Desperate for help hoping this site is just what we need Reggie our chocolate 13 weeks old puppy is turning into a nitemare typical day starts at 3.10 early hours when Reggie is in his crate sleeping and wants to be out for potty outside in our garden then he will go bk in crate till 6.10 when he wants to be out again ..he will then go bk in crate till 7.00 when he is then fed then its play time till 9.00 he is kept in the kitchen because he was just peeing all over our living room ...he's bk out at 10 and took for a walk and play then bk in crate till dinner time at 12.30 more play then crate till 2.00 then another walk and bk in crate till 3.30 ...the whole house is bk in after this time where he gets a lot of attention and play tea time is at 4 and then crate till 5.15 then off for his last walk each walk about 20 mins...from 6 till 8.30 he is a nitemare barking biting chewing weeing everywhere and getting very aggressive ...don't know what were doing wrong but I'm feeling desperate with the peeing everywhere barking all the time and the aggression is his routine all wrong he was bought as a pet for my son who loves him to bits but is now starting to fear him as well ???? Pls help
Hi juliacarr and welcome to the forum. I've moved your post to a new thread because you're more likely to get better replies this way.
Hi! Welcome from me and my 9 month old girl Ella. From what you've described, it sounds like Reggie is a typical lab puppy! That nightmare crazy period is very common so you are definitely not alone! You might find distraction to be the best option so perhaps some little training sessions during these crazy periods will help Reggie to focus on something constructive and will tire him out too! I didn't crate train Ella so I can't comment on that but I'm sure other members will be along soon.
Take him outside every 30 minutes to ensure he pee's outside, make a huge fuss of him and give him treats when he does potty outside, I know it feels like a losing battle at times, but it will click I promise. Don't let him out of your sight though, and make sure you have good cleaner. Just remember he's not aggressive though, he's just a mouthy puppy who hasn't learned the rules yet. No attention for biting, get up and walk away from him, or give him time outs. I think it's harder for people with kids to do this, but it will work, I'm not sure how old your boy is, but maybe old enough to understand rough play equals bitey pup. He sounds like he could be more mouthy when he's tired too. Jake was so mouthy to begin with, there's only myself and my hubby in our house so he picked up quickly not to bite, but he still nibbles when he gets tired, he's 18 weeks now, so there is hope. And welcome
I'm not a licensed psychologist but I'm wondering if your lab isn't competing for attention with your son. Who is the pack leader in your house? If not your son then I'd examine that more closely. If you brought your pup home at 7,8 weeks it shouldn't be peeing inside as often as you say and it could simply be an attention grabber. How you react to accidents could also be a contributing factor. He's clearly getting enough exercise. Sounds like your household is stressed. Maybe consider a professional trainer. With a few exceptions a 13 week old pup should be crate sleeping at night for 8 hours easy. Must be hard. re: biting -- that's tough but our household adopted the three "D"s in that regard: deny, deter, distract. This is one area I would not use food treats as a training method. It will make him more excited IMO. Good luck.
Hello from 2 year old Molly and me. The first thing to be said is that Reggie is a normal 13 week old puppy. His biting is not agression, though that doesn't,make it any less painful and unpleasant. He is just a baby and babies learn through their mouths. When Molly was Reggie's age my hands were covered with fresh blood, and scabs it various stages of healing. I, like you was in despair, nothing I tried worked. She grew out of it at about 18 - 20 weeks. She learnt bite inhibition during that awful period, an essential skill for a large dog with big teeth and powerful jaws. Today I would trust her mouth anywhere. The advice you have been given on toilet training is spot on. I know it is difficult to remember to take him out every 20 minutes of so, and to find the time to do so, but dedication pays off. Molly was about Reggie's age this time two years ago. I remember standing in a cold, dark garden pleading with a little,furry scrap to pee when all she wanted to do was chase leaves etc. You might find it helps to give him the majority of his food in filled and frozen Kongs and other toys. Make him work for his food. He will enjoy it and it will give you some peace. The early waking is a real pain, it is a question of his maturity. It feels like it will never end and you long for your old life back, but like many things it does pass. You can teach him some simple commands like sit, give paw and many others. Involve your son in this. I always teach a verbal command and a hand gesture. Kids love this. It is quite a sight seeing a four year old waving her hands imperiously at a dog while telling her to "sit".
Hi Julia, and a warm welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are having a tough time. But Reggie sounds like a totally normal puppy. It we had a £1 for every post like this, we would be rich by now. He is still very much a baby and will still be learning for a long while yet. Just like children, some pups are potty trained quickly, some take a lot longer. 13 weeks is still so little. I agree that you need to take him out every 20 to 30 mins and reward him fantastically with 2 or 3 REALLY tasty treats when he toilets outside. If he wees or poops inside, take him outside quietly, try not to make a fuss, and make sure you are cleaning up any accidents with a non-ammonia solution such as simple solution. I wish my pup had slept overnight for 8 hours at 13 weeks - I think you will find that more don't than do. For toileting overnight, there are different approaches, and several threads about this on the forum and on the lab site. The biting can be really awful and is always worse when your pup is tired, so time outs are good, but try not to use a crate as a "punishment" It should be a good place to be. Do you have Pippa Mattinson's Happy Puppy Handbook - an essential read in my opinion, which will help you with all these problems. Stick with it. It gets better, it really does. jac
This post might make you feel better (and that Reggie is NORMAL!) http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n.../1785-puppy-problems-will-things-ever-improve And this post from Pippa gives you links to lots of the website resources http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...dor-puppies/1257-puppy-training-care-articles
Hi and welcome to the forum. There's some great advice already given for regular trip to the garden and having a perfectly normal Labrador puppy. Your puppy is still very much a baby, he is nor competing for attention with your son, nor is he challenging to be pack leader, you are his human family and he will gradually learn through your positive reinforcement training what behaviours ate or ate not acceptable. Praise and reward the good, ignore the bad - much the same as raising a human baby but without any common language.
Thanku everyone on the nice warm welcome ...your advice means a lot and so far today hasn't been so stressful trying the every twenty minutes bathroom breaks and so far only one accident ...as for the barking I'm trying to turn away and ignore but it just seems to get louder but il keep trying ...thanku everyone
Good advice here Julia , and welcome from me too I`m afraid I don't go with the pack leader theory at all , he is just being a very normal puppy, keep the faith , he will improve with lots of praise and treats for good behaviour, good luck
Hi Julia and welcome again. You've been given great advice above. You just need to keep taking him out a lot more regularly. He's a little baby and just can't hold his bladder long. He may also get distracted partway through and so need to go again almost immediately. He will get it with time and patience. The ideas of "pack leader" are outdated and have been debunked, so don't succumb to articles that suggest things like that. Louder barking is actually good!! This is something I learnt from Oberon on this forum. When a dog's behaviour intensifies through being ignored, it's called an "extinction burst". It means he's trying something that's worked before, but because it's not working now, he'll try harder. This happens just before he decides that the behaviour isn't working any more and tries something else. Teaching him a default "please" behaviour might help you. My two sit down to "ask" for something they want, whether that's their dinner, a treat, a ball, being let out of their crate, being let off the lead... Good luck and let us know how you get on with your little man (with pictures.... hint hint)
Jura at 13 weeks was very vocal, and barked for attention a lot. Thankfully this didn't last long and it does get better, but takes a wee bit of time and perseverance, making sure that he doesn't get rewarded with any attention for barking and lots of praise for the good behaviour. Jura also did not sleep through the night in her crate at 13 weeks and we were still letting her out once. It is tiring but again it doesn't last long and I think she was fine for 8 hours at night by 4 months. Reggie sounds like a lovely and very normal Labrador puppy!
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Welcome! Our boy is now three years old and curled up next to me and will be for the rest of the evening - life gets better! He was a whirlwind in the evenings, we could almost set our watches to the time. He'd have attention, walks, a bit of training and quiet time regularly throughout the day then just as we wanted to settle for the evening in front of the TV he'd start....... Running around, jumping, nipping, shaking his toys, the carpet would end up in a pile the opposite end of the room, then eventually amongst the mayhem he caused would suddenly flop down fast asleep. It slowly got a bit better until he was about 9 months old - then he was a bit manic all the time!
Hi and welcome, it does get better honestly. I had shoulder surgery when our pup was 11 weeks old and had just started the crocopup phase. With only the use of one arm (the one he would grab hold of via my fleece top), I found I was becoming his tug toy and boy did it hurt. I found timeout helped and he did grow out of it at around 4 months old. He's now 7 months old and it's a whole new ball game . Lots of short training sessions too help. Dominance doesn't work IMO, it actually made matters worse when I tried it.
Hi, You have been given a lot of advise... I would like to drop in with another type of advise. When I read your story one thing struck me. You give him his food and after that let him play. I would suggest to let him play and after that right back in his crate to let him digest the food properly. It is better for his tummy. So when you pick him out of his crate let him out to do a whee or whatever, let him play with you, give him attention and let him have his food. Then right of to bed and sleep it out. It is just like you do with little baby's. You put them to bed after they have had their bottle.... Annemarie
Oh yes, this is important for adult dogs too. I separate mine after meals for an hour for them to snooze and to give them time to digest their meals. Dogs shouldn't exercise after food - it can give them bloat, which is very serious. http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/gastric-volvulus-bloat-dogs
