9 week lab biting holes in upper lip

[f150hunter]

I am trying to teach her not to bark in the kennel this weekend but she just barks right away and goes for hours if I were to let her and after 2 or three barks her lips are dripping blood.

[emma_Dad]

Smear some peanut butter on the crate pan since she can't bark if she's licking it. Then once she quiets down for 1 second to lick it, mark that second. and after a few reps she should get the idea. That quite equals treats. then keep building on that little by little.

[krosen]

Give her a kong with peanut butter lathered inside, she needs to have something to occupy her while in the crate.

[kimbersmom]

Also, on the weekends when you're home, do lots of small cratings. In your original post you mention that Bailey could bark for hours without a minute of silence, and I totally believe it because that was Kimber. So you lower the bar. Put Bailey in the crate and she starts barking and as soon as there's even a slight hesitation in the barking- and at first, that might be just taking a breath to bark again- you open the crate door. Labs are amazing pattern matchers- as you saw with Bailey's fetching skills- so think about the patterns you want her to follow. When Kimber was in the crate barking, I'd wait for that magic second and sometimes as I was reaching to open the door, she'd bark again. I'd go still, but my hand would stay on the door handle. I would then open it the instant she was not barking. (I don't want to say quiet, because that takes longer. Focus on not barking.) It took her no time at all to realize that if she was barking, the door wouldn't open.

Weekends are also a great time to keep the crate door open so she can wander in and out of it, and play those crate games people mentioned above.

Just keep telling yourself that she's a baby. The awesome thing about getting a puppy is that she's a blank slate. The un-awesome thing about puppies is that they are a blank slate. You will help shape and mold her behaviors, but it takes a lot of consistency and patience.