Hi All, I really hope you can help me, I have recently bought a black Labrador puppy (after 6 months of trying for a rescue dog) and he’s (Parker) 9 weeks old and came from a family home on a farm, he has been absolutely fine (we have had him for 5 days) until 2 nights ago... he was perfectly fine laid in his bed and suddenly he jumped up and bit my hand hard and when I moved my hand he showed his teeth, barked and snarled with growling so I walked away and he went back to bed. He then repeated this with my 9 year old daughter the next day, what do you guys think? The vet has said that this is not normal behaviour and the puppy should get put down or given away, really disappointed as we have want a family dog for years and obviously this is devistating for the family, any advice would be really appreciated thank you
I don't think you should listen to the part your vet said about putting your pup down...your Parker sounds like he is showing normal puppy behavior...my Aspen made all sorts of noises and seemed very "aggressive" and was extremely vocal as a pup but that is just how he payed. He even drew blood many times and when we played he would lunge at my face or purposely try to bite me and not the toy. Not sure what others will have to say but I don't think you should give away your dog and I definitely don't think you should put him down. Seems like normal puppy play to me.
This sounds like absolutely normal Labrador puppy behaviour, they are renowned as bitey pups and it's not at all aggressive. There are many threads on the forum and links to the main site to show you how to deal with this, and for your whole family to put consistent strategies in place and I'll dig out some links for you when I'm not on my phone. There are also loads of people on this forum who have been through this recently and will give you help and support, you're really not alone in this I would honestly be looking for a new vet, though, the advice you've been given sounds very unsettling to me. Welcome to the forum from Natalie and Monty x
100% normal Lab puppy behaviour! Here is an excellent article - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ I’d show it to your vet if I were you! And welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Keir from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Keir is my fifth Guide Dog puppy, a yellow Golden Retriever/Flatcoat cross and he's six months old. Mollie - my last pup, is now at Guide Dog training school and doing brilliantly. She was the bitiest Lab puppy on the planet!
https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/puppy-problems-will-things-ever-improve.1680/ And this thread will show you you're not alone and things will improve! It covers a multitude of puppy issues but I think biting gets more mentions than anything else!
Hi @Alison/Parker , agree with above posts -- normal lab puppy behaviour, they often seem to be very, very bitey. I've never experienced it with other puppies that I had before Cassie, now 19 months. So follow all the advice given above and read all the links and you will realise you are not alone! I too would seriously question the advice from your vet.
Thank you everyone, for the reassurance, it's made a huge difference knowing that it is 'normal behaviour '.
Yup normal, and he is still trying to adjust to his new home, without his mum and siblings. It might be a good idea to ensure pup has his own space where he is not disturbed. Crates are really useful for this, as well as giving everyone a bit of a breather when the puppy turns into a croco-pup!
