Buddy is 16weeks now and I thought the biting would have improved by now, as a little pup squealing ouch and ignoring him worked a treat but by 11weeks that then turned into a game for him to bite even harder! We then tried the distracting and using toys in place of us but he’d go crazy trying to reach us above the toy and most recently been attempting time out when he bites by either removing him briefly or us from him. He’s so smart with learning everything else really quickly that I can’t help but think we are doing something wrong that he’s not learnt not to bite us yet! What age do they really slow down with the biting or will he not stop if he’s not taught properly ? Such a shame because I really want to be able to have a fuss or a cuddle with him without losing my ear !
I can relate. Our pup Poppy has been a real nippy one too. She's going on 14 weeks and while the biting has gotten a bit better she is still very mouthy and nippy. We tried the ouch /squealing and ignoring too but it didn't appear to do much. She'd react more to that. A couple weeks ago we settled on having chew toys in hand to divert her and not patting her or playing when she does. And it does make it harder to cuddle.
Some Labradors do take quite a while to mature. The problem might lessen but you really need to teach the dog what is an acceptable form of interaction. You really need to teach not to mouth you. I would persist with the time outs, used in conjunction with diverting the dog's mouth onto a tug toy. Be consistent.
At that age labs are going through a major teething stage. It took my dog 7 months to stop most biting. However, she is 8 months and still ocasonaly bites
I can totally relate. My pup Rosie is 14 weeks and has been a total nightmare with the biting from the time we got her at 8 weeks. We have definitely tried everything to try and curb or lessen it somewhat without much success. Currently we try to distract with toys or commands and if necessary put her in her crate for a time out (short 20-30 seconds or so) when she gets too much. I’ve come to the conclusion that we will have to ride this out until she grows out of it. It really is no fun though. I can’t wait for the day she enjoys a good rub or pat without trying to bite me. Snuggles are completely out of the question. Trying to dry her feet off coming in from outside or attaching her collar, anything that involves getting hold of her and you get the TEETH. Good thing she’s cute.
It's better to find a way of getting the dog to do something without "getting hold of them". Your dog is telling you she doesn't like compulsion. Maybe try putting a heavy beach towel on the floor she has to walk over to get inside. Practise getting her to put her head for the collar by using shaping. Initially start with Look at the collar. Mark and treat. Put head closer to collar. Mark and Treat. Touch the collar with end of nose. Mark and treat. Touch the end of collar for one second. mark and treat. And so on and so on. Break the task down into small increments that you can succeed at.
I had the same problem (still do with my 16 week puppy). I found that redirecting her to sit or lie down and then treat her for that behavior helped immensely. It's like I have a whole new puppy. From about 8 weeks to 12 weeks she almost seemed aggressive (she wasn't, it's normal for labs) and anytime I told her "no bite" it spurred her on more. I could actually see her try and challenge me. Using toys didn't seem to help either. She will still get riled up and go for any long sleeve I have on or my hands or pant legs but I go back to the sit command and then treat when she does what I ask.
