Hi, Max has just turned 12 weeks old & his behaviour is very hard to deal with. He's forever chewing the furniture & anything he can get hold of including hands, feet or any body part he can reach. He refuses to stop jumping at the sofa etc & we have to take him out to the garden for the toilet on a leash as he'll eat everything in the garden from stones to sticks. We can't take our eyes of him for even a second & seem to spend the whole day telling NO, LEAVE IT and OFF as he simply refuses to listen even though he does understand commands such as sit, down, stay etc. Is this normal behaviour? We're really struggling to cope with him at the moment. He has his second injection on Wednesday so it's still a few until we can take him out for walks to wear him out a bit. Any help willl be greatly appreciated.
Everything you write is completely normal for a lab pup, my girl was exactly the same, and it can be a very, very challenging time. There is a thread under the Labrador puppies forum entitled 'puppy blues' and many other current threads about biting, chewing pups, aggressive pups, pups who won't listen etc. and they're all saying the same thing about how tough it is and it's a storm that has to be weathered. There are also lots of suggestions as to what can be helpful but it will change and get better as your pup grows and as he gets his adult teeth. And he'll become a joyful, loving companion but at this age it's a real challenge and I felt very demoralised and at the end of my tether at times. Try and hang on in there.
Yes this is very normal behaviour. I really really struggled with my puppy who is now 19 weeks - you can read all about my woes in Puppy Blues because I got very depressed bought on mostly by exhaustion through lack of sleep and the constant biting etc. I am still struggling but it's more about me now than her. I found this behaviour exhausting but already a lot of it is history - yay! Everyone said to me, this will pass and it has! It's just riding it all out and using as many strategies as you can - e.g. she has a crate; I used bitter apple spray on the furniture she was attacking in the kitchen. Time in the sitting room was very controlled so she couldn't get on the settee etc. We wore tight fitting clothes so they got the brunt of her teeth but I now have some lovely scars particularly on my hands. The garden thing is still an issue in that she is obsessed with eating anything she can out there and I have to use a lead when I take her out for for the toilet. We also have the additional difficulty of an older dog who doesn't want to know her but again that is subtlety changing. We have now settled into a good routine and whilst she can still be a bit bitey, it is predictable and she is so very much calmer. I am finally beginning to enjoy my puppy - if anyone told me that several weeks ago, I didn't believe them. One point I will make - I put so much hope on that second injection and that I would then be able to get out the house (which was beginning to feel like my prison) and walk her. When it happened, I then discovered the joys of pulling and that became my next worry. However, again this is improving daily. So as Plum's mum says - hang on in there. There are some fabulous people on this forum who have responded to my laments and really helped and still are so you have found a good place to come to for help and support.
Oh thank you both, you've put my mind at ease. I've been browsing around the forum & I feel loads better reading other people's tales & reading ideas & suggestions. I was brought up with labs but it was my parents who did all the hard work so I never realised what a tough job it is when the pups are so young lol
You and me both. I grew up with labs too and have looked after other people's but always out of the puppy stage! So when I got my pup I was shell shocked! And then realised my parents did all the hard work . But now, even they can't remember the hard times and only remember the lovely, soft, gentle, doting adult dogs they became. Glad the forum posts have reassured you.
Thanks for the relies Plum's mum and selina27, it seems we're all in the same boat lol. My parents have a 6 month old lab & I don't know how they have the energy as they are both in their 70's now, growing up we always had 2 labs but they do admit they are too old for double the trouble
