Well looking back over the last 7 - 8 weeks I`ve come to the conclusion that i`ve hardly made any progress at all with regards to the biting thing with my lab puppy and I`m getting desperate now. I`ve lost count of the times she`s had me in tears with her biting. I don`t want nasty or sarcastic replys I just need helpful advice please.

She is 16 weeks old now and is fantastic in every way apart from the biting and nipping, this is happening just about everytime we stroke her and we try to interact with her at all, I bet she has licked us less than a dozen of times in all the weeks we`ve had her, she is so bitey. She goes to puppy socialisation classes which actually makes her loads worse because she gets very excited and my hands and arms are bleeding when I get home. I have asked the trainer there for advice and she just says that she`s `teething`. All the way through the class all you can here is the clacking of her teeth.
She is having 2 short walks a day (about 25 mins) in the local woods plus playing in the garden so I can`t see that she is bored. she is worse when tired but is now biting nearly all the time. The trainer suggested holding her either side of her jowls and staring in her eyes and saying in a low voice `no bite` but this absolutely wound her up and she thought it was a game and she ran round in circles barking and nipping me so wether I did it wrong I don`t know but I didn`t like doing this anyway.
Anyway sorry this is so long, basically is this normal ? please reasure me, or have I got a potential aggressive lab in the making. Other lab owners I have spoken to have all said their lab wasn`t like this and was all licky.

Thanks.

Have you tried Bitter Apple ...spray it on your arms and hands ..but do NOT be tempted to touch something and then put it into your mouth , the tatse takes forever to leave your mouth!

Try looking here : Puppy Biting

And also here : No Bite!

and here : Biting

Melody :)

Hi

Its very difficult to tell as one persons tolerance level for puppy mouthing is different to another. I would have to say that Willis was a bit of a nightmare for biting up to 6 months, but now he has the softest mouth ever because we taught him bite inhibition - which means we can have a great play fight and he holds my hand in his mouth and play bites my arm but doesn't hurt at all - and he's a Great Dane!

Have you tried the "ouch" method consistantly - resulting in her going out of the room when she really goes for it? Its easy to keep swapping methods "ouch" then "NO" etc etc, but its bets to stick to one and give it a concerted effort :)

"The trainer suggested holding her either side of her jowls and staring in her eyes and saying in a low voice `no bite` but this absolutely wound her up and she thought it was a game and she ran round in circles barking and nipping me so wether I did it wrong I don`t know but I didn`t like doing this anyway. "

Hold her jaws between one hand, press very firmly, and say "no bite." If when you release her she goes to bite again, or runs around, if you are home immediately get her, grab her around the mouth and tell her "no bite" again (assuming she has nipped again), and put her in a crate until she calms down. If you not at home, and she goes to nip you again, hand around the muzzle again, keep her close to you on the lead and do not allow her to run around. She will give up struggling in the end and settle. When she is quiet, you can begin again.

I would consider two other things. First, work privately with a good behaviourist just on eradicating the nipping behaviour. Second, consider switching to a different type of food. Your puppy could be suffering from hyperactivity, sometimes a lower protein food or different food helps.

Your puppy sounds normal to me, not aggressive. I know puppy teeth hurt like the dickens, but try not to be afraid of your puppy.

Stacey

Hi Stacey, I do this with her jaws, I hold them shut and say `no bite` as soon as i release them she immedietely snaps again, so I do it again and so on, she now runs to her crate (she goes there so often) when we are on a walk i have on occasions, had to tie her to a tree because I havent been able to hold her on a lead because she has been jumping up and down snapping. I have swopped her from Hills science which has a high protein to Burns and she has been on this for 2 weeks because I wondered if the high protein could be contributing to this. I am not afraid of her at all just becoming totally despondent and it just seems that however hard I try I just cant seem to get a blooming cuddle.

Edited to say. rachelparker, some of the time her tail is wagging as if she is playing a game I`ll try putting her completely in a different room see if this works. I`m open to any ideas.

Just came back to add a note ... distraction can also work. You follow the same procedure re the "no bite" - but the moment she is calm -- and it sounds like you need to react very quickly -- distract her with her favourite toy. Ideally, you get to the point where you know she is about to run in for a nip -- and beat her to the punch by distracting her with a toy instead. Kongs are great for biters - they bounce like mad when thrown and can stand up to strong teeth. You are teaching her that when she has the urge to bite, which is all about play and prey drive to her, that what she really wants is her toy and not your arm.

Believe me, I understand the problem, I've owned GSDs and terriers (and one or two others). Your lab may be bitey for a lab puppy, but she is just about average for a terrier. My pup would launch herself a top speed at your face and try to hang off your nose with her teeth. :-) You may not be afraid of your lab, but believe me, I was darn afraid of my pup for a while .. at least afraid of her teeth. They do learn in the end. Your puppy is way too young for you to be despondent about it.

Stacey

my lab puppy was just as bad, dont despair!!!! they do grow out of it eventually. I know it hurts but with 99% of labs they're not doing it aggressively, just playfully.

Have you tried putting her in another room and closing the door each time she bites. Leave her for 5 minutes by herself (or until she stops howling whichever comes first) and then let her out, if she bites agian straight back in by herself. For the first couple of days you will literally be up and down like a yoyo but she'll figure it out, it worked wonders with Darcy who was a real toe nibbler and she never ever bites now she's very gentle.

As the physical contact thing (holding jaws etc) hasn't worked, I would do as Rachaelparker suggests & don't allow physical contact when she bites. If you can, train her to down & stay- do it on the lead, so you can keep physical contact to a minimum. If you then try to stroke her & she bites, walk away. She's trying to change everything into a game. If you can't control her on a lead, you're either using the wrong type of collar or need a trainer to show you the right way to use it. If you can teach her the basics of obedience, you'll find her much easier to control. It sounds as if you are getting really upset about this, which is understandable, but if you're upset it will make her worse & she'll get worked up because you're worked up - it's a vicious circle! I would take her to a proper training class rather than socialisation - even when dogs are teething, they need to learn that biting humans isn't acceptable! You & she could both benefit from an experienced trainer.
You will get over this in time!

Can't remember exactly where the post was, now, but I had some cracking advice from someone on the board that worked a real treat. Every time we caught Sparky being quiet and peaceful, I would say quietly "Gooooood Boy, soooo quiet, sooo good" and stroke him. Then, whenever he did get all nippy and jumpy, we would say good boy, quiet boy, and he did get the idea. He hated being ignored, and still does, so that worked too. At 5 and a half months, he does still forget when he's playing, and the mouth goes open, but the girls have also taught him to take food "Gently, like a baby" and say this to him when they are playing with him. We also thought it would never get better at one point, but it does.

Hi, My lab is the same age as yours,and I know exactly what you mean. I have just healed up after 2 really deep cuts on my hand. She is worse when I have visitors,but I must say she is getting a bit better. I don't tolerate any biting at all now,and put her out of the room as soon a s she starts. She can get quite aggressive,last night she suddenly launched herself at my son as he was sat on the settee,and bit him on the chest.She is worse when she is tired. Sometimes I make her sit,and gently stroke her,much to her amazement,as she thinks she is going to get shouted at for biting. if she still persists with it Out she goes.I have tried distracting her with toys too,but they usually only work for a second,and then she launches back to the biting. I must say,that these last couple of weeks,the message seems to be getting through. She knows she must not bite,and takes off when I shout or make a move towards her.She seems to be listening more this last week or so,so think the message is getting through. I am sure your lab will be the same.Just be firm and make it clear that bad behaviour will not be tolerated.Labs are stubborn and intelligent,and he will soon get the message. Good luck

hi

have had the same prob with my pup but i've been telling her no followed by "your go OUT" then putting her out for at least 10mins and its worked after about 4 weeks ,now when i tell her your go OUT she stops in her tracks and lays down but you do have to be consistent with it even if it means spending half the night putting her out and letting her back in only to put her out again when she starts, it was a pita but its worked!! and she was bad like yours!

Well thanks once again all of you, I really needed this reasurrance. I think it made it worse since we just spent last week at our friends farm who work their labs and after speaking to their friends who also work their labs they were making comments like `never known a pup as bad as that one` `you`ll never get it to stop biting``have to knock it out of her now or she`ll never learn` one even told me to bite her back so she`ll learn. Obviously I was really worried since I had been speaking to these people for reasurance and advice and just came back from holiday even more fed up. My pup sounds identical to yours jeanb you could be writing about mine!!!! and I really will keep on perserving. I just needed to know if this was `normal`. She did really well at puppy socialisation/training last night I think its because she had a long walk just before she went and we sat completely on our own so she didn`t get too excited I only got bitten a few times. I have noticed this morning one of her front teeth (her fang) is chipped off. will this be hurting her? she is eating and chewing okay. Its probably embedded in my hand somewhere.

Thanks so much once again.

Suzy, I posted on the "general" board on fri "worst puppy in the class". If you read the post you will see what i mean. We have another class tomorrow night,and i have just put her in the car,screaming and howling,and taken her up to my daughters. She has an elderly poodle,and Star just went straight in and launched herself at her. So I don't hold out much hope for the class tomorrow. My husband has decided that his cold is too bad to let him go,and he says he will just stay at home this week.Nothing to do with the football being on telly. However i am going to persevere,because underneath the excitable behaviour,I can see an intelligent,biddable dog,and I am sure in a few months time things will be better. For you as well I am sure. We have just got to hang in there,although I know how you feel,it is very difficult at times,and some days are worse than others.When she is racing round biting and snapping and jumping on us and the grand kids and visitors,I sometimes wonder why I am doing this. Then you see a wee face looking intently at you,or sitting and giving you a paw,and you know why you are doing it.Feel free to e-mail me if you want to compare notes etc.

Thanks jeanb I certainly will email you !!!

Some labs just take longer than others. Be consistent, and eventually she will learn. I thought our lab was the worst puppy in the world and that there was something wrong with him, but he stopped too - it seemed like just one day, he finally got what we were saying! He would gently put his mouth around our hand and look up at us as if to say "Is this okay?" And we would tell him no bite very firmly, and he would take his mouth off and give our hand a lick. Encourage kisses instead and praise her like crazy when she licks instead of bites.

Well thanks folks, you`ve fired my enthusiasm again. I`m going well over the top with praise, infact I bet the neighbours wonder whatevers happening at my house with my ecstatic murmerings like "ooh how lovely, gentle lickings, ooh how nice" anyway I`m doing the hand over the muzzle and `no bite` and removing her EVERYTIME she bites, she gets NO chances at all, where as before she did get a few half hearted warnings (I`ll admit it!) and it really it working, she has become a tiny bit better even though it is early days. She has lost one of her front teeth so I do appreciate she is "officially" teething and will be chewing / biting more. I`ll have to look up on the teething posts now because I`m bound to have some questions about teething!!

So once again thanks for taking the time to reply and for all your valuable input.

we had a similar problem we were advised to make a big fuss and squeel and then ignore her that is how they learn from there siblings they have gone to far it worked for us

I've a 13 week old Shiba Inu that loves to sink his teeth into my arm / leg/ face given half the chance! Tried dumping him on his back and growling at him but this seemed to aggrevate the situation so tried to have a time out area where he could be placed (on his own) to calm down. This works for about 5 minutes (he screams the place down to start with) then he's back to attacking my jeans / trainers and anything else he can get his jaws round. My latest method is one of those spray bottles (for watering the plants) filled with water. I warn him "no bite" then he gets a jet of water! He stops biting and walks away. He normally comes back after a few minutes and is lovely - licking my hand as if to say sorry! Whether this will last only time will tell..he got a jet in his mouth last night which he wasn't too happy about and was a real sweetie for the rest of the night!

You could also try a tin can filled with a few pebbles and drop that next to your pup (it will give it a fright and should startle it enough to stop for a few seconds - at that point say good dog - a treat at this point might also help).

Don't give up though...us mauled owners can compare battle scars!!

My springer was awful for the first few months with mouthing and biting. She also got excited after puppy classes and got worse. There were points when I was wondering if I had somehow ended up with an agressive dog and nothing seemed to work. She wouldn't calm down no matter what. The holding jaw thing never worked for me - that little creature had a will of iron and would not give up no matter what - wriggling, squirming, making the most weird noises (I was doing it gently I promise).
I tried yapping like a hurt puppy might, and she thought this was the most amazing fun and she would start yapping and barking (and carry on the mouthing and biting, only now with noise).
What worked for us was a loud "ow" and cradling the injured part and ignoring her. I don't know at what point it stopped, but with this method over time it got less and less. She still gets excited and puts her mouth round our hands sometimes but she doesn't apply pressure and I still do the "ow" thing until she learns completely that it's not acceptable to us.
The other thing we did was teach her to "kiss" (lick) so that when she did seem to be going for the nose, you could kind of distract her into doing something a bit nicer.
Dottie wasn't a particularly licky puppy when she was younger but she's making up for it now!
Good luck, I'm sure you'll have a treasure of a dog instead of a croc soon.

for the nipping and mouthing to me this does not sound normal because all the pups I work with are stopped early on. This is what we do. When the pup reaches out to bite I either grab his tongue or the side of his mouth and in a firm voice with my eyes looking straight at him a say "No Bite" Then I let go and look away from him and ignore him. If he does it agian or jumps up then I folow the same routine as I stated already. It has always worked for me. I suggest you try it. After 5 minutes of ignoring him though I suggest you put him in a sit and then praise him for the sit. By the time my pups or the pups I train are 10 weeks old they are coming to me where ever I or their owners are and sitting for attention with no barking and no clawing or jumping. I always get the pup to sit before any attention is given. They are just as good about it then with kids also and i never worry about one being hurt in any way.

Hi suzy i had the same prob with my staffy for months! he was forever lunging into my arm or leg,

my vet told me that the reason it is , is that i gave a reaction everytime he bit me, which of course i did cuz it hurt! lol

so by giving your pup a reaction there getting your attention , so the vet told us to buy him rubber teething toys and when he goes to bite you , tell him "NO" then ignore him and turn away from him, it will take a few weeks depending on how much your dog listens to you, but we got there in the end , good luck to you and your pup!

Oh dear! All this sounds horribly familiar to me. My pup is in the last stages of cutting his teeth and until fairly recently, his obsessive mouthing , nipping and lunging was totally exasperating. All the distractions such as rubber and strong hide chews were ignored after a little while in favour of the much nicer option of a soft hand or arm. Nicole's suggestion of grabbing the tongue and saying a firm 'no' does work and doesn't frighten or hurt the dog-I tried this when all else had failed-he was more puzzled than anything and it gave him pause for thought after the third or fourth time, having appeared to get the message that I wasn't enjoying the 'game'. Putting a dog on his back I would think makes the biting worse, as he has only his teeth for defence and the biting gets more serious. My dog gets banished to his bed in the hallway and is allowed back into the living room only when he's calmed down. Being a very vocal animal, he often answers me back like a truculent teenager when he is told 'no' to a misdemeanour, but as full of the joys of life as he is, he bears no grudges and I know he will grow out of his mischievous ways before too long!.

Our choc lab bit until he was around six months old. I know how frustrating it is! Keep with the "No Bite" approach and pulling your hand away. It seemed like he was never going to stop, but he did eventually, gradually. Keep with it! Even if it seems like the pup is not listening, they are!