We have a 1 year old Lab who is a very good dog for the most part. He has been to puppy manners, basic manners 1 and agility 1 and done amazing in all three! He knows his basic commands and we've seen him become a great addition to the family over the last year. However, when we are on walks or in the back yard and he grabs a stone, stick or just something he shouldn't have, when we take it away from him he starts jumping/nipping at us. It almost seems as though he's upset bcuz we've taken a valued possession and he's just acting up! Whatever the reason, we want it stopped but not sure how to stop the behavior?? We've tried holding him down on his side, being a tree, stepping on his leash but nothing seems to work?? Our class trainers also suggest the be a tree/turn our backs but he will begin nipping at our backs or legs and it starts to hurt!!! We've also been told that Labs are mouthy or it's something he'll grow out of but how long do we wait???? I will also add that he was neutered at 10 months. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
Re: Excitement Nipping Hi and welcome to the forum First thing is , please dont hold him down , its a very outdated concept of training, part of the dominance theory which is now proven to be the wrong way to train and to be honest, causes a dog to be even more dominant . What your dog is trying to do is to rule the roost but rather than be dominant towards him , try offering a swap . Have a really appealing toy like a kong stuffed with foody treats such as peanut butter or tiny bits of sausage and as you go to take the unwanted item off him, offer the more appealing item to him . What you say is exactly what he is thinking, that you are taking away a prized possession and he is objecting . As you take the unwanted item away , say LEAVE in a firm voice , and show him the swap , then when he allows you to take the unwanted item, praise him like mad and give him the treat . Yes , Labs are mouthy, but it should have improved by his age , it just needs some bribery, just like children who are stepping out of line
Re: Excitement Nipping Thanks for the welcome and the reply! We learned quickly that holding him down wasn't the way to go. Like many others, we watched the technique from Cesaer Milan but that is tv so...... Do you think the trade for a Kong will eventually stop this behavior completely or will he just expect a big reward with each situation?? We have allowed this behavior to continue for the most part because nothing has seemed to work. We have gotten so frustrated Nd disappointed in ourselves because we know he's a good dog but just needs better training from us.
Re: Excitement Nipping Dont beat yourselves up please , we all make mistakes with training, but you can put this right, really you can . I dont think he will expect a better trade , he will get better and begin to respond to the deal There are loads of really good informative articles on here that might help you with training , Labs are greedy dogs so food tends to work best , good luck with your lad , sounds like he has done really well
Re: Excitement Nipping Hi and welcome from us too, Hattie almost 6 years and Charlie 2 1/2 years. Kate has given you great advice and as for Cesaer Milan I wouldn't listen to a word that barbaric man has to say, his methods are cruel and out dated, but that's just my opinion. Lots of great training methods supplied by Pippa right here and also from the very experienced forum members (not me though!! ) Have fun on here. Helen xx
Re: Excitement Nipping No I know a lot of ppl disagree with Milan's methods and I don't want to dominate or scare my pup to do anything! I just want him to be happy and carefree and and I think we have tried so many things that it just gets sooooo disappointing!! At times we feel like failures but I know we just have to keep at it cuz he deserves it!! I will search this forum and pippa seems very knowledgable!! My plan is to try what Kate suggested because I want to stay consistant with one method before switching back and forth. Thanks for the reply!!!!
Re: Excitement Nipping Hello and welcome - from me Julie and my 5 month old choc lab boy - I can't add to what others have said, as only 5 months into my dog owning experience (at least without the supervision of my mum!). The site and forums are great, and if you read and ask questions, it will soon put you right with anything you are struggling with. I made a few mess ups which thankfully weren't too difficult to put right, but am mainly doing ok now thanks to the good advice here.
Re: Excitement Nipping hi welcome from me and jasper 7 month without this site i would have not got to 7 month
Re: Excitement Nipping Hi there from Lisa and 10 month old Simba (chocolate lab/Newfie). Boy can I relate to this one - I've struggled with this a lot. Our boy was a rescue at 8 months and came with this behaviour (and many others :) well entrenched. I find the trading does work to a point... but what has really worked for me is clicker training. Our boy was so deaf to "no" I needed another way to tell him how to behave. Lots of info on this site and on the forum about how to use a clicker, if you haven't already. Don't be discouraged - sounds like you have a lovely dog and I'm sure you will get past this!!
Re: Excitement Nipping Just n update on my OP. I haven't tried the trading technique yet but did just return from the park where an episode occurred. We went on an off-leash, short walk today. As we walked, I'd throw his frisbee and he'd retrieve. There were absolutely no issues until the last 5 minutes as the trail curved back to the car. He had just retrieved the frisbee and upon his return we were giving lots of praise when he just started jumping and nipping at our hands/arms/clothes??? We were not trying to pry the frisbee away and actually he was dropping it without us even asking so I'm not sure if he just got too excited or..... My wife would immediately say "off" but he kept up the behavior. I told him "off" Nd he jumped at me so I would turn my back to him and then just threw the frisbee again. This happend 3-4 more times as we attempted to make our way back to the car. After each retrieve, the only way to stop his behavior was to throw the frisbee so hed stop jumping. I didn't want to reward bad behavior but just wanted to make it back safely to the car. He has done this before so I wanted to mention it since it doesn't seem to be just a resource guarding issue but I really don't know so.....
Re: Excitement Nipping i am not experienced jasper is my first dog, to me it sounds like he is just very excited, just wants to continue playing, my lil fella does this with my son when he wants to head home, we now change route, .....so he dont know if we are going home or going to another play area
Re: Excitement Nipping We have noticed that some times when we return on the same route he smells the scent he left and seems to know the fun is about to end so he starts acting up. We didn't use this technique this time because things were going so well so...... Ill also add that I just read Pippas article on over excitement and it does make sense how we might have been the source of getting him too worked up!
Re: Excitement Nipping It sounds like over excitement to me - the only time Charlie shows similar behaviour is when he is totally over excited. He hasn't done it much, but sometimes if he is having a puppy mad moment he'll put his teeth round my arm or hand - he never closes his jaw though (thanks, I think, to all the ouching etc. I was advised to do when he was very young). Can you stand absolutely still and ignore him until he calms down or is it too bad for that?
Re: Excitement Nipping i agree,....if you take him for a walk, not him taking you, do detours my son was doing the same thing on evening walks , same routine all the time, biting him, rolling over when he tried to get the lead on as soon as he changed route jasper as not got a clue if he going home or going to fun area , my poor baby only on lead walks
Re: Excitement Nipping Definitely don't throw the frisbee to stop his jumping/nipping. That would be encouraging him to jump/nip more. I agree with JulieT that keeping it calm and rewarding calm behaviour is the way to go (ideally rewarding with a click and treat - have a read of the clicker training articles on the main Labrador Site website). Throwing the frisbee only if he's go four feet on the ground would also be a good move. It sounds like you've been doing a really wonderful job of training your dog and teaching him to be a good family member over his first year and that this is a hiccup that you can overcome.
Re: Excitement Nipping I know we really shouldn't have kept throwing the frisbee. It's just when we get into certain situations, we throw logic out the window and just wing in. Sticking to a consistant game plan is our goal and we have begun putting plans to paper so we can somewhat prepare for the next situation. I will also say we had a trainer come over to the house today for a private lesson. We had planned this weeks ago so the timing is perfect. She observed his behavior and to our relief said it was no where near aggression or dominance but instead was just him being a puppy and with the consistant game plan, the behavior will end. This was great news! We just have to stick to a plan so I will keep reading this forum and give updates! B
Re: Excitement Nipping Just one thing I wanted to add that our trainer said this should have stopped by now but it just takes some dogs longer to mature so with some patience, things should be getting better!!!!
Re: Excitement Nipping Hi there and welcome from Poppy and me! Sounds like you have a lovely lot of boisterous happy Labrador on your hands there! Read over what you wrote before - "the only way to stop his nipping and biting is to throw the frisbee again" - if you look at it from his point of view you will see that he thinks that nipping ends up in another game!! Easy to get caught up in that kind of mistake I know - we've all been there! Good luck with the trainer - do let us know how you get on - and we LOVE to see photos!
Re: Excitement Nipping Just an update on Maxx's behavior. He was doing really well with the jumping/nipping but had an episode last night. We were throwing him a ball in the back yard. Each time we would make him sit before the throw and each time he would retrieve and return the ball!! Things were going very well when my wife went to pick up a stick in the yard. He then ran over and grabbed the stick which she immediately let go of because she didn't want a tug of war started. He then actually dropped the stick and started jumping /nipping her. She turned and ignored and then I called him and showed him the ball he was just retrieving but he had no interest. I blocked him and told my wife to walk away (which she did) and then he started nipping my clothes!! I just kept turning my back but he kept nipping?!?! I then said NO and turned but still, he kept jumpibg/nipping?? After a few minutes, I just grabbed his collar and led him back inside where the behavior stopped and he acted as nothing had happened???? I mean we both were letting him keep the stick so..... Also we later went for an hour walk and there were no issues so it just seems so random??
