The biting continues...any tips please...at my wits end

Hi everyone.

I've posted on here before about my Rufus and his tendency to bite/growl at me. He's 5 months, and has been pretty bitey since we got him. Things had improved, but these past few days have been awful. He is constantly attacking me! nipping my ankles, biting my hands, jumping and snapping at my clothes. It happened at puppy class tonight..it was horrendous, embarrassing, and he really hurt my hand. The trainers thought it was frustration, and were lovely and spoke for ages about how I need to try to calm him when he's in these moods. It's really hard when he's got a hold of my hand and won't let go! Also keeping calm with other dogs around is more or less impossible for Rufus the Rascal!! Not that I'm making excuses, but we arrived first at the class and he was so calm and responsive until the other dogs arrived. He became very excited when they started barking, and that's when his barking, growling then eventually biting started.

What am I going to do? I'll follow the advice of the trainers ftom puppy class, but wondered if any of you have been through this? Rufus is very clever, he's picked up all the commands we've to do quickly and can perform them well. He's snuggled up beside me on the couch...it's like a different dog when he's on attack mode, like someone has flipped a switch.

I look forward to hearing from anyone. Honestly felt like crying at class tonight!

Trina x

 

Don't despair - it sounds as if he's over-excited. Try following the trainers' advice if you're happy with it and see if it helps. When it happens at home, try giving him a bit of time out, perhaps in his crate or pen (or somewhere safe away from you) with a frozen Kong to chew. Does he have a favourite chew toy that would help too, so you could divert his attention to that rather than ankles, hands, etc?

I'm sure there will be plenty of other suggestions too - you're not alone in having a croco-pup!

 

@Katrina Johnston , it will stop, really it will. But maybe not just yet. Believe me, I went through it with Cassie, and some of it when she was a lot older than Rufus.
I think even in this, and how we need to deal with it varies from puppy to puppy. Did you feel happy with the trainers advice?

 

Hi Trina
Rufus sounds exactly like my Jet who is 5 and a half months! I was also in despair a week or so ago and posted about it. Since then my behaviour has improved but I can't quite say the same for Jet! I can't show my legs in public at the moment due to the quite large bruises from her nips and my arms are only slightly better.
What I am trying at the moment is to stay calm when she starts "attacking" (inappropriately playing) me and trying to fend her off with my palms facing her (without sudden movements). I noticed that when my voice gets louder she gets worse so rather than saying no, stop, don't, ouch etc I am only saying "no" and as calmly and quietly as I can. I make sure I always take treats with me when I'm with her alone outside for example because rattling the treat bag usually gets her attention. If other family members are around I get them to get the treats and/or say her name in a happy way to get her off me. As I said this hasn't actually changed her behaviour but is helping me to deal with it. I am also doing more training with her and am teaching her "hand" which is suggested in the Labrador Handbook.
Jet did go to puppy classes when she was much younger but she and the other puppies just ended up "over threshold" most of the time so I'm not sure they were great value in hindsight. I also think Jet is very intelligent and intend to take her to obedience which might help.
I live in hope that one day I'll wake up and she won't do this anymore!!!
Hope this helps - at the very least you are not alone.

 

Mollie was like this until nearly eight months old. Just keep going, give toys every time in place of hands and wear boots/welllies.

Some pups are really, really bitey. It can be frustration or excitement or a combination.

It does stop, completely - and what a relief when it does!

 

Hello Trina,

This is really common and I have posted about it here, with some good advice given from everyone
https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/dealing-with-boisterous-behaviour.4254/page-2

Also check a posting from Jet's Mum at
https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/puppy-attacking.21392/

I was at my wit's end thinking I was landed with a psycho dog but the more you read on this forum the better you will feel.
You are not alone!

 

Thank you @Shaz82 Things have been slightly better since puppy class last Tuesday. He's still trying to bite me, but I'm handling it a lot better...just had a bit of a meltdown moment. So glad to have other puppy parents to chat to here! X

 

Thank you X

 

Thank you x

 

Thank you @selina27 x

Yes, the trainers have suggested teaching Rufus a calm / settle command. (Although I'm not sure that will ever happen at puppy class...will go next week, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I decide it's just too much for Rufus...and myself!) Our lovely 1:1 trainer suggested walking him along our busy high street and stopping and asking for a sit/stay and rewarding when he did so calmly. Did this today and he was a wee star! Also upped hos exercise which I think might help with the frustration. X

 

Thank you x

 

Yep can empathise with this. The first training class I went to with Red earlier this year was a disaster. Red was all over the place, then instinct told me to take her outside and she had massive diarrhoea . Even when we went back in, it was no better. Looking back, it was a farce - I had no control over her. She was so hyper. I felt so useless. I emailed the trainer saying how I felt and fortunately she was very kind and offered some one to one the following week. This really helped and somehow bit by bit it got better. Entering and leaving classes at 10 months is still a work in progress . I sometimes question the value we are getting out of classes but overall I think they are valuable as she is learning how to behave around other dogs.

Rufus is very young and things will improve.

 

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd check in with an update...

Things seemed better over the weekend. Rufus did still try to bite me, but I was able to distract him with a toy before he got out of control. Then when I was out with him yesterday, completely out of the blue he turned on me. Jumping, growling, barking, snapping, ripped my jumper and bit my hands. He did the same to my mum today (she looks after him whilst I'm at work) It's the first time he's reacted like that with her and she was quite shaken. Then puppy class again tonight. I think he could sense how nervous I was...his antics started pretty much straight away and we were asked to leave. One of the trainers said he was very aggressive. We had a chat with the lead trainer who suggested we join the intermediate class where the trainer is a lady we've had two 1:1 lessons with, and knows Rufus and his challenges. She was super with us...me especially...I could feel the tears building...Rufus did super well in the 'big' class and with the help of the trainer, there were no more attacks. He has again tried to bite me once we got home, but I know he is exhausted. With the help of my partner, he let go of my hand then obeyed my command to go to his bed in the kitchen. I left him there for 10 mins to calm down...had a sneaky peek after 2 minutes and he was fast asleep. He's now joined us in the living room and is snoozing on his bed.

Is my pup aggressive?

How am I going to stop this aggression? The head trainer says it's not puppy play?

We've to practice sit/stay for longer periods to try to encourage (and reward) calm.

We've also to think of more ways to stimulate his mind and maybe up the exercise?

Again any tips are welcome?

Thanks fellow lab lovers! Don't know what I'd do without this forum!

Trina X

 

Hi Katrina, I sometimes think that trainers themselves need special training in Labrador handling! Rufus is still very young.
Speaking for myself, it has taken until now, and Cassie is 18 months, to find a class that I feel comfortable in with a trainer who just accepts young Labs get over excited and behave in this way, and I find it such a relief.
Which trainer says it's not play?
In my experience with Cassie lot's of things came into play that helped me work through it, she was older when she did this. @Oberon posted a really good reply on the thread "problem biting".
One thing though, it might be worth looking at his food and seeing if changing it would help.

 

I've posted similarly about my 'Tansy the terror' who sounds like your 'Rufus the rascal' except Tans is a bit older.
I've had some great advice and am feeling reassured that we'll get through it.
Isn't this forum a fab resource?!

 

My boy was terribly terribly bitey, he would jump with it too & grab whatever on the way down – hair, nose, arms… I was always black & blue. It was either overexcitement or overtired. When it happened at home a ‘time out’ worked a treat, I didn’t say anything just took him to his room for chill out. When it happened at training, depending on how excited he was I would hold his harness & super short lead, so he couldn’t bite/jump or if too bad I would leave the training park to get away from the excitement, or if really bad pop him back in the car for a couple of minutes before joining the class again.

He would also get bored during any waiting times in training at class, so I’d play quiet games with him to keep him focused before he ‘lost the plot’ – which hand is the treat in, look, him in a down treat on paw release to get etc quiet things that don’t disturb anyone else in a class format. Monty is easily excited so my cues, particularly release cues like 'go sniff' are given in a calm voice he doesn't need me to add to his excitement!

Focus on rewarding calm at any opportunity. Don’t speak to Rufus at all when he’s biting, although I appreciate it’s really hard when they are in full bitey mode not to say stop, no, ouch etc but it reinforces the behaviour, he’s getting the attention he’s looking for. I’m not of the opinion that increasing exercise helps, that just makes them fitter & doesn’t tire their brains. Short little training sessions, interactive games combined with exercise has certainly helped Monty, with sufficient rest time for the mass of information he’s taking on to be processed, I do think rest time can get forgotten, they need to be rewarded for doing nothing too.

He still does it very occasionally now at 22 months, now, however, I can simply say “I think it’s bed bed time” & he happily trots off to his room for a snooze & calm down. So, rest assured it will get better, it will, it will….

 

Been there - got the t-shirt .Nibbler was a nutter at training - just too overwhelming for him - got too excited - he got giardia and so we stopped going and it was actually such a relief. Just been training him at home and when out alone. Will go to a different trainer when he is a bit older if he needs it . He used to come home and go straight to sleep too so obviously using his brain a lot. It was always at the time he would usually have a poo and think he had poop zoomies in the class.

 

Don't worry, Katrina, your dog is definitely not aggressive. Right now you're probably worrying that you have a problem dog and you might even be a bit afraid of him. But rest assured that you definitely do not have a problem dog. This is normal Labrador behaviour and it stems from any one or a combination of boredom, excitement, excess energy, frustration. I'd say that you have a really smart dog there and he is saying "give me stuff to do!!!!".

I'd say that the trainers who said that Rufus was being aggressive just didn't have the experience (or maybe just not the Labrador miles, as Selena said) to know what to do from a training/behaviour point of view. Actually, everything you've described can be solved with training and other activities that involve having Rufus learning things and using his brain.

M&M has given you the suggestion of using a repertoire of quiet behaviours in class to keep his mind occupied and in a calm state. It was exactly what I was going to suggest too. Classes are usually long and for a smart young dog they can become booooring....and then you get the barking, jumping, leaping, biting and more. To head this off at the pass in class you can cycle through a range of simple behaviours like sit, drop, stand, hand touch (with nose), spin, roll over...etc. You can also crouch down and give him a good chest scratch or bum scratch. Intersperse these sessions with periods of lying quietly (short at first but you can slowly extend the time), rewarding him for that too. Another option for class is bringing a crate (with a cover) that he can be popped into for very short periods throughout the class, in between more active sessions. That will give you a little break for a minute too.

It's great that you've been able to join the Intermediate class with a trainer who is more familiar with you and Rufus it sounds like that went well

Mainly I just wanted to join the others in saying that Rufus is totally normal for a Labrador of his age. You are doing a great job (you are!) and it is all definitely going to get much, much better.

 

Chiming in here, EXACT same issues as you. At four months Sora is 'crazy' at times. Trust me it takes a lot of beer to calm ME down.(Not to mention new shoes, jackets, and anything he can dig his now snapped and broken tooth into) One step forward, fifty steps back. Dog classes we're in, he's the most nutty hyper one there. Instructor says he has no attention span so must be 'treated' food wise non stop. It's not easy... I don't think it was ever going to be easy. But that dream of one day having a nice calm obedient dog at your side, your new best friend, Well that's the dream. Pretty sure for all of us here, or any dog owner for that matter. I can't help with advice since I'm in your position. But Mankind has had dogs for thousands of years. We're not alone. It must, Neh... will get better, so I'm told...

Just hold on, and keep up with your efforts. We will get through this.

 

Lucky was exactly like this too when I adopted him at 7 months - it's not aggression, but with Lucky I don't think it was play, but stress/frustration.

You've received some great advice, and it will get better with time - it probably won't happen overnight, it will improve as he gets more mature and better able to cope with frustration/stress. Chewing is a good stress reliever, so if he's had a stressful day, like going to a new place or to training class, you could give him a chew or a frozen kong when you get home to help him unwind.

It's also worth thinking about what his day to day routine is, and if he's reacting like this because he's just had too much going on. It's called trigger stacking. A stressful or exciting event (which can be positive as well as negative - like playing fetch or play with another dog) leads to releases in stress hormones, and if there isn't long enough between each stressful/exciting event for the hormone levels to go down, they keep increasing, until the point where they just something small can trigger an over the top reaction.

My boy is pretty sensitive, he's a bit collie-like, so if something happens on a walk like a dog barks at him, or he gets to play with one of his friends, and he seems over-excited, I either make the walk shorter or we do relaxing things for the rest of the walk. For example I hide treats for him to find, we walk slowly and stop often so he gets to do lots of sniffing, and if we see other dogs, I put him on lead and he doesn't get to play. This helps to stop his arousal levels getting too high.

For brain games, there are tons of videos on youtube of tricks you can teach your dog, it's lots of fun!