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  1. #1
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    Puppy biting questions

    Hi there,

    I am new to the site and also new to owning a little yellow lab named Flynn!
    He is 8 weeks old now and I've had him for exactly a week today. He is a great puppy, but often during play he bites and nips. I am no stranger to puppy biting, having raised two poodles, but the poodles seemed to calm down much quicker than my new lab!

    Anyways, a friend suggested that when the puppy gets too excited, to hold him on his back (gently, of course) and keep him in a "submissive" position. Initially, this didn't sound like a great idea to me, but I wanted to get some second opinions here.

    I did try my friend's tip, and the puppy growled a bit, but was still wagging his tail and eventually was quiet - until he started crying! I felt deeply uncomfortable with this type of training... But I'm not sure if it's actually negative, so I wanted to see what other lab owner's thoughts.

    Please let me know what you think of this technique (one that I probably won't be trying again in the near future) and what really worked well for you and your lab puppy!

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Welcome to the board! You can rest assured that you have a very normal Lab pup. They are very mouthy, and they will put teeth on you. Here is a link that may give you some insight and help. https://www.lab-retriever.net/board/p...py-biting.html

    I don't buy in to the whole "dominance" thing. Correct and redirect seems to be the best method to deal with this.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Barry is absolutely right. 1. Your lab pup is completely normal. 2. Just give him a toy (Maybe one that squeaks, but that he can't tear up?) 3. I don't think they ever totally grow out of it. My 2 seven year old labs still like to grab me and mouth me when I'm on the floor with them. It's just that when they're older they can tell when I want to play and when I don't.
    Last edited by TuMicks; 06-12-2015 at 10:56 PM.

  5. #4
    Senior Dog sparky's Avatar
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    Hello and welcome. Please read the above link. Re direct and correct seem to be a reoccurring theme that works well with lab puppy's. It worked well with our lab puppy, now almost 2. Stay consistent in what ever works best for you. Be prepared for this puppy piranha stage to last till age 4-6 months. It will get better.
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  6. #5
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    The link should help. Just remember to pick a strategy and stick with it. It doesn't take a day, week, month, but usually a few months.

    The dominance theory should not be used with your puppy or dog. I would not take that friend's advice in regards to training.

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  8. #6
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Agree with all above. The only thing I'd add is: Try to anticipate the bite and direct him to a toy before he bites.
    I prefer DIRECT instead of RE-direct.
    Proactive instead of Reactive

    Doing so will save your fingers and is in line with training theory that would have you reward a good behaviour instead of correcting or in this case inadvertently reward an unwanted behaviour.

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  10. #7
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    What does mama dog do in the litter box when she's still in charge? She actually will gently mouth the puppy's head/ muzzle and hold him down. Mama doesn't tolerate bratty behavior, nor should you.

    I also use the lip curl here when I'm in a pen full of obnoxious puppies and need a quick correction. This is normally around 5-6 wks that I get nailed in the lip or whatever. It generally only takes a few days of bite inhibition to stop it and by the time mine leave at 8 wks, they have not been biting me for at least 10 days (doesn't mean they won't try biting their new owners if the new owners allow it though).

    If a puppy is bratty to one of my older grandma dogs here, they get the "what for" (a very effective verbal scolding!). It gets their attention too!

    So there you have it, you can ignore it and/ or not address the issue because it makes you feel sad, or you can deal w/ it w/ effective corrections, and it'll more than likely be fixed sooner than later.
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  12. #8
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    Windy canyon - could you provide more detailed directions on the lip curl technique? I was a little confused by
    how it was described in the puppy biting thread and haven't been able to find clear instructions on the internet either. I'd like to try it out on our land shark but I know it needs to be done correctly for it to be effective.

  13. #9
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    Basically you just roll their lip onto a top canine tooth with your finger and apply enough pressure so it is uncomfortable for the puppy. You should not do it to the point of pain. Bruce wasn't horrible with the biting as a pup, but he was mouthy. After doing the lip curl a couple times along with a stern "no bite" he got the message.

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  15. #10
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    So it is their top lip or bottom lip that you are rolling? And what's the best timing for it?

 



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