Mason nearly 10 weeks old. Since last night and the last half hour he has been trying to bite me and my clothes. I make a sound psst and move him away. I give him something suitable to chew and I am consistent but I would like to know why is this happening as my husband said if it continues he has to. I have also used pet behaviour spray on my clothes and he has been toilets and fed and now... Asleep
Hi Emma this is perfectly normal puppy behaviour. It should not be punished, as you are more likely to make him uncertain and scared of you, which can lead to aggressive tendencies down the line. Right now, he's not aggressive, he's just playing and discovering the world in the way that puppies do - with his mouth. You just have to kindly and gently train him to chew his toys and to play with you in other ways. I recommend reading this section of the website "cover to cover": https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies/ This thread will also show you you're not alone: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/puppy-problems-will-things-ever-improve.1680/
Hi @EmmaHughes , Mason is just being a normal puppy, trying to play with you as he would his litter mates. It seems Labs take this bitey - ness to a whole other level. I think you are doing the right thing giving him something else to chew, but be careful with noises and moving away as he may well see this as part of the game. Try to wear clothes that are not too loose so he isn't so tempted to grab them, and that won't matter too much if they get ruined. Looking back I think I wore the same holey jumper for months when Cassie, now 17 months was tiny . It will stop eventually. I'm sure others will be along with advice.
Thank you selina27, I see not moving away? Gosh he just bites down harder and growls which I don't like.
Growling at this stage is just part of play. Don't worry about that. He's just having fun! I realise you're not, and this stage can be very tedious, but he will grow out of it in time. In the meantime, distracting him with a toy can work for some puppies. I proactively train "not biting". I have to go walk my dogs now, but I'll try to dig out the explanation of my method when I get back, unless someone else does in the meantime. I think @Boogie had it saved somewhere - and, as someone who raises puppies for Guide Dogs, she also has a wealth of puppy experience
It's just play you have to be stoical he's doing it because he's a puppy he doesn't hate you in fact he likes you that's why he trying to play. He doesnt yet understand what type of play is appropriate for humans. All of us experienced this type of thing to varingng degrees. Growling and barking are just forms of communication not necessary bad. Play growls are very different than the real things.you will get used to and find way to distract him. It will fade as he gets older.
All is play. If you watch two pups playing everything is done with teeth. It takes them time to discover humans can't play in this way. By around six months old they stop the mouthing and biting, in the mean time you need to be very patient and train well. Wear skinny jeans and tight sleeves. I even needed to wear wellies indoors with one of mine! Here is @snowbunny 's excellent advice - Be absolutely consistent. If your puppy is over-tired, just pop him in his crate as you have no chance of teaching him anything when he's manic. For normal puppy biting, I actually set up training opportunities rather than simply reacting to it when it happens. Training sessions allow repetition and so aid learning. With my first puppy, Willow, I used a method where I'd sit on the floor playing with her and the instant she bit too hard, I'd stand up, cross my arms and withdraw attention. No words, no eye contact, just silence. Just for a few seconds and then I'd give her another chance to play nicely, with lots of vocal praise while she was doing so. If you try this and you're not flexible, you may find it easier to sit on a low stool while you play - the key is standing up immediately the puppy bites too hard. If it takes you a few seconds to get up, they'll lose that connection between behaviour and consequence. Willow was an easy puppy, though. She never bit my legs or my clothing. Then there's my boy, Shadow, who never bit once - we brought him home at 14 weeks. Then, Luna came along. My little whirling dervish. I'm not saying she was awful, because there are far worse pups, but she was far worse than Willow. The method I used before would have her biting my calves and jumping up to grab at any part of me she could reach. I tried the advice of stepping out of her pen, but that's easier said than done when you have a puppy's teeth embedded in your leg! So, I came up with a method of playing with her inside her crate. I'd pop her in and play with her through the open door. The second she bit hard, I'd close the door and ignore her for just a couple of seconds. It's far easier to pull your hand through a door of a crate than it is to step over a gate or partition. After that briefest of pauses, I'd start playing again. You have to be really careful that you're not associating the crate with a punishment, so it must be literally a couple of seconds of separation, and lots more time spent playing in the crate. But I found that she very quickly learnt, using this method, how hard was too hard, that biting resulted in the game ending, and she tempered her play biting outside of the crate, too - except when she was manic from being over-tired. I did a few sessions a day of a couple of minutes each time until she got the idea, which only took a couple of weeks. Now she's five and a half months and almost never bites anymore. .
Thank you snow bunny I'm feeling a little bit better but he has started again so will continue to be consistent
Here is a very short clip of Keir and Echo playing. You can see how much they use their teeth! Even at this age (16 weeks) they have lots of subtle signals to let each other know when the bite is getting too hard - and signals when to start and stop. Human body language is very poor compared to dogs and our skin is thin! Pups try to play with us as they would each other - biting, growling, barking - all is play but they need to learn that humans play in a very different way, but can still be fun!
@EmmaHughes, I know this stage feels neverending and awful. My fear with this stage was that Harley was going to be like this forever, or that I would be teaching her to bite by not "punishing her" and putting a stop to the biting. Unfortunately this fear and belief came from a lack of knowledge on my part and what commercially was being advocated. Luckily, like you, I found this forum and despite what I had been fed by commercial tv and media positive training just made sense to me. We had a child's play pen for Harley from the start and popping her in there when she became too bitey really helped. She would not like it because she wanted to carry on playing! But she would quickly settle and chew on a kong or something appropriate, and then usually have a sleep. As far as distracting her with a toy, and I don't know how everyone else will feel about this, I found that she was difficult to distract because I was a living, moving, yelping toy. So I used squeaky toys to distract her. She still loves squeaky toys. I had to realise that at a young age puppies enjoy rumbunctious play. It is normal. It is highly unlikely allowing her to play with a toy that squeaks will lead her to becoming aggressive or more bitey. And I can honestly say for Harley, she is just lovely with a soft and gentle mouth. At this stage it is very difficult to trust that this puppy will get calmer and turn into the awesome labradors you see other people own. But keep going. It does get better. Good luck.
Thank you I just started two days ago putting him in his crate for a minute or so whilst biting but I don't always remember as I hope he will stop. I do have a squeaky toy so I will have that to hand. Thank you
Hi everyone Penny is now 19wks ..the past week has been tough..i think her mouth must be hurting as the chewing is relentless ..she has rubber ..rope and kong chews but these dont help her most times. I am trying to direct her away from myself when she constantly wants to demolish my flesh and bone by alwats having her toys at the ready. I already have new teeth marks this morning and it really hurts when she goes for it. I know this is the worst time for her between loosing her baby teeth and her adult ones coming in so i am trying to be patient. Any advice on chews for a puppy her age..i feel she needs something like the edible tough chews but dont know if she is old enough. Thanks in advance
Sounds like she is teething bless her...do you freeze her kongs? Try plaiting or knotting an old tea towel and freezing, you could tuck bits of kibble in. Also, have you heard of snuffle mats? A great way to keep puppies entertained. You can make them yourself, although I am not much of a hobbyist I am afraid... https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/453...ffling-food-mat?ref=pla_similar_listing_top-3
Thank you for pre warning me as I have a 11 week old male lab and I agree it's not nice and it can hurt and you are doing the right thing as I too do similar things to you. Do you work or are you at home?
