Hello, my family got a puppy on Christmas day. She is a black lab and husky mix and we named her Tayla. She is beautiful and and a blessing to us all (when she's not being a terror). She was 6 weeks old when we got her and now is about 12 weeks. She is extremely smart and very stubborn. We love her to pieces but are having lots of trouble training her not to bite us or chew on things other than her toys. We can't even pet her without her biting and scratching us. I joined this forum to try and get as much information and help as I can to properly train our puppy to be sweet, gentle and well behaved. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Hi there and welcome to the forum. Biting is very common in puppies, but even more so in those which were brought home at such a young age. Those last two weeks with their siblings and mother are really important for learning bite inhibition. You can find out more about why most people recommend bringing home puppies at 8 weeks old here. Fortunately, moving forward there are things you can do to help Tayla learn bite inhibition. Check out this article and this one for tips. Let us know how you get along
Hi there congratulations on your new puppy. We just got a black lab called Storm. We have had her three weeks and she’s 12 weeks now. Storm has turned our world upside down, in a good way of course. I just tried to learn about her. When she’s being a nightmare I try to keep things calm or if she’s really bitey she has a cool down in her playpen. Sometimes distraction with a toy works but tbh not that often. At the minute, it’s the stealing things that’s driving me crazy, can’t get anything done because I’m chasing her around the house trying to get a sock out of her mouth all day. She’s pretty good at going toilet but she’s got a trick.. she has worked out that if she pretends to go to the loo a second time while we are out there I’ll give her another treat. Too smart that one. Got to get better right? Best of lucky with your little bundle of fun.
I got Odin at eight weeks and it didn’t take long for me to realize that petting him was a trigger for him biting. It was several weeks before I could give him a pat on the head without getting gnawed on. Your Tayla’s feelings won’t be hurt if you’re not petting her, so give her some time to work out the bitey phase. As for the stealing, it can be a nightmare! I started keeping a 6 foot lead on Odin so when he grabs something I can step on the lead to get the object away from him without playing chase. If I have to do something which takes my attention from him, I can loop the lead on a doorknob to restrict his movements for a few minutes.
Hi. Our Black Lab is 4 1/2 years old now but the best technique for us was for ANY mouthing, we screeched as if hurt us and withdrew from play. If was extremely over excited then used ‘time out’. As mentioned in a previous reply, she was put in her own area and left until calm. Over the years, if she has ever caught my hand etc in play, she has instantly realised and I may get connection with teeth but has never created a cut.
