Hi all, I know I've written a few posts lately and I hate to be so demanding of people's time but I have a real issue that is actually braking my heart. We've had our pup for over 2 weeks now (she is 11weeks) and she's always been a biter and a chewer. The problem is, she's is so persistent. I can offer her something new or call her name and this works (sometimes) but soon she is on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. I do try, so hard to stop her but it sometimes just doesn't end. Don't get me wrong- I don't care about the damage to our stuff- but I do care about what chunks of doormat or table or slipper will do to her insides. So, being only human, sometimes I do a loud 'uh' to get her to stop (cesar style). This usually works but it's soon forgotten and she starts somewhere else. If I try to remove her or raise my voice at her she attacks me (usually by clamping her teeth around my arm) and/ or snapping at me until she can get hold of something). Now I know this might be play for her, excited by my raised voice, and I had put it down to that in the past, told myself off for being inpatient and swore I wouldn't do it again. However, I did today. Only this time she had her ears right back and a seriously odd look in her eyes. Is this actual aggression? Do I need to worry? I'm generally quite laid back, she has most of the living room throughout the day and gets s fair amount of attention. I still let her on my lap - probably two or three times a day as it seems to be the only way to calm her down sometimes. Am I being too soft on her for her to think it's ok to bite me? I'm reading so many things that give such different advice (be dominant, just be assertive, accept it-she's only a puppy...) and everything else is going well. I look at her when she's sat on my lap and think how could this gorgeous thing cause me so much trouble. What am I doing wrong? Any words of wisdom will be very very gratefully received right now
It's definitely not aggression, so don't worry about that. Strange as it may seem, it's totally normal for a Labrador puppy to bite and chew on everything in sight - especially their poor human! I know it all seems too over the top and frenzied to be normal, but it is. They don't have hands, so they explore and interact with the world via their mouth. That crazy look in her eye could've been just wild excitement, or possibly tinged with a bit of fear if she's experienced a raised voice. Some puppies get more riled up if we make loud noises at them, and your pup sounds like she might be one of those. When she latched on try distraction with a toy, or food thrown on the floor, or physically removing yourself from the room and shutting the door. Removal of attention (leaving the room if you have to) works best as its attention they want. We want them to learn that they only get attention if they can play without biting. You may need to watch for the early signs of crazy bitey behaviour - act before it gets to the point where she's really over-excited. Also, you might need baby gates at doorways so you can get away when you need to. Heavy duty sleeves are also advisable for the duration! Think up anything else you can do to keep her brain occupied enough and to give her the outlet she needs for her energy: - short 5 min training sessions - play sessions with other pups or calm older dogs - puppy daycare - visits to as many new places as possible I know it all feel overwhelming at times, but it honestly will get better. The bitey stage will pass. I promise. Hang in there.
I used a wet tea towel that I put in the freezer for her to chew on whenever Harley was too mouthy. I also stood up, crossed my arms and ignored her when she got too rough playing and started biting. You do need to be consistent with whichever method you decide to use. It took Harley a couple of weeks to 'get it' and that play would stop if she did this. I also always kept a ball or toy on me so if she started getting excited I would put it in her mouth. This worked really well and even now she gets a ball or toy when I come home and she's excited, or if friends come around. This stage will pass, it's definately not aggression.
Don't worry, I'm always asking questions! Ella was exactly the same and I had that moment of worry about aggression as I think it seems most puppy owners do. One day she lunged at me and bit my calf so hard I was left with a huge bruise and cut! We found that making a noise made her more excited so, for us, we found it best to just pop her in the laundry and close the gate (we have baby gates up) for a few minutes and she'd usually calm down. Sometimes it felt like we were doing this every few minutes but it did eventually work. We still use this method now that (she's six months) when she gets a bit excited and zoomy in the house. The other thing we did is the OH and I ended up spending our whole time with a toy of some sort in our hand so when she came in for the attack, we could just put the toy in that razor sharp mouth of hers! Dont worry, it will pass (even though right now it will feel impossible!) and don't feel bad if you need to take a break to tend to your wounds . Pop her in a safe place (laundry, puppy pen, crate etc.) with a toy or a Kong or something and poor a wine or grab a block of chocolate and take a break! It will help you deal with the next round ☺
Was going to say the same as the others, it passes but at the time it's tiring and sore distraction and short time out worked for me. With my last pup i lived in boots for the first couple of months as he would nip or hang from my trousers lol had one pair of linen trousers that resembled a doily with all the teeth marks With Baxter i knew what to expect so even though his teeth would put a piranha to shame it never seemed as bad. Wine also helps...
Molly was a nightmare when she was little. She just wouldn't stop chomping on me no matter what I did. I couldn't wear a dressing gown or I'd have a pup swinging off the hem. Luckily it was November so I could retreat into jeans. If I wore lace up shoes she would attack them and undo them. And the thought of exposing my tootsies to that little munching machine was horrifying. My hands were a network of fresh bites and scratches and healing bites and scratches of differing ages. Then at about 4 or 5 months her adult teeth started arriving and it stopped. Today I would trust her mouth anywhere. So don't despair. You are not doing anything wrong. It is just the way they are and soon she will grow out of it.
They do grow out of it but it is terrible. Rory was awful but he did grow out of it. All you can do is dig deep and keep doing all the things you have been doing and stuff suggested here. She is not aggresive or nasty or dominant, she just a silly puppy. The crazy look is over excitment. Wear her out mentally if you can and help her to learn that bitting means no fun and no contact. If it gets too much leave the room. I had a puppy set of clothes which I wore when Rory was going through his CWFO stage which got binned when he stopped and he did. He treats me like a delicate breakable flower now, and understands what No Teeth means. I trust him now and he is very good, but I reall was concerned he would not be at one point. It is only a stage she will be a great dog even if you don't feel that now. We've all been there. xx
As everyone has said, it's perfectly normal. I actually trained nice play purposefully, rather than waiting for the biting to happen and reacting to it. I found this worked well. So, I'd crouch down and stroke Willow/tickle her tummy etc. It's important to be in a position that you can stand up from quickly. If you have more limited mobility, it might be easier to do this sitting in a chair and leaning over. The second she used her teeth, I'd stand up, cross my arms and look away until she calmed down, at which point I'd initiate play again. It didn't take long at all for her to realise that playing gently meant the game went on, and playing rough made it stop. I believe that actually taking the time to work on this is far better than just reacting to it randomly when it happens, and helps solve the problem more quickly. Good luck and let us know how you get on. PS ignore anything you have read about being dominant. It's all tosh.
As the others have said, don't worry, the Crocopup phase will pass!! I've been reading this with some trepidation, given that I'm planning breeding from Poppy next year... The thought of six to eight little crocopups is distinctly worrying! So Fiona's suggestion of teaching nice play from the beginning is a really good one. I can see we'll be starting that at an early age, six weeks or so! (If it ever happens, of course.)
Ah don't ever be afraid to stop by and ask a question,that's what the Forum is about ....it's huge now too as there are so many folk willing to drop a reply in and help out....you've had lots of advice so I hope you feel better about your little croco-pup at the moment,I missed out on this stage with my dog but I understand from everyone else that it makes them quite hard to love ....unless they are asleep! I've just read Pippa's new book,The Labrador Handbook ....how I wish I was just starting again with my dog now ......everything she writes is so honest and clear about what to expect ,have a look if you get the chance .....and remember this time wil pass x
Wow, thank you everyone for your words of wisdom, encouragement and understanding. I think i have tried most approaches now and was just convinced I was doing something wrong or my pup just didn't like me. It is so reassuring to know this level of biting is normal. Phew! A calmer me will hopefully transfer to a calmer pup. Today I tried leaving the room. This generally works but you have to make sure you leave her for long enough or she's right back in there when you come back. This is a bit risky (leaving her in the living room -where we spend most of our time) but worth it. Karen, Tatti was from a litter of 10 so I'd take anyone up on their offer of help if I were you- good luck As Tatti is doing so well with training and picking things up quickly, I might try the trainng approach here too. If I do this should I stop play at any mouth contact or just the biting? Lots of the time she is gentle with her mouth - if I put my hand in there she doesn't bit me. I suppose I should be more patient too, she is only 11 weeks old. I forget this all the time as she's growing so fast. Thanks again everyone, you have all done my heart, my soul and my liver a good service Lou x
Personally I encouraged the soft mouth contact, though some people don't like it. But I think it is part of the learning process, and the puppy realizing that biting HURTS, but that gentle play is ok.
I'm with Karen; I don't mind gentle mouthing, but they need to learn how much is too much. Bite inhibition (where they learn to stop before it gets painful) is an important skill for them to learn so that, if they feel forced into a bite situation later in life (through being cornered, say, or being in serious pain), they know how to pull their punches and not cause harm. This article has a little more information: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/teaching-bite-inhibition-to-your-labrador-puppy/
I'd personally allow mouthing without biting while they are learning - that way they progressively learn how to use their mouth more and more gently. Basically at first you stop play as soon as really hard biting starts. Then you raise the bar and stop when moderately hard biting starts. Then raise the bar again to stop play to firm-ish biting. You can keep raising the bar to eventually stop even gentle mouthing, which would be my ultimate aim.
Juno was never a crocopup and I always allowed gentle mouthing, going ouch of she applied pressure which worked well with her. When she was teething she used to position my fingers to apply some pressure on her sore gums but never hurt me.
My Otis was exactly the same! He's 16 weeks now and if you look at my posts from just a few weeks ago I was dealing with the same issues! I had many many bouts of crying out of pure frustration and not knowing what to do with him. He was literally making me bleed on a daily basis and doing his best to destroy my house, even trying to chew my tile floor!! As far as settling on your lap, we found that to be very helpful. We would get him a chew toy and invite him onto our lap and he would sit there for several minutes happily chewing his toy and getting some nice attention while he's relaxing (important!!) I was afraid he would become obsessed with sitting on our lap but I think it has taught him to settle down when he's sitting with us, especially when we're watching TV or trying to relax. Lots of toys, lots of kongs, lots of training with treats! We also allow him bully sticks, Himalayan chews, and rope toys under our supervision. Everyone on here assured me that it was just a phase and I was very very apprehensive to believe that based on the devilish behaviors my puppy was displaying but he has gotten much, much better! Puppy classes have also been wonderful for him. He still needs constant attention and entertainment most of the time but he is nothing like the 8 week old monster I brought home.
I was in your shoes only a few weeks ago, if you read my posts you'll definitely know you are not alone. It was hard work and very painful, I also had shoulder surgery and my arm in a sling due to an old old injury (bad timing). I tried everything but the only thing that worked for me was once I got some use back in my arm and could quietly and calmly put Dexter into his crate. We ended up buying two as I couldn't move him too far, now have one in the living room and one in the dining room. I use to wear the same fleece as didn't want all my clothes ruined and it fitted over my sling so I could get it off if need be, which was often but once that sling came off, Dexter found out I was no longer his tugg toy. I couldn't lift him very far (wasn't suppose to lift at all) but just about managed. Even though he loves his crates for sleeping in and jumps in happily when you say "in your bed", even opening the unlocked door himself, he knew the difference because no treat when I calmly put him in for time out. It was like a miracle cure. He's so funny now though, as he's too big for me to carry so if he is needing time out and I'm trying to get him in, he lays down all floppy and I have to scoot him to his crate on the laminate flooring, he doesn't change position and has a huge grin on his face as I first lift his head, then his middle and then his bottom into the crate before shutting the door of it and walking away trying not to laugh. Still works though, little monkey. He's very gentle with his mouth now too. There is light at the end of that dark tunnel.
