Hi
I have a 20wk chocolate labrador who we are having a few problems with. He seems to have an aggresive streak when we play with him. It started off that if he followed you up stairs he wouldn't come down, he'd run around the bedrooms banging into everything and then stop at the top of the stairs with his hackles up his nose crinckled teeth barred and barking, I would ignore him and walk down the stairs then next thing he was at the back of you trying to bite your legs or ankles. He tries to bite you if you comb him or if you try and stroke him. Its now continued into his play time and he has biten my husband twice and broken the skin.It can be a little frighten considering he's only still a puppy. I have a 6yr old daughter who can't stroke him in fear of getting biten,she can't bring her friends home to paly for the same reason.
I have tried this bit inibition and it doesn't seem to work on him, he keeps putting the pressure on even if you (Yelp)etc.
I've enroled us both for training in August but could do with some help up to going.

Karen

Hopefully this link will be helpful.
:)

HI Kmaw..that is definetly not what you want to see from a young labrador..was he from a reputable breeder?? you need to get him in classes ASAP. you should not brush him for now if that triggers the biting sometimes what we consider petting they interept as initiation of play so i would withhold  stroking unless he is calm and passive and then make it very soft and soothing and gentle strokes..also start using treats to motivate him and i would react they way a dominant dog would if he bit me..it need not be too rough but a quick AAARRRGGHH and a scruff shake the velocity is most important..play is practice for real life so dogs that practice biting can have problems later..the fact he has his hair up and barring his teeth show he feels somewhat threatened so definetly no rough housing or tug o war

A lot of what you describe is very probably play behaviour; pups can seem quite scary when they do the things you describe.
If you are worried, try www.apdt.co.uk for  a trainer who should be able to do a home visit and see what he is like in his own home. it shouldn't be at all expensive.
Most dogs whose owners think they  are "aggressive" are usually not, at least, not on here. Many times we see people thinking a dog is aggressive when the behaviour is normal, if unacceptable in the home.
Personally, I'd sort this out fast and get a good trainer on board with me :)

Good luck
Lindsay
x

We have a chockie who exhibited similar behaviour. It seems that she just gets too overexcited and with it rather rough. We found that a time out worked quite well.
However labs are naturally rather 'enthusiastic' in their play and even at 21/2 years old we still have mad 5 minutes when she attacks our older chockie hanging off his jowls and runs laps of the house with the furnature jumping out of the way :o
The other thing that works quite well is to get him to use his brain, I have found this is the most effective way of tiring them out!

Hang on in there, it is not unusual Lab behaviour

Bluebell

Hi

Thank you everyone for your comments, I have bought a book called The perfect puppy so I'm reading that until Cadburys training course starts in August.

Karen

Bluebell..i'm not sure how long you have been breeding labradors but i have bred them for close to fifteen years and GSD"S even longer than that and i can assure biting breaking the skin and raising hackles and barring teeth are not normal behavoir.i have a three and a half mon.female right now that falls on her back around kids..that is ''normal'' behavior i am also a professional trainer and i can tell you that is not what you want to see in any puppy

Ah, but the point is that often owners do come on and mention similar - bared teeth, etc and it's really not aggression,as we find out after :)

There was a young lab in trouble not so long ago - well, maybe a year, on here - and the owner was sure it was aggressive and the person who posted on their behalf hadn't seen it but tended to agree *from their description* - he took the pup on and found it was delightful :)

Thank goodness some of us on here gave the dog the benefit of the doubt, as some if I remember said basically words to the effect of, it needs to be pts.
Many owners don't recognise normal dog behaviour. I agree there is a "possibility" there is genuine aggression there, but over the internet, without the advantage of a video etc, we cannot possibly tell from that description, in my view. #

In this case, the youngster shows this behaviour "when we play with him" which indicates it is play or at least, sheer overexcitment and adrenalin buzzing.

Best wishes
Lindsay
x

i agree with this and Bluebell's comments and i am by no means an expert! My basset hound used to display this sort of behaviour and still does now very occasionally - she's thirteen months. Every now and again she will have a mad half hour and will rush from room to room jumping on furniture and playfully trying to nip us if we try to get hold of her. At our trianing classess the trainer told us that although it hurts the dog is not intentionally biting or being aggressive its just over excitement and exhuberance in pups and that as the dog gets older it happens less and less. This is certainly true in our experience! When Molly does this we just put her in a room on her own for five mins or so to clam her down and then get her out and act normally - works a treat for us ;-)
Deb