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The doghouse

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Original poster

Bitey puppy

45 replies

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:02

Hi all need some advice re my 12 week old labrador puppy

His biting is ridiculous, I get he's a puppy and they do bite ( playfully) but this is wearing me down and nothing is helping, we have tried ignoring and tucking in arms etc when he bites or giving him a chew toy ( he has plenty) when he starts but neither is helping.

He bit my 5 year old on the nose tonight, resulted in blood and tears! and keeps ripping holes on our clothes etc. Does anyone have any tips on how to stop this? Total nightmare when we have guests in and he's biting them!

OP posts:

SarahSissions · 25/04/2022 22:13

Your approach needs to be calm and consistent.
so no squealing or shouting, take the energy and excitement out of the situation. A calm firm no or ah and walk away and disengage. You bite and the fun stops.
the approach always needs to be the same, so not one thing and then when that doesn’t work try something else-stick with it.
learn to recognise the difference between sore teeth chewing for relief and over excitement which needs disengagement and quiet time.
you need to supervise the pup and child closely have a pen or room divider and only let them together when they are both calm and separate them before the pup gets riled. the only way the pup explored the world for the first trip thirds of its life is with its mouth, it has now had the tiles completely changed overnight-it will take a little while to understand

GuyFawkesDay · 25/04/2022 22:18

Yep, I am afraid the landshark stage is here for another 2-3 months for you.

Use a pen: puppy goes in there if it gets bitey. Often they're worst when overtired, and actually need a nap. A pen can really help them to settle down at these times.

Pup needs to learn biting = fun stops, so that means pup goes into pen or down/away and backs turned. Then restart the fun once pup is calmer.

They do learn. It's just takes a while and lots of holey socks/t shirts

GuyFawkesDay · 25/04/2022 22:20

Yep, I am afraid the landshark stage is here for another 2-3 months for you.

Use a pen: puppy goes in there if it gets bitey. Often they're worst when overtired, and actually need a nap. A pen can really help them to settle down at these times.

Pup needs to learn biting = fun stops, so that means pup goes into pen or down/away and backs turned. Then restart the fun once pup is calmer.

They do learn. It's just takes a while and lots of holey socks/t shirts

GuyFawkesDay · 25/04/2022 22:21

Yep, I am afraid the landshark stage is here for another 2-3 months for you.

Use a pen: puppy goes in there if it gets bitey. Often they're worst when overtired, and actually need a nap. A pen can really help them to settle down at these times.

Pup needs to learn biting = fun stops, so that means pup goes into pen or down/away and backs turned. Then restart the fun once pup is calmer.

They do learn. It's just takes a while and lots of holey socks/t shirts

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:22

Thanks for the replies.

We do have a crate for him and I was thinking about putting him in the crate when he is getting abit over excited and biting but then I wasn't sure if he would then associate his bed with being bad?

OP posts:

Pugfostermum · 25/04/2022 22:24

Every time he bites, give him something to bite. A hoof, a sturdy piece of cardboard, a old toothbrush, a yak milk chew ….. praise when he bites the correct thing.
Keep biting items in every room and rotate them.
play with long toys to keep away from biting end.
ensure he has enough sleep.
keep child and puppy separate. They are not a good combination.

this is how it will be for a while.

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:28

@Pugfostermum He get's plenty of sleep, he usually sleeps, wakes up to have a mad half hour (biting and a run about) the back to sleep.

It's so draining!

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countrylifer · 25/04/2022 22:29

Yes to consistency. Pick one at of dealing with it and repeat x50 every day...

On another note I think we need a photo of bitey puppy!

countrylifer · 25/04/2022 22:30

*one way of dealing...

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:33

Pic attached of bitey puppy

OP posts:

icanbewhatiwant · 25/04/2022 22:34

We've had several Labradors over the years. Currently have a 2 year old and 9 year old lab. They are bitey as pups. We have always put something else in their mouths or turned and ignored them for a while, we have also squealed loudly just like another pup would when bitten, that can work as that is how the litter mates would react. Try to be persistent, children always make pups worse too, as pups think they are litter mates. The worst will pass, I recommend training classes too.

LocalHobo · 25/04/2022 22:36

He is a stunner😍

icanbewhatiwant · 25/04/2022 22:36

Just seen pic. She's like ours I'll add a pic of ours 2 years ago.

Bananasunrise · 25/04/2022 22:38

So many holey clothes in our house from this time (including a day-old top I’d got for my birthday which I definitely did not cry over in frustration!) Glad to say it does not, in the scheme of things, last long. And, from memory, not as long as the chewing of furniture and walls. Pleased to report our 10 month old lab has only chewed her toys now for some months (touch wood). I’m no expert, but agree with the other posters’ advice of being firm and redirecting and would agree that using the crate is probably not the best idea as it’s meant to be a safe space not a place to be put when they’ve done something wrong.

Pugfostermum · 25/04/2022 22:38

Totally outing but my bitey puppy is the same.
He’s starting to learn that choosing to bite his biting items gets lots of praise and is enjoyable.
If he’s getting enough sleep, then ensure he always has something to bite on.

It’s a natural behaviour you have to manage, not prevent.

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:39

@LocalHobo he is an absoulute beauty, and perfect in every other way, toilet trained within a few days and sleeps all night (in his crate). I do totally understand that puppies bite and chew but wanted to try to minimise the biting of humans!

OP posts:

countrylifer · 25/04/2022 22:40

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:33

Pic attached of bitey puppy

Oh those paws! 😍 He's beautiful.

Tabitha888 · 25/04/2022 22:42

Dogs are pack animals, crates aren't always the best. We didn't have one for our lab and he was very well behaved.

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:43

@Tabitha888 the crate will definitely be staying, I don't want my sofa or walls chewed while im out or in bed . He likes his crate anyway, takes himself off into it away from the kids

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Yamyam13 · 25/04/2022 22:46

He's beautiful 🤩

We have a 6 month old black lab, so this is all fresh in my mind and we still have the odd episode.

I echo what others have said. We would always have lots of toys/chews everywhere for redirection, always be aware of the times & behaviour that leads to bitey moments, taught our DD not to run away as puppy thought it was a game of chase and it made it worse. We also taughr her not to sit on the floor with puppy, not to get her hyper etc. And when puppy got/gets too much, we removed puppy from our area for a quick calm down, ie in kitchen which is fenced off.
I agree to be wary of crating puppy for a time out as you want to keep crate time positve.
It does calm down and everyone learns to manage it and know the signs.
Make it boring/fun stops, praise/treat calm behaviour

Sunrisemouse · 25/04/2022 22:48

Our trainer suggested we always had tug toys with us at all times and gave puppy that instead whilst saying tug of war and playing a tug game instead. It worked.

We got to the stage where every time pup would try to get bitey we would say tug if war and she would stop buying and get a tug toy to play with us instead.

She is 14 months now and can still get excited, she does sense when she stars to go too far and will run off to get her tug toy.

Maybe worth a shot.

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:49

@Yamyam13 Yeah I think we will just have to play the long game with it by the sounds of things. Its the ripping of clothes more than anything, I have 3 kids and needing to replace clothes constantly, its expensive!

OP posts:

Original poster

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:51

@Sunrisemouse he does have a tug toy, maybe I should get a few more, willing to try anything at this point!

OP posts:

Sunrisemouse · 25/04/2022 22:58

We religiously had 2 toys near us that we could use to play with her and she picked it up soo fast the biting stopped really quickly. We also didn't really have any house destruction either as every time she tried to start we gave her a toy\chew instead.

Ours is a lab/Springer cross from working lines. I call her a mini lab with Springer tendencies.

Hope it works as well for you.

Yamyam13 · 25/04/2022 22:58

Canyouanswermyquestion · 25/04/2022 22:49

@Canyouanswermyquestion
We didn't have too much of that fortunately - I did find the looser the clothes the more she goes for them, so perhaps encourage everyone to wear skin tight cat suits? 😂

Are you doing lots of "enrichment"?
I find her she is much calmer and less inclined to get bitey if she's had a challenge that involves her nose and her mouth. I really really recommend cutting a tea towel into 3 strips and plaiting - then tuck some of their kibble or treats if not om kibble into the creases. We do this every day before most meals and she loves it, keeps her busy for a good 10 mins and she finds the sniffing and chewing really rewarding.

Another thing of note, i noticed her crazy moments and bitey neas reduced a lot once she started playing with other dogs and having a really good roll around as they 'bite' eaxh other so get it out then, plus learn whats too much etc.

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