We just bought our black lab puppy, Hamilton, about a week and a half ago, when he was 7 weeks old. He was quite a bit larger than his sister, who was the last puppy out of the bunch, but we wanted a boy. He did a lot of play biting with her, but when she yelped he quit. We are a little bit worried about his biting. He seems to get riled up when we play and he goes crazy and bites everything, and pulls at clothes and shakes his head when he bites our clothes. We tried the "OUCH!" method which works a little bit, and we also bop him on the nose with 2 fingers and say, "NO BITING!". He will quite for a little bit, and then get crazy again and bite everything. Yesterday, my fiances mom watched him and he did fine (other than the possibly abnormal play biting) and when I got there I picked him up and was holding him and she went to touch his head and he growled and flailed in my arms until I got him to calm down. I am worried we got an aggressive puppy was he so much larger than his sister because he bullied the other pups for food? Any advice would help, please
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Hi there! Sounds like normal play biting to me. There are a lot of threads on this forum like this, if you search for "puppy biting" you will quickly find you are not alone! Probably the "nose bop" won't help much, you might find that it gets him more excited. Doing the yelping thing is good, and turning away and refusing to engage is also good. You can also use short "time outs" in his crate (if you have one) or another room to teach him that biting humans means play stops. He's just a wee baby yet, and learning, so be patient with him. I'm afraid you will have to put up with the "crocopup" as they are affectionately known here on the forum, it's very much the way they play and will continue for some months. Others will come along and give more coping strategies, I got my dog as a one year old rescue and my previous dog was 16 when he died so it's been a looong time since I have had to deal with puppy madness! Good luck and keep us posted, there are great people here who can help you. And also check out the Labrador main site for lots of great puppy training and behaviour articles.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! My Bailey was exactly the same. It seemed like aggression to me until I read through every biting topic on this forum and others. She would snap and snarl and basically throw a big tantrum that is supposed to scare you or initiate play time I think in their little minds. Swapping out a great chew toy or doing a quick lesson on sit or stay or lie down will help change the mindset. Timeouts can be effective. Bailey is five months now and just lately understands when I'm not happy with her. Anything I did like thumping her on the snout or grabbing her jowls only seemed to rile her more so we stopped that. With some gentle boundaries and redirection we got more results. I just want to tell you it will get better. I can so feel your pain. It seems like you have the snarliest, meanest puppy ever and then one day they just stop. I am sure we will revisit it for the "teenage" period I keep hearing about but we know it's coming so it makes it a bit easier to bear.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Totally normal Avoid nose bopping and instead go for removing yourself or else calmly putting him in a time out as the others have suggested. I know he seems like a crazy demon but it's just because he's a baby exploring the world via his mouth.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! I agree with everyone else. He is a totally normal puppy. Not aggressive at all just learning. Don't bop him on the nose that won't help as others said will probably escalate his behaviour. its not kind and he is only a little chap despite him being biggest of the the little. We found distraction worked with Meg give him something else to chew. Cardboard boxes and milk bottles were a favourite. Are you going to a puppy class ? That will reassure you that everyone is in the same boat. Have fun
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Welcome to the site They are not puppies - they are crazy crocodiles. Fear not, it stops at about 5 months ;D Here are lots f very helpful articles http://www.thelabradorsite.com/your-labrador-puppy-biting/
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Totally normal healthy puppy. Molly was the smallest of the litter and chewed away on anyone and anything she could get her nasty sharp little teeth into. I was surprised when my lovely Lab puppy turned out to be such a muncher. I reckon they are such gentle animals because they get it all out of them in the first few months. Don't worry. I would trust Molly's mouth anywhere now. A year ago I wouldn't have believed I would ever say that because she was a a biting machine then.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! It does get better, I promise. Rolo is 4 months and he has almost stopped. I found a great tip on this forum: 1. When he starts to bite too hard say No. 2. If it continues say "timeout". 3. If he carrys on put him in his crate (i use his old crate that is empty, no toys no bedding) the crate is in the same room as we are I say "Timeout Rolo no biting" 4. When he is calm again usually about 2 minutes let him out and force the issue, put your hands near his mouth if he bites again repeat the process. If he doesn't he gets lots of cuddles and fuss. I can honestly say 9 out of 10 times all I have to say is time out and he stops. This happened over a few days for us. Well worth the effort. My children don't do this whole process if he bites them they just stand up and turn round ignoring him, which he hates. I was like you I thought what am I doing wrong. Am I the only puppy owner with an aggressive pup? You really aren't and like I said it does get easier. Does your pup socialise with older dogs. They don't stand for it and can put them in their place better than us teaching them sometimes. I am no expert, Rolo is my first dog but with the great advice I have found on here I am able to cope with everything being a puppy owner throws at you.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Completely normal, not aggressive at all! Hang in there, and try not to get frustrated / angry with him (easier said than done, I know). Let off steam on this forum.... we can all compare the toothmarks stories while our puppies went through the crocodog phase. Without doubt we found the most effective 'scold' was to yelp and then turn away and ignore him completely. This includes not making any eye contact - we were amazed at what a difference eye contact made. He learned really fast that we did not enjoy playing the bitey game and just wouldn't do it. Also the towel game worked really well for us. An old bath towel was his very favourite chew toy, and we'd play 'toreadors' with it then wrap him up in it and have a tussle on the floor - which he really loved - but we could shove the towel in his mouth any time he went to nip! Also very good game to play when he came in from the garden wet and muddy - you end up with a clean pup and unharmed hands. Good luck.... it really does pass! Rosie
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! PS Welcome to the forum! I hope you find it as much of a life-saver as I did...
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Very normal, still have the scars to prove it, scratchy puppy nails also caused us a few bleeding incidents, all in play no aggression but yes it hurts at the time.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Yes, honestly it will end by the time he's about 4 or 5 months old. I was going through it this time last year and felt really fed up with bleeding hands! I'd had a Lab previously from a puppy, but as they age you forget all these early traumas. Try to walk away rather than tap on the nose - you want your puppy to be happy with being touched on the head, so he needs to know that hands reaching out always mean good things.
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Welcome to the forum.l see you've had a few people stop but to comment already so I'll just say hi from Dexter and I...he's our 2 year old yellow boy,love Hamilton's name x
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! The worst ever crocapup I have ever met was a Guide Dog puppy - her puppy walker was bitten, scratched and bleeding every time I met him! Of course, she's grown up to be the steadiest, gentlest dog on the planet! ;D ;D
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Thank goodness it's normal the growling was really what worried me the most. Last night he bit me hard and I did a pretty darn good impression of a puppy yelp, and Hamilton stopped immediately and started licking the spot he had bit ;D I think I will try the ignore method as well. I have read many other sites that have said growling in a puppy is a no no! I will stick to this forum . I also forgot to mention that he has already humped me! Hes like 8 1/2 weeks old...how the heck does he know how to do that already!?
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! [quote author=Libamajig123 link=topic=8761.msg124247#msg124247 date=1416077599] Thank goodness it's normal the growling was really what worried me the most. Last night he bit me hard and I did a pretty darn good impression of a puppy yelp, and Hamilton stopped immediately and started licking the spot he had bit ;D I think I will try the ignore method as well. [/quote] Awwww, bless him! I used all sorts of methods with Tatze, depending on how badly she was biting!
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! And thanks so much for all the comments! It definitely reassured me that we didn't purchase a possessed puppy hehe Other than the biting, he is already letting us know when he needs to go out, he sits on command, and will fetch (but not quite give the ball up yet)! I am surprised how easily he is picking things up!
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Dogs (and puppies!) hump things (cushions, people, dogs, toys) out of excitement, as an invitation to play, as an outlet for energy.... When they're older it can be a sexual thing too but even with adult dogs it's mostly a play or energy outlet thing (eg my dog often humps a particular cushion when he's a bit bored, has spare energy, and is looking for something to do). In a puppy I'd definitely say it's a play/excitement thing. Nothing to worry about, but that doesn't mean you need to just let him do it if it's a behaviour you don't want! I'd approach it in a similar way to the biting - remove your attention (walk away), use a time out if you need to, or distract and redirect to a game with a toy. Honestly, your boy sounds totally normal They do keep us on our toes though!
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Ok. We were playing an intense game of fetch when he did it. Thanks, Oberon!
Re: Normal puppy, or aggressive puppy?! Willow humps her meerkat toy when she's excited and has done since she was 8 weeks. I thought it was just a boy thing, but clearly not
