Help, or just tell me this WILL get better

[Woodrow_Woodchuck]

It does get better. I went through 4 weeks of the biting stage with my current black gal, Sunshine. NOTHING helped. My first two black gals were angels!!! Finally, one day, she snapped out of it... but do still have scars. I still vividly remember many nights, coming home from work and afraid to go inside and let this cute little 14 week old puppy out of her enclosure, pretty sad. My best solution was to get her outside FAST and RUN into the woods then find a stick for her to destroy, instead of me. She just seemed to have too much energy in that little package and NEEDED some way to release it. Funny thing was, I was her only chew toy. Bring her to the vets or puppy classes and she was just an overly energetic little lab, she never bit anyone, only me! ANYONE could pick her up and she would squirm and lick them. Me? I pick her up and the land shark, spawn of satan came alive!

Next horrible lab stage you have to look forward to is the teen rebellion, 9 months to a year old. They forget EVERYTHING you have taught them. Remember, the leash is your friend for this stage.

[Woodrow_Woodchuck]

For the peeing, I never had a problem with any of my black gals. They wake up, outside. You are playing and they stop showing interest in it, outside. They eat, outside. They drink, outside.......

And I make a HUGE deal about going outside too. "HEY! Ya know what???? Lets go OUTSIDE to poop and pee!! YEAH!!!!!" YOU are all excited about something like going outside. THEY are all excited because you are! Lab puppies get excited... they have to pee! OPEN the door and RUN outside!!! You might be in your under ware, in the rain or cold, but you are outside and the puppy pees. HUGE PARTY!!!!!!! YEAH!!! Everyone pooped and pee'd outside!! YEAH!!!!!

At around 6 months I start introducing "last call", meaning we are going to bed, last chance until morning. This morphs into last call before car trips. Which turns into a poop and pee on command. I still praise Sunshine, at 3 years old, for peeing on command. I can open the car door in any parking lot, point to an 'island' in it and tell her to go pee. She will run, squat while looking at me, then run back into the car. She gets big head scratches and fanny rubs for being the best pee'r in the whole world. Yeah, some folks look at me funny and the dog people think is a great trick. I've had folks ask why I didn't leash up to take her there. I would ask why? It is only a few spots away and she is supposed to go pee and come back, that is all. You have to love labs!!!!

[Laura]

Well, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. This is my third Lab, and he is by far the most challenging. The biting, biting, and more biting has made me question myself and my ability to raise a puppy. Always having something available to offer him when he goes for my hands (arms, ankles, knees, etc.) has been helpful.

What has been eye opening for me is how he reacts to being told "No" or "Stop." He gets madder and madder and actually comes at us with those shark teeth. He also sometimes goes on a tear and does what I now call "drive-by bitings", where he runs at full speed like he has the zoomies and will take a bite of ankle or calf as he passes by. I have to give him time outs to let him settle down, and his behavior is much worse when he is tired. At 13 weeks, I'm just starting to figure out that he is a lot like a crabby toddler whose behavior just gets worse and worse when a nap is needed.

I've been lucky on the housetraining front. He's had no accidents in the house since he was 10 weeks and 2 days. I was initially like a doggie doorman and let him out any time he slowed down, woke from a nap, got out of the crate, or after eating/drinking. Now he reliably goes to the back door.

I tell my Mom, who is his most frequent target when she visits, that one day we will just realize that he hasn't bitten us lately. He will end up being a really great dog. It just takes time and consistency.

[frontierjeanne]

God love ya, I'm right there with you! I prepared for my pup to come into the family as you would a new child, and being older, I studied many books. The most helpful for me was a book called "Mother Knows Best" by Carol Benjamin. It had complete information in it as to scheduling: when your puppy should be able to do this, do that, plus a sample schedule for a typical puppy day. It also had a schedule for crate/potty training. I followed it and my first pup was housebroken in less than a week! Tried it with our second puppy, and he didn't quite get it... it took about 10 days or so.

Puppies are incredibly fulfilling, but hard work. YOU MUST BE CONSISTENT NOW! It will pay off so much in the end when your little darling is well-trained. Biting brought our pup a slight pinch to the back of the neck and a growl warning to discontinue. We always gave them a couple of chances... on the third bite play is suspended. Didn't take long for them to pick up on this, but (sigh), I'm still pulling out clothing with little puppy bite holes in them! I just smile and remember when they were little. This, too, shall pass...

[Woodrow_Woodchuck]

What has been eye opening for me is how he reacts to being told "No" or "Stop." He gets madder and madder and actually comes at us with those shark teeth.

LOL!!! I remember that too!!! Not funny at the time... but 3 years later it is. LOL! Here is this little creature, attacking you. All I remember thinking is I could pick you up by the scruff of the neck and put you anywhere I want, nothing you could do about it... And here you are attacking ME??? The more you scold/correct them the worse it got!!! LOL!

My solution was to run away, faster than she could and distract her with a tree or stick she could attack, instead of me. It was fun to look back and watch her tumble, trying to keep up with me. Little labs are not the most coordinated little creatures.

[kelsyg]

It's been awhile, and I too, didn't think it would ever end. But, oh boy, when it does, it is so rewarding.
I learned that shouting or being very stern did not work for me,and just resulted in more of the same.
I used to circle Cassie's snout with my thumb and forefinger and gently hold her mouth shut while looking into her eyes and telling her kindly and very seriously "no bite".
My serious "uh, un" and "oh, no" 's have always worked better than a loud NO!
Good luck, I'm sure you will have an awesome pup soon.

[Jax's Mom]

It will get better. I'm sure that's what every lab owners says. Jax was a shark mouth and about the time I said I can't take it anymore he lost his first tooth. Yes, I celebrated.

Sending you prayers and support!

[jenebekka]

Well, we are at the 15 week mark and 16 come Monday. All baby teeth remain in place. Bella is still a land shark.

Maybe she has improved ever so slightly, and I mean EVER so SLIGHTLY. LOL I still love her nonetheless. I'm just looking forward to some painfree days with her. lol

[barry581]

Well, we are at the 15 week mark and 16 come Monday. All baby teeth remain in place. Bella is still a land shark.

Maybe she has improved ever so slightly, and I mean EVER so SLIGHTLY. LOL I still love her nonetheless. I'm just looking forward to some painfree days with her. lol

You are still in the baby stages with Bella. I swear it will get better. Sophie was the puppy from hell. I had 8 Labs before her, and none were anywhere near as horrible as she was. She truly made me question whether I was actually capable of raising a puppy. She bit, she chewed, she was obstinent. I worked hard with her, I believed that under all that evilness there was a good girl waiting to get out. It took almost two years for her to get to the point where she wasn't too bad. I could see that she was maturing, and showing she could actually be a good girl. She just turned 3 yesterday, and while she still has her moments, she has matured into a very sweet girl. I haven't had to crate her in over 6 months, she has the run of the house day and night. We are taking a CGC class, and a year ago I would have never thought she had a chance at passing it, but now I'm 99% sure she will.

On the other hand, my boy Bruce, who is just over 8 months old, has been the polar opposite of Sophie. He got his CGC at 6 months. He was never mouthy, never put his teeth on anybody. He listens, he soaks up training. His only vice is sleeping on the sofa, and I can live with that! I swear if I had Bruce first, and then Sophie, I'd have sent her back to the breeder, because she was defective!

All I can say is keep working with Bella. Be consistent. Sign her up for classes. Challenge her mind, and exercise her body, and she will get better. Raising a Lab puppy is not a destination. It's a journey. Enjoy the journey, relish the accomplishments. Two years from now you will be laughing at how you never expected her to become such a good girl!