We've got a puppy that is now 14 weeks old. She is a lab/something mix. The folks who gave her to us had no idea the breed of the father. My vet guessed a border collie or collie mix. However, her ears are always pointed up, never flopping, so I'm leaning towards a german shephard mix, but she does seems to have some of the collie traitsd also. So here is the problem.... she will not play or even jump in your lap without snapping at you, if you walk, she snaps at your heels. She will even get a running jump towards you and try to grab hold of your clothing. She was a birthday present for my son (15 years old). When she comes inside (she has a 20x20 fenced area to stay in most of the time), she will chew on the rawhides we got her. When her attention varies from that, she goes to biting again. She's not uncontrollable as she'll sit on command when she knows she's getting a treat. Well it hit a breaking point last nite as she jumped up in my lap and came about a 1/2 inch from biting my face. MY son is going to pay for obedience lessons, but we're curious if this is behavior that can be controlled. I would dearly love for this dog to be able to come inside, play gently, lay down and be a part of the family more than she's outside, but I'm very fearful that someone is going to get hurt and I can't have that. Any advice or suggestions is appreciated...we've tried a few things we have read on the web, but nothing is working.

Well, She's only fourteen weeks old and you're keeping her outside for the majority of the day. This means she will more than likely be VERY over the top when you do let her inside because she'll be so excited to be around everyone again!! Pups NEED company, and an enclosure outside, however large is far from ideal if she's alone for most of it!

The nipping and snapping sounds like it's down to overexcitment and lack of training, and to be honest i don't think it'll get any better unless you spend more quality time with her. Teach her how to behave - there are loads of threads advising how to stop puppy mouthing and nipping if you just do a quick search of these forums. If you're consistent and persistent with the methods detailed, the behaviour WILL improve :)
Also, since she is still a puppy [and a puppy with a working breed in her at that] she's probably quite clever - there's nothing worse than boredom for a dog that young, training classes are a good idea. She could also do with some toys that engage her brain - puzzle cubes, kongs, things that require her to think and work out a problem before the reward comes.
Hope this helps

Annette

I can't add to your advice, Annette - it sounds spot on!

A normal pup that isn't getting the input it needs to 'civilise' it. And without the time and effort put in, things won't improve.... :(

A puppy biting (especially labs) at 14 weeks old is very normal -- she needs to be trained to not do it. You need to say firmly "no bite" or pull your hand away and say "OUCH!" very loudly, so she learns it's not okay. She will learn, it may take some time, but it will happen if you're consistent. It sounds as if she's spending a lot of time alone -- labs are very sociable animals and love being with people -- she'll never get used to be around people unless she learns how to behave around them. Also, 14 weeks is a little young to expect all dogs to lay at your feet and play gently. Some puppies are used to playing rough with their littermates, and they expect you to do the same. Obedience school is a good idea.

hi sammy....as a lab breeder i can tell you that type behavior is not normal............its normal for dogs that think humans are other dogs and are treating them as such.in part due to mixed signals on the owners part,including lack of obivious leaders.and they must be very obvious.....remember these animals have the same number chromosomes as wolves...hence they are born with an inante way of seeing the world.....we must educate them to modern society,and teach them humans are differnt than other dogs and must be treated differently,so we must not act at all like a dog..........................i can tell you that dogs that play bite excessivly as puppies bite as adults because play is pratice for real life..........its all about perception the dogs and the owners....we must put the dog in a dynamic we dictate

eh what?

Translation, please! ;)

I'm sorry - I don't really understand what you're saying. If they are born with the same type of chromosomes as wolves, then wouldn't their play biting be fairly normal? Also, I was trying to tell the poster that they needed to teach the dog that biting was not acceptable, which I believe is what you have written.

I appreciate everyone's comments..... We've tried most of what has been suggested. We're gonna get the training done ASAP, but to be very honest, it seems that it is getting worse, not better. She snapped and missed my face (After jumping in my lap) my a very small margin and that prety much sealed her coming back inside until we can get her some training. Any playing will be done with a leash and outside until then.

Have you tried teaching her retrieving? Or how to 'seek' for treats under various objects? Anything that gets her using her brain will help to calm her down.
:)

dont worry too much about it it definitely is normal, not to be encouraged but certainly to be expected.

She's just play fighting like she would with the rest of her litter, because she sees you as her litters replacement

We've got a 6 month old lab and she did exactly the same!!!!!
They dont mean it in an aggressive way but they are still abies so sometimes accidents happen

We had a few bleeding fingers and scratched faces but you just have to be persistant in telling her NO and making the squealing noises as suggested.
It'll take a good few more weeks, if not more before she stops entirely. its puppy behaviour and while you can try and minimise it, it will happen

Good luck with your pup!!!

Had another round at the vet for shots today. After discussing with the vet Dixie's snapping and such and a few other details, she thinks that Dixie's is a lab (we knew) but mixed with a heeler. Looking around the net at stuff on Australian Cattle Dogs, it seems as if our family will have to resign itself that this dog is going to nip (actually bites) because of instinct. She is still waiting for the training classes to start and she can be calm at times and rowdy at times. Had her in the house yeaterday and she'd chew on a rawhide and lay down, but only about 2 or 3 minutes at the time. The other time is spent trying to bite at you. The high pitched "ouch" that we are trying, has no bearing on the dog. She also has the ablity to jump high in the air. 4 ft fence that we may have to turn into a 6 foot one. IF there are any that have a history with a heeler/lab mix (definately more lab in the looks, but more heeler in the actions), I'm open to any suggestions.

the advice from the others above still stands - the fact she is a Bluey cross may help explain things but is no reason to resign yourself to the nipping. I grew up surrounded by working Blueys and pet corgis who you probably know have similar cattle dog roles. None of them nipped humans except one corgi from next door who was a bit of an old grouch anyway.

My current corgi [pet] at 12 weeks only gave me one nip on the ankle and a few on the calves - because I employed all the usual advice [crossing arms, turning back, OUCCCHHH! etc] and he certainly quickly sussed that I was not a cow [well maybe when I take him to the vet]. I could normally see the nips coming - they usually happened when out in garden and I was standing still therefore I obviously needed to be herded somewhere else. Cattle dogs of whatever type are very intelligent and behaviour is usually easily corrected.

EDIT- if you are nipped from behind when walking, try stopping suddenly and stamping your foot down, keeping back turned and cross the arms [i.e. only lift up foot one/two inches from ground, taking care not to tread on the puppy!]
good luck and persevere

I help my girlfriend in her training classes. She has a beginning one that she calls Puppy Kindergarten and what you are dealing with is one of many issues we deal with in these classes.

We train our owners to use their voices in all octaves, treats and a clicker to get through the training exercises that are added a few each week. New things as they are added, the participants are given sheets with their homework to do two practice sessions each day of no more than 10 minutes at a time, as a puppies attention span is very short. SOME SHORTER THAN OTHERS

Praise should always be given with a high wispy voice where discipline should always be with a gutteral voice. Women have no trouble with the first but do have trouble with the second while men have the reverse. A trick for women with the gutteral is to try to drop your chin and talk right out of your trachea. You need to reward for good behaviour and so we do that in two ways in addition to your voice. One is with a clicker (looks like a little plastic box with a metal flap inside) and with food. Reward for good behaviour and as you get more and more good behaviour you will find less and less correction for bad behaviour. You want to have the dog do it because he/she loves to do it and please you not because they have to do it.

Both training methods work but when a dog does it because it loves to do it, the preformance and retention of the exercise/tricks/correction will remain strong for a much longer time. In most cases it will be permanent with somethings and others may only need reminders occassionally.

If you want to contact me, you can at rockyford@shaw.ca and I will give you more indepth info than I can here on the Post.

Margaret :) Canada

Ok I have been watching this thread with lots of interest and whilst I agree that mouthing and nipping are very normal for some puppies (although to be honest its not behaviour that I would ever allow) this doesn't sound like normal puppy mouthing to me, to have a 14week old lunge at your face is not just puppy behaviour and needs nipping in the bud now!!!! She is not just a lab but is a lab cross possibly collie and they can very quickly learn to be in charge.

I am going to duck for cover after posting this but it is my opinion and I will stick by it.

Yes I agree that banishing her to outside instead of letting her coming into the house in contributing to her manic behaviour but she is going over the top with the biting she is becoming the dominant one in this household and is getting away with it, and the longer it goes on the more likely this is to get worse, The OUCH method is not strong enough with this pup and what use is OUCH when you have already been bitten!!!!

If she jumps up and lunges at your face again, then grab her either side of the neck and very very strongly (not shouting) tell her NO, she may well rebel against this discipline, but do not let her go until she quietens down, she may well protest, but you hang in there until she does, then let her go and praise her. If she bites at your feet you stop and you tell her NO again very strongly if she refuses to listen you get her and hold her to the floor until she quietens.

I would also deny her the opportunity of jumping on your knee unless she is invited to, you have said that she sits on command, then make her do just that and then invite her on your knee, when she is calm enough to do it in a controlled manner.

You may have to repeat this but maybe you won't, she is only 14 weeks after all and just needs to know who is in charge.

Jayne