Labrador puppy just turned 8 weeks - HELP

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#1
So I picked my little guy up last week and for the first two days he seemed to adjust very well. Not much crying, took to his crate perfectly, very minor nipping. Well he just turned 8 weeks yesterday and it is like someone flipped a switch and I really don't know what to do.

We have him isolated in the kitchen with doggy gates. I stay home with him all day and come in and out of the room to play with him. He has his toys with him and every hour or so he gets tired and takes a nap, for 2 days this was fine.

Well out of nowhere he seems to have gotten aggressive. When I try to play with him he will go right for my hand and nip or bite it. He started twitsting his head and growling when he does this with my finger still in his mouth. I tell him no bite or OUCH and give him a toy and he will chew it maybe for 5-10 secs then come back over to me where he will either snap at and bite my foot or he will bite my pant leg and growl and pull and twist. I unlock his jaws and tell him no bite and he will either go away or just go right into it again. He does this with my sweatshirt as well. (I don't play tug games with him at ANY time)

I try the no bite or ouch, I try turning my back to him and ignoring him which is impossible as he will then just attack my foot, and I leave the room for a little but when I come back it is the same thing.

What should I do to combat this? Is this normal behavior?
 
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#2
Our puppies must be soul mates!!!

Please read the threads in the Puppy Forum - Having a Bad Day and Puppy Biting Leash for advice from others on dealing with this behavior. It is slowly but surely helping us.

I have heard of many pups like this since I started seeking help for these behaviors and everyone assured me this is normal puppy behavior, however, you do need to teach him it's not acceptable. I think reading those posts will help especially the ones from Doberluv who has some great reading suggestions....
 
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Our puppies must be soul mates!!!

Please read the threads in the Puppy Forum - Having a Bad Day and Puppy Biting Leash for advice from others on dealing with this behavior. It is slowly but surely helping us.

I have heard of many pups like this since I started seeking help for these behaviors and everyone assured me this is normal puppy behavior, however, you do need to teach him it's not acceptable. I think reading those posts will help especially the ones from Doberluv who has some great reading suggestions....
Thanks for the reply I will look into those threads. He has really been a monster today as I want to play with him and tire him out but I can't because he keeps attacking my feet clothes and hands. I hope he shakes this nasty habit soon.
 

bubbatd

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#4
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh !!! Puppyhood !!! Maybe he didn't learn " quiet time " from his breeder ..
 

Doberluv

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#5
An eight week old pup is not being aggressive. He's playing. He's pretending. LOL.

When he bites, end all playtime right then and there. Get up, walk away and ignore him. Try again in a couple of minutes, repeat as necessary. When he is gentle with your skin, reward him with a treat and continued, low key patting.
Be sure and give him a hard chew toy that he can teethe on and praise him for chewing on that. Show him what you mean.
 

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#6
AHHHH EVIL LAB PUPPIES!! My specialty!!:D
Stick your fingers in his mouth so he gags. That usually works. Lab pups are pretty desensitized and like to test the water alot. I would just keep gaging the pup till he learns that its not fun to try and bite. When you do this though make sure to give him a command like No bite or even just no. Keep a toy in the other hand so that when he stops you have something else to offer him to chew on. Praise praise praise when he stops biting you and chews on his toy.

Lots and lots of exercise. A tired puppy is a good puppy. Take his favorite toy go to the hallway close all the doors and play fetch. Sit at the end of the hallway so he has to bring it back to you. Do this 3-5 times leave him wanting more. Get a pole with some feathers on the end of a string or small rope(like a fishing pole) and let him chase it around. Thats alot of fun for small pups.:D
 

Doberluv

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#7
Gagging a puppy just isn't very nice.:( You don't have to use aversives to train a puppy...Labrador or not. I've had Labs too. Why would you want to hurt, cause discomfort or frighten and possibly injure a little tiny puppy? This is an infant. You don't have to do anything physical. Simply make sure the puppy is not getting reinforced for this behavior. It will go away as he matures a little. Show him what you mean, what behavior gets him the good stuff. Give him an alternative to chew on. Be consistant. Reinforce good behavior.
 
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Gagging a puppy just isn't very nice.:( You don't have to use aversives to train a puppy...Labrador or not. I've had Labs too. Why would you want to hurt, cause discomfort or frighten and possibly injure a little tiny puppy? This is an infant. You don't have to do anything physical. Simply make sure the puppy is not getting reinforced for this behavior. It will go away as he matures a little. Show him what you mean, what behavior gets him the good stuff. Give him an alternative to chew on. Be consistant. Reinforce good behavior.
Yeah I have been telling him no bite and giving him another toy. He chews it a little then goes right back after me. If he does it too much I have been either leaving the room (can't stand there and ignore him as he has been biting my feet) or putting him in his crate for 5 min time out. I have learned the look he gets when he is going to do it so I have been pretty good stopping it before he does it however when we are outside I have less control as we are running and playing and I am grabbing leaves etc out of his mouth.

At about what age should he be less mouthy if I am consistent with letting him know it is bad and his toys are good? At this point I can't even let my 9 year old niece play with him because he is too rough.
 

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#9
Eight weeks is a touchy time ........ no rough play and a lot of down time !! That's why I posted " quiet time " above. I know a lot of people don't like the submissive on back treatment . I don't think it's good for dogs who are not used to it .... to them it's a threat . However , from day one I did this with pups to relax and gain comfort from gentle strokes ... this was " quiet time " .... soothing words and strokes and they would settle and even fall asleep . As to play ... I would have pups have their own play time . Plastic bottles with a rope , an empty pop can with a few rocks in it , anything to stimulate them . All pups will attack a trailing bathrobe etc. When my arms or ankles were attacked , I would yelp and subsitute . This too will pass !! Just remember .... don't give in to their mode of play !!!
 
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#10
I have been yelping, substituting, growling, grabbing scruff but he doesn't seem to care or he just does it more either in play or retaliation. He will roll himself over and lie on his back and want me to pet him, sometimes he is calm other times he is not. If I go to do it as a response to his biting he just squirms around snaping thinking I am playing.
 

MomOf7

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#11
Sigh. We just have different ways of doing things sometimes. Its all good. I appreciate your passion.
I have not ever had a puppy forever changed or dramatically different because of it. Actually never had one be different in any way other then they learned not to bite my fingers:)
 
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#12
It's just getting better for me at around 4 1/2 months. It has improved a lot the past week as we have been really consistent on time outs for biting, nipping, aggressive play for both the puppy and our children!!

He seems to want to be with us more now so the time outs really hit home. In fact, if he is really doing a lot of biting, and I put him in time out, he usually falls asleep which indicates to me that the biting had a lot to do with him trying to tell me he's tired and not knowing what to do about it. The biting also gets bad when the house is too chaotic - everyone rushing around, etc. I now know to anticipate this and put him away BEFORE it gets too crazy. I usually try to get him really tired right before the kids get home from school - a really crazy time in our house. This way he will need a nap when they are coming in and not mind when I crate him. Also, the crate is in the family room so he can still see all the activity, just not particpate in it. Colt will also jump up and bite me if I am sitting down and he needs to go out. He will go to the door first but if I miss it this is his way of telling me "You missed it, I need your attention".

I have found that over time I have gotten to know my puppy's cues for different things and he mine.

Tonight was the FIRST time Colt layed down next to me (after everyone else went to bed). It was wonderful and we both really enjoyed it. It was very calming for both of us - . You'll get there, hang on, it gets better, I promise.....
 

Doberluv

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#14
Bumhouse, It sounds like you're handling things very wisely. You know how children get when they get overly tired. I think puppies get punch drunk too when they're overly tired. You're really being creative in your management of your pup. Way to go.

Colt will also jump up and bite me if I am sitting down and he needs to go out. He will go to the door first but if I miss it this is his way of telling me "You missed it, I need your attention".
If you want him to stop jumping up and biting you, don't forget...if you respond the way he wants you to, (with attention, with letting him out) he'll learn that that is how to tell you. Try showing him an alternative way to tell you he has to go out.....maybe take him over by the door and ask him to sit. Then when he's "polite" let him out. You can even teach him other neat ways to tell you. You can teach him to "speak" = the door opening. Or some people hang a bell on the door and smear a tiny amount of peanut butter on it. He licks it off in one or two licks, bell rings, door opens.

It looks like you're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. You're doing great.
 
M

mindi

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#15
Hi now this is az nice story, I like it when people help people. Its just like when my Princess helps me, it feels good to be loved
 
M

mindi

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#16
AHHHH EVIL LAB PUPPIES!! My specialty!!:D
Stick your fingers in his mouth so he gags. That usually works. Lab pups are pretty desensitized and like to test the water alot. I would just keep gaging the pup till he learns that its not fun to try and bite. When you do this though make sure to give him a command like No bite or even just no. Keep a toy in the other hand so that when he stops you have something else to offer him to chew on. Praise praise praise when he stops biting you and chews on his toy.

Lots and lots of exercise. A tired puppy is a good puppy. Take his favorite toy go to the hallway close all the doors and play fetch. Sit at the end of the hallway so he has to bring it back to you. Do this 3-5 times leave him wanting more. Get a pole with some feathers on the end of a string or small rope(like a fishing pole) and let him chase it around. Thats alot of fun for small pups.:D

You are too mean to puppies, Why would you hjrt the puppy? why does the puppy need your findgers in his mouth? I would kek you hard and have my therapy dog Princess talk too you. She does not like mean persons.I thought ths was a nice place to be, not a bad place to be.

I have my Princess my theraphy dog to help ,me with a better way of living, and we are best freinds. She helps me in me get into my wheel chair, and helps me a lot, she would not like people like you I know I don;t alredy
 

mrose_s

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#17
it doesn't hurt them mindi. it just helps to show them that nothing good comes out of putting your hand in your mouth. more good come out of playing with a toy
 

mrose_s

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#18
So I picked my little guy up last week and for the first two days he seemed to adjust very well. Not much crying, took to his crate perfectly, very minor nipping. Well he just turned 8 weeks yesterday and it is like someone flipped a switch and I really don't know what to do.

We have him isolated in the kitchen with doggy gates. I stay home with him all day and come in and out of the room to play with him. He has his toys with him and every hour or so he gets tired and takes a nap, for 2 days this was fine.

Well out of nowhere he seems to have gotten aggressive. When I try to play with him he will go right for my hand and nip or bite it. He started twitsting his head and growling when he does this with my finger still in his mouth. I tell him no bite or OUCH and give him a toy and he will chew it maybe for 5-10 secs then come back over to me where he will either snap at and bite my foot or he will bite my pant leg and growl and pull and twist. I unlock his jaws and tell him no bite and he will either go away or just go right into it again. He does this with my sweatshirt as well. (I don't play tug games with him at ANY time)

I try the no bite or ouch, I try turning my back to him and ignoring him which is impossible as he will then just attack my foot, and I leave the room for a little but when I come back it is the same thing.

What should I do to combat this? Is this normal behavior?
its normal i reckon. their just testing their spot. make him no that the game stops once he bites you. but if its easy to keep playing. i'd just try. getting him off your hand and giving him the toy and tugging the toy around. sounds like he loves to pull on you. but you give him a toy and its got too much give. it does whatever he wants. so tug the toy around a bit to make it more interesting than your hand
 
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#19
Bumhouse, It sounds like you're handling things very wisely. You know how children get when they get overly tired. I think puppies get punch drunk too when they're overly tired. You're really being creative in your management of your pup. Way to go.



If you want him to stop jumping up and biting you, don't forget...if you respond the way he wants you to, (with attention, with letting him out) he'll learn that that is how to tell you. Try showing him an alternative way to tell you he has to go out.....maybe take him over by the door and ask him to sit. Then when he's "polite" let him out. You can even teach him other neat ways to tell you. You can teach him to "speak" = the door opening. Or some people hang a bell on the door and smear a tiny amount of peanut butter on it. He licks it off in one or two licks, bell rings, door opens.

It looks like you're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. You're doing great.
Doberluv,

THANKS!! I am definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!!

That is EXACTLY what I do when he jumps on me to go out. I take him to the door and get him really excited - "Do you want to go out?!!" Then he sits and we go out. I do not look at him when I get up to take him over. He wears a lead and I just pick it up and walk him over and then talk to him. It's been working. Of course, it's my fault when I miss the cue the first time anyway so I try not to make too big of a deal out of it. I thought about the bell thing but I have heard some stories about dogs that "ring" the bells just to get attention and then they are in and out, in and out. Also, I don't want Colt to be TOO vocal as Collies have a tendency to bark A LOT!! It's going well - housetraining was the easiest task for me so far believe it or not. He goes to the door and whines - that's good enough for me, LOL.

I see a huge difference in Colt this week!!! I hope I can pass along some of the things that helped me to others with young pups now.
 
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So saying ouch, no, pulling scruff or collar either has no effect or he just does it more. I am substituting toys for my feet/shoes/hand/pants and he will bite it for maybe a min and then he goes right back to the shoe or pants. I guess isolation is my only option? I have been doing this the past day but that seems ineffective as well. I go to play with him or I am just walking around in the kitchen, he goes to bite my pants/shoes, I tell him no bite and he keeps doing it so I tell him no bite and I storm out of the room. I come back 2 mins later and it is the same thing. Should I really be walking in and out of the room every 2 mins? Will this be effective? I know he does want to play because when I leave the room he usually sits by the gate and waits for me to come back.
 

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