Hello! My pup has pushed me to the point of tears today in sheer frustration so I'm hoping for some help Gus is 6 months old this weekend and is at home with me whilst I work. He is very well exercised and a healthy happy pup... BUT... we have an issue with biting hands and feet to the point of it almost being aggressive, you tell him off or try to distract him and he will show his teeth and snarl. Time out on his own seems to work for a brief time but its becoming less and less effective. We lost our older lab in Feb last year before Gus came along and I know that no two dogs are the same but I've never encountered this issue before. He will only do it with me, not my husband. I'm concerned it's becoming an aggressive trait rather than general mouthing or play. Your help would be very much appreciated. Rebecca
Hi Rebecca and Gus, welcome to the forum I'm sorry to hear you're struggling. I don't mind admitting that the puppy biting stage has reduced me to tears before as well - it's really tough! It's very unlikely that Gus is being aggressive - take a look at this article on our main site about puppy biting and when it stops. It's got lots of tips for how to discourage biting successfully, and links to other resources which might also help. Hang in there!
Hi Rebecca, I also have a labrador and she is 3 1/2 months old. Since the day we brought her home at 8 weeks old she has bit us drawing blood, not all her fault as we would pull or hands away and get cut on those baby teeth. She still has her baby teeth and still bites, rips clothing and will even lunge at times at our faces. If we try to hold onto her collar to stop her from doing something she will turn and bite us. We have tried yelping, walking over the baby gates, to giving her a time out. Had treats, toys, etc in our hands to try to get her to chew those instead. I am worried as we have young grandchildren who will be coming to stay over the summer and I don't want them to get hurt or end up being afraid of dogs. Help, Martha
Hi! I know it is so despairing and tiresome to constantly be scared of being bitten but please hang in there as your lab will eventually stop. I still have scars on my hand from when my pup drew blood 2 months ago but she will stop soon. The best way to prevent any injuries is to only allow your grandchildren to interact with your dogs with strict supervision and maybe use babygates to separate your dogs away from your grandchildren. I hope this helps!
There are so many threads on here about lab pups being crocopups! I posted a number of posts about my girl , she was extremely bitey for many months. She did stop eventually. It was hard to manage with her and upsetting as it hurts. I agree with keeping the young grandchildren and little pup apart and only interacting under supervision. Young kids in our family didn’t much like our girl at one point but now they enjoy her. Think managing the families expectations will help. Your pup is normal, it’s a difficult phase.
Yes they will be supervised under an eagle eye. I said my husband and I should have bought stock in band-aids, We would be sitting on a nest egg! This is our second full lab, we had a mix lab and golden for 14 years that we lost 2 years ago and I only remember her having a habit of jumping on us. She actually trained herself to keep a toy in her mouth and that would keep her from jumping. This little girl I have now is giving a run for our money.
