Biting

My 5 mt old lab will not stop biting. I have tried ignoring moving away. Hiding in a closet. Reward when she sits on command. It just doesn't stopit is very painful. My husband is upset and if I don't get this under control he wants me to take her back to rescue. I got her at 3 mth . I don't know what to do. She jumps a lot too.no have her on a leash with me. But she is with me and bites. She is so strong. I'm so upset because I have to fix this. If she bites when she's older or someone else it's dangerous. In really am trying hard with her. Please help. What really works. I feel so inconsistent because what I do doesn't work

 

You are not alone, we've all been through the crocadog stage and wondered if it will ever end. With normal bite inhibition training they tend to grow out of this at 4-6 months old.

You say that she's a rescue dog. Do you know if her previous owner did any work on her puppy biting? If not then it might explain why yours hasn't yet got the message that biting is not allowed.

You might find the article below useful.

http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/

 

Oh my word yes, five months is the worst time for biting imo.

Hollysdad has linked to some excellent advice.

My pup is wonderfully bred, five months old and has been with me from the beginning - and she's a terrible biter! Once she's excited there is no stopping those terror teeth! She's at her worst by far when I'm trying to do something else.

Be very calm yourself. If you have time to concentrate then use toys and training to deflect the behaviour. If not make sure the pup can't reach you until you do have time for just the pup - baby gates, crates etc are good for this.

Read ALL the articles here on biting, they are brilliant.

Remember it's just a phase, and they all go through it - some much worse than others.

And - Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie from Manchester UK

Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's three years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German.

Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is five months old.




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Hello.....they are crocopups....no doubt about that. The phase does end, by the way! But while you are in that phase....it's terrible. I was bleeding from my arms and legs, was bruised,had scabs and scars....my pants were ripped and sleeves had holes in them (from Cooper's teeth). Had a regular blood test (for a physical) and I had to explain to the tech that took the blood that I was NOT in a dangerous relationship....that I had a Lab puppy!
She had had one too, and understood! But it was a bad time.....hang in there....it does end and all will be well.....I had a crate at the time and would put him in there for a few minutes to cool off. I also have a room with a gate and was able to leave him in there for a few minutes and would leave the room. He got over this phase but dont remember exactly at what month in his life. Good luck.

 

I went through this with Judy too. It was awful, I felt like I was doing something wrong all the time and that's why I had such a bitey dog. Then I found this site, read the articles linked to above and realised that many, many puppies do this. For me, the biting was worse during play, Judy got more excited and would bite more. One day she jumped up and bit my face out of the blue! I was on the verge of rehoming her but I'm so glad I didn't. She's nearly 11 months now and such a lovely dog. Best piece of advice from Boogie - stay calm, even if she hurts you. The only thing that worked for me - in the house - was leaving the room for a few minutes. When she bit me on walks, I just had to stay still and calm until she calmed down. Judy never bites now but she does get over-excited - I still have to be calm. It will get better, hang in there!

 

Welcome to the forum from Holly and me in Monmouth, Wales. Four years ago Holly was emerging from the Crocadog phase. She's now a normal, gentle, loving and trustworthy Labrador.

 

Thank you ... Thank you. At least I do not feel alone and that know that their is an end in site. As she is tethered to me now biting the leash. I do think staying calm is key. But how do you walk away when she has a grip and it really hurts. I do walk away and go into another room then she tries cruising the counter of gets into something. She moves fast...

 

Oh dear, I do feel for you. This is a trying phase, and you will get through it. I go to my dog when he was 8 months old and past the worst of his bitey phase, thank goodness.

 

Mine is 7 1/2 months old and showing no signs of stopping! I know everyone says it's a phase and will end but what do you do when they are getting older and stronger and not stopping?! Could there be some that just never outgrow it?? It really is putting a damper on his relationship with the family because there is so much we can't do with him because it will end in biting!

 

Hi Diane,
Often the behaviour does seem to escalate before it gets better.It can be really tough because it's the time when you need to put your time in with your dog and be consistent but it's also the time when sadly you can struggle to actually like your dog never mind develop your relationship with them.
Back to the original poster Jem318, does your puppy have a crate or secure area that you can place them in to stop the mischief continuing when you have removed yourself? That could help you a lot....my dog had a separate gated area off the kitchen....i didnt really have the biting problem but if I wanted to get him to go in there to distract him from mischief,he'd follow a couple of thrown treats in and chew on a frozen kong to settle him down x

 

My puppy Autumn had a gated area that she started climbing over and she got her foot stuck. So I had to get a crate. I wish she would stay in a confined area. I have put her in the crate when she is just too excited and biting a lot. I try not to use it much except at night and when I am not there. Though lately if she won't stop jumping up she goes in there when we are eating dinner. She does fine and is good at night. I have the crate in my bedroom. I just get so many mixed signals. All that I read says ignore but you can't ignore biting g. Although I am working on staying calm. I tried yelping when she bit. But she got too excited as bout that. I try to distract and tell her sit and then I reward with treat. I do the same e with off or not jumping. I seem to give her so many treats. She.looks for treats constantly. Am I rewarding her too.much. tHe reason I say that is now she puts paws on counter then sits. Looking at me for that and she will keep doing this
Am I creating a habit. Is it a game to her

 

Buddy's a biteing maniac right now. Granted we just got him 2wks ago and we have no clue if he's had any kind of training what so ever. He's got my face a few times but loves my hands and anckles. When he does it i try and give him a toy or his rawhide bone but if he's not interested in those he keeps doing it. Ive tried removing myself from the room but when i do he starts getting into mischief. I may need to get a crate for him as a time out. The last 2 days have been his worse since we got him 2 weeks ago. He could be trying to see what he can get away with though now that he's been with us alittle bit. He was like a saint this morning but since his afternoon nap just been a terror. He's very jumpy while outdoors to. Im unsteady walking as it is with my health issues. We know his hormones must really be rageing hard too with the amount of times and frequency he trys to hump my leg.
This mornings walk was his best yet but this evening was his worse. All he did was pull and pull. He ignored me most of the time and when i would get him to stop the second i made a step it was off again. Treats haven't worked yet with him. When he does good and i praise and offer a treat while on a walk he doesn't want any......i know we have alot of work with him to do but from diffrent things ive read it will all be worth it. He's his best in the evenings when he's all tired out and the morning when he first wakes up and wants nothing but hugs and kisses and a belly rub and to roll around on our bed.
Out of everything he does the biteing is by far the worse and his picky eating but i think we could be heading in the right direction with that.

 

I've had two trainers over and they both said that if Finn is getting into one of his out of control modes to just pop him in his crate or use a tether by his bed. Out of control = lost freedom for a bit. It's working I think. I'd also put him into the gated off kitchen when I was at the end of my rope and was losing my cool with him. It really helps to be able to separate from them when you need to, otherwise I'd never be able to do it.

 

Also if he started to jump and bite at me on walks (he would go for my jacket hem and pants) I would hold the leash firmly at full arms length to get him away from my body, tell him enough, and hold him there until he stopped and sat quietly. He's in a front hook harness. Stopping all walking and movement when he acted like that seemed to nip that behavior in the bud. He didn't like that all the fun and walking stopped.

 

Dog bite prevention begins at home no matter where that dog came from, we are responsible for correcting this bad behavior while they are young. It really takes a lot of patience before we can stop the biting behavior of our dog. One of the best ways to correct this act is by regularly exercising and playing with our pet, as it creates a good bond between the human and animal. As a new caretaker or family of this puppy, it is your responsibility to have her vaccinated up to date. Try to also give her some treats as a reward for her good deeds. You can also buy her some toys so that she can divert her attention into something else.
If she remains aggressive then might as well bring her to your veterinarian or seek an advice from a professional dog trainer. It will really take some time for a dog to adapt her new environment, I am really hoping that you won't give up on her as this puppy needs a caring family.

 

Our saviour was a rope toy that had a rubber shaft between the knots. Anytime his mouth opened the toy went in. It stopped all his biting in a very short time and it allowed us to show affection. We could pet him and rub his feet and ears etc. without suffering a scratch. He now has a very soft mouth. We knew going in they were mouthy so we started working on this from his first day home.

 

I have tried so many toys as distraction. Wish I could just find the one to divert her to that and not me.

 

I had exactly that trouble, if she wanted my arm it would be arm or nothing. It was separation or a kong in the end. But that's the thing - it does end.

 

I remember now aswell two things that helped were starting the work around food manners which is in Chapter 10 of the Labrador Handbook and the exercise on the Labrador site in the section for stopping puppies biting, stage 4. where you teach them to gradually accept being touched without biting. Sorry, I can't do links.
Both these things helped to build up positive interaction time with her.