Saba is now the Raffles of the dog world. He steals laundry (clean or dirty - he's not fussy), shoes, tissues, shopping bags, tea towels... You get the picture. This morning, he stole my socks from my back pocket! He doesn't respond to a firm 'No', and won't come when called, preferring to tear around the house or garden like a greyhound round a track. Sometimes, I can get him to 'trade' his contraband for a toy, but that's rare. Coupled with this, his nipping has escalated. Aside from the usual excited play mouthing, he's taken to ninja-style attacks on ankles, which are very painful. In fact, as I was typing this, he launched himself at my lower leg, and drew blood. Saba is walked every day, and we play indoors and out as well as having short training exercises. I'm struggling to cope with these episodes which may well be just a part of his growing-up. He's 14 weeks now, and generally a lovely, obedient and gentle puppy, getting on nicely with loose-lead walking and off-lead walking to heel. I'm frustrated by not knowing how to deal with him when he has his naughty head on, and any advice from more experienced lab owners would be very welcome!
You just have to 'manage' a puppy doing things like that when they are young - pick up the house so there is nothing in reach to nick (I had what I called 'puppy safe' rooms where there was nothing in reach for him to pinch), wear jeans and shoes, put him in a crate or plan activity for the times when he won't settle, and so on. They do grow out of it and in the meantime just be calm and consistent. One thing to train that is really good is an interrupter. You can train this anywhere. Train it and train it and train it - do it several times a day for really yummy treats. Every time you put the kettle on for example. An interrupter is a sound that means "turn towards me" or it can be "touch my hand" or something like that. It works much, much better than a 'firm NO' because NO is a bit meaningless to a dog, it could mean a thousand different things. Whereas an interrupter tells your dog exactly what you want him to do (instead of chewing/biting/running) etc. There is a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvPaqMZyo8
It's always easier to train "do this" than "stop doing that". Dogs take in absolutely every part of their environment every second, which is why we have to train cues in so many different situations until the dog picks out the one consistent thing that forms the cue. So, when he has your sock in your mouth and you say "no", all you're doing is making a noise. You may as well be saying "crow" or "hippo" as far as he's concerned. Even if he did understand it meant "stop doing that" (which is unlikely), he's getting so many signals from the environment that he has to work out what to stop doing. Stop standing? Stop chewing? Stop drooling? Stop looking at you? Stop moving? Stop wagging his tail? So, instead, give him something to do. Train "drop it", which means spit out whatever he has in his mouth. Train "in your bed". Train "fetch your ball/rope/cuddly toy". Anything that conflicts with the thing you want to stop him doing. He will grow out of it, don't worry, and in the meantime, the suggestions Julie has made about managing the situation are the best course of action. Good luck
Thank-you both for your helpful advice. I've started working on the 'interrupter', which is going quite well as Saba does like his treats! He's been much calmer this afternoon, played 'fetch' with his ball really well, and settled nicely with a chew bone. Completely different dog from this morning. Onwards and upwards, tomorrow is another day
ok I have to ask - why are your socks in your back pocket? I find mine work best on my feet I can only echo the good advice you've had above. Train what you do want and recognise he's still only a baby really so attention spans are short and like all babies they become horrible when they're over-tired. Hang in there it doesn't last forever
I'm sorry to say Homer should be all grown up now at 3 1/2, but he still loves to play games around the house. Picks up socks of the drying rack, then comes to show us what he's got then runs around, sometimes infuriating as he won't always drop for a treat, the game of chase is far too much fun! Naughty of us for not finding a way to train him out of this habit when he was young, so we can't blame him, just try to keep a tidy house.
Hahaha! My socks - odd ones of course - are the last items of clothing to go on just before leaving the house. I shoved them in my pocket so I could carry loads of laundry downstairs. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it His worst offence this evening is to have criminally stinky wind
I cannot offer any advice that hasn't already been given and in fact, nearly all of my tactics have come from this forum (with particular thanks to Julie and Snowbunny on this string), and I am definitely not an experienced lab owner. But I can assure you that just a couple of weeks ago I was in your shoes and while my little Tatti is still on a one dog mission to clean up our local park of all rubbish and still firmly believes that if she can reach something it is hers, the biting has stopped. Her taste was for sleeves and arms over ancles but with the many tips from our more experienced forum members, she hasn't bitten me for quite a while now. If I put my hand in her mouth, even when she is excited she will not bite it at all. I went for the 'remove yourself from the game' approach and it didn't actually take her long to cotton on to this. Also, I have found having a routine has really helped with the hypers. I don't know if that's possible for you or not. good luck with the training, I hope you find this site as useful as I have
Oops, sorry, just in case you haven't read lots of other posts, the 'remove yourself from the game' approach can be used if your pup is in full crocopup mode and grabbing your hands/ancles etc and not letting go. If you give them no attention at all by leaving the room (and preferably them in it) for a minute, if you can't do this then turn away from them and ignore them. They will soon learn that biting means no more playing and eventually learn to play without biting. It's explained better by others in some of the posts in the 'puppy' part of the forum. You'll see it is a very common problem. Good luck
I am very grateful to everyone for all the helpful comments and support, and feel sure we'll get through this stage like we have all the other stages so far. Saba really hates me ignoring him, so that tactic works well. He has helped me so much with my depression; we must go out every day for his socialising and familiarising, and even on the days when he's selectively deaf, somehow he makes me smile with his antics. I feel I'm learning for his benefit, and as we continue to make progress, Saba will be just as delightful an adult dog as he is a puppy. Sometimes, because of my depression, I feel he's working against me, but that's down to me to manage and will not be a quick fix. We've had a lovely beach walk this morning, and met lots of dogs in a range of sizes from the largest Rottweiler on the planet to a tea-cup chihuahua, all of whom greeted Saba like a long-lost brother! Saba is now sound asleep in his bed, probably dreaming of all his new friends. Thanks again; I really appreciate all the advice. xx
when they are not literally biting the hands that feed them they do give so much back don't they. Tatti makes me laugh every day, with her delusions of grandeour when she is attempting to Run around the park with a branch the size of a small tree or endlessly runnng around with a leaf sticking out of her mouth, the way she runs at me when I sneeze or her latest trick which is to run off with the plastic slow-feed bone we put in her food bowl. It's her favourite new 'toy'. And I have never met a dog who gets so excited by tissues. To my knowledge she has never had one but if there is one in your pocket- she knows and she wants it You are absolutely not alone in your thoughts, until a couple of weeks ago there were few days that I didn't cry, thinking my pup hated me or I was doing everything wrong. But it is just part of their and our learning to live harmoniously. When the real biting stops, it gets easier (psychologically)- or it did for me. I don't think I had prepared for just how hard it is to raise a puppy but we are already seeing just how it is worth every bite and broken piece of furniture or chewed slipper. It sounds like you're doing well and the worst will be over soon hang in there and if you find yourself struggling (like I did) focus on those positive moments or pay a visit to this forum- everyone is so helpful and understanding x
