Hi, we got Leo when he was about a month old. Now he's 3-3.5 months. My family is completely new to having a dog. My brother brought him and left him with our parents. I've a job that requires me to come home only on weekends and it is my parents who look after him. On to the problems. He's very aggressive and only wants to bite on our hands and legs. I tried giving him kong toys, rope toys, ball, stick, nothing helps. He's only interested in hands and legs. And these are really hard bites which could cut. It was manageable when he was younger but now, he's grown a bit and his aggressiveness has only increased. I know that he's playing but he doesn't like to run or fetch or anything. He just comes and starts biting anyone who's near him. I've got plenty of scratches and small cuts on my hands and legs. He also shakes and growls when he's biting. I've to be always sure to wear shoes and a jean(pants) and have my full sleeves on before i go to him. Whenever I try to get away from him to give him a time out, he just bites and hangs on to the jean. If I manage to get away from him, and if I am in his sight, he starts barking. If I completely ignore him and leave, he starts to whine and bark (sometimes). He also doesn't seem to get bored of this. I don't know if he's that energetic and trying to release his energy. If so, are there some good exercises that I could get him to do? I tried to get him to fetch but he is not interested at all. He has also started humping since last two weeks. Is that bad or just natural? I was thinking of seeking a professional trainer's help but my job doesn't give me a lot of free time. Is there any other way I can get him to calm down a bit and just run around and play instead of biting on hands and legs. If I could get some advice or guidance in which way I should proceed, it'd be really helpful. Thanks PS: Sorry, I don't know if this is the right section to post this, but I am really hoping to get some help here.
Hi and welcome to the forum Rest assured that all this is normal play behaviour and definitely not aggression The humping is probably an outlet for energy and a bit of frustration. The biting phase is horrendous (as if you need me to tell you that!) but it will pass. He's still a baby and the biting stage is pretty intense in Labradors. Your puppy (or parents' puppy I guess!) has a powerhouse of energy and he needs somewhere legitimate to direct it. Your parents may need to be more proactive in taking him to interesting places, doing regular short training sessions (to wear out his brain), taking him to classes, and letting him socialise with other friendly pups and dogs. He may enjoy tug games with toys - sounds like he likes games where things move and have a human attached Also, invest in a bunch of Kong toys or kibble dispensing toys that you can stuff with treats or his daily kibble amount so he has to work for his food. How active are your parents and what kind of things are they doing with him while you're at work? Is puppy playgroup or daycare an option in your area, to give him some new experiences and to give all of you a little break?
Check out this article and the many links at the bottom http://www.thelabradorsite.com/your-labrador-puppy-biting/
Hello from my 20 month old girl Molly and me. What you are describing is just the way Labrador puppies are. Don't worry they do grow out of it. The best thing is to keep them busy, so they don't have time to be naughty. Give him his food in Kongs and other food dispensing toys, like treat balls and Buster Cubes. While he is playing with them, he is not nibbling on you. Lots of short training sessions during the day. By short I mean 5 or 10 minutes. Keep him so busy that he doesn't have the time or energy to be naughty. Molly did all the things you are worried about when she was a small puppy, I was terribly worried by the biting, but she is a kind and gentle dog now. Good luck with it. Raising a puppy is hard work, but so worth it.
Hello there ,welcome to the Forum,great you've found us,this period of time can be quite a challenge with your Crocopup puppy!If I'm reading your post correctly Leo was very young when he came to live with your family? The guideline for a puppy leaving it's Mum and litter mates is usually 8 weeks.This is a really critical period as it's the time when the puppy is learning about play and bite inhibition.If Leo missed out on this ,then your parents are probably suffering the consequences.Puppies do stop and it is normal behavior as already mentioned and the article that Rachael ( Oberon ) has directed you to will explain and provide advice on how to deal with it. Enjoy the Forum,drop by if you need any help.We have Dexter who is a yellow boy and nearly 3 Best Wishes Angela
Hello there and welcome. Just to add my voice to those saying it's completely normal for any pup to bite. It's certainly not aggression, and those articles Rachael (Oberon) linked to should help. As Angela said, a month of age is far too young to be taken from the mother, so I really hope there was a good reason. It is desperately sad when this happens for no reason, and sets the puppy up for problems such as this later on down the line. Read the articles provided and take note especially of the information about bite inhibition. This is an important lesson and means that you're not after the puppy ceasing biting altogether to start off with, just reining it in to an acceptable threshold. Don't worry, as much as it is a horrible thing to go through at the time, you and your parents will soon be looking back and wondering where the crocopup went. And then, you'll end up with a teenager. That's fun, too Does he get plenty of time away from the house to enjoy being a dog? Maybe he's bored and wanting to play more because of that.
Welcome to you Labrador pups are not puppies for more than a week after arriving with you - they are total crocodiles. Believe me, this is completely normal and this stage will have passed by 6 months old. All the above advice is excellent
Thank you for all your great responses. Knowing that this is just a phase is a relief. As I have mentioned, I try to keep him occupied when I am the house. But my parents are kinda old for his liking. They find it hard to control him. He seems to not like kongs and prefer rope toys to play tug. I've bought a few new ones for him this week. He wants to play almost all the time. I found him biting less and more involved with the toy. He'd bring it to me and actually invite me to play, which was kinda new and was cute. Once again, thank you guys the replies. You guys have been really helpful
