So I was lying on the sofa minding my own business when my 7 month old lab jumped up onto the sofa and bit me, several times, okay it may have only left a few marks but what the heck? Then when I said "off" he pawed my face where I now have a huge scratch under my eye!!!! Im trying my best to stop him from coming on the sofa but when he has these bizarre crazy fits he refuses to listen. He's done it before but never to this extent. I should add that if I walk away I have to walk/drag him along as he'll follow me and chase me. These "episodes" last about 5 minutes even if ive locked myself in the conservatory he'll jump up the door or run around in the garden like he's possessed!
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Hi. Not so good do you think he was trying to get your attention? I think most pups have a few crazy minutes most days, some worse than others. Do you have a time-out area that is away from the main living area? Do you do training with him? How does he respond?
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Oh dear. You must be pretty upset with all that happening, It sounds like you were scared by his reaction. I'm not very good with issues like this, but I wonder if he is just chancing it a bit and pushing the boundaries much like a teenager. I think having some kind of Time-Out place is what I would recommend using. And maybe if you don't want him on the sofa, then focus on training this - rewarding him every time he gets off when you ask? I hope someone with more experience can help you with this.
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Does he have sufficient exercise off lead to get rid of all that surplus energy? Labs do have a funny way of butt tucking and going mental
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Was he tired at the time? I can get this kind of behaviour with my ten month old girl. I call it 'The Seven O'Clock Stupids". I try to make sure our evening walk is over before this, but tonight we were doing so well that I just kept on walking. Then suddenly she was jumping all over me, hurling herself to the end of the lead and grabbing the lead with her teeth and pulling it. She was certainly out of control. It is quite frightening, especially when you have to hang on to the lead for dear life. Incredible, one moment we were walking along as nice as pie, the next I have this mad thing throwing itself at me and around me. I popped her in the crate when we got home for a few minutes. She's now on the lawn having her evening Kong as good as gold.
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! It does sound like one extreme or the other - I mean either over-tiredness or full of energy. If the first, can you spot the signs and put him somewhere quiet with a Kong or chew toy before it gets to this point? If he's bounding with energy perhaps look at your exercise / training / playing regime. My dog, who is almost 11 months sometimes paws me when she wants attention and I can see how easily your face got hurt (sympathy!) I think many puppies just need masses of time spent with them.
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Everyone has given you lots of good advice, and I agree with all that's been said - it's either he is over tired and needs a time out (think children!) or that he is not getting enough exercise. At seven months old he can cope with an hour walk, but he will need some off lead time to run off all that puppy exuberance that he has, and to meet some doggy friends to play with too.
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Wow thank you all for advice! I think tomorrow ill keep an eye out for his behaviour tomorrow and make a note of it. He gets time out by either crate time or I just leave the room for 5 minutes. He gets a one hour walk in the evening from 8-9 every day as at the moment its too hot for a walk during the day. We play all day long though, he loves to play with his teddies by himself and enjoys fetch however he hasn't quite got the dropping of the ball. As its hot he's been enjoying his new paddling pool too . We're practicing his recall as he's found a new love of birds!!! Due to the birds we're also re-learning lead training as he pulls as soon as he spots one. Although if its the whole family out for a walk he'll just chase us from one to the other! Max and I did have an off lead run today which went very well especially as NO birds were about haha! Practiced simple "stay" and "come" on the field as not many people were about. Im also teaching him "off" the sofa. I aim to teach him something new every few weeks. For example "leave" he's almost mastered it!!! Few minutes every hour or so he's training to some extent
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! Ouch, when Kailey has too much energy she gets crazy as well. She hasn't bitten me like that but she will start jumping on me, barking at me, and doing all sort of things to get attention. I really think a lot of it is pent up puppy energy. When she has a lot of exercise during the day she rarely is so rotten. That is one of the stinky things about summer heat, it tends to slow us down and speed the dog up since they have excess energy. Good luck and hopefully this too shall pass...... biorus
Re: HELP my 7 month old lab bit me! When Titan was around the same age he would do the same thing. He would run around like crazy and nip at your hands as he ran by. Sometimes he would even run directly at you and kind of body check you. I would take him and put him in his crate for about five minutes when he did this. The funny thing is once he's in the crate he looked confused like he didn't have control of his body. I compared it to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde lol. He would come out of his crate normal. If it's outside, I just let him do his thing. I just determined it's from being too tired or having too much energy. Titan is about one and a half now and I just bike him every other day for 1-2 miles and he's good to go. They'll outgrow it eventually!
