Hi all, This is my first time posting on here. Sorry in advance if its far too long winded. We are first time puppy/dog owners. Myself and my family have wanted a puppy for many years. We did a lot of research into breeds and what type of dog would suit us, well so I thought, we decided on a Labrador. We found ourselves a lovely breeder close to home, great! We picked up our adorable male yellow lab on the 30th April, unfortunately its not been a very happy time for us since. Firstly, he constantly bites myself and my partner to the point where our arms and legs have scars and tears in them, it hurts! We have tried all sorts of toys, natural chews, the yelping/saying no techniques, enrichment activities and even crating him for a couple of minutes to calm him down. Nothing is working. We can't relax around him, for example if we are sitting on the sofa or having a conversation he will casually stroll up to us and bite or chomp at our clothes, he is drawing blood on a daily basis. I will say he doesn't do this to my children (age 16 & 9), only myself and my partner. Another issue is the 'counter surfing' he will launch himself up cupboards, counters and tables. Constantly knocking over things or trying to grab them. We carry a training bag around with us and are trying to teach him the 'off' command and treat, however its not getting through to him. Walking him is extremely stressful, he will try to jump up people, pull to the point the lead hurts our hands and even pulled my back a few times (for a 4 and half month old puppy he is so strong), he puts litter in his mouth (again pulling until he gets to it) and today bit me because I wouldn't let him jump up a man. He is having a morning and evening walk, we are trying to avoid people (not always easy where we live) or distract him with treats, we stop when he's pulling, we wait until he is calm and start to walk again, but straight away he is pulling. Another lab owner we meet whilst out and about suggested a figure of eight collar for him, but I believe he is too young for that? Lastly, he is none-stop when awake. There is not a moments peace, unless he's chewing on a pigs ear or he's being fed. Its so difficult and we feel very much out of our depth and very overwhelmed. We have managed to teach him the sit, give paw and lay on command. He is fully trained to pee/poo outside. Crate trained. We are very tired and fed up. I am sat here crying writing this post. We don't know what to do and didn't imagine it would be like this. He is a loved puppy and want to do what is best for him. We just don't know what to do with him or where to go from here. We watch all these tiktok and youtube videos, trying the suggestions, but we haven't been successful so far. Any advice or words of encouragement would be helpful. Thank you.
Hi Atticus, I'm sorry you're struggling at the moment. Raising a puppy is very intense, and he's still incredibly young. It can be hard to believe that all the lovely placid older dogs you've seen walking with the owners were once like your boy is now, but they were, and this stage does pass! Here are some resources which I hope might help you in the meantime: Puppy Blues: Coping With Post Puppy Depression How To Stop Your Labrador Puppy Biting When Do Puppies Stop Biting And How To Cope With A Teething Lab Puppy How To Calm An Over-Excited Puppy Walking Your Labrador On A Loose Leash No More Jumping Up: How To Stop Your Labrador Leaping On People Finally, don't let the things you've still got to work on let you lose sight of what you have managed so far. Potty trained, crate trained, and starting to follow basic commands is really good progress at this stage! You're doing well, and you just need to keep going, one day at a time
Hi Atticus, you have got some great advice from Sarah above. Have a look at the old threads in the puppy section, there are many like yours, and they all come through these stages with patience and consistency. You pup sounds very typical for age and exhausting for sure. We went to obedience training once a week for my dogs first year. It makes a huge difference training around distractions and also makes you realise you are all at the same stage. It was definitely worth the effort, Meg started out the most distracted in the glass, but with hard work, she settled to be the wonderful family dog we wanted her to be.
Hi ,I never knew this forum existed until I bought my latest Labrador puppy ,who is now 7 months old, I have had dogs for 40 years but never have I had a puppy like this one ,at times I felt so depressed I didn’t want to go home, the constant biting was relentless along with the leaping off the furniture, jumping zoomies etc, I thought I was on my own but this forum opened my eyes & made me realise this can be quite common with a new Labrador puppy. We still have a way to go with our new addition, but the biting & behaviour will get better with time ,stay strong, carry on with treats & basic commands, use the crate to give you both time out,frozen kongs full of kibble (soaked) & Fish are good in the crate. Before you know it things will change, & you will be having more good times than bad.
So sorry to hear this. There's a lot of great advice on this page, but one thing that helped us calm our overactive puppy was to work with him on self-control training. For example, when we feed him, we make him sit still in front of his dish for a few moments until we release him. Likewise, we did a lot of "it's your choice" exercises like leaving treats out somewhere and blocking him from getting them but rewarding him when he ignored them or sat patiently. We would do this all over the house - counter tops, tables, sofas, the floor, shoes, our laps - anywhere, and especially places we didn't want him to search over on his own. We even make him sit, lie down, or give us a paw before we throw a ball for him to fetch, hand him a coveted toy, or feed him a snack. Labs in particular have tons of anxious, overzealous energy that they need to learn how to keep in check (just like kids!). Ultimately, I think this reinforced that all good things in life come to those who wait. Don't get me wrong--he still jumps and gets overexcited sometimes, but we've seen a huge improvement in self control. We still have trouble with pulling on a leash, but he's only 9 months so there's time to work on that.
Our third lab was in the ballpark with this. Our first liked being alone at times having 3 young kids around,never nipped, the second only barked when someone came to the door or walked in and he didn't know them. He nipped my toe once, that was it. my reactions of pain worked for him. He was so quiet. This new lab, now 9 months, barks loudly, nips on occasion,is very active, chews furniture and has be always watched and would eat until he was fat if we let him. He doesn't like non food chews very much (nylabones etc) and cloth toys have to be heavily supervised because he's destroyed ultra tough guaranteed toys. We do try to tire him with fetch/tug and mental games. I bought him puzzles, lick mats etc and he is napping more now. I wish I could say he stopped nipping, it's much less but when tired, over tired, he still does. And he HATES if I'm on the phone! He'll start then so I have to separate us. I have a pen vs crate since it evokes much less stress in him. I would try to tire him with games, walks never worked as well although they are needed, but getting him to run and release his energy will do more. There are some great videos her and on youtube to tire pups. Maybe something will click with your pup. It does get better but I hear you, every dog is different and having one so different the third time, threw us a loop too. Every week is better with some steps back but they are a bundle of nerves and energy in the beginning.
