Oberon, thank you for the welcome! I don't feel very calm and patient and do a lot of crying LOL So hard after having an 11 year old who had grown to be perfect and forgetting what puppies are like. We lost our Maggie to seizures in February and it was a big decision to go with a puppy as opposed to an older dog. I wouldn't trade Cornelia and all the trials and tribulations of puppydom in a million years though, and we will get through it! Inside all that biting and chewing and occassional growling is a wonderful dog....and everyone that meets her thinks she's fabulous. It will eventually come through full time LOL
Hi Cornelia's Mommy, I'm finding this forum a life saver at the moment, and spend a lot of time reading through previous posts. It's so nice to know it is not just me, and it is all completely normal puppy behaviour. We have Jura, who is 12 weeks old today, and we are going through some good and bad days to put it mildly! I love her to pieces and don't regret our decision to get her at all, but at times I have been tearing my hair out. Thankfully at the moment she has flicked into best behaviour mode - no idea why and I'm sure it's only temporary but it is nice to have a breather!
What a lovely name Cornelia is! We have 8 week old Twiglet - yesterday was exhausting! It rained all day and she hates being outside in the rain. No sooner did we get back inside than she weed on the floor - every single time! Today is better - no rain, thank goodness, and all wees outside so far, phew.
Cornelia's Mommy, you do sound more calm than the average puppy owner (not a criticism of the average puppy owner!) but there is no shame in having a good old cry about it nonetheless! Cornelia really does sound like a puppy who is going to grow into the most wonderful dog
Ive found this thread so helpful - wanted just to post that we have had Murphy for 3 week and 4 days now. Honestly about 3 days in I was a mess! Crying, wondering what we'd done, everytime he barked or murmered I jumped as my nerves were shot! But somewhere, persistence, consistency and plain old ploddin on is paying off - Little Murphy is 12 weeks old today and turning into a marvellous dog - he has stopped jumping up at the children, his mouthing has massively reduced (and is very soft when he does mouth) and he is really good, and (amazingly) dry in the house which I am thrilled about! After a couple f days I was googling "puppy blues" - but hinestly it does get better and I wouldnt be without him for the world now!!
Thank you all for the nice welcome! It's so great to find a place to compare notes and understand our labs! I have had dogs for the last 35 years, but this is my first purebred lab. As I said it has been 11 years since I have had a puppy and always had multiple dogs so they would teach each other. So this has been an interesting experience trying to remember what it's like and still grieving my lab/rott. Cornelia is my life...I am with her 24/7 here at home, and she travels with me. Her name is very special, she is named after the wife of Louis D. Gordon who was the mining mogul of a California mining town now turned privately owned ghost town where I am a part time caretaker, historian and author of two books about it. We say we have two Cornelia's...Good Cornelia and her twin Evil Cornelia...depending on the time of day and her attitude But she has enriched our lives so much, and helped fill the void of losing our Maggie.
I feel exactly the same way. My last dog was also named Maggie, a yellow Lab we lost this past January. The years go way too fast, don't they?! She, too, was the "perfect" dog, and the transition from well-behaved dog to naughty little puppy was overwhelming. I know that your little Cornelia and my little Birdie will grow up to be wonderful dogs, enriching our lives in a way that only dogs are able to do. And one day we'll both look back and wonder how the years went so fast yet again. Training a puppy is a lot of work, but the rewards do come. Hang in there. Cornelia will become a fine dog!
Haha that's exactly how I found this forum, and am I ever glad I did. It's so reassuring to know we aren't alone, and that things do get better. I'm happy to hear how things have improved with Murphy!
Thank you Oberon and MaccieD! Everyone here has helped so much. I may have lost my sanity for good without the encouragement and sound advice I found here.
Just another day with Cornelia. We did a short morning walk before it got too hot, then we played in the shade of our backyard. I needed to get somethings done, and there's a nice breeze so I put her in her kennel area which is shaded by both a large eucalyptus tree and some shade cloth. She has a dog house there inside a shed that she finds cool, also. She can dig to her hearts content along one side of the kennel, and she has some chew and play toys to keep her occupied. When I get done with the chores, I bring her inside the family room which is her domain. She is being Good Cornelia and picks a squeaky ball and a bully stick to keep her occupied between running around the room. I grab my chance to sit and read in a rocker in the corner of the room watching her out of the corner of my eyes, thinking how much I love this 5 month old pup. I also am thinking how much I miss my Maggie, and have both sad and happy tears in my eyes. Things are going peacefully. We have a cat toy that belongs to my four cats, but Cornelia loves also. It's a plastic track with a mouse on a wire that the cats can bat and try to catch but never do. Cornelia can play with thing forever. It's blissful...the dog is playing for long minutes with this catch the mouse toy I'm actually able to read 4 pages of my 900 page novel and still enjoy Cornelia's antics. Unheard of around here. Then suddenly Cornelia is barking and jumping on this plastic toy, upset that she can't catch that mouse. The carpet catches her attention, and she starts nipping at it....stopping immediately as I yell at her. I put my book down to grab something new for her to play with. She circles me and barks, and jumps, jaws opening and closing in the air as she does so, eventually finding the back of my leg. I yell "ouch" because indeed it does hurt, and hope she will stop. She pauses for a moment and starts again. I turn my back to her, but she doesn't care. I manage to grab her and put her in her nearby crate with a chew toy and leave the room to decompress. How quickly she turns to evil Cornelia. Thanks to her mouth half full of adult teeth now, no blood was drawn but I have a nice little bruise on the back of my thigh. And that's life with Cornelia. Deep breaths... we will get through this stage....and I'm wiping tears of frustration from eyes as I type this.
Oh and did i mention she grabbed my book? LOL It has teeth marks on the corner of about 25 pages, but she relinquished it without harming it or me any more than that. So how did everyone elses day go?
Oh goodness - hang in there, I promise you it will get better and one day Evil Cornelia will be a distant dream...
Karen, yes I am sure we will be laughing about Evil Cornelia in a few years or so LOL Cornelia was wired this morning, but then I was in a bad mood and I am sure she fed off of it. I finally put her in her crate, took a deep breath, and left her till I felt a little better. Once we were both calm we worked on her commands, then I took her for a walk, and now she is playing nicely with her squeaky toy and her furry purple bunny in the family room around the corner from my office. Hopefully we can both remain in a good mood the rest of the day.
Hah, Evil Cornelia When Willow was going through this phase, we called her "alter ego" Evil Edna. It comes from a very old kids' cartoon show in the UK called Willo The Wisp. It seemed very appropriate. Here is Evil Edna from the show: And here is our little version: And pretending that butter wouldn't melt:
Welcome Cornelia and her mummy . Just catching up with this thread. Gorgeous name too. I named Mabel after Princess Mabel of the Netherlands, also because the name means loving and beautiful. When she arrived at 9 weeks old I was so excited but I can remember by day 3 I was sobbing. All the nipping and biting. Outside to the toilet every 45 minutes at the beginning of February which is so miserable in England. Then I thought she didn't like me. . I can relate to so many of these posts. In 2 weeks time she will be 8 months all those early puppy trials and tribulations are a distant memory. In fact I've probably cried more over my puppy than my 3 grown up children. I wouldn't be without her for the world, or my children
Hello fellas, I've just gotten this Yellow lab from my local shelter when it was 11 weeks old and it was great. We did have some problem with house training, but its getting better since he found his "spot" in our lawn. I've never had a dog before and I really need your help, we have had it for a week now and when she gets over-excited when playing with her toy she will get bored and start biting us really hard. Sometimes she will even bark and bite us for no reason. Also when there is children over playing with it, all the sudden it escalates and she get over exicted so the kids run but the dog chases them and bites them in there leg. Every day he is getting faster, bigger and stronger. I urgently need your help or I will be force to surrender it. I know he isn't aggressive but he makes children bleed and me aswell. Thank you
Hello SaulMar, This is completely normal puppy behavior, especially when they are excited. Bite inhibition is something they begin to learn while they are still with their mother and littermates, but the process is not complete until they are a few months older. Your puppy is still young and needs to be trained how to properly interact with you. Excitement is usually what exacerbates the problem. When you see that your puppy is starting to become overexcited, end the play. Whenever your puppy nips, use the 10-second rule -- say "ouch" like you mean it (don't scare, just make sure you are heard), stand up, fold your arms, and turn away for 10 seconds. Don't continue play until your puppy becomes calmer. It's also a good idea to not play any tug-o-war games at this age, as that only increases excitement and puts your hands in a position where they become a part of the toy. You also shouldn't be playing any "come chase me" sort of games as that will surely encourage nipping, too. Your puppy will grow out of this, as I can say from recent experience and from reading all of the testimonials here. My puppy Birdie was a little piranha when I first got her at 8 weeks, and through weeks of training, and waiting for her to grow up a little more, I can happily say that as she is now entering month 5 she has stopped all nipping at hands, legs, and clothing. She will get a little grabby if she is excited, but it's nothing at all like it was in the beginning. Through training, do remember that gentle biting is ok. You'll know it when you feel it -- the mouth will close around your hand, but there is no intensity to the bite. You'll even feel your puppy easing up. Don't encourage this kind of biting, but when it happens don't discourage it, either. Just gently hand your puppy a toy or a chew in its place and praise her when she gently takes it. It's difficult getting through this phase with children, but hopefully you can teach them the 10-second rule and also the rules of appropriate play. Also, try to exercise your puppy before you play. This will drain a lot of her energy so the excitement won't be at such a high level during play time. Please don't give up. If this is the only issue you are having you are truly blessed!
