Re: Frustration induced aggression...? Lovely to hear you're managing to turn the unwanted behaviours into desirable ones. Some good initiative there. I had a similar thing with my Willow with increased affection when I made myself more fun. It's lovely, isn't it? I wouldn't read too much into the fact the pups weren't spending much time with their mum at 8 weeks. Even at 6.5 weeks, when I went to choose a puppy, Ruby, the mum wanted very little to do with her puppies! They had pretty good teeth by then, so mealtimes were a bit of a painful chore for her. The pups spent all day in a big outdoor playpen, or running around free when there were enough people to watch eight bundles of mischief. Ruby slept with them at night, but the rest of the day, she'd keep herself away except for mealtimes - and since the pups were starting to be weaned at that point, too, they weren't very often or long. I'm sure that the time you're spending now will pay huge dividends later - and then you can get some of your life back!
Re: Frustration induced aggression...? Well, that confirms it, Lab owners are the nicest people! -- thank you so much for your support and encouragement. Totally appreciated. Fiona, I expect you're right about the 8 weeks thing and, in a way, it doesn't matter, because we have to move on no matter what the initial reason for the bitey-barky stuff! Rachael, we found our shed game! Sit and hold a paint pot while mum dips in the brush....* ... *Ps I'm totally lying about this. A stuffed kong at the other end of the yard was our answer! ... And, with any luck, here's a picture of the little madam - if you look closely you can just make out a bit of blue paint on the end of her nose (now gone!!!)
Re: Frustration induced aggression...? Hi Philippa, what a beautiful puppy! Well done on all your hard work with Bonnie this week.
Re: Frustration induced aggression...? What a sweetie!! You almost had me with the paint pot story ;D
Re: Frustration induced aggression...? She's lovely - and just for a split second I was gaping in amazement at the paint pot holding!
