We've had our 9 week old labrador puppy for nearly a week now and he is settling in a treat. His crate training is going brilliantly and he is a dream. he comes from a good strong line of working dogs and so I would expect a degree of intelligence!!! But, now that he is getting more confident in his new surroundings, he has taken to launching himself at us and biting. This happens especially at times when he is playing ball games, rope games etc with us. I have tried growling, barking and yelping but it seems that this won't deter him. How can I train him out of this sooner rather than later?
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Biting A Game
- Thread starter Benchster
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Hi Benchster, I have 4 Labs although only Daisy we had as a pup our others have been rescue at 11 months, 2 years and 5 months of age when we got them.
Playtime is a great time to set ground rules and try some basic training,Clicker training with young dogs can be very rewarding for both you and your dog, If i had a pup again it would certainly be on the top of my first things to do, once you have the method of clicker training down there really are no limits to what you can teach .
Maybe look at You tube for some video clips so you get the idea and then a bit of reading up and you will be well away, its great to use on young pups as it can be done any time any where as long as you carry some rewards and the clicker,
At 9 weeks old your pup only knows how to play in respect to his litter mates and mum, sometimes if pups are taken from mum too soon they can miss a vital part of her behaviour training which is bite inhibition, she will put pup in its place when they get too rough this way they learn what type of bite is ok or not .
You are not mum you are his new human family and try as you may to emulate a dogs response it doesn't really work so stop yelping and stand up and walk away from the game, when you interact with him during play try not to instigate rough play as he will see this as how you want him to behave, this in a 9 week old pup is funny , cute, etc in a 9 month old dog who could knock you over or hurt you is not funny or cute.
Play fetch, roll a ball and see if he will retrieve using clicker training he will soon get the idea that coming back with the ball makes you happy and gets him a treat, this then leads on to recall as the behaviour to return to you is there already from playing fetch the Come command should be easy !!!
Dogs hate being ignored they want your attention even if its you yelping, telling him no, waving your arms around so he cant bite you, thats all a game too so if play gets too much, stand up, walk away from him, no eye contact, no interaction at all untill he calms down then you can instigate play again under your terms, with a toy you chose not what he brings you.
Just remember at his age its either 100 miles an hour or zonked out fast asleep so use the time he is awake and use it to your advantage, constructive play/training , I can't recommend highly enough how much clicker training will help you,make sure he is well socialised , take him to classes for structured interaction with other dogs as well as free play in the park, dont over exercise him, too much joint impact until 12 months of age can cause irreparable damage to joints and ligaments, if he isnt physically tired wear him out mentally by more training , its not all about the body.
He may also be close to teething which will make him inclined to chewing, so instead of him finding things to chew on like shoes etc, give him things he is allowed , i found raw cold carrots from the fridge a god send, at first they chew them up and spit them out but then they find out mmmmmm they taste good and it becomes a healthy treat too, dont be tempted to give rawhide chews as these are often pork and can upset his tummy , kong toys, carrot, real knuckle bones from the butcher anything to get those pesky baby teeth out without spoiling your furniture or possesions, oh and a great rule i gave everyone in our house when Daisy was a pup, If you dont want it chewed dont leave it lying around , its not your dogs fault, he didnt know it cost a lot of money so pick it up !!!!
Im so jel i need another pup.
Playtime is a great time to set ground rules and try some basic training,Clicker training with young dogs can be very rewarding for both you and your dog, If i had a pup again it would certainly be on the top of my first things to do, once you have the method of clicker training down there really are no limits to what you can teach .
Maybe look at You tube for some video clips so you get the idea and then a bit of reading up and you will be well away, its great to use on young pups as it can be done any time any where as long as you carry some rewards and the clicker,
At 9 weeks old your pup only knows how to play in respect to his litter mates and mum, sometimes if pups are taken from mum too soon they can miss a vital part of her behaviour training which is bite inhibition, she will put pup in its place when they get too rough this way they learn what type of bite is ok or not .
You are not mum you are his new human family and try as you may to emulate a dogs response it doesn't really work so stop yelping and stand up and walk away from the game, when you interact with him during play try not to instigate rough play as he will see this as how you want him to behave, this in a 9 week old pup is funny , cute, etc in a 9 month old dog who could knock you over or hurt you is not funny or cute.
Play fetch, roll a ball and see if he will retrieve using clicker training he will soon get the idea that coming back with the ball makes you happy and gets him a treat, this then leads on to recall as the behaviour to return to you is there already from playing fetch the Come command should be easy !!!
Dogs hate being ignored they want your attention even if its you yelping, telling him no, waving your arms around so he cant bite you, thats all a game too so if play gets too much, stand up, walk away from him, no eye contact, no interaction at all untill he calms down then you can instigate play again under your terms, with a toy you chose not what he brings you.
Just remember at his age its either 100 miles an hour or zonked out fast asleep so use the time he is awake and use it to your advantage, constructive play/training , I can't recommend highly enough how much clicker training will help you,make sure he is well socialised , take him to classes for structured interaction with other dogs as well as free play in the park, dont over exercise him, too much joint impact until 12 months of age can cause irreparable damage to joints and ligaments, if he isnt physically tired wear him out mentally by more training , its not all about the body.
He may also be close to teething which will make him inclined to chewing, so instead of him finding things to chew on like shoes etc, give him things he is allowed , i found raw cold carrots from the fridge a god send, at first they chew them up and spit them out but then they find out mmmmmm they taste good and it becomes a healthy treat too, dont be tempted to give rawhide chews as these are often pork and can upset his tummy , kong toys, carrot, real knuckle bones from the butcher anything to get those pesky baby teeth out without spoiling your furniture or possesions, oh and a great rule i gave everyone in our house when Daisy was a pup, If you dont want it chewed dont leave it lying around , its not your dogs fault, he didnt know it cost a lot of money so pick it up !!!!
Im so jel i need another pup.
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I feel your pain - quite literally!!! My pup is 15 months old now but in the early days he was a complete nightmare, biting everything & anybody. Gosh those needle sharp teeth can really hurt. I can't add much to the excellent advice you've already been given accept to give you the support & reassurance that it will end. We tried absolutely everything with our puppy & despite our perseverance nothing had any long term effect & with 3 small children in the house we really were pulling our hair out. Then eventually once his baby teeth began to fall out & be replaced by his adult ones he just stopped.
We were so worried we had an aggressive pup on our hands but in reality we had a normal active pup who just needed guidance & also the time to get through the frustration of teething. He's now the softest dog around. Stay with it, you'll get there.
Oh & the two things that we found helped the most were frozen carrots for teething & also a water spray set to fine mist when he got over excited & particularly nippy when our 2 year old was around. Didn't hurt him at all but he didn't like it & it did get the message across - for a short while anyway.
We were so worried we had an aggressive pup on our hands but in reality we had a normal active pup who just needed guidance & also the time to get through the frustration of teething. He's now the softest dog around. Stay with it, you'll get there.
Oh & the two things that we found helped the most were frozen carrots for teething & also a water spray set to fine mist when he got over excited & particularly nippy when our 2 year old was around. Didn't hurt him at all but he didn't like it & it did get the message across - for a short while anyway.
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