We have a 3 month old fox red puppy called Max who is adorable most of the time and seems to be learning really quickly. The problem we are having is that he keeps biting and running onto sofas and when we try to get him off he will growl and show his teeth and also try to bite. I have been putting him back into his crate until he calms down as this was the advice from my breeder. I keep being told that this is normal puppy behaviour but would like as much advice as possible how to deal with this behaviour as I have 2 boys age 6 and 9 and the younger one is starting to get a bit scared when Max is behaving like this.
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Hello and welcome from me, my Lab Sam and rescue Millie . First of all, it is completely normal for Lab pups to mouth and bite , it is a stage that many go through and, whilst it isnt nice , it does stop There is an article on here about this puppy biting and the best way to deal with it , I used to say a firm NO and remove the pup immediately when my old girl did this , putting in crate is a good idea but not for too long as pups forget very quickly what they have been told off for . Regarding the growling when you remove Max from the sofa , remember that its your choice, not his, so a swift removal, a firm NO and ignore the growl completely, they rarely follow this through, its just a way of wanting to get their own way, a bit like a child throwing a tantrum . If you explain to your children that this is a stage of puppyhood and please do read through the puppy section , you will find lots of good advice on here
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Hi there, and welcome to the forums. Biting is a very common problem with puppies, so the first thing to say is 'don't worry' There are a couple of articles on the main site that should help you. Puppies biting and When biting gets out of hand Do ask if you have any questions about any of the points covered in these, and let us know how you get on
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Thanks - I was getting worried that we had an aggressive lab on our hands at one point. He is very persistent but I guess he is much the same as my other 2 (human) boys in that they try and get their own way!
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! welcome from me and jasper 9 months old.......yes its normal, i thought it would never stop
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Hi weensta, Just wanted to say welcome,I'm nipping in and out of the forum really quick at the mo.i didn't have this time with my yellow boy dexter 12 months now as he was 5 months when we got him .....but the members with experience of this will let you know its puppy normal,bet max is gorgeous ...my Dexter has a good splash of red in his colouring ;D x
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Hi there, I know the 'biting and growling' stage can be disconcerting, to say the least... You t bought you'd bought the Andrex puppy, instead of which you seem to have a werewolf on your hands... Please don't worry too much, as long as you stay firm but kind Max will grow out of this and become the Labrador with the delightful temperament that you hoped for!
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Hiya! Welcome from me and Lilly. Sounds about right ;D You will do fine, just be firm and consistent. jac
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! It has been a week or so now and I have tried to be consistent and removing him from sofa. He seems to be getting more and more aggressive. I have to keep putting him in his crate which I hate doing but it's the only way I can get some downtime. My arms are shredded!! It mostly happens in the evening. He has been the perfect pup all day today. Lovely play out in the garden. Fantastic walk. Cuddled up for a snooze this afternoon and then this evening it's like the devil has taken over!! He went for my face this evening which made hubby cross and it has ended up with me in tears. I am at the end of my tether and do not know what to do for the best!!
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! That's no good. I'm sure it's pretty stressful when it gets to the 'evil hour'. At that stage of the day he may be over-tired and emotional, even though he has had an afternoon snooze. I know that it seems like a bit of a nightmare, but, believe it or not, it is normal puppy behaviour. He does not know that he can't play with delicate humans in the way that he can play with fur-covered littermate. He will learn it, though, through experiencing the consequences of nipping, e.g. a yelp from you and then being very briefly shunned. I've found yelping to be helpful actually (be dramatic, high pitched and loud!) followed by immediately ending interaction for 10 to 20 seconds (stand up and walk away). Putting him in the crate with something to do is totally fine also. If he is doing his devil act at regular times then can you anticipate it and make that crate time? Take heart - we have all been there and know how frustrating and painful those puppy shark teeth are.
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! I so feel for you! Charlie, my boy, is now the most gentle dog in the world, but I went to work for several weeks in long sleeves! It's all perfectly normal, they are all little crocodiles at first, but they soon grow out of up it. Stay calm, and it will soon pass.
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! everything you are saying we have all been through,......my boy is now 9 month old, at times being my first ever dog i thought i had done the wrong thing by getting a dog, he was biting, nipping, jumping,..i was at the end of my tether with him ??? some days it crossed my mind to take him back to the breeder :'( i have had 3 children but having a puppy is the hardest thing i have ever done in my live, nothing prepares you for it now the plus side, he is the best thing that as happened to me, he is gentle, affectionate, faithful,adorable , loyal...... work at training him, train as much as you can it will pay off for you, in a few months time, like my self you will be thinking why the hell did i ever think he was aggressive i am not a baby lover or a puppy lover, stick in there if i can do it ANYONE can ;D
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Thank you for all your reassurring replies. I think we will try and give him some chill time in crate this evening to see if that makes any difference. I have tried the yelping which sometimes works but not always. I must admit I did think myself last night that he would have to go back to breeder which would break all our hearts. We all love him so much so I will not give up on him. This is our first puppy/dog so its great to have this forum for advice and reassurance that all is normal behaviour
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! They are little beasts in the evening until about 6 months and then they calm down. They are like children, when overtired they get fractious. Have you thought of giving him a nice Kong at that time of the evening, redirect his energy on to chewing it.
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Had a much better evening Max tried the sofa/growling/biting thing once so I put him in his crate for a chill out and then he spent all evening asleep. He has just woken up in a much better mood but I am off to bed to leave hubby on puppy duty!
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Weensta,Dexter was 5 months when he came to us so I didn't have this really draining puppy biting stage...but you did say ..'sometimes works but not always' that's true of everything in the early months,in my experience ,so don't lose heart.just keep consistent and I promise you that everything will fall into place.On the forum somewhere is a post from Karen( I think?) about what she wished we all knew about puppies and how it changes...it is so true...and tomorrow when I have time I will find it for you. That evening time you talk about we called The Prowl......Dexter has always been a good dog,but he would go a little nuts for an hour every eve....nothing would settle him,he would dash and grab things he left alone all day,try and climb up on our laps on the sofa( not allowed,and never tried it during the day)and just generally be pesky!hes grown out of it now and is his normal chilled self on the eve.....most of the time!
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Im sooo glad to read this article, I have been having exactly the same problem with my 10week old pup and we were getting so worried we had done something wrong or that he was going to grow up to be aggressive! :'( We are just going to stick to the advice from here and eagerly await the day he grows out of it
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Thanks again for all your replies Hayk87 - we can work through this together! What is your pups name?
Re: New puppy biting and growling! HELP!! Oh my gosh you are not alone!! Cosmo is exactly the same, it made me feel I'd made an awful mistake getting a dog, it was and still is (if I'm honest) really hard at times but I'm confident things will change! I've had a ripped cardigan, holes in my jacket, hole in my leggings where his awful shark teeth won't let go of me, the list goes on.......The yelping thing totally doesn't work for us, it only excites him further. The only thing that works for us is to be ultra calm, stand up and say 'No' with a very serious look on my face. If I can bear the nipping on the backs of my knees, I'll cross my arms, turn around and ignore him until he stops and sits looking like butter wouldn't melt. I was quite chuffed actually as my dad (completely clueless about dogs and not really a huge fan of them, through fear) adopted the same technique and felt very proud of himself that Cosmo had responded so well. If all else fails......it's the crate!! It's a huge continual learning curve owning a dog but I do believe it's a worthwhile one
