Help, or just tell me this WILL get better

[jenebekka]

Hello friends,
Our beautiful yellow baby girl, Bella, turned 13 weeks old on Monday. Somewhere I read that weeks 13 - 16 are very trying, kind of a preadolescent time? Is this true? Then, just when you think things are going great the "teens" strike and all hell breaks loose again?

Well, here is what is going on, at least the worst of it -

* The biting - nothing seems to work. Yelping (plus appropriate something to chew on) seems to help and only on a minimal basis as I am the only one in the household that can seem to mimic that high pitch that catches Bella's attention. At times, she seems to have softened her bite and I feel elated. Then, she's at it again. My daughter cannot participate in ANYTHING with Bella right now and this is discouraging. In some ways I expected this but I am deeply concerned as I want the two of them to bond as I know Bella will eventually turn into the gentle soul my chocolate lab was. Bella also bites the you know what out of pants and I've had a nice bite on my leg from this. Bitter apple is only slightly effective on clothing, skin, etc. Time out is time out - it works in that she is separated from us but it doesn't seem to be decreasing the biting. If I turn my back, go in another room, Bella is already off in another direction not paying attention. Bella has plenty of toys, kongs, etc. that we do try to rotate. As far as the rotation of toys, we do need to do better on this. The biting is HIGHLY stressful and I am so worried that we aren't making any strides in bite inhibition. We cannot be on the floor with Bella. Luckily, she lets us pick her up.

* Potty training - I feel like we are making little progress. We have her on a schedule as much as humanly possible but she still doesn't seem to be getting the picture yet. I catch her squatting before I can scoop her up. Bella goes to bed at 10:00 usually after a last trip outside. I get up to take her out again at 1:30 am and then she goes out again around 6:00 with no accidents. The rest of the day is a magical ride.

Please remind me this all will get better. I can deal with most things but the shark mouth is the most scary thing right now for my children and for me. I went through this before but it was years ago with no children. It's funny how we all forget these trying and seemingly brief times. However, I need a reminder now, PLEASE!!! =)

A trainer is coming to our home to get things started tomorrow. I'm looking forward to having a plan - something concrete, organized, etc. so my head isn't swirling on what to do for our sweet girl with the needle teeth. Our vet recommended this trainer so I feel confident of the direction we are going other than we will need to plan lots of play dates for socialization. I have several already waiting to be scheduled - I just want a visit or two, three with the trainer first. lol

The funny part of all of this, I recognize that Bella is no where near the alpha female my first chocolate lab, Hershey was. Hershey was a gentle soul that met my newborn daughter in her 13th year of life, a time when she could have been cranky, sore, and out of patience. I was amazed at the amount of love she had in her for a new member of our home when it had been just her and me for so long. I know Bella is already sweet and will have the capacity in her own way to be this wonderful. I just need a reminder, please!!!!

[jenebekka]

To add to my previous post, I'm hoping this trainer will demonstrate the proper technique to use to work on the bite inhibition. This surely will help me know what to do going forward.

And, my post is about the same as the one I typed up a few days ago. I apologize...I'm just really frazzled and worried over all of this. Thanks again!

Jenny

[POPTOP]

I'm definitely not the expert on puppy advice. Wanted to send support that working with a good trainer will help both of you get on the track to success.

[CraftHer]

It will get better! I could handle anything but the biting was the worst! I always seemed to have an open wound on my hand or arm. A couple of times my face. Be very consistent. We used everything to curb Mocha's biting (lip roll, Ouch!, taking away attention, time out, redirection, etc). It would just bring me to tears that I couldn't play with my puppy without him biting at me! Then, about 4 1/2 - 5 months old, I noticed Mocha wasn't quite so bitey. Then he really started to improve. I think all the corrections we made over those few months were just building up in him. So be very consistent. All the consistency, persistence and training will pay off.

I put on a shirt from last winter that had a hole in the sleeve from Mocha. I just smiled at him and told him that he did that when he was a puppy. The memory had really softened. It gets better.

[doubledip1]

It gets better! I swear!

I seriously had a conversation with DH about giving Luna back to our breeder because I didn't think I could handle it. I thought we made the worst decision of our lives. It was really the best decision, but that's how deflated I felt. I had post partum puppy depression. I really did.

Potty training wise... I literally took her out every 5 minutes during the day and praised her like she had just cured cancer. I went bananas. My neighbors thought I was a lunatic but hey, 5 days later she was accident free and has been to this day.

For bite inhibition, Luna had needle teeth but never really bit. We used tons of ice cubes for her to chew on. And I used that high pitched noise and immediately stopped EVERYTHING. No eye contact, nothing until she was calm again.

It will get better. They are fur coated chainsaws with teeth and on meth. Wine helps.

[barry581]

It will get better. Sophie was the puppy from hell. All the things you describe, could have been her. I highly recommend classes as soon as possible. I hope the trainer will get you going in the right direction ASAP.

On a side note, Sophie is now approaching her 3rd birthday, and while she is still on the stubborn side, she is a real sweetheart. We start a class this week for her CGC, and I'm hoping she's finally ready to get it. My 7 month old puppy, Bruce, has been the polar opposite of Sophie. He got his CGC at just over 6 months, and is just such a good boy who is eager to please. Honestly, Sophie is lucky she got here first. If I'd had Bruce first, I'd have sent Sophie back, swearing she's defective!!! So please don't be discouraged things aren't going well at the moment!!!!!

[Halcyon]

This too shall pass!

Bobby is my first dog and as such, before getting a dog, I did lots of research in just about everything from finding a responsible breeder to puppy training 101. Of course, I was prepared for the housebreaking and the "nipping." Ha. Ha. That's so funny.

I wasn't.

Bobby wasn't just the Spawn of Satan, he was the devil himself. I tried every trick in the book from "yelping" (did absolutely nothing except rile him up even further) to redirecting, to rather creative verbal threats (more for me than him really) and in acts of absolute frustration and desperation (which I am not proud of might I add but when you have a psycho puppy out to kill you, you can't think straight as jolts of pain course through you) tried holding him down on his back and grabbing him by the scruff. Did it work? No. He just wiggled and bit my hands, arms, anything he could get at with those cursed teeth I wanted to personally rip out myself. ...Kidding.

He made me bleed. He made me cry. He drove me to the brink of several mental breakdowns. Like doubledip1, I had "postpartum puppy depression." He left a couple battle scars I now wear proudly. He tore holes in about all my shirts. He pulled my pants down. He humped, growled and grabbed onto my clothes simultaneously and relentlessly. I felt ashamed that I was scared of a puppy. He was the cause of arguments in the family; I was the last to throw in the towel. There were several times I wanted to but I remembered and pounded into myself that this was a commitment I made. And that this would be a commitment I would see through.

I emailed his breeder for help. I posted and ranted to the board. At the time, I believed Bobby was a very "special" case. I couldn't believe how the family-friendly, gentle and easygoing Lab could be such a nightmare to raise! Hence, I was very skeptical about all the claims that this would get better. As cliche as it sounds, it eventually did get better! You can read about my methods here: Puppy Biting (Sticky maybe?). Oh, and you probably might have already, but read Puppy biting! too.

Bobby is now around 15 months. Yes, he still has training challenges (he still is a teen afterall), but it has gotten so much better! On his first birthday, I wrote a little "tribute" that briefly summed up our first year here: Happy Birthday, Bobby!. I suggest giving it a read if you need a little pick-me-up or a laugh. He was quite the public embarrassment at puppy school.

As for the housebreaking, we had a bit of trouble with that too. Every article I read said to observe the signs that they needed to go. Circling, sniffing the ground. Bobby didn't do any of that. For a few weeks, I was mopping up three to four times a day because I was waiting. My advice: don't wait. I started taking him out every five minutes. Whenever he peed or pooped outside, I praised like I just won the lottery. Neighbours probably thought I was looney (especially during the biting episodes) but it worked. I also added a command which comes in handy when we're in a rush. As he got older, I upped toilet breaks to every ten minutes, every twenty, etc. We had to deal with excitement peeing too but it was really my fault that it took 6 months for him to be fully housebroken (until I trusted him anyway). He caught the gist around 4-5 months and had very few accidents then.

ETA: Make sure you find moments to enjoy with your pup. They grow up so fast!

[BaconsMom]

This will get better, I promise!!! I got to the point when Bacon was a puppy where I was in tears what felt like constantly in frustration. Keep up with the bit inhibition training and be consistent. With potty training, we took bacon out very often, and essentially had a praise Bacon party outside everytime he went potty. He was potty trained in less than a month and has been since.

Looking back, those were hard times, but now with my well behaved 1 year old, I am happy to say every day that getting him was the best think Jake and I ever did together (so far )

[rochie427]

OMG you could be talking about my 12 week old Rosie. We brought her home from the breeder at 8 weeks of age. We were told that she was the most mellow out of the litter. That seemed true for about the first 3 days then the devil set in. We also have a 5 year old son who will not go near her due to her biting/nipping. We have tried everything as well and nothing seems to work. I have no idea how many times a day I say "no bite" and redirect her. I also have said that maybe this was a mistake and we should return her. Of course I don't mean it, it was said out of shear frustration. We've had 2 dogs before ( one golden and then a lab) and I had forgotten how trying the puppy stage can be. Thankfully she hasn't destroyed anything (yet LOL) except ripped a hole in my favorite dungaree jacket. As far as potty training, just when I think we have this nipped in the bud, I catch her peeing on the floor. I just have to keep saying to myself, this too shall pass!!!

[Snowshoe]

Guess I'm odd man out here but I don't think it will get better if you expect a baby to be doing the work. She is too young to be left alone and expect she will behave without your guidance.

She is too young to control her potty urges, you have to watch her. You seem to be missing her signals, they can be very subtle. And remember, she doesn't yet have the control of her body needed to hold on once she realizes she needs to pee.

As for biting, a guide often mentionned on this board is DON't get down on the floor if she is going to bite you, don't give her the opportunity.

I figured out how to play with Oban without being bitten but, honestly, the only times he cuddled with me he was asleep. He didn't bite pants, for some strange reason, but Jet did. Jet was soft and a stern look was all it took to teach her otherwise. I did use time outs quite a bit at first with Oban, shut the kitchen gate and left him alone. You bite me, no me, want me back then behave.

It sounds like you will settle for a soft bite? For me it was no teeth on me at all, your little daggers touch my skin and you are in trouble. Biting often does get worse as they begin to teeth so be ready with teething toys. I used two white, rope bones, wet them, wrung them out, froze them, rotated them.

Oh, and generally 9 months is when all hell breaks loose and the teen equivalent times start. Sorry, no doubt not what you wanted to hear. Persevere but help her, she's just a baby now.