I have a 10 week old lab puppy. She is doing very well with crate training and pretty well with potty. We have 2 areas we need help with: 1. biting when she is excited. 2. aggressively trying to play with 2 older pugs and a cat. We have tried soda cans with rocks in them and spray bottles. We are putting her on a leash and using it as a time out. Please advise, Harold
Hello, there aaltjeh - I have changed the title of your post, this way you are likely to get more replies. Please give up the soda cans and spray bottles - these will do more harm than good. They punish your puppy, which is not something you should do to a tiny baby of 10 weeks. Instead, you need to gently discourage your puppy, and show her what you want her to do instead. All puppies bite, and bite hard. This is completely normal puppy behaviour, and something that you need to gently show her to act differently, over time. Here is an article that might help: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ Your puppy is very, very young and doesn't yet know how to interact with your older dogs and cat. You need to reward her for calm interactions, and give the older dogs and cats space so they can have a break from the puppy. She will learn if you are calm and consistent and give her treats and rewards when she behaves as you want her to behave (and ignore everything else) - and don't punish her. You need to teach her what to do by rewarding the good things, and just gently preventing her from making mistakes by managing her. Best of luck with it.
We have a 10 week old female. She is completely crate trained and mostly house broke. We also have 2 older pugs and a cat. Echo, our lab puppy, aggressively tries to play with them, and of course there not interested. We are also having biting problems. We have purchased several chew toys and have been trying to redirect her to the toys. We have been using soda can shakers and spray bottles, which doesn't seem to affect her. Need advice! Harold
Biting puppies can be very painful! Many people here will sympathise because pretty much every Labrador puppy owner ends up being a pincushion.... Have a read of this article which explains the biting situation and what to do about it: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ Distracting your puppy is a good thing but use toys to redirect her biting, rather than noisy or unpleasant things that will startle her (such as the soda cans and spray bottle). The article will have a few other helpful ideas as well. Your older dogs may need a safe place to go to at times to have a break from the puppy. Do you use a crate or indoor pen at all for your pup?
Ps. I changed the title of your thread so that it was more specific about the help that you are after
Pps. And then I noticed that you had two threads that were about the same thing so I merged them so all the replies you get will be in the one place
Hello from 2 year old Molly and me. Your puppy is just being a puppy, she is not being aggressive, it is just that like any young creature she doesn't know any better. Loud noises from soda cans etc won't teach her anything, other than to be afraid of loud noises. Labrador puppies do bite. They are learning not to bite and how to use their teeth and powerful jaws gently, which will be important when they are adult dogs. Molly was a terrible biter when she was a puppy, my hands were covered with scabs and fresh bite marks but she grew out of it at about 18 weeks. I would trust her mouth anywhere now. I have had other dogs before and it wasn't a problem with them so it came as a shock when Molly was such a determined chewer.
Oh yes - 10 weeks is the age for the crocapup to emerge - and it's totally normal puppy play. They have a lot to learn and all should be done with kindness. Have a toy in every pocket to give her when she greets you. It takes until about five months old for them to stop trying to mouth us
Mine was like this too. It does get better, honest! I know it seems like aggression but it is just play. I was surprised at how vocal and bouncy puppies can be when they play. Like the others have said, redirecting her can help. I was given some really good advice at puppy class and that was to give the puppy a toy that keeps her still, like a chew toy or kong. That can really help them calm down. Every time she bites, give her a toy to bite instead. She will learn and the bitey days will soon seem distant. My puppy is just coming up 7 months and it's unbelievable how much she has calmed down.
