My 9 week old Yellow lab is growing very quickly.

Everything is going smoothly except for one thing : it's tendency to bite things, especially people.

I keep many, many chew toys around the house, in his crate, etc. but it still tends to bite my fingers and toes. Is there a way to stop this? It's getting kinda frustrating because I have many little cousins that come to visit me and I don't want my dog to bite them.

Any suggestions guys?

Thanks.

Cheers,

Bryan

 

spray something bitter on your hands and let him bite on it. The taste will teach him to stop biting on your fingers. Then give him one of his toys to bite on. He is teething and needs to chew on stuff. Try ice cubes if you don't mind the mess. Or put his rubber toes in the freezer to help him out.

 

I have two puppies right now. They are now 13 weeks which I got when they were 5 weeks old. One is a yellow lab and the other is a Australian sheperd/border collie mix. The lab loves to chew and has razor sharp teeth. I tried the bitter spray but she just licks it all off like candy. Only 3 things work now and usually requires a firm NO. One is quickly replacing your hand saying NO and giving it a chew toy, follow it up with praise when chewing on the toy. Another is to have a can with some coins or rocks in it to catch the dog's attention and say NO. That should enable it to know that it is bad to do when hearing the rattle. Lastly and would only do this if really necessary, use hot pepper sauce on your hand so that the pup would quickly lick it and that should make it unpleasant for the pup and shouldn't really do it again unless very excited. (Make sure she has access to water when this happens) Thank God, my pup is alot calmer now. Now if only I could get the other pup to stop chewing my pup collar to pieces. Hope some of these suggestion helps.

 

Good ideas.....

Let me see what I can dig up.

 

Immediately, and I mean immediately, after the bite, smack the dog on it's nose, (top of the muzzle) and say NO in a harsh tone. Each smack required should be increasingly harder. You must do it within seconds of the bite, or he won't know why you are smacking him. If he continues past the point where the smack makes him yelp, I would be surprised. (If he doesn't catch on quick, maybe he's too stupid to keep.)
Before you think I am cruel, think what is better in training: small, irritating, ineffective corrections that continue forever, or a couple of quick effective corrections that last a lifetime.
I'm not promoting beating of animals. I have a happy, healthy, loving german shepherd who was taught the same way.

 

This shows the pup you are the ALPHA male. as it should be.

 

Also you could try a little dish washing detergent on your fingers. My dog hated that.

 

The best way to solve a biting problem is this: When the dog bites down, put your thumb under the dogs tongue and press lightly into the soft tissue on top of his lower jaw, while holding his jaw. It's uncomfortable for the dog and after a few times he will stop.

I wouldn't recommend the smacking on the nose - the puppy will just wonder why he is being hit. I have trained many a dog in my time, including my current dog (a Golden Retriever) who is a certified Therapy Dog. We take her to hospitals where she cheers up patients of all ages and illnesses, and also take her to visit rehab centers where she helps stroke victims and people recovering from surgery excercise.

Labs are smart animals. Training them (or any dog) is usually just a matter of knowing HOW to correct a behavior. I have had people tell me that they couldn't correct a behavioral problem with their dog. I will visit them and their dog and just watch how they train and most of the time, they are just confusing the dog. I have corrected problems in a matter of minutes with dogs whom I have never met before when the owners have "worked" with them for several weeks/months and have almost given up. With dogs, consistancy is very important. When you give a command, ALWAYS make sure the dog follows through. Otherwise, the command is optional.

All this being said, the teething phase of a hunting dog (labs, goldens, etc.) are very trying. Even my dog ate a wall in my kitchen when she was a pup.

Good luck.

 

My Shepard wouldn't respond to Apple Bitter or the grab of his muzzle and a sharp no. The next time he bit me I surprised him with Tabassco on my fingers. That dog licked his lips for an hour.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by txst
[B]The best way to solve a biting problem is this: