Biting/mouthing Lab

[Puppy Wuppy]

I'm in desperate need of help with my 9 month old black Lab Indy. Amongst all her other behavioral problems, one of the most frustrating ones is mouthing and biting. She does it constantly. When I go outside I have to walk with my arms folded up to my chest because if they're hanging by my side she grabs them. If I'm doing ANYTHING, she runs and bites my hands and she does this to all of our visitors. She left marks on my mother in laws arms last night We have never encouraged games that involved biting or mouthing, never encouraged rough play as a small pup and have been consistant with trying to stop this from day one yet she still does it and I feel like it's getting worse. I have a toddler aswell so am very concerned about this. Has anyone had experience with this type of behaviour? Is it something she'll grow out of?? I posted this question a few months ago but despite our efforts, nothing has changed

Anni

[ellz]

Carry a toy or a bone with you. Whenever she goes to take your hand or arm, give her something to replace it. Perhaps you could also teach her to sit and stay (if you haven't already) so that she is diverted fully and hasn't got time to think of the mouthing/biting behaviour.

Replace the negative behaviour with a positive one.

[Cosmolo]

You need to give her an effective correction as she starts to mouth. Once she has stopped, then you can try to engage her with a toy or bone 20-30 seconds after the mouthing has stopped or ask her for a sit and reward her for that. But she needs to learn that putting her mouth around a person is never acceptable behaviour. At 9 months old, no she will not grow out of it and i would seriously consider getting some professional help to stop it asap!

Edited February 6, 2008 by Cosmolo

[Baileys mum]

When i first got my Bailey, he was terrible at mouthing & biting our hands.

I rang up his breeder to get some advice & he told me to get a whistle & everytime he went to mouth us, to blow it in his face, to correct the behaviour.

This method really worked for us & within two weeks, he had stopped doing it all together.

I dont't know if this will work for your dog, seeing it is already 9 months old, but i suppose there is no harm in giving it a try.

[Paulp]

It is not quite the same but I corrected my labs jumping habits by simply turning around and walking back inside every time he jumped on me as I walked outside. I would wait a couple of minutes and then go out again. Labs crave your company and removing it is a powerful incentive to stop doing something. It was a bit of a pain if I just wanted to nip outside and do something but it corrected the behaviour.

[Puppy Wuppy]

Thankyou for the tips so far

Paulp, Indy is a chronic jumper. Since she was a small puppy, we have totally ignored her when she jumps but this hasn't helped. I think I might try what you do and just walk back inside rather than stay outside with her.

Thanks again everyone!

Anni

[Snoozie]

Just out of curiosity are you using food reward as training method? Have you been teaching heeling or anything similar using food lure?

I am only asking as I myself have a Lab boy who used to do this. BUT...he only did it after we started obedience training and was using positive FOOD reinforcement as training method.

All I did to fix this was to discontinue using treats as rewards (went back to praise/toy reward system) and he slowly realized I no longer had anything in my hands to give him so stopped biting at them all the time.

Obviously if this is not the issue my method won't work, but thought I'd mention it just in case.

[Puppy Wuppy]

Thanks Snoozie We have used both food and just praise as a reward. I feel though that her mouthing is more than just thinking there's something in my hand. If she can't bite/chew our hands, she'll go for arms, face, leg etc.

I'm having difficulty bonding with her as she is not a very pleasant dog to be around

[Cosmolo]

I think you need to get someone to help you to stop this problem now before it gets worse or affects your bonding with her even more. What have you tried with her so far?

[Puppy Wuppy]

Apart from trying to curb this behaviour on our own at home, we havn't sought professional help yet. She started obedience training last week (had to start later in her life but she went through trauma when she was 3.5 yrs old and has been limited with what she can do due to injuries). I feel she will be great at Obedience but I don't think it will help with her 'nature' if you know what I mean?

She is due for her cartrophen injection now so will be going in to see the vet asap, and I'm hoping to have a chat to the vet about her behaviour. She has huge dominance/leadership issues which I am finding so hard to deal with. Everyone (friends and family ) tell me 'just give her time, she'll settle'. But it's more than her just being a silly boisterous Lab.

[Cosmolo]

Have a think about contacting Mark Singer and doing a one on one session. Group obedience might help in some aspects but i think you need more intervention than just group training.

One more thing- i am a bit confused about the dogs age?? Is she 3 1/2 years or older or 9 months?

[Puppy Wuppy]

Ooops my mistake! She is 9 months old, and was hit by a car when she was 3.5 MONTHS, not years. I agree with you, she will need more than just obedience group training, I don't think that alone will get at the root of her problems. Thanks so much for your help

Anni

[sas]

Is she an outside dog that is getting over excited when you go out there?

I would be inclined to try clicker training and then once she understands the clicker, tether her and bait (have her fav toy or treat) her into a jump/mouthing and then step away and turn your back to her for a minute and then repeat and using the clicker to show her when she is doing the right thing i.e. all four feet on the ground and not mouthing you.

If you're having troubles with the leadership side of things a Behaviourist would be a great way of helping you understand how to interact with her

Good Luck, don't be dis-heartened, you will get there.

Edited February 7, 2008 by sas

[Puppy Wuppy]

Sas, thankyou It's very hard not to be disheartened. This forum is wonderful, and very encouraging. I have never looked into, or heared of clicker training before...off to google! Oh,and yes she is an outside dog. I have a toddler aswell so don't like Indy hooning around the house when my daughter is inside. Do you think the more time she spends inside,the more used to it she will get? We would dearly love for her to be both an inside and outside dog, but she goes beserk when she's inside.

[Monah]

Sas, thankyou It's very hard not to be disheartened. This forum is wonderful, and very encouraging. I have never looked into, or heared of clicker training before...off to google! Oh,and yes she is an outside dog. I have a toddler aswell so don't like Indy hooning around the house when my daughter is inside. Do you think the more time she spends inside,the more used to it she will get? We would dearly love for her to be both an inside and outside dog, but she goes beserk when she's inside.

I really feel for you so much. I can only say what I've experienced, it may or may not be the best thing for you. We had a giant schnauzer when my first child was a baby, so they sort of grew up together (he was a pup, huge!!!!!). My OH wanted him to be outside, I had never had a dog outside. Anyway, he would go crazy every time we were outside and having a toddler made it worse, she was running around being silly (of course) and the dog would get overexcited (of course!!!). So, back in we'd go as it was a nightmare. Then I put my foot down and he was an inside dog. After a couple of days both him and my child took everything for granted and were so used to each other and he was so used to be around us, that , no more over excitement. I'm not saying he was quiet!!!!But things improved 100%. Luckily both my children have been terrific with animals so there were no issues there, and we also had inside cats which the dog finally became accustomed to. He was fantastic and I"d love another one day!

On the mouthing, with some dogs I've had I've found the only way is to get mean. ie. a very loud arrgh/growl EVERY time the dog mouths. May not work for you, just a thought. It's very very hard having a pup and a toddler, they egg each other on. Toddlers are very exciting and busy and loud, and for a pup to calm down, life has to be calm. It's no one's fault, just the way it is. I really think the more she is inside the more she will think it's normal, but, I do have a 1 and 2 year old dogs, and they, hmm, still hoon around inside, but only for a little while in the mornings and evenings. It is possible to stop them doing it, but it sort of doesn't bother me, I join in (very naughty), but when the game is over it's over!!! They have to settle. With a toddler, it means she'll have to understand to settle too, or the dog never will. You have a busy time ahead! I remember what it's like, kisses and hugs. I had to teach my daughter from a very young age what made our dog excited and that she musn't do it.She got knocked over so many times, but it toughened her up, she now works with lions and cheetahs!! Sort of had to train both pup and child together :rolleyes:

[kamuzz]

Have a think about contacting Mark Singer and doing a one on one session. Group obedience might help in some aspects but i think you need more intervention than just group training.

This is Mark's website as I don't think he posts on DOL anymore.

[Puppy Wuppy]

Thanks for that, will show my hubby the website tonight and have a chat about it

[sas]

Sas, thankyou It's very hard not to be disheartened. This forum is wonderful, and very encouraging. I have never looked into, or heared of clicker training before...off to google! Oh,and yes she is an outside dog. I have a toddler aswell so don't like Indy hooning around the house when my daughter is inside. Do you think the more time she spends inside,the more used to it she will get? We would dearly love for her to be both an inside and outside dog, but she goes beserk when she's inside.

It can be hard for outside dogs because 'generally' they're not getting as much interaction from their human family or giving more an opportunity to learn how to interact around people. I know there are some people who have outside dogs with no problems at all.

Would you be ok to have your dog in the house once she was trained to behave?

You can tether your dog inside to something solid or put a hook in the wall....under supervision of course that way you have more opportunity of working with the dog and your daughter is safe from being knocked over.

We're currently struggling with Dante, he has some behaviours that we have been battling since we brought him home and some that developed at sexual maturity. Each dog is different, there are easy dogs out there, middle of the road dogs and challenging dogs.

It's a great learning opportunity if you have a challenging dog. Once you start to learn how to communicate with your dog you'll start to see that they're not that annoying after all hehehe

The mouthing can be difficult if it wasn't sorted out by 4 months of age but you can still do it, we get the occassional mouthing from Dante, eac dog is an individual and an individual approach is needed, sometimes a you can just growl at a puppy or flick it's muzzle and it will never mouth again....others well....they can be the spawn of satan and need more heavy correction but that is best discussed with a trainer as you don't want to dis-hearten the dog as well.

Edited February 8, 2008 by sas

[The Spotted Devil]

Just wanted to add....don't feel bad that you have had trouble bonding with your pup. It does sound like you've been through an awful lot with her accident on top of having a toddler in the house! It wasn't until Zig was 6 months that I felt like I really began to develop a bond with him. He is a very intense young lad (which is what I wanted) and keeps me constantly on my toes. I was so busy guiding, correcting and praising that I didn't have the time or energy to really appreciate him....and I absolutely knew what I was in for, was extremely well prepared, have a good background in dog training etc and don't have kids! The hard work has really paid off now, however, and he has turned into a sensational young dog. Still has his moments but I can nip them in the bud pretty quickly.

Sas is dead right in saying they're all individuals.....correcting with Zig is very difficult as he either thinks it's the best fun and just gets sillier OR finds it overwhelming. The best thing with him is to channel his energy into something constructive. I also grew up in a family with outside dogs.....I have found inside dogs soooo much easier to deal with. In the beginning I really restricted what rooms pup could go into (to protect him, our stuff and the cats) but now he has more free reign....although I still wouldn't trust him on his own for more than 30 seconds

ETA: Clicker training is brilliant....and fun!

Edited February 8, 2008 by The Spotted Devil

[bomberdon]

This probably sounds strange, but our vet suggested that when our pup attempts to nip & bite, we simply put 2-3 fingers in her mouth. She quickly learnt that gagging wasnt nice & stopped biting within 1 week...