hi we got a puppy at 8 weeks, shes 5 more 6 months now. shes always been crazy biting and lunging at our faces constantly viscous and snapping and it will come out of nowhere hal the time shes so sweet and wants to cuddle. shes really really viscous we give her so much love but i feel like we didnt train enough even tho im confused what else i could of done. she just went on a rampage there because i tried to put her out the back, im feeling quite hopless is this normal at this age what can i do to stop it ive honestly tried everything. my mother has bad mood swings bipolarism and anger and it was ok again but whenever the dog is bold she acts out on me because i wanted to get her... its affecting me also.... were a huge dog family and treat them like babies our jack russell we had 15 years died a year and a half ago so big dogs are new to us
Hi and welcome . The behaviour you describe is very typical of a young exuberant Labrador, but I would also think she might be acting like this out of boredom ? Labs are very clever dog , easily trained and love to learn, they soak it up like little sponges , plus training does tire them out, mental tiredness being just as good as physical exercise ! I would suggest you try a local training class with her ? Its not too late to start and honestly, it would do her ( and you ) the world of good as she needs some direction in her life , good luck x
Also , have a look at some of the pinned articles on this section , lots of advice and maybe you could buy Pippas book , she is the editor of this site , its called The Happy Puppy Handbook , lots and lots of help in there, you can buy it from Amazon .
Hi @michaela12345 , welcome to the Forum from me in the UK, and my black Lab, Cassie who is 21 months old. I agree with Kate above that it is very normal for a lively young Lab with plenty of mental and physical energy to deal with! I too have had lots of dogs over the years but Cassie is my first Lab, and what a shock I had with the crocopup behaviour. I agree they look and sound aggressive but it's all play, it was with Cassie anyhow, if you relate it to how they play with other dogs it doesn't seem so bad. Obviously they need to learn it's not ok to do this to humans. If as Kate suggested you look on the pinned articles you will find all sorts of things you can do. And things like putting some kibble in a box or carton stuffed with paper or something gives them mental exercise because they have to work their bright little brains to get it! Does cause a mess for a while, but it makes them happy!
Hi and welcome. You've already had some good suggestions above. Labrador puppies are very energetic and need mental stimulation as well as physical exercise, but also need 'time out' when they get a bit crazy! It will all calm down eventually, but can take a while. Let us know how you get on.
Yes, it’s very normal Lab puppy behaviour. Anyone who says different has not had a Lab puppy! She will grow out of it, meanwhile you need to manage the pup. Use baby gates and chew toys. The biting and growling is all play. Have a puppy toy on every shelf and in every pocket to put in her mouth. You need to be more determined than she is that the toy will go in her mouth instead of your hand - and that’s very determined! Wear skinny jeans and tight sleeves. With Mollie, one of my pups, I even wore wellies in the house for a while! Here is the best advice. I have a pup every year and go back to it every single time - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ .
As everyone has said, absolutely normal behaviour for a lab pup. Harley has always been great at staying in her play pen, so at that age if she was over the top she would go in her play pen with a kong to chew. She LOVED searching for her treats in the house, that gave us a mentally tired pup. Harley definitely needs her mind to be worked as well as her body. And toys also worked very well for us, we still have them everywhere.
I wonder also if the puppy is picking up on tension in the house? How do you and your family deal with her when she’s behaving like this?
That is a very good point @snowbunny beyond the normal lab silliness and energy I have found Harley to be VERY sensitive to our emotions and she DOES not like loud voices, even if it is on the TV. We are not a family that raises our voices often but trust me our oldest cat can get a saint to shout. He is hardly ever in the room when we want to admonish him so we do yell a few rooms over and Harley does not like it. So emotional outbursts could cause your pup to act out too, because of anxiety.
we try to stay no no biting if that doesnt work we say it more sternly if she continues lunging we give her time out for a minute
Pups don’t speak English or know why you are being ‘stern’. Time out works but only if your pup is overtired and in need of a snooze. If that’s the case then bed with a nice stuffed Kong is a good idea. Withdrawing attention works but needs to be done correctly and repeated often, very very often - nothing ‘works’ straight away. These things take weeks for pups to learn. You need to rethink your mindset. A pup isn’t a child. Pups need to be rewarded when they do the right thing (play/treats) and ignored when they do things you don’t want. They will never know ‘right from wrong’ only what works and what doesn’t. Here is another excellent article - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppy-training/
Withdrawing your attention when a puppy bites too hard is a good idea, but it needs to be immediate, not after several attempts. As Mags says, your puppy doesn't understand English, so "no no biting" is meaningless - you might as well be saying "apples and bananas". A minute is too long to ignore a small puppy for as a consequence; it will lose its meaning and effectiveness. What I do is, the second the puppy bites too hard, I silently stand up and remove my attention (even eye contact) for just a few seconds and then re-engage. Repeat ad infinitum. Being very clear about what is too hard and that that immediately ends play means your puppy will learn faster than if you try saying "no" the first time or two. Dogs don't understand a "warning system" like that, just action and consequence - and the consequence of removing your attention has to be immediate, not five or ten seconds later otherwise the puppy won't make the association with it being the bite. When you re-engage, there's a high chance that your puppy will bite again pretty soon, but that's OK, it just gives you another chance to teach her. So you might find that the first time you do this, you have to stand up ten times in the space of two minutes. But the next time, that might only be eight. She will get the message, you just have to keep in mind that this is a perfectly natural way of her interacting with you and it's us puny humans that are the ones who are messing things up by being so delicate and thin-skinned.
Yes it is, for a five month old pup who is over excited. Have a read of this thread - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/excited-puppy/ My Mollie was like this with bells on at five months old. She is now in Advanced training to become a guide dog. .
The finest dog I ever had did this as a juvenile. Time and careful handling helped and he became the most mellow well behaved individual. My last 2 did not do it at all. Just because you have not experienced something does not mean it's abnormal just that you've been lucky so far.
