Hi guys, Just wondering whether I could please have some advice. My 13 week old male Labrador puppy keeps on jumping up and biting my children, in particular my son. This evening he lunged up on the couch while my 9 year old son was sitting there and bit his arm and then dragged his teeth as he was biting, which caused my sons arm to split a little and bleed. I was out at the shops while this happened and he was under the supervision of my husband, but everything happened so quickly. I am really worried that he will injure one of my children. He has been to puppy school and we have had a wonderful trainer come to our house and give us some strategies on how to deal with this, but it doesn’t always seem to work. We are taking a more reward based training approach, but correcting him with voice control when he does the wrong thing. But in this case, nothing worked. I am hoping that this stage will end soon as I am truly exhausted from always being on the lookout and seeing my children being injured.
This is a hard stage when you have a puppy and smaller children. We had the same thing years ago when my sons were young. First let me say that it will get better but you must stay on top of a few things. Sadly, as much as your children want to "play" with the puppy when it is being fun and cute and not too rough, you must make sure the kids aren't "revving" up the puppy EVER! Kids automatically look so inviting for puppies. They really just want the kids to play with them and the biting at this stage is a way that he/she is trying to say "play with me." I remember my boys feeling like I never let them play with their puppy and it was a hard stage but it was just showing the pups that they had to be calm when they were around the kids. Won't kid you, its not always easy but down the road it is worth it. My one son actually has a scar from one of our Labs on his back, where the teeth sunk in pretty good. That Dog just passed last year and my son wears that scar proudly as he was one of my boys BEST friends growing up! Make sure also that you are teaching the kids all the tools to use for NO BITE! They have to be the ones to stay calm and I know that can be difficult for kids as well. Good luck. I am sure you'll get some more advise. I would also search Puppy biting children. You may find older conversations about it!!
Is this something your trainer has told you to do? I don't recommend correcting him, even verbally. It's not just the way you want to train him, and it isn't going to establish the best relationship with him. You will become someone who ruins his fun and someone to avoid and possibly be fearful of - this is the opposite of becoming someone he wants to engage with and seek contact with. Please do stop the verbal corrections... And if the trainer told you to do this, it's likely there are other things they said in keeping with this - and it might be worth trying to find a force-free trainer in your area to work with instead. We have LOADS of excellent posts on puppy playbiting on this forum, so do use the search box to find them - otherwise we tend to just type out the same advice, over and over.
Ink Thank you so very much for your advice. It’s great to k ow that we are not alone and that there are better days ahead. Both of my kids are great with the dog. They ate very calm with and around him. I just can’t wait till his adult teeth come through.
Hi Jo, Thank you so much for your advice. The trainer was actually very much into positive reinforcement. Voice control is used only to say “stop biting” or “leave it” - In low tone-not in an aggressive manner at all. I couldn’t ever imagine him being scared of us or not wanting to come to us, especially as we reward him with treats and praise as soon as he has followed through with the command. I can understand your concern as there are a lot of shonky trainers out there. i
Hi Karli, Welcome to the forum! Puppy biting really is very common, but there are lots of ways you can help to reduce it. And most dogs do grow out of it sooner or later too Here are some guides you might find helpful! How to stop your puppy biting When do puppies stop biting Do let us know how you get along
Hi Lucy, Thank you so much for your reply. I have found this site to be extremely helpful. I have read these articles, which is what prompted me to join the forum. I am overwhelmed by the encouragement and support which I have received so far. It’s good to hear of other people’s experiences.
Oh right, that's not aversive. He is leaving to get the treat - not because he is afraid of you. So no probs there
