Labrador Puppy Biting

[Rainey]

Hello everyone,

Our 11 week old Labrador puppy Scud is a biter. We are trying to ween him off this habit as quickly as possible but most of our techniques appear to stimulate and excite him more than anything else. It becomes a challenge for him when we hide our hands/arms or gently push him away and hold him back. I'm trying to avoid smacking because he's only a little baby really. Correcting with an appropriate chew toy does work to an extent but it is hard to always have one nearby when he gets excited. I know he has the full potential to be polite when he wants to but when he's in 'energy burning mode' its just full steam ahead with the biting.

He starts softly and when we tell him 'no!' hand clap and hide our arms he just wags his tail and bites harder (lol).

I'm thinking about different techniques such as the spray bottle, but also something that tastes bad to him that I can put on my hands and arms (any suggestions?).

Is the biting just a result of teething, and I'm wondering when we should expect to see him start to grow out of this?

[Cosmolo]

Do not expect him to grow out of it!! There are many adult dogs who are mouthy as they wee not taught not to when puppies. Are you going to a puppy school? Some techniques are best demonstrated than explained. Be careful about giving a toy when he mouths as many dogs perceive that as a reward. There was a good topic in general a few weeks ago about 'controlled biting a training minefield'- i think thats what it was called. Have a read through that thread- i would post the link here but not sure how :rolleyes:

[wolfgirl]

Most pups go through this stage, best to nip it in the bud quickly, the method we use for our labrador pups is to yelp when they bite us, substitute a toy for them to mouth and praise them when they play with the toy and also turn out backs to them and they receive no attention and especially eye contact until they are behaving themselves. You need to be firm but fair. :rolleyes:

[KitKat]

2nd-ing what Wolfgirl said :rolleyes: This is what i've done with my GSD's

[Rainey]

Oh we have been doing the yelping and the ignoring a bit too, but then he just decides to chew on your ankles instead, hehe. I think I will need to concentrate on rewarding for the good behavior but I'm worried we are already getting to excessive on the treats as he already gets probably 12 kibble pieces between feeds on avg.

[wolfgirl]

You can also give him things like a raw piece of carrot as good behaviour treat, also maybe add in a kong with a filling in it when he is really mouthy. I put yoghurt, vegemite and peanut butter and put them in the freezer which also gives relief to his gums and keeps them occupied. :rolleyes:

[Rainey]

Haven't tried the carrot yet! I think that is next on the list. Already doing yoghurt+peanut butter frozen cubes for him and he absolutely loves them (he'll do just about anything to get his teeth on em).

My better half is just starting to get a bit concerned because he is growing so fast and can now pack a bit of punch when he bites hard. I'm trying to get him used to having faces down at his level so I lay down on the floor and he's normally pretty good but I've copped a few scratches to my cheeks and been bitten on the ears, nose and chin.

[alananddora]

Our GSD is also 11 weeks and has been a bit bitey. Some advise we received does seem to be working. When she gets into the high play drive and starts biting we hold her with one hand and the other on her muzzle. We started with up to 30 seconds and it is now down to 10 seconds and she recognises this happens when she gets to bitey, this stops her from biting and calms her down. I generally maintain eye contact, afterwards I release her leave her for a few seconds then after she has calmed give her a toy and then praise her for playing gently. Good luck.

[patch]

Haven't tried the carrot yet! I think that is next on the list. Already doing yoghurt+peanut butter frozen cubes for him and he absolutely loves them (he'll do just about anything to get his teeth on em).

My better half is just starting to get a bit concerned because he is growing so fast and can now pack a bit of punch when he bites hard. I'm trying to get him used to having faces down at his level so I lay down on the floor and he's normally pretty good but I've copped a few scratches to my cheeks and been bitten on the ears, nose and chin.

Ah Rainey I feel your pain! Word to the wise, because I wasn't consistent enough with my black lab pup he still mouths at 2yo when he gets excited. Most of the time he can control himself but when he's really revved up - nope! :rolleyes:

[Cosmolo]

You must get on top of this as soon as you can, especially as its getting harder. Make sure if you are doing an exchange for an object or toy that you at least stop the mouthing first- hold him in a sit for a few seconds at minimum BEFORE you give the mouthing object. Otherwise you are teaching the pup that the mouthing will get you to play with them. Are you going to a puppy school? What did the breeder suggest?

[Tiger_bluez]

I can feel your pain. My puppy also loves to chew my hands and ankles. She chewed on cables as well. My housemate was so lucky when she was using her hair straightener that its cable had been destroyed by Zoya. And she managed to destroy the phone as well and my lovely chinese bed side table.

I said NO when she starts nipping and then yelp and either run away or hide my hands. i give her bones to chew. If she become really aggresive i put her in a naughty room which is the toilet. so far still has no change in her behaviour yet.

I am hoping she get over her teething stage soon.

cheers

[Monah]

I'm definately no trainer but have been through this with several dogs. Firstly, no means no. Yelping is great, but if he's coming back for more and taking no notice, instead of hiding hands etc, which he finds a challenge, hence a game, with all of you probably trying to get out of his way (i'm guessing here), get up and walk away, Ignore him completely. He may think he is near the top of the pack and it could get a lot worse in the next few months. Esp, if he is biting ears and cheeks. Being on the floor with him may just be showing him that you are to be gnawed on when he feels like it, because you are on the floor. The floor is for him (at the moment, until he learns). Wolfgirl had great suggestions. and as she said, be firm. I find the firm thing very difficult but have seen how quickly things can deteriorate when you 'give' an inch. Once the dog, even a puppy thinks a behaviour is allowed and is stopped but can still do it on the third or fourth try, you've lost. Labs are really lovely dogs and I'm sure yours will grow into a wonderful companion, but even though he is very cute, he must be taught what is acceptable. As you realise because you have posted about it. Is that him in the photo? He's gorgeous! Use a REALLY gruff, nasty tone, if nothing else works. He may be bomb proof!!! :D I was told with one of my dogs that she had no self control, and was shown exercises to teach her self control. This worked beautifully for us. Good luck.

[Scudsmum]

I'm definately no trainer but have been through this with several dogs. Firstly, no means no. Yelping is great, but if he's coming back for more and taking no notice, instead of hiding hands etc, which he finds a challenge, hence a game, with all of you probably trying to get out of his way (i'm guessing here), get up and walk away, Ignore him completely. He may think he is near the top of the pack and it could get a lot worse in the next few months. Esp, if he is biting ears and cheeks. Being on the floor with him may just be showing him that you are to be gnawed on when he feels like it, because you are on the floor. The floor is for him (at the moment, until he learns). Wolfgirl had great suggestions. and as she said, be firm. I find the firm thing very difficult but have seen how quickly things can deteriorate when you 'give' an inch. Once the dog, even a puppy thinks a behaviour is allowed and is stopped but can still do it on the third or fourth try, you've lost. Labs are really lovely dogs and I'm sure yours will grow into a wonderful companion, but even though he is very cute, he must be taught what is acceptable. As you realise because you have posted about it. Is that him in the photo? He's gorgeous! Use a REALLY gruff, nasty tone, if nothing else works. He may be bomb proof!!! :D I was told with one of my dogs that she had no self control, and was shown exercises to teach her self control. This worked beautifully for us. Good luck.

Yes that is him in Rainey's photo. He's gorgeous till he get's those fangs out. I think the yelping thing worked once but then it seemed as though he knew it wasn't really hurting us so he now ignores the yelps. We are going to do some serious ignoring now when he bites because this does seem to get to him more than some of the other things we've tried.

.....He's such a ratbag....but I love him!

[blacklabrador]

I grab their muzzle from underneath, one finger firm tap to the nose and say "NO" very gruffly. It's always done the trick for me except with my first boy who I wasn't tough enough with as a pup. He still takes my whole wrist in his mouth and has a gentle mouth when he's being sooky.

[Baby Dragon]

My dog started mouthing when I brushed him, about a week after I first brought him home (before his training.)

It never really hurt, but it needed to stop. I actually posted a thread very similar to this one to ask for help with him

He doesn't do it much at all after his training, but when he looks like starting, I give him a small tap on the muzzle with a loud "AH!" voice command and I then walk away from him and completely ignore him.

He loves being brushed and just gets over excited especially when I brush around his chest/tummy, so now that he knows that mouthing = stop brushing, I hardly ever have a problem.

I too used to put a toy in his mouth when he tried nipping, but it was brought to my attention that he would see it as a reward, so I stopped doing it.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Baby Dragon

[Dogsfevr]

I agree No means No, & it doesnt mean you giggle when you say or hug the pup afterwards because you feel guilty .Its simple No & walk away no fuss,no arm flapping ,no response.

Its also time to be the one in charge,whats cute at 8 weeks is no longer fun at 12 weeks & then at 6 months its all too much.

Its also time to teach pup to sit so when it does go silly you make pup sit.remember you can vocally say anything but if pup doesnt understand your serious then it wont listen.

For me bribery isnt an option but also remember you have agundog & gundogs luv to carry your hand around its there retrieving side.They will hold your clothes etc etc.My old setter would walk around holding my sleeve but when i said no that was it.That treat solely depended on me,what i was wearing & whether i wanted to allow it.

[wolfgirl]

I too used to put a toy in his mouth when he tried nipping, but it was brought to my attention that he would see it as a reward, so I stopped doing it.

Just to jump in here, it is not so much as giving the dog a reward, it is showing him what is and isn't acceptable to chew on. Toys are fine for dogs to chew on and should be encouraged especially at crucial teething times. You aren't rewarding the dog as such, more giving it the correct equipment to chew on.

[blacklabrador]

Labradors are a breed who are notorious for being out of control if they aren't trained. I've rehomed lots of young labs who've become too much for their owners. People somehow expect them to go from cute puppy into docile adult and that just doesn't happen!! Lab puppies get big very quickly and therefore potentially harder to control. I make sure my puppy buyers know that I EXPECT them to take them not only to puppy school but to a proper dog obedience course after that for at least 8 - 12 weeks if not longer. Most labs need firm and consistent training. Obedience lessons will teach you how to train him.

[Scudsmum]

Labradors are a breed who are notorious for being out of control if they aren't trained. I've rehomed lots of young labs who've become too much for their owners. People somehow expect them to go from cute puppy into docile adult and that just doesn't happen!! Lab puppies get big very quickly and therefore potentially harder to control. I make sure my puppy buyers know that I EXPECT them to take them not only to puppy school but to a proper dog obedience course after that for at least 8 - 12 weeks if not longer. Most labs need firm and consistent training. Obedience lessons will teach you how to train him.

We don't expect him to go from cute puppy to docile adult. We particularly chose a labrador because we wanted a energetic dog. We just don't want him to bite and hurt people.

Scud will be going to puppy pre-school after his 16wk shots but that's still some time away yet. And we also have researched which obedience school we'll be taking him too.

[blacklabrador]

Puppy preschools are held inside vet surgeries on clean floors. They are designed for puppies from 8 weeks onwards You can take him now if you like. You can start taking your dog out to proper obedience lessons in a grassed environment with other dogs after their 12 week vaccination. (many of us start showing our pups at that age too).