This is our first puppy so we don't know exactly what to expect. We have a 9 week old lab. We got him when he was 6 weeks. He's crate trained during the days for about 2 hours at a time and then is out for 30 min to an hour. He plays outside or gets a 5 min walk at night. Been working on obedience training 10 minutes a day. The last couple of days he has gotten more aggressive. He has started barking for no reason and started to growl a little bit. Of course he is biting everything in site, but i know that is normal. I was just outside with him and he went crazy running around in circles and then dived under a bench! Is this all normal?
Hi , I don't know where you are based, but here in the UK, it is illegal to sell a puppy under eight weeks of age and there is a very good reason for this rule . Its because the last couple of weeks with Mum are the ones in which the pup learns to behave itself , it learns not to bite ( too much ! ) as Mum will chastise her pups if they bite her . Sadly , many behavioural issues crop up with pups who leave their Mums too early, main ones being biting a lot . Re the training sessions, keep them under ten minutes , as pups of this age have the attention span of a fly ! He will start to mess about and rebel , so best kept to five minutes at a time . There are some great pinned articles in this puppy section of the forum which should offer you some good advice and support , good luck !
To add to what Kate has said, your puppy is no being aggressive, so put that from your mind. He is just playing. The crazy running around is something most of us embrace - we call it the zoomies. My 14-month old still does it daily and even my three-year-olds will join in a couple of times a week
I know they are crazy crocodiles at this age - All mine have been! It's 100% normal. Take heart, they quickly grow out of it. Wear tight sleeves and skinny jeans - wellies if necessary! Here are some articles with the best advice - more importantly, it WORKS! The only tip which didn't work for mine was the yelping - that just made them even more excited. The important thing to remember is that repetition is needed - lots and lots of repetition for them to learn new skills. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-an-overexcited-labrador-puppy/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-play-safely-with-a-labrador/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-training/
Hi archerlab, All, I have been meaning to say this, about the 8 weeks time being the "mark" for a pup leaving mom. In Portugal and many other countries I guess there is no such law as you mention there is in the UK. Gastons' breeder ( this is her first litter) contacted me quite happily a couple of weeks ago to tell us we could go get Gaston earlier, on the 20th Jan, so, by my calculations he would be 6 weeks old precisely, and probably weaned. The breeder is a lovely lady and the dogs are well taken care of (she sends me lovely photos and videos of the mum and pups and one can also see how she interacts with the dogs). The thing is I don't believe that most folks are knowledgeable in regards to these matters. If they're weaned, they're "ready" is the case to most. I said we would pick him up on the 2nd Feb as planned, as that's when he has been the 8 weeks with mum. I think that most probably he will be the last one in the nest though, his siblings will be long gone home to their new owners. It wasn't easy for me to say this as, as you probably already know on the forum, I am quite looking forward to having the little guy home ! And I am sure the breeder meant well.
Thanks everyone! I'm in the US. I'm glad to hear that it's all normal. I figured it was and was leaning that way based on what i've read. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't ruining the puppy! I'm trying the redirection, no bite, and crate time when he starts to bite and it gets out of hand. He does seem hungry all the time. I'm feeding him based on the food guidelines but only feeding twice a day as that is what the breeder was doing. I'm thinking about switching to 3 times a day because he INHALES his food. I put a tennis ball in there to make him work more for it. The other day he ate so fast about 10 minutes after he threw it all up.
Yes, increasing to 3-4 meals a day will certainly help him - too much food in one go can really upset little tummies.
Mine inhales his food, too, so I bought a slow feeder plate. They are made if silicone and have projections across the surface. It does slow him down a bit but doubles up as another toy/trophy, as he just runs around with it when he has finished.
Zaba stayed with us this week (he inhales his food then chucks it up). His Mum had forgotten to bring his slow bowl so I put three kongs in his dish and 1cm of water - just put the water in, not left to soak. This slowed him down enough Our pups have 4 meals until they are 14 weeks old -
Bailey didnt even taste her food as it went from the bowl to her stomach instantly! I’ve now invested in a Kong Wobbler and she now has most of her meals from this. It slows her down a lot and she really enjoys bashing it around to get the food out and her tail is constantly wagging as she finds it great fun!
