Hi guys, Just after a bit of help and/or advice.. Our Ralph is just 12 weeks, constantly chewing something, us as much as he can! We have been trying to encourage his bite inhibition, giving a yelp when he bites to hard and moving away from him. This is just making him worse, he just snaps even harder it really really hurts! it had my girlfriend in tears, she is scared when he is in this mood, it's always 10 times worse on a night time! We've got him sitting, staying, giving paws, waiting while we put his dinner down, it's just the biting We'r worried of... Thanks in advance
Welcome to the world of lab puppies! This is completely normal I'm afraid and we have all got the scars. While that may sound unsympathetic, it's not it just shows that this phase does not last for too long. I found making a yelp just excited Bailey even more and made him bite harder. The only thing that worked for me was withdrawing attention - I would cross my arms and turn my back on him, sometimes sitting down, other times standing up and I would keep my back to him until he was calm. This took a few times having him jump and nip me (once on my butt) but he learnt really quickly that if he put his teeth on me the fun and games stopped. When he was calm (and the first few days I didn't think he would ever get it I seemed to spend large amounts of time with my back to him and f he kept leaping and nipping at me stepping over the baby gate so that he couldn't reach me) I would gently restart the game. After about 4 weeks each time his teeth touched my skin I just said "excuse me" and his teeth were replaced with his tongue. Now when he starts getting mouthy (usually after a wrestling session with my OH) I just say "no teeth" and no matter how wide his mouth is and how many teeth he is showing all I get is his tongue washing any part of me that he can reach! Also 12 weeks is still a very young baby you have. But a baby that has needles for teeth! Keep a puppy chew toy with you at all times and put this into his mouth - Ralph will be determined to have your skin but you have to be more determined than him that he won't. But whatever you try to get you through this keep with the same method - nothing is going to work overnight it will take time. When his adult teeth start to come through the mouthing will lessen - honestly it will. He now only nibbles my OH when they wrestle. I can't remember who said this but it has stuck with me "this too will pass". Sounds as if you are doing well with Ralph's training - don't worry about the biting with persistence it will get better.
We tried the yelping, only made him more excited. We tried the time outs, they didn't work. We eventually just decided that pushing through the biting and offering a toy rather than our limbs was our best bet. Aspen is 4 months, and he still occasionally bites, but I can tell you the only times he will bite: When you try to pet his head while he is in play mode, and when he gets a REALLY GOOD belly rub. Like @Samantha Jones said, "this too shall pass". That's what I am waiting on! And for all those puppy teeth to come out and for those adult teeth to come in...
Yes, we have all been there. It is grim but doesn't last. By 4 months, my puppy was through the worst. Kongs are good to keep them occupied. Cardboard boxes are great for them to get their sharp teeth into. Bit messy but worth it. Plastic bottles are good too but supervise. We always diverted her biting onto something other than us. As others have said - this will pass .
Oh yes, it gets worse before it gets better! It is all play. I don't do the yelping thing - it just gets them more excited. Here is an excellent article - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ "Why do Labrador puppies bite so much? It has to be said, Labradors are even more bitey than some other breeds of dog during this stage in their development. In fact, retrievers generally tend to be very bitey as puppies. We have bred these dogs for generations to be a little obsessed about putting things in their mouths, so maybe it isn’t so surprising that they are very mouthy when they are still small and very playful. The constant biting can still come as a shock though, to anyone who thought that they had adopted a ‘gentle’ breed. As can the pain of being bitten. “These are not ‘nips’!” say many new puppy parents “they are real ‘bites’!” My puppy bites so hard! “But wait a minute ” you cry “I am actually being injured by my puppy, surely that isn’t normal?” The answer I’m afraid is, yes, it is. Puppy bites do hurt. And sometimes they leave marks. Pain, bruising, scratching, little tooth marks on your toddler, these are all part and parcel of raising a puppy. Some very enthusiastic puppies will even draw blood on occasions." Yep. Every one of mine has drawn blood on occasion.
