Ok, so i have had my yellow lab for 3 weeks now, he just turned 9 weeks old. He is a great dog, and very energetic, loving, and is learning very quickly. He already knows the Sit command, is leash trained, and getting closer to being house-trained. However, he has a huge issue with biting. I am home from college from the summer, and living with my parents. He used to nip at everyone. Now he only bites me. I have been arguing with my parents because they advocated the use of using a newspaper if he bit, which they did for a few days. This worked for them, but finally i decided I didnt wan't my dog being exposed to that. I am trying to use the ignore/walk away method but it is failing miserably. He won't bite my parents anymore and it makes me think its cuz they used the newspaper....
This is what I do when he starts to bite. First he usually tries to bite my pants. He latches on and growls and pulls at them. I can't ignore him because I don't want him putting holes in all of my pants. So I try walking away, which means I have to manually pull him off of my pants, and push him away. I know this is rewarding his behavior but what other choice do I have?
Then I walk away and he follows me, I usually have to leave the room in order to get away. (This presents a whole new problem, I can't leave him unsupervised in a room, so I can't even stay away for long.) I am almost out of ideas, and am starting to worry that somehow I am turning a yellow lab into an agressive dog.
note: I also give him plenty of exercise so it is not an issue of unused energy.
This is what I do when he starts to bite. First he usually tries to bite my pants. He latches on and growls and pulls at them. I can't ignore him because I don't want him putting holes in all of my pants. So I try walking away, which means I have to manually pull him off of my pants, and push him away. I know this is rewarding his behavior but what other choice do I have?
Then I walk away and he follows me, I usually have to leave the room in order to get away. (This presents a whole new problem, I can't leave him unsupervised in a room, so I can't even stay away for long.) I am almost out of ideas, and am starting to worry that somehow I am turning a yellow lab into an agressive dog.
note: I also give him plenty of exercise so it is not an issue of unused energy.