Hi all.

I wonder if anyone could give me any advice or tips etc?

We have a black Labradore Retriver puppy who is about 17 week old now. We have had him since he was 8 weeks old. He's driving me insain!
I work from home so he's never alone if he is left alone it's never for very long. I also have 2 children and a cat the is almost 2 which has been here longer than the puppy.

The problems I have with out puppy are as follows.....

He bites/mouths everyone, especially if we're trying to get something off of him that he isn't supossed to have. We've tried distracting him with a treat but he still nips and my daughter gets very distressed and scared when he does this, she is almost 6.

I cant stop him chewing everything and everyone. He has chew toys and he gets a firm teling off if he's found chewing on things he shouldn't be chewing on. But alas he still does it. He's chewed through electric cables, phone cables, wood ... you name it he chews it.

When I walk him he is a nightmare on his lead. He pulls very badly... to the point he's pulled muscles in my arms. He walks all over the place, into the road. He'll jump up at everyone and every bike that he passes. He'll pick up everything we walk past and eat it. Chewing gum, food wrappers, glass, tin can lids, issue. Litterally he's always got something in his mouth. When he's off his lead he is fine. He'll still pick up every thing he walks past but he doesn't wonder off and he come when asked too and go back on his lead with no problem. Which is not the same for getting him on his lead in the first place. I've tried turning around and walking in the opposite direction when he pulls. I've tried stopping until he realises we're not going any where then going again. I've tried keeping him on a tight lead as soon as he pulls. Nothing seems to work.

He always jumps up and hurts and scares my daughter.She is only small and I see her as an easy target for him when it comes to jumping up at people. I cant get him to stop doing that. My daughter loves our puppy but is also very scared of him hurting her all the time. She's covered in scratch marks and bite marks from him.

Can any one help pease?

Hi

I'm not a lab owner but I'm sure some of them will be along soon.

Just a couple of things - for the jumping are you all turning your back and ignoring the pup every time - I know that is one recommended method for getting them to stop.

Have you attended any puppy training classes - if not I recommend you find one as soon as possible .

What is your exercise regime with the pup - maybe little and often may help to keep him stimulated and tire him

Food - what are you feeding him - some of the foods can make pups a bit hyper

have you tried a crate and/or puppy pen for when you do have to leave him so that he cannot destroy things?

Maxine 

Sounds like a typical untrained retriever puppy :D

He isn't going to know anything about what he should or should not do unless he is shown and taught.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

He needs to be put in a safe place when not being watched carefully.

You should not tell him off when he chews things you do not want him to as that is beyond his understanding.  The same with the play biting, that is how pups play and if the other party runs flaps their arms and squeals all the better the game.

You need to keep your daughter away from the pup unless directly supervised by you ans when they are together it needs to be quiet time, not playtime.

This article will help with this issue: http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

As for the rest do not let him alone near things like cables. 

Do not chase him for things he picks up, instead get something he is allowed to play with and be all excited about it, guaranteed he will drop what he has and most importantly you can PRAISE him for coming to you and reward him with the appropriate toy and quietly remove the other object.

You need to puppy proof your home the same as you did when your daughter was small.

A crate may well help with your problems while you are busy, but should only be used for short periods and never as a punishment.  For a Labrador you really need one that is 42inches long x 26 inches wide by 30 inches tall, at a push if space is a real issue the next size down 36x24x27 may do if he isn't a big lab.

I think we would all like our pups to come pre-programmed, but there is no escaping that the next two years, and especially the next year it will be training training and more training to have the well mannered canine companion you wish for.

Good luck :D

Oh dear it sounds like you need to go back to basics and teach him some manners :-)

It looks like he has been pushing you to see how far he can go and hasn't had the signal yet from you to say enough and that is too far !

Firstly I would make sure he is never left unsupervised with your daughter and make sure when ever he steps over the mark he is told no and then remove him from the room. Also on your daughters side I would try and make her be as calm as possible around him as if she is showing signs which will excite him he sees it as a green light to play and be boistrous
If he is biting do not distract with a treat as he maybe seeing this a reward :-) A short sharp no and try the sit command. that way you will get his attention and break the mouthing cycle. Once he is calm reward him with a toy to play with.

I would suggest getting him a harness initially to help with control but keep reinforcing the stop start routine you are doing as you will have to persevere. Even if you have a walk initially where is is stop start all the way he will soon get bored and realise it is much more fun to walk to the heel than to be interupted constantly. It will take a lot of patience on your behalf but that it what you have to be when taking on a Lab pup it is hard work but worth it all in the end  !

My partner, my son and me all turn our backs on the pup when he jumps up or walk away and ignore him. I know that any attention to a dog of this age is good attention to them, even if you're not in the best of moods with them. While this is fine for us 3 my daughter can not get away with it. He seems to home in on her. If she turns her back he just jumps up at her and starts biting and pulling on her hair to get her to play with him. She is never left alone with him and as soon as he jumps up now one of us will have to go in and take her out of he situation.

I asked about training classes in my area at the vets a couple of days ago. There aren't any in my local area. I dont drive and the area's that have training classes I can not get to easily.

Hi Bouncya

I see Brainless has already given the Ian Dunbar link to train bite inhibition and also pointed out the value of a crate - certainly allowing access to ANYWHERE that may have wiring is extremely dangerous with a puppy and even when supervising it is still a tricky business to ensure safety.  A crate, puppy pen or, alternatively, even a baby gate confining him to a hard floor surface with no access to wiring (such as kitchen, utility room or conservatory) will be a super safe environment for when you're out shopping, dining, etc or for him overnight if you wish :)

Re the picking everything up when out on the lead - why not find him a favourite toy which is saved for these excursions and give it to him to carry in his mouth when you take him out?  Labs are (by definition) retrievers and just LOVE to carry things around so it shouldn't be too difficult to encourage him, partcularly if when he's off lead you play a great and exciting game with him and said toy :)  Another positive to this is it should help keep him from being distracted by passers-by, cyclists and things on the pavement.  You can even buy flavoured toys or use a kong smeared inside with some cream cheese to keep his interest.

HTH - puppyhood is not ALL fun but it is short so we just have to make the most of our imaginations!
regards, Teri

Thank you all for your advice and tips so far.

Pupy has had some basic training which we've done with him since we got him. But being a pup he gets bored very quickly. He knows the 'come', 'sit' and 'fetch' commands. He in fully toilet trained (not without alot of work and my carpet being destroyed!!).

We quickly learnt not to chase him for things as he thiks this is a game. instead we try distracting him with something he is allowed to have or a treat. This does not always work. Infact it's 50/50 and depends on whether he's in the mood to 'swap'.

Aww he's just being a puppy! :-P

17 weeks old is still very young and he is going to be exploring all the avenues to know how cheeky he can or can not be! lol

Basic training like sit,stay,lay,come and wait will be enough at this age to keep his mind active, and the more active a dogs brain has been, the more sleep they need! His attention span will be very short but as long as you end on a positive note it will be sooo worth it.

Chews are good for giving an hour of peace

If he gets too much take him outside and play fetch with him to tire him out a bit more and when he retireves praise and reward, play hide and seek indoors as well.

With the mouthing im afraid its part and parcel of getting a new puppy, they do nip and test their mouths out on you!
Best way is to replace your hand with a toy and leave him too it, or 'yelp' very loud when he does it and immediatly stop play and ignore him completely, he will know he has hurt you so will stop doing it when he realises it means play stops altogether.

Enjoy your pup while he's this young, it doesnt last forever! :-D

Pushing is not the word!!! haha

We've explained to my daughter that she is to keep clam and just walk away from him when he jumps up and nips her. Not to get to exciting and jump around him, herself. This she has started doing. But there are stil times this does not work on both sides.

The harness is something I was looking at getting as it seemed to be the only 'kind' way to train him and stop him pulling when we were out waking. He has a normal collor and lead and the moment and I really dislike it when he pulls so hard on his lead because it must be so uncomfy for him.Yet he still does it.
He has a ball which we take out with us to play with and for him to carry on walks. But as soon as he walks past something else he drops it. Should I be using another toy?

I completely understand that he is a puppy and that he will do these thing. I my partner is forever telling me to 'think dog, not human'. While I've tried this some times our pup pushes all the wrong buttons. I just want to put things in place to minimise these things or at least make them a little easier to deal with.
Or am I asking too much?

He's walked for almost an hour every morning and most nights will be walked again. He plays fetch and hide and seek both inside and outside.

Training is as much about training the children as well as the dog ! :-) Sometimes the one side needs to have the most work initially eg your daughter before you can see the full benefits of the work you are putting in on the dog !

The harness is an aid rather than a way to train a dog. It is a way for you to have more control to then be able to train him to stop pulling and walk to the heel.

Is the ball one of his favourite toys as to get his attention he needs something that he thinks is the bee knees to distract and get the immediate response you are looking for :-)

Just to add an hour plus another walk is maybe slightly too much for him at the age he is at. It is vital not to put too much strain on his joints whilst he is developing to avoid problems later on in life like Hip Dysplacia etc.

The normal rule is 5 mins for every month of his life. I know it sounds like it is very little but it will reap the rewards for a healthy sound dog in adulthood. That means a lot more training and playing will be needed to wear his body and mind out ! :-)

> We've explained to my daughter that she is to keep clam and just walk away from him when he jumps up and nips h

you're going to have to emphasise to your wee girl that shes the boss of the puppy, not the other way around. believe me its possible! my nephews 5 and is fine with all our dogs and his own whippet. he is less fond of our boy because he has been accidentally hurt occasionally by his over enthusiastic bounciness (dog weighs 12 stone ish so can do a fair amount of damage by accident). kai (my nephew) knows to keep back from the dogs if they are playing or have the heeby-jeebies and knows how to put them in their place, its very funny havng him stand there saying sternly "no Tio! sit down!"- he uses the right tone, uses the same hand signals the adults do etc and tio will settle for him.

as for the nipping we always take fingers away hold up a flat hand (stop sign) and make an at or ah type noise (easier than a word as it kind happens automatically when your sore from a bite i think) then give them something else to chew- fingers bad, ragger good sort of idea. to be honest though i thinks its been easy to train that out of our pups- we;ve always had an older dog to help with training- if a pup gets over bity with the adults they put them in their place. you;ve no friends with adult dogs who could help with that aspect> you'll need to socialise anyway

I didnt take out our girl on road walks until I was happy with how she walked on one round our garden, then she was used to it as well.

It sounds like you have a very happy, excitable puppy so you may be wanting too much f him at this age to be ther 'perfect' dog or even well trainined as he is still very very much a puppy.

Keep consistently doing the things that have been advised and you will have a lovely adult dog one day, social classes are always a winner as well, obedience classes even better!! :)

Edited to add - With the jumping up if the turning away isnt working I would watch him like a hawk and the minute his back legs bend like he is to jump up, say a very sharp, quick and loud No and push him away, he will soon learn that it gets him now where to jump and he is ONLY to be praised when sitting nicely.
The hardest part of training a dog not to jump up is to get visitors to adhere to your rules and not let them jump up or to make a fuss of him as soon as they walk in!! Thats the hardest part!!

Re his toy - I'd find him one he really likes just for taking on his walks and then putting away again :)  If he enjoys a ball then perhaps get him one on a rope which is easier for you to throw and for him to chase etc.  If it's exclusive to his exercise outside the home and garden he will hopefully maintain interest in it.

Ditto LJS about the monitoring exercise - 5 mins per month is a golden rule best kept to the fore front for the sake of healthy joints and limbs in the growing dog :)  Mental stimulation such as hide and seek at home/in the garden, searching for toys or treats etc and a few tricks will tire him out more efficiently and more safely than too much exercise.

regards, Teri

Tell me about it, my Myka is terrible for jumping up at people who fuss her and say oh no we don't mind, she is a tall 14 months and can catch you with her claws.

Would definatlydefinatly recommend training classes. Well worth it if you have a good trainer and you can take your partner and daughter so you are being taught the same and correct way. my dog has an infatuation with things he shouldnt. He loves to steal tissues from the box and his latest thing is jumping in the bath to steal the flannel. He's been told no but to be honest the simple way to deal with it is move them out of his way and he soon gets bored. Thats how he "went off" all the other things he used to steal. Obviouolsly with things like cables and wood you cant move and need to focus on being assertive and telling him off and would also say that a crate is a wonderful thing. Some poeple are against them but for practical purposes and as long as its not for prolonged periods of time, they are a godsend!!! :-)
Your pup is still young and his energy would be great if chanelled into something like puppy training/good citizen award. You'd also notice a difference in him at home i.e quieter, better behaved, more likely to aim to please you.
Have faith, it will get better if you're prepared to put in the work and have patience. :-) :-)

Know what you mean Brainless. Fred still does this and some other undesirabel things because people let him get away with it. Im very strict and wont tolerate so he never does it to me, but if he knows someone is a soft touch he does it. I find it embarassing saying to people "please ignore him when he jumps up" but your right, people just say "oh i dont mind" Its like, if someone said dont give my child sweets i wouldnt go against the parent and gice them a lolly. To me its just rude.
Non dog owners especially dont realise the time and effort it takes to train and maintain a well behaved dog!!!! :-)

Crikey you all reply so quickly! Its great.

So he shouldn't be walked more than 20 per day at this age? He loves his walks ... even to the point he has what we call his 'mad 5 mins', where he just goes completely insain and runs as fast as he can around and around in large circles.

When we got are first lab, it was a shock to the system to say the least!! he will grow out out of it but he needs to learn some manners.
Going back to basics  with the training will help.
Just wondering have you enrolled your pup in classes?

Best wishes
Hayley

That has to be one of my pet hates. I spend so much of my time telling our puppy not to jump up ad to get down/off things. All goes out of the window when we're out. As soon s we walk near anyone the first thing the do is either stick their hands out to pet the dog or go 'awwww look, how cute is he!' in a really high pitch voice.
Just make everything i've been doing pointless.

Yeah thats the famous mad 5 mins!! SBT's are espicially funny for those few mo's! LOL

Make sure that yoiur training isnt hindered by other people like me and brainless said earlier, people coming into the home have to adhere to your training rules, we were set baclk so much by people stroking Mitz when I am telling her to get off that person....see dogs want to learn!

Pup classes?

I've asked about training classes at our vets. But none of them are local and I can not get to them easily. I will have another look around though.

Yes it's very frustrating!! where i walk mine sometimes i have the problem of people handing out treats willy nilly, i ask them not do it, but some keep doing it. i tell them they have to earn them, what can you do!!!

My dog has his funny 5 mins. He does a loop da loop round the sofa into the kitchen, round the other sofa and back again. We sit on the sofa stranded because its too dangerous to get up and risk being knocked over when he's having his funny 5 minutes.
Have another lookat training sessions. How far away are they? Obviously you need to be realistic but if you have to travel a little way then so be it. It's well worth it!!!

I dont get that. Hopefully wont either. If he jumps up, we automatically say 'down', which some times he does. Or if we see him going towards someone we say 'leave'. But 9 times out of 10 everyone always goes ' No its alright ' and encourages(sp?) him even more!

We do not move when our pup has his funny 5 mins. You've no idea where he's going. I dont even think he does. We just sit/stand there and laugh. Its a funny thing to watch.

Definately going to check out training sessions again.

Laughter at hi jinks is fatal, unless you want them to continue.  I am certain that dogs have a  sense of humour. :D

Our pup definately likes to wind people up.

He doesn't seem to take any notice of anyone or thing when he's having his mad five mins and we're never stood/sat any where near him when he is.

instead we try distracting him with something he is allowed to have or a treat. This does not always work. Infact it's 50/50 and depends on whether he's in the mood to 'swap'.

Then what you are offering is not exciting enough or of a sufficiently high value (in his eyes)!  You need to find what rocks his boat and keep it for those 'special' occasions!  :-D

Hiya, if it helps i have a lab who is 17 weeks also and is doing exactly the same thing as yours.  If you want to swap tips please let me know and i can give you my email address.  i know how you feel as they are monkeys and as they are big puppies and heavy it does makeit had. Please be careful with the walking though as my pup is under the vet as he developed a limp after too much play with other dogs and walking. 

The vet toldme last night that the mouthing should reduce when his baby teeth go and that should be soon so hang in there.  I aso turn around and stop walking when he pulls, say no pulling loudly and then continue to walk.  if he slows i say good boy a few times.  You feel that you have to do this every few steps as he starts pulling again, but my hubby said it looks like it was starting to work a little so we are continuing to do this.

Anyway goodluck and b in touch

amanda

You'll be cool with your new puppy, keep being consistant and grit your teeth at people who dont know no better :)

Mouthing is part of them accustoming to their new set of teeth, so toys there fore need to harden up gradually as well as they get older. A sharp no and instant ingnore and end of play will be suffice to curb that behaviour.

But he does soiund like a wonderul puppy as he isnt doing anything 'bad' like digging, or biting hard or terrorising children, so he is just being a typical lab puppy who i have heard can be very funny and cheeky! Much like a SBT puppy lol

Edited to add - The walking to heel can be done very swiftly if taught in the back garden first of all, takes away all the distraction of noise and smells and scary traffic at that age and then you can take that training on to the road, and then on to a park where the training continues ;) and then home for a good nights rest....for all of you! lol

Puppies are very hard work :)

It is not easy but you must always try to stay calm with him (lots of descriptive words can run through your head just don't let him know you are thinking them:) ) Our youngest dog has taken forever to learn that the rule is paws on floors - it is still work in progress with him - but I found that one of the best ways to stop the behaviour was to catch it before it started. Whenever visitors rang the doorbell I would put him on his lead and not let him interract with them until he was calm and staying on the floor rather than resembling a manic jack in the box - his reward was to go and say hello in a calm controlled manner and receive lots of quiet praise. Now he is getting the hang of what is required of him and I don't have to put him on his lead as standard practice, only if he forgets his manners and then he quickly remembers what is expected of him.

Another thing I have found with him is that any praise has to be delivered in a calm way. Our other dog responds best to enthusiastic praise whereas for Cooper this just gets him excited and spoils the good behaviour.

Consistency is another good thing to remember - make sure you are all doing the same thing and reacting in the same manner as this will make it much easier for him to learn.

And, IMHO, the biggest thing to remember if you are a beginner at training a dog is that the dog has to learn a movement before you can ask him to do it :) So you have to wait for the dog to do something that you would eventually want him to do on command  i.e if he sits of his own accord you would praise/reward that behaviour and gradually introduce the word sit as you see him starting to sit down. He will then associate that word with the action he is doing and eventually when that association is fixed firmly with him you can then say the word and get the required action.

I made a big mistake when trying to correct our older dog from pulling. He would walk nicely beside me but sometimes pull towards something that interested me and I would say heel to him and he would continue to pull. It was only when I realised that every time I said heel he pulled like mad that it dawned on me that I had actually taught him to pull when given the command heel - he pulled, I said heel, he pulled even more. I had to stop using the word heel and substitute another word which I only used when he was walking nicely - he quickly associated the new command with walking nicely because I used the word for the right behaviour. Once that was always associated with that action I could then use it as a command to initiate the required  behaviour - and get it as he understood what I meant :)

It is probably an obvious thing to experienced owners but is easy to get wrong if you are just starting out with your puppy :)

>my Myka is terrible for jumping up at people who fuss her and say oh no we don't mind

Just giving an insight into why people may let other dogs jump on them. I dont particularly enjoy strange dogs(or any dog) jumping up on me,but i feel if i react negatively i'll come across as anti-dog or intolerant :( So i usually say "oh that's ok",when really it's not.I often come home with paw prints across my chest,my dogs are only calf height ;)
I feel it will look bad if i push someone else's dog off of me.How should i deal with it when this happens?

Bounceya i feel for you..Having a strong,bouncy,boisterous Lab is not for the faint hearted,and that 5 minute walking rule would be soooo hard to adhere to even if it is in the dogs best long term interests. If it were me i would move hell or highwater to get to a training class.A well run one would be a god send for you guys.

Can I ask you what you are feeding him? Although a lot of this is puppy behaviour there may be some other underlying cause. Our girl was a horror at about the same age despite us doing everything we had researched. At the time we were taking her to puppy training and one session was on diet - we spoke to the trainer and completely changed her diet and treats and within a week or two there was a big difference in her behaviour. She still has a 'big' personality and mad moments but I can honestly say a change in diet was the best thing we could have done for our sanity and for hers!

In Response to Ktee

These are people who come up to my dogs and when I ask them to not encourage them to jump up.  I would not let my dogs jump up onto passersby.  The reason many people encourage dogs to jump up is they don't have to get down to them to pet them.

Lots of good advice given, I just wanted to add a couple of things:
I've tried keeping him on a tight lead as soon as he pulls.

A dog's instinct is automatically to pull if the lead is tight -it takes two to pull essentially, so keeping the lead tight makes it worse. I see a harness has been mentioned, personally I would go for a head collar as many dogs pull far worse on a harness. I've had several dogs that were nightmares to walk as pups that I used headcollars on for a few months and then they learnt to walk nicely and never needed the headcollar again. The headcollar will also make it easier to stop him from jumping up at people.

Have you checked with the Kennel Club about training classes? Vets don't always know all that's on in the area, I can in fact pretty much guarantee that my vet isn't aware of the classes in my area that I have been going to for ten years now. :)

Just giving an insight into why people may let other dogs jump on them. I dont particularly enjoy strange dogs(or any dog) jumping up on me,but i feel if i react negatively i'll come across as anti-dog or intolerant  So i usually say "oh that's ok",when really it's not.

My solution to this is to say "ah ah" or "off" and step back so the dog can't jump on me or push it off (gentle but firm) and maybe keeping it from trying again by holding the collar and fussing at the same time. Straight away I bend/reach down to stroke the dog and tell it how good it is for keeping its paws on the floor.

I've not had anyone react negatively to this because they can see that I'm not anti dogs, some people are even relieved that they don't have to drag their dog off me. :-)

ditto karen, if they behave they get attention, simple!

Must say I do the same as Karen with other peoples dogs, it is the ones that encourage mine to jump up that it is difficult.  My dogs are friendly and fairly unusual so attract a lot of attention.  I will get stopped several times on a half hour pavement walk, which I have to do to get anywhere.

We changed our puppies diet from wet puppy food and mixer to just dried food about 2 weeks ago. In all honesty the only thing that has changed is the amount he goes to the loo and how it comes out!! Nothing else.

I got him a harness yesterday and went for a walk with him for the first time this morning usng it. I also kept him on a very short lead. This actually seemed to help. If he pulled I stopped as I normally do. He seemed to respond better with the harness and short lead. I have more control ofhis upper body. He started to sit down and look at me as if to say 'what are we waiting for' after a while and he only pulled a few times instead of the constant pulling he was doing before.

Would just like to say thank you to everyone who replied and for all the advice you've given.

THANK YOU.

Keep us posted on how you get on.....

Best wishes
Hayley

The change from wet to dry may not make any difference ;) it's what's in the food (or not ;) ) that makes the difference ;) ;)

eg. my dog at 20 weeks was a lunatic and had been since a month after we got her, didn't stop for 5 mins etc etc.  we were feeding pedigree puppy dry food.  On advice, I changed the food to a very simple one with no sugars, colours, artificial preservatives and the difference in 2 weeks was amazing   by the end of a month people thought I had a different pup!!!   My friend recently ran out of her usual dog food and bought a small box of butchers - then couldn't understand why her normally placid older cocker was driving her nuts with his mad manic behaviour ;)  I suggested getting more of her usual food and the dog improved very quickly.

Of course it may not be the food, but a quick read of the box would tell you if it contains any ingredients which may affect a dog/pup in this way.

We changed his dry food to a pet stores own brand. It hasn't got anything added into it, no sugars, colours or artificial preservatives. It states it has all the vitamins in that he needs and to help with pups rapid growth aswell as a high meat content.

So hopefully that one is 'ok' for him.

He has now taken to dragging his food bowl full of water across the kitchen floor and tipping water every where!  So we have to supervise him every time he has a drink now and take his bowl away when it looks like he's finished.

Sounds like one very bright pup.  He really needs a structured training program to use that mental energy.

Have you got any training books.  Ian Dunbar is good.  Some Gundog training books would be great too.

He has now taken to dragging his food bowl full of water across the kitchen floor and tipping water every where!

Get him one of those heavy pottery type bowls! :) 

I'll have a look for some other books. I have a basic training book. That is aimed at all breeds really.
I try and do a couple of 10 min training sessions a day with him. He'll play fetch and hide and seek well. Today I managed to train him to leave a treat alone in my hand until I said he could have it. He did really well with that. But think it will take a bit longer to get him to leave other stuff.

I never thought about the pottery bowl ... another thing to look for. :o)

Does anyone know how long this 'teething' process goes on? He's already started loosing a few teeth and they seem to grow back in the space of a week.

He sounds like a normal puppy to  me full of fun! 

Have you not had a pup for a while? and didnt the breeder tell you what to expect? This is just puppies, they do jump up , scratch and bite they also pull on leads and pick everything up in sight.
He will get better as he gets older, try to enrol him in a puppy class not necessarily for strict obedience but for socialisation, anything to get his mind occupied, and you will have more peace at home.

Not sure how you can stop him jumping on your daughter I know pups get even sillier around children as they too are silly and they pick up on it, tell your daughter not to shriek and scream etc... I cant say im a big lover of pups and young children together unless the owner is very experienced, just this week at work there are three pups on the internal intranet up for rehoming where the owners cant cope with them jumping and biting their toddlers!
It does annoy me, do people think a pup will just sit quiet all day and only play when asked? 

Hope you persevere with your boy he sounds lovely

Beth

This is the first pup we've had. And this was the first litter the breeder has had with her Lab.

I knew he was going to be hard work and we'd have to be patient ... but some things are hard to be patient about and I was looking for advice to try and minimise it in any way.
I've been given some great advice and we're all putting it into action. Which I thank everyone for.

We've explained to my daughter that she needs to show the pup she's the boss and he cant keep pushing her about. She is getting better even though here are a few times when he gets too much for her still. It's just perserverance with both of them I think.

There's no way i'm giving up on this pup. If he thinks he's stubborn he hasn't seen anything. I know he's a great pup,has a great personality and he's always making us laugh. Just need's to be taught some manners. haha