even if so, why not have all owners carrying their puppies around in shoulder bags. Socialise without risk of parvo.
So, this isn't 'aggression', it is normal puppy behaviour. If you label it as 'aggression', you are going to end up feeling very negatively towards your puppy and it is going to damage your relationship with your puppy to view her in that way. Your puppy is just trying to play with you in the only way she knows how. If it is too much for you at any point, you need to have a crate or a pen where you can put her with a chew toy or stuffed Kong until she has calmed down - as you are. Yelling at her really isn't going to achieve anything, other than scaring her and confusing her. She is not 'making you' be an angry person - you are being angry with her. No one can 'make' you feel anything - please don't blame others for your emotions.
As others have said she is not aggressive...it’s just a developmental stage and it will pass. Labs are known for being very bitey. There are many threads on here just the same. Distraction worked for us, a filled kong, frozen carrot...loads of cardboard boxes to shred. We had cardboard everywhere! Meg was a crocodile, but grew up to be the most delightful family dog you could wish for
Hi Hi Michael: Wow Australia. One of my favorite places to visit. I had been there over 10 times. First, Thank you for your honest advice. That is what I was looking for. Real people to explain this to me. I love the motto, RRR. She is getting better little by little. It is probably me, after loosing my precious chocolate labrador in the fall. I thought I was ready to fill the empty space. I think needed more time. But, daisy is here now. I love her so much. Thank you, Michael.
Athena: hello. what a great way to start a piece of nice advice. I definitely will check that website. Thank you. I am not feeling that Puppies blues when I read posts of caring PP. thank you again.
Athena: I did not know that. About puppies started earlier. Maybe b/ c my other late and precious labrador was trained by AKC. Purebreed too like Daisy. I will check all these options. Thank you for taking the time to response again.
