Hi to All-My husband and I have this 13 week old black lab male pup. He is adorable but we did not expect the biting and jumping and craziness because we did not do our research. I am 70 and my husband is partially disabled from a brain injury. Our 8 year old great grandson loves the dog but the pup is so rough that playtime always means bite time. We want to keep the dog if we possibly can. Anyone know of animal behaviorists in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) area who might be able to help? Thanks, Cindy
Hello, this is all very normal for a lab puppy. They are known crocodiles at this age. You don't need a behaviourist yet. Have a look in the puppy thread they is a permanent post from Pippa about biting pups. Also read some old threads, there are loads of them with ideas and support. It will pass, distraction worked for us.
Most Lab pups are bitey at that age, but generally grow out of it pretty quickly. Having some good tuff toys that you can hold will help also.
When Luna was a puppy we bought some bright coloured face clothes, tied into a knot, soaked in water and froze them. That way when she wanted a chew we took them out to hold for her. It was hard and cold so helped with her sore gums too.
We have a variety of KONG toys for our pup. We use these to distract her from biting us and now at 19 weeks, she is not biting at all now. These toys are quite robust and last a decent amount of time: https://www.kongcompany.com/dog/play-type/chew
I really would like some help in how to properly raise this pup. This is my first "real dog" (having helped raise my grandparents' Lab puppy and a neighbor's Maltese), and I am just a little confused with how to teach these simple concepts.
ps " I know about boxers and they are stubborn! They are also very energetic and love to play and wrestle. Most things she’s doing sound like normal puppy things. Boxers are not very eager to please but they are usually quite food motivated, as are labs."
