I find dinner time is the worst, he's like the energizer bunny and gets the "zoomies". Yesterday when I was trying to sort through some tax papers after work, I gave him an amazon box that came that day...made quite a mess but I got my 20 minutes to concentrate and he got a free toy. : )
I usually plan a good session of tug in the yard with Gracie in the evening after her last meal....it's a good time to let her get all the wiggles out...and then she will settle in for the night. Also... cardboard is awesome for puppies entertainment! Old magazines too...sure you have to clean up the shreds...but it's better than shoes...backpack straps...cords...and that sort of thing!
I also found lick mats calmed him and although some of this existed with my other dogs, I didn't need it. I was told if I freeze or slightly freeze the food on it, it will last longer but I do see a calming aspect to it.
I usually plan a good session of tug in the yard with Gracie in the evening after her last meal....it's a good time to let her get all the wiggles out...and then she will settle in for the night. install vidmate get-mobdroapk.com
I don’t have much to add but I feel your pain. I have a 12.5 week old lab and I was ready to send her back the first week. We had also just about cracked biting but she’s getting worse again. My tactic is to not react at all (easier said than done, I find the biting the top of my feet particularly painful) and if she doesn’t calm down and stop she goes in the garden (she’s often especially bitey when she needs a poo) and then in her crate. I do give her frozen celery to chew as well which she loves. Doing some basic training also helps to tire out their brains.
Hello, we went through similar with our puppy when we first got him. He is now 5 months and doing well. Personally I found that he was often nipping at me because he wanted cuddles. I didn’t realise but I was moving around all the time and not stopping to give him the love he was craving. Also the mouthing was worse when he was tired. We set up a play area with a cosy crate inside and some toys which allowed us both to get rest and really helped. We usually keep the crate door open so he can come and go but I have since done crate training and he is happy to stay in there with the door closed for an hour now. I do this when he needs a nap because otherwise he will stay awake as I am doing things around the house.
Oh and the other thing I did was keep a toy in my pocket at all times to give him something to chew instead of me!
hi We felt like that for first few weeks of puppy coming into our lives. The tiredness led to me and my husband grumpy and snapping at each other but it will get better. Consistency with training is key and ignoring any bad behaviours. If the dog bites, move away and ignore. Try interactive toys like kongs, snuffle mats and I haven’t tried but know some people put teething toys in fridge
Hi MonicaPetrea I was wondering whether you had started to find things better and if so at how many weeks? This is week 2 of us having our little yellow lab (she is nearly 12 weeks) and I am finding it really, really tough. She's so good in many ways (sleeps through the night, rarely has an accident inside etc), but I'm finding the constant play and focus completely overwhelming and all the jumping up and biting. I spend all my days now saying 'no' 'down' and 'leave it' to absolutely no effect. I know this is what puppies are like I'm just struggling as most days I'm on my own whilst also trying to get some work done. I feel incredibly guilty as my husband and I really wanted a dog (we both grew up with them). I could never give her up and we really love her, it's just so so hard every day and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel at the moment
@Gelsyone don’t worry these behaviours will pass fairly quickly. Ours was the same but is a different pup now at 5 months of age. He’s still a little ball of energy but doesn’t nip at us anymore and the jumping is under control. He also stopped destroying everything and focuses on his toys now. We were also concerned but our expectations were too high for his age, they just need to grow out of it. Hang in there! You’ll notice major improvements in a few weeks from now.
Thank you @Felix that is really reassuring. A puppy trainer has told us that we should not bother saying 'no' and should simply make being on the floor the most exciting thing ever (rather than the fun she clearly gets from jumping on the sofa, ottoman etc). Have you found it is ever 'appropriate' to try and teach a 'no'? All our training is reinforcement based, but my mum keeps saying we do also need to make clear if something is wrong and then crate her.... I have no idea which school of thought is most effective/ fairest. Have you found anything specifically working for you?
I have a thirteen week old puppy and she has now learned how not to bite hard. When she started I would gently tap her on the nose and say, “no bite!” in a louder tone. She does occasionally get carried away and those little needle teeth will get me but it’s now to the point where all I have to say is, “no bite!” and no longer have to tap her nose. She does continue to play with a soft bite now. It might help your situation.
No proplem! Most of our training is based on positive reinforcement but we do use a balanced approach. However we never use the crate as a punishment, we want the crate to be an awesome place he loves. I think it’s fine to use “no”, it’s similar to “off” or “leave it” really, but we use the last two much more often and reinforce it with treats. Little tip, we found the best way to keep our sanity was using frozen Kongs or Topples for every meal. We use 3 Topples that we prepare and freeze every night. So every meal we know he’ll be busy for 30-45 minutes and this gives us some more time to shower, have a coffee, vacuum etc.
