I have a 12 week old chocolate lab that wont stop biting me.?

Question

We got missy when she was 2 months old and she bites alot. She bites me and my partner whenever and whatever we are doing and chews throw power cords and phone lines all the time no matter whether we are being nice or telling her off.

She just keeps nipping.

She has never even attempted to bite my children who are 3 and 5 and they play for hours together. she is extremelly good with them. she just keeps biting me and my parter and all the cables in the house. does anyone know why she does this or how to stop it. Its also not real bites, they dont hurt much at all and they have never peirced the skin but i dont know what damgae she could do in a year if she keeps this up. Thanks for your time.:-)

Answer 1

You always try the most positive method first:
Some ideas for discouraging finger chewing: when your puppy clamps down, let out a very loud YELP in imitation of a hurt puppy. Then, fold your arms and ignore him for 10 minutes. With very young puppies, this sometimes works wonders - it's the same thing that happens when they get too rough with another puppy. The wounded puppy yelps and runs off, refusing to play for a bit.

That should do the trick, . however, if it doesn't fix the problem this will work:

To introduce an element of "natural discipline", grasp the recalcitrant pup with one hand, place your other hand over the top of his muzzle, gently pressing his muzzle towards his chest as you say, in a low, growly tone of voice, "No BITE". If they begin to throw a tantrum and thrash around trying to bite, just hold the line until they "give in" and "say uncle" (quit resisting). You should not find it necessary to get aggressive with a young puppy. Simple restraint is usually enough to get the message across.

You can get a spitzer of Bitter Apple anywhere they sell pet supplies, and spray that on all cords. It is the bitterest substance known, and will prevent her chewing the cords.
Is is wonderful that hse is gentl with children! At her young age, that shows that she has great promise..

Answer 2

Missy is playing with you when she nips. You need to give her the correct feedback when she does it though. Allow her to chew at your fingers but if she goes too hard yelp like a pup and give her a time out. After a minute get her to come and sit in front of you calmly, you can begin playing again.

Puppy socialisation classes should help as puppies learn through play and the other pups in class certainly wouldn't allow Missy to get away with nipping them too much/too hard.

With regards the cable chewing is there any way they could be tied up out of her reach?

Missy should grow out of this nipping phase by the time she is 4 1/2 months old!! Not long to go now, good luck!!

Answer 3

See my answer to the question 'my baby staffy is biting'

It is on the next page and was submitted about 18 hours ago.

Puppy biting is normal but is obviously not nice! Take the advice I have given the Staffy owner. Your pup will stop the puppy biting shortly but you need to be patient and persevere.

Chewing is normal but expensive and dangerous. Give her a variety of good chewy toys and distract her from what she is chewing with one of them instead of telling her off otherwise you will end up nagging her. The chewing goes on longer than the biting because she will need to chew more from 4 months to six months when she is teething.

Cheers!

P. S. They may be horrible pups but they make lovely dogs.

Answer 4

My mix lab has a way of showing effection by putting my arm in her mouth and holding gently then lets go after a few seconds, chewing was a problem with shoes with him but after I and my son went after him with the shoe and spanking him on the rump he stopped. My daughter has a mix charpie/Pitbull now we are still trying to get him to stop unraveling the chain-link fence yes you read right this dog he can undue any wire fence he even head ramed the doggy dor we reenforced to keep him in the
garage and took it out of the door.
Back to chewing well my ex-wife mom made a mixture of hot sauce, cayan freash crushed pepper seeds, and the hottest pepper grown do not know the name and then painted it on the chair leggs he was chewing on the chewing stopped not just by him but the other dogs as well.
So the best I can say is try what I have said and do a little Southern inginuity experimenting you might hit the right formula.
another thing might try bird retriving training that has worked on many Labs after all the are bread for bird retriving and to handle birds softly. There are books available and sometimes what your looking for may not be in a book on your breed but in another breed book.

Answer 5

It sounds like she is teething! Try getting a towel wet & put it in the freezer, when it's frozen give it to her to help her gums. I have a 5 mo old Choc Lab & we r getting her out of the habbit of nipping becasue she already broke skin on my husband & myself!! I the begining she nipped & didn't hurt but her teeth r now sharp & she draws blood sometimes!! If she continues nipping grab her month & hold her jaws together not hard enough to really hurt her but just enough pressure she is tries to pull away almost till she yelps & tell her "NO" in a stern voice. Keep doing this & she'll begin to realize that nipping u is no good! I have seen a big inprovement in my pup in just 2 weeks!! Also try to get her chew toys that squeak, & a rope toy. These also help her alot! Good luck!!

Answer 6

I can't vote yet, but i like chetco's answer the best.

People think i'm crazy, but yelp training works the best. They are amazed at the results it gets. Some peopel just can't "lower themselves to making an animal noise" though. For shame. Let me throw you to a foreign world and see how quickly you adapt to their languages.

Also try giving the pup an alternative. take whatever he's chewing on away from him and say no at the same time. Then present the exciting toy and praise him excitedly when he directs his attention to it.

Answer 7

Listen to lovingmy.... your puppy is just that, a puppy, and that is how puppies socialize! And also chew, they teeth like human babies!!!
Be patient, she will get better, and yes saying "NO BITE" is the way to go. Bite her, and unless you do damage and you are only playing back.
Charles
"Proud big brother to two Black Lab mixes... and raised with several from just after birth!"

Answer 8

I had exactly the same with ours - I can sympathise completely, they have VERY sharp teeth!

I'm sorry to tell you but it took Coco quite some time to get over that habit. It did help by ignoring her for a while after she would nip...she seemed to ease off after that. Make sure you say NO really loudly to her too, she'll get the hint eventually!

Good luck :)

Answer 9

she is trying to establish dominance over you. dogs are pack animals. you must become the alpha, or the puppy and dog years will be hell. what you do at 12 weeks with Missy will be evident at 2, 4, 6, years. how do you react when she bites you? you must use negative reinforcement, ie. bitter apple, thump her nose, etc.

if all else fails, go to puppy school. remember, you and your partner must be consistent with the consequences!

Answer 10

Make a paste out of red pepper and water and rub it on anything she is biting. One bite and she will never do it again. Just make sure there is fresh water for her. Or some milk would be better to stop the stinging.