9 Week Old Lab Biting And Chewing Everything!

[martymonty]

Our 9 week old lab puppy is chewing and biting on everything, especially us and kids. We have tried ignoring her, yelping like a pup if she bites us and she just does not seem to care, it actually seems to excite her more. Do puppies tone this type of behaviour down any time soon, is she doing this because she is a pup or did we get a monster for a pet, lol. Any advice would be great. I should mention we have lots of toys for her, nylabones, kongs, ropes, etc. She chews on them for a millisecond and then comes searching for a chair, table, arms, legs, you name it.

[Odin-Genie]

That's normal puppy behaviour. However, you do need to train her to not bite. When my pups used to do that, the yelping trick helped. I would yelp and walk away, and not make any eye contact for a few minutes. Everyone in the household should be taught to do that.

You can also use some bitter spray on the furniture to stop her from chewing those. But use that along with training. Whenever you catch her chewing furniture, firmly ask her to leave. Reward her when she stops chewing.

Do you put treats in the kongs? You can also give her treat balls to play with.

My puppy chewed everything around the house when he was that age. Even put a few holes in the walls :rolleyes: Now, at about 16 months of age, he only grabs a few socks when he is in an especially cheeky mood. But drops it immediately when told to do so

[Nekhbet]

I either grab the muzzle gentle, growl at the pup and then walk off or if the pup is latched on gentle curl the lips into the top teeth and gently squeeze until the pup lets go. Dont feel too bad if the pup throws a tantrum or squeals they are trying to get one up on you (remember be GENTLE!!!) you're the boss and the biting can stop if you show that it is not a pleasant thing for the pup to do.

Labs are mouthy - other dogs would not tolerate it so dont allow it at all. Also remember puppies have little self control so DONT let the kids razz it up and encourage hyper behavior which then leads to nipping.

As for the furniture buy something like Crib Stop or a bitter apple spray, and you can smear the toys with a little kabana - the smell will attract the dog. Also if you see the pup going for the furniture a simple "GRRR AHHH" and then call it away from the naughty item and offer a treat and toy. Always give the puppy the desired behavior you expect from it.

[bacismumma]

:D

when my little girl lab was a pup she she shredded a $160 pair of shoes the first week we had her then

at through the gyprock in the laundry wall one morning when i left her alone, ate a hole in the kitchen wall also and

ate the soles off my sneakers!

she also chewed anything else she liked, the hose was her favourite!

oh and I will never forgot the morning i went out the back and she had emptied a whole papasan chair on the back lawn and was rolling in the stuffing. ;)

but she is 2 now and other than the odd sock when she gets a bee in her bonnet shes not naughty at all

i wouldnt change her for the world

Good luck with your puppy and remember no matter what they ruin, they always make you smile

[colliepaws]

The bitter spray is great for saving your furniture. Nearly everything from knee level down in my house was coated in it when we got Luka. ;) I also had (and still have!) cardboard boxes all over the place particularly next to favourite chewing pieces of furniture. Luka loves chewing cardboard boxes and punching holes in them and shredding them into little pieces.

Luka was never a particularly mouthy pup but when he did try and take a bite out of me I would yelp or grizzle and then ignore him. When he looked a little ashamed of himself I'd grab a toy and play with him and encourage him to chew that instead of me!

Maybe also try playing with him with a soft stuffed toy - they were always Luka's favourite to really sink his teeth into.

Remember he's only a baby at 9 weeks old so be patient and consistent and he'll learn. :D

[sandgrubber]

The kids may be part of the problem too. You're better off not allowing young children to play in an excited manner with a young pup.

Labs, and many other gun dogs, are bred to be mouthy. That mouthyness can easily turn into biting behaviours if not handled consistently. Young children aren't great at consistent discipline.

You might want to look at the advice I got in the "training" forum when I asked how to advice a puppy buyer whose pup was getting too wild with the kids. URL http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=161642