Hello there. This is my first post on anything, anywhere and it's...that old favourite puppy subject! First of all, you may think I am in the wrong place as I don't even have a Lab! Apologies for that, but I did buy Pippa's very good book on gundog puppy training and in there, it appears that she has experience with my breed too. So I now have a working cocker puppy from a strong working line.( I don't shoot but I had a beautiful springer for 15 years who was also from a working line and he was a fantastic dog - who's needs were more than met and he had a fantastic and fun life.) I bought the gun dog book as I have an interest in training the new dog with one eye on what her DNA is going to be expecting..Thats a fascinating subject too but anyway--my post! .......So, this new puppy is really good in lots of ways. Recall-excellent (thanks Pippa). Bedtime- no probs. Chewing the house up- nope. Can leave her free in the (tidy) kitchen-with sofas and garden (dog flap) and go out and all good when I get home. She doesn't bark, or growl. Loves other dogs and people and is bombproof. (I did socialise the he'll out of her up to 16 weeks!) Anyhow, this delightful doggy I have just described will just not stop biting! I am posting on here because I am conscious that she is getting older - 19 weeks old today- and I am thinking..have I missed something? Is there something I am doing that is making it worse? She has been feisty from day one and I have done all the bite inhibition stuff, graduating scale of consequences, and now moved on to shutting her out of the room for a minute when she bites. Yesterday, I went to grab her to stop her chasing our cat and she bit me to get me off her! That's naughty?!!She is obviously very spirited and not scared of anything and I think I have been really consistent with her but I do not want an adult dog that thinks it's ok to argue with her teeth! She will deliberately go to bite our baby granddaughter even in your arms-you can't put them down in the same room. This is not teething and no-one ever plays rough with her or excites her . She gets 2 good off lead walks every day and lots of interaction. Any ideas?? I would be very grateful indeed! Sorry for the essay. X
I just got my rescue pup who just turned 5 months and she is biting as well. Not fun and it hurts! My husband was bleeding. Our dog trainer said biting at this age is normal. I have a 6 year old son, so I keep the leash on the puppy all the time that way I have more control. Good luck!
Hi and thank you for your reply-always good to know you're not alone ! I took mine out in the car today for the first time in a while and she was really going for me when I was trying to put the car harness on. Savage! It's so upsetting and makes me feel really cross with her when I just want to be nice! Regarding your 6 year old son- having to keep a lead on must be a real pain- poor you! We have a grandson who's just turned 6 and I look after him once a week. He was petrified of dogs. What I do with him is as soon as he gets here we take the pup straight out for a walk over the fields. The pup is then running around off lead not interested in him and also burning off a bit of energy. I get my grandson to do a few sits with her and give her a treat. We tend to find that when we all return to the house together he is less of a novelty and she is much better. I have also trained him to stand up, turn away and ignore her if she gets bitey which generally works then as she is also tired. It Is disappointing having a bitey pup though- noone else I know seems to be having/had the same problem and I don't remember my springer being this bad. I am really praying she will grow out of it....!!
I know what you mean, I remember feeling quite alone with it when Cassie was small, well until quite big actually! She's 19 months now, and it's all a distant memory. Sounds as if you are doing the right things, especially with your grandson. With the car harness, perhaps it would help if you could practice putting it on and off in the house, to get her used to it? I think a lot of them have to get used to being handled in that way.
That is good advice Selina- thank you for that. Funnily enough she is usually fine with me handling her and today I went out in my husband's 2seater work vehicle with him driving (with harness on) and she was good as gold. I think the car thing may be that she wants to sit on my seat with me!!! Haha cheeky madam. She will have to just learn that that is not an option. As with so many puppy issues, I think practice is key. People dont realise the work involved in 'getting' that nice dog do they?!
Biting normal puppy behaviour and will pass. Have a toy in every pocket and put a toy in her mouth however much she wants it to be your hands/ankles/clothes. Removing yourself for a few seconds can help teach her too. I wouldn’t shut her in a room, you need to teach her to be happy alone for short periods so don’t make it a punishment. I wouldn’t ever grab her either, this could cause problems later on. Use treats for all training. If you need to suddenly divert her throw the treats. Mollie was a really bad snapper until 7 months old, she was hard work. If she wasn’t happy with what I was doing she’d grab my arm - hard. Standing up and turning my back helped, plus very tasty treats when she sat down and stopped the snapping. Be calm, don’t shout as your calmness helps to calm them much quicker. But this takes time, no ‘cure’ is instant. Mollie is now 14 months old and at Big School training to become a Guide Dog and all is going really well Here is an excellent article - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/excited-puppy/ But there is no cure - just maturity, Lab puppy biting is a fact of life. And yes, we do forget how much hard work they are - and forget very quickly lol!
Thank you for your message. Yes I know what you mean! Just to be clear, the time out is only in the boring hallway for 30 seconds and if she does it again immediately, 60 secs. It is just enough to make her think - oh that was boring- it's better in the room with them- I'd better do something else. It seems to be working. I take your point about getting hold of her though-will try to remove myself instead if poss. Apart from the biting (which is improving) and the cat chasing.....she is very good and I am lucky in that she is already happy to be left alone in the house and will also snooze in the car no problem if I need her to so I am definitely not complaining! Just need to sort the pulling on the lead now haha
