HI
Well Oscar has now become very much alive and misachevious. Hes nipping more and does not give up easily . He also nicked something from my husbands hand yesturday and will take anything he can get his hands on . I feel like all of a sudden he is taking over the house and would like some advice , have been trying the nilif program but im not cut out for this training :(

Any suggestions hes becoming a bit of a terror (knew i should of got a female lol) MEN!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Oscar is a perfectly normal puppy! I have only had bitches and I can assure you that they are exactly the same with respect to nipping and puppy antics.

No one is cut out for puppy training, it taxes the patience of us all. It does take patience and it does get better. If Oscar does not seem to respond to one method - ( A normal response is that after many many days of adherence on your part your efforts are followed by the smallest signs that he is "getting it" on his part, although not with a great deal of consistency at first) -- then try something else. For nipping you can immediately grab him around the muzzle with your hand and whilst exerting firm pressure, say "no bite" and then pay him no more attention. If he continues, do the same again and pop him in his crate (assume you have one) until he calms down and/or falls asleep. Do not expect him to entirely stop nipping even when he understands what you want him to do, it is instinct and he will get better with age and training. Puppies are babies, they have tantrums and get tired and cannot pay attention or behave.

Puppies will take anything they can get their mouths around. Do not chase him. It becomes a game. If it is something dangerous to him, then distract him with something he likes better (something yummy, perhaps?). If it is something that he cannot damage (my puppy got of £500 worth of cash my husband had just received as a payment - and Abby loves to tear up paper) and you can see that ignoring him will not work, then again distract him with something he likes better. You can also teach "drop it" at the same time, which is not too hard to do especially if your puppy is food oriented. In exchange for your brand new shoe, Oscar gets a bit of his favourite snack food as well. He will be less resistant to giving up his new treasure if he gets a reward for doing so.

Don't worry, you will survive puppyhood.

Stacey

What kind of puppy and how old? It sounds pretty normal! The NILF method can work wonders, but like all training, it takes time. Don't give up! You may not notice any results for a few months, but it doesn't mean it isn't working!

Hi Thanks for the replys , certainly have no plans to give up , is just mad how all of a sudden his a little monster lol . He is a Labrador pup and is 10weeks on tuesday (which is today! sorry i think its monday) Has his second injection tomorrow . It just seems since trying the nilif training he doesnt like it too much . I have to say he has slowed down alot today.
Could be he was getting all the excitment out of his system yesturday as we had a rather hetic easter weekend and quite a few visitors. I think things will be alot easier when he can start coming out and about with us . He is continously scratching at our front window to get out .

I suppose the puppy madness bit is a pre trial of teens?

I saw a reply on here before and i tried it in spain and it works. smear hot chille (hot) on your hands and fingers then see if he likes to nip you. works a treat. tried for seconds but went of yuck. not much good on legs and ankles this one.

He's only ten weeks old! Oh, you've got a WAYS to go -- sorry, but it's true! :) Our choc lab was a holy terror when he was that young, up until he was about six or seven months old did he finally become "liveable!" They will keep nipping until their milk teeth fall out, but you need to keep teaching him not to bite. He's not going to like the NILF training -- that's kind of the point. You need to teach him that you're the boss, not him. Don't give up. It's very frustrating, and you can't really expect a lot from them when they're that young. He's still too young to take him for very long walks or to let him run around off lead, but when he gets older, around 8 months, a good motto is "a tired lab is a well-behaved lab."

With the NiLIF type program you quite often get what they calol an extinction burst. The dog will do the unwanted behaviour even more/harder because it is being ignored, but then it realises that trying harder does not work, but doing things your way does get some positive attention.

OIC - Thanks for that it certainly seems to make sense so perhaps we are getting somewhere after all :)

Hi there,

Murphy is 17 weeks old - he's a lab too! And he STILL loves to mouth! With Murph, I give a very firm NO and fold my arms or turn away from him.
As everyone has said, it does take time and I know that Murph is teething too so wants to put stuff in his mouth even more!
It's all pretty normal and will get better.....in time!:D

TTFN

Ruth

Good post Brainless, it is IMHO crucial to explain the extinction burst, or owners will think the programme is not working! ;)

Lindsay

what's NILF TRAINING?it sounds very interesting.i'm getting my new pup in two weeks so im all ears...

It stands for Nothing In Life is Free. It basically means that you never give or do anything for a puppy until they have done something for you. You always have them sit before giving them their food, opening doors, giving a toy, etc.

Hi Serena, He is being a pup. Sydney now 13 weeks is only starting not to bite as much. I say as much as he still mouths. My jaw is sore from the constant No! NO! NOOO!! that I have been saying over the past 5 weeks (phew is it really only 5 weeks seems like a life time). He does get hyper when the kids are here (they live with mum during the week) so I really can notice the difference when they are with us. Be patience and consistent and he the bites will eventually stop. Sydney now has become tricky when told NO! when biting he yawns and puts his mouth around my hand.. sneaky devil, but he is definately improving.

thanks sammy, i do that automatically with my 3 labs, i didn't realise it had been given a label!i try it with my 16 year old daughter too but without as much success!!