Metric Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Play biting Hi I have a young lab of 9 weeks and I have a problem with its play biting. This is my first dog so not too sure if it is such an issue as I am going to make out but hopefully the experts out there will tell me. The pup is constantly wanting to bite me or the wife on the hands or ankles and on a couple of actions he has drawn blood. I know that pups will bite but this seem a Little over the top. We have tyred to follow advise from books and other people I.e walk away and ignore him, try giving him a toy to bite but nothing seems to be working. He gets plenty of exercise and different things to play with. I would appreciate any advise. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margun Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Hi, At 9 weeks, a puppy is exploring everything around him, like a toddler playing with various objects. Unfortunately the pup has no hands so uses his fangs. It's not malicious it's all he has, although you want to stop this ASAP as one day those teeth will be bigger and his jaws more powerful. With our dogs, we gently remove the hand/foot or whatever he is biting with minimal fuss and shout 'OUCH!' at him, with a look of displeasure. Follow this up IMMEDIATELY with putting him in his cage/kennel for a few minutes, before letting him out and making a fuss of him. Keep repeating this, he should soon learn that biting a human results in a telling off and a few minutes of isolation. He should stop the play biting within a couple of weeks at most. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpk Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Try just giving a light growl as he does it, I'm no expert but this is what would happen in the wild. Nothing too major as you don't want him scared of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasons gold Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Try just giving a light growl as he does it, I'm no expert but this is what would happen in the wild. Nothing too major as you don't want him scared of you. I agree with this, but use a high pitched yelp. And dont use his cage as a as a form of punishment, as he will eventually see his cage as a form of punishment, rather than his own safe place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Hi, At 9 weeks, a puppy is exploring everything around him, like a toddler playing with various objects. Unfortunately the pup has no hands so uses his fangs. It's not malicious it's all he has, although you want to stop this ASAP as one day those teeth will be bigger and his jaws more powerful. With our dogs, we gently remove the hand/foot or whatever he is biting with minimal fuss and shout 'OUCH!' at him, with a look of displeasure. Follow this up IMMEDIATELY with putting him in his cage/kennel for a few minutes, before letting him out and making a fuss of him. Keep repeating this, he should soon learn that biting a human results in a telling off and a few minutes of isolation. He should stop the play biting within a couple of weeks at most. Hope this helps! Agree with a variation of this, just tell him "No" and don't use his crate as any form of punishment IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom&Dexter Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Do a search on hear mettie all pups play bit he will get worse as well. address the issue with the tips above yelping transferring the bite to a toy etc but do not make a massive issue of it or it will escalate He is very very young Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 ... And dont use his cage as a as a form of punishment, as he will eventually see his cage as a form of punishment, rather than his own safe place I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpk Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Also in agreement don't use his cage as a punishment I prefer for him to know this is his area to chill and mainly get away from the kids ! as said I am know expert though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Christ, it's a puppy. They all bite at that age and it hurts like mad. I had cuts all over my hands from my dog. Is he a problem these days, no. Does he bite, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metric Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Yes Billy he is a puppy and yes they all bite but that wasnot wate I was asking in my post. I asked if this is the norm from 9 week old pups as this is my first dog.Christ Billy we all know they bite and Christ Billy we all know they hurts like mad.but I was after some advise from experienced people like the advise giving from the other pw members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Yes Billy he is a puppy and yes they all bite but that wasnot wate I was asking in my post. I asked if this is the norm from 9 week old pups as this is my first dog.Christ Billy we all know they bite and Christ Billy we all know they hurts like mad.but I was after some advise from experienced people like the advise giving from the other pw members. Sorry, I was kind of saying it in response to everyone saying to stick it in a cage, or telling it off. It's a little pup, they need to learn and explore. If it's not your hand that's getting bitten, it'll be anything within reach in the house. A couple of months and all will be sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metric Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 No problem cheers Billy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metric Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 No problem cheers Billy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherboy Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Agree with a variation of this, just tell him "No" and don't use his crate as any form of punishment IMO. As he says...........DONT use the crate / kennel as a place to punish your dog. They must think it is somewhere safe & secure. If they bite me to hard I give a high pitch squeel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 If you look through a few of my posts I was asking almost the exact same question. He was a nightmare to start with, but he has got so much better it's unreal (he is 4 months now). One thing I learned from here, there is pretty much no need to hit them at all, and his behaviour was to be expected. Every time he bit me, I shouted ouch and stopped playing/moved away from him instantly. Sometimes I would exclude myself from him, but never punished him by putting him in his crate as that's his space. He soon grasped that every time he hurt me his world got a whole lot more boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenthomas Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 If you look through a few of my posts I was asking almost the exact same question. He was a nightmare to start with, but he has got so much better it's unreal (he is 4 months now). One thing I learned from here, there is pretty much no need to hit them at all, and his behaviour was to be expected. Every time he bit me, I shouted ouch and stopped playing/moved away from him instantly. Sometimes I would exclude myself from him, but never punished him by putting him in his crate as that's his space. He soon grasped that every time he hurt me his world got a whole lot more boring. Perfect Gareth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albertan_J Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 As everyone has said just tell him NO and like Gareth says ignore him the persistent biters however get a growl and a little bite back obviously not at 9weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvemanta Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 My Lab is 6 Months old now but when she was the age of yours she bit like mad with the needle like puppy teeth it always feels worse than it is and they seem to be able to draw blood with no jaw pressure at all lol. But ouch and dissaproving tones seem to have calmed it down nicely. She has only been punished when she has gone to snatch something.She still likes to touch our hands with her mouth but it cant really be called biting and the appearance of her adult teeth made things better again. She is generally very gentle with her mouth.I dont think it is any to worry about just normal puppy labrodor behaviour. Interestingly I found our German shepherd was far less "nippy" as a puppy than the lab.I think Labs will naturally develop into a soft mouth unless you do something to train the hardness in. Where the Shephard starts off more gentle but Hardness develops naturally.As an Adult The GSD was a big gentle animal but if she happend to get hold of a Bird she would just crush it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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