Hi guys, can anyone help. I can't find anything about this so far. We just adopted a pup from the pound and she is pretty adorable with all the normal puppy behavior (good and bad) and we are training her well as she is pretty smart and has learnt loads already. She has the usual sleepy times, happy times and naughty devil puppy times. She does the whole litter fighting and biting during this devil time so we are dealing with that fine with diverting her energy and attention, telling her no, yelping like hurt or ignoring her. The problem is that my 13 year old who is very sensible and loving is getting growled and snapped at moments when Harley is in her happy chilled out mood. It does sometimes happen if puppy is trying to do something naughty and she tries to tell her no or gently pull her away but it happened today when pup was just lying on the bed with my daughter chewing her chewy (of which my daughter can remove without any aggression so its not food driven) My daughter was stroking her and gently nudged her side and Harley growled and attempted to bite her hand. She doesn't do it to the adults and my daughter is pretty tall so doesn't look like a kid (like my 9 year old) but I guess she senses it and there is some struggle of dominance. Don't worry, this pup is for life but I wonder if there is a way to stop it before it escalates. Obviously my daughter could just ignore the pup and not touch her but that is cruel to both, I did just make the pup some scrambled egg and got my daughter to feed her to hopefully start associating her with delicious treats and goodness. Its such a shame as my daughter is so gentle, helpful with the pup and I can see the hurt when it happens. Hopefully Harley the pup will also grow out of it but any advice of similar situations would be most welcome.
ps we try not to over react but tell her no and put her in the naughty pen when it happens. I read about turning her over into a submissive position but that didn't help and made her mad.
Hi @dinkbradders , not to worry at all, sounds like a very normal lab baby! Many of us , including myself, have found this forum via this issue __ known as crocopups! I well remember the shock of the biting of my now nearly 2 year old lovely girl. She is my first lab, not my first puppy and I wondered what i'd got -- ! She's only playing, but very inappropriatly, there are experienced people here who i'm sure will be along to help you . @Boogie, @snowbunny . I'd say she thinks your daughter is her special one !
All is play. 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! Have puppy toys and chews in every pocket to give them instread of hands and ankles. Here are some articles with the best advice - more importantly, it WORKS! But remember, it doesn’t work overnight, you have to keep it up day after day. The only tip which didn't work for mine was the yelping - that just made them even more excited. Try not to ever remove any chews or food you have given her, and teach a ‘swap’ for higher value treats if you do need to take something off them. They need to learn that their own things are safe from being taken away. 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/
