Hi all,

I'm new on these boards and would just like a bit of advice on my 9 week old labrador pup she's biting us all the time we've tried to tell her no,move her away and ignoring her but i think she just gets so excited, also we've tried to leave her a couple of times (hour/hour and a half max) and she must bark/cry that much that she makes herself sick. Would anyone have any advice on how i could deal with this?

I'm probably being to soft with her, she has hip displasia and a deformed hock ( we were told by the pdsa of all people we should have her put down,she was a waste of time etc) but another vet is willing to try and help her,

Thanks in advance for any help,

Michelle.

Hi Michelle,

Re. the biting, this is completely normal in a young puppy.  Try visiting here http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm which will help explain how best to deal with it :)

Re. leaving her, it is best where possible (i.e. practical ;) ) to do this gradually and for periods measured in minutes first - say 5 minutes, then 10, 15, 20 and then jump to 30 mins.   All gradual over a period of about 2 weeks minimum  so she doesn't become over anxious.

When she's sick what does it look like?  Is it food and if so digested or undigested; water/saliva; bile - yellow fluid?   Puppies need to be watched carefully re. sickness as there could be a medical cause and even a minor infection can become a problem quite quickly.  You also have to ensure that she is not dehydrating.    Are her bowel motions well formed and easy to pick up - not soft or runny?

Re. being too soft with her, IMO you can't be too soft with a 9 week old puppy ;) and good on you for giving this little pup a home - hopefully with lots of TLC and a controlled diet and exercise program as she develops the affect of her condition on her can be minimised.

Good luck, Teri :)

Hi Teri,

Thank you for your reply,she's a lovely little thing and i wouldn't swap her for the world!
regarding when she's sick it's definatly food as it was undigested today when i got in, i'm going to try the building up gradually thing, it is probably my fault as she sleeps in our bedroom at night and not used to being on her own but its awful to here her howling knowing it's for you she's crying i just can't leave her all night crying like this.

i'm just going onto the link you gave me now,

Tahnks for your advice teri,

Regards, Michelle.

Gosh Chelle33,

Sounds like you have your hads full lovey.  I think the conditions you describe will probably be quite difficult to deal with, I have a lab puppy myself, but I've only had her for 2.5 weeks and I'm new to dog ownership, so I will leave it to people with more experience than I to discuss your puppies medical conditions.  It might be worth reading up on the conditions your puppy has so you know exactly what you're taking on.

Anyway, biting I can help with as I have VERY recent experience!!  (Kiera is 10 weeks old) Firstly, you should be teaching your puppy to use her mouth gently not stopping her from touching you with her teeth altogether - you will need to put your fingers in her mouth at some point in the future, so, whenever she startes to chew/nip you make a loud high pitched 'ouch' - like her litter mates would, the shock should stop her doing it, make sure you do it every time, until she learns not to put pressure on your skin, I always keep tiny treats in my pocket and reward Kiera for stopping biting me, she learnt not to bite/nip me within a couple of days.  Also, keep a toy handy, whenever she chews you - make a fist (more difficult for her to bite your hand) and then distract her with the toy in the other hand, she'll learn toys are for chewing not hands!  I assume you know that Labs are massive chewing machines.  I always keep empty cereal boxes, plastic bottles, etc to give to Kiera to chew (though I only actually leave her with the cardboard - not the bottles, just in case!).  Kiera also loves stuffed Kongs - I usually fill one with her kibble and seal the end off with a piece of hotdog sausage and it keeps her busy for a good 30 minutes - perhaps you could try this before you leave her and she won't notice you've gone for a while?  My other half was dead sceptical about my yelping method andjust wanted to give her a sharp no and a tap on the nose - but he has had to admit he was wrong and now I hear him yelping away in the garden whenever he gets a nip! LOL!!

Speaking of the other problem of crying when she's separated from you, I had the same with Kiera initially.  I tried to shut her in her crate but she hates being shut in adn she tends to eliminate and get it all over herself if I close her in and leave the room...that said we've sorted out the problem of crying when she's left alone, the first 2 nights were hell but once we realised she didn't like being in the crate it got a lot easier.  I started by just closing the door for a couple of minutes and then going back in to the room and then extended the time until the penny dropped with her that I would be coming back eventually!  Within 2 days we could leave her over night and we can now put her in the kitchen whenever we/she needs time out and she just picks up one of her chew toys and gets stuck in until we return!  We are still working on the crate - it's not an issue yet becasue she hasn't been destructive!!

Good luck with your puppy, I hope everything works out for you.
nx