Hi guys, this is my first post here but have been soaking up a lot of the great advice for a while now (or trying to!). Just wondering if anyone can help me with an issue I haven’t been able to find anything on. My 10week old yellow lab pup Neo has been with us for nearly 2weeks. He’s a sweetie (some of the time!) but like almost everyone else, we have been having issues with him biting when overtired/stimulated. We have been working on avoiding him getting to that point but inevitably it does happen from time to time and we are trying to do all the recommended things when it gets out of hand, distracting with toys, standing up and ignoring etc however when it gets really out of hand ideally I would like to try and leave the room and give him a timeout for a few minutes. The problem is if I go to a door he is right there waiting to go through, every single time! The scuffle at the doorway to try and keep him one side of it and go the other winds him up even more and makes everything worse. I know baby gates are recommended but I’m a bit of a short arse and can’t easily just hop over one, I have to open it and then it causes the same issue, he’s always right there wanting to go through! This is the case whether he’s worked up or not, if he sees you head for a door he jumps straight up and runs over, even if he’s mid-nap. As a result, it also means we haven’t been able to get him used to spending a bit of time alone. He does have a crate but I’m worried if I use that for a brief time out he will start to view it as a punishment rather than a happy place which we have been working hard to establish (he’s very good with it at night, more reluctant during the day but working on it). Anyone got any ideas? Apologies for the ramble, he is my second pup so thought I was prepared! I lost my black girl earlier this year at nearly 14. Don’t know if I’ve sugarcoated her puppyhood in my memory but this little boy seems like a completely different breed!
Have had similar problems with my pup over the last several weeks (I'm also short, getting to and over the baby gate with a puppy's teeth in my leg was challenging) and was also initially reluctant to use the crate in case he viewed as a punishment. However with no other options I did begin putting him in the crate for time out when the biting got really bad. I made sure I didn't scold him or yell - just tried to calmly and quietly put him in the crate. It hasn't had any negative impact on his willingness to go in the crate - runs in eagerly at other times for meals, bedtime, etc. Over the last few weeks have implemented a much more structured routine of downtime in the crate because he was not able to settle quietly on his own and it has made a huge difference.
I have a similar problem with Sophie in that she bites my pant leg and hangs on or follows me so fast that I can’t do the leave thing fast enough. My trainer recommended a longer leash and tethering her to something so that when I walk away she’s stuck there. Just make sure it’s something that can’t be pulled over or moved. I ended up having to use a door knob because I tried a chair leg and she just pulled the chair with her on my wooden floor.
Thanks for this, will look to start using the crate more when this occurs. Do you always crate with a frozen kong or similar? Just thinking if it’s just for brief timeouts whether I should be using something else or perhaps no food/treats at all? Am also trying to work out a routine for him to help avoid the issue arising but haven’t cracked it yet, I’m always second guessing myself!
I use the kong quite sparingly, typically only once a day to keep him occupied while I'm cooking dinner. I usually give him a small handful of "treats" (really just his kibble) when he goes in the crate. Occasionally, but not always, I use a high value liver treat. When I put him in for a time out, I try to keep it quite short - after about 15min or so, if he is calm I will take him back out. I can definitely sympathize with the second guessing! This is my first puppy and it's taken a good 6-7 weeks for me to establish a routine that works.
