Labrador Puppy appears a bit aggressive

Rafa1977

Guys, have a new Labrador pup just over 1 week. He is nearly 3 months old. He appeared to be coming along ok with his training, we have been crate training and he appeared to be very playful and when he tryed to bite you when playing and if you said "ahhh" or told him to stop, he would but yesterday morning when we got up he appeared to be very hyper and aggressive, he is biting a lot harder and snapping which he was not doing previously and does not acknowledge when you say stop to him or let out a gentle "ahhhhh" to him, is something wrong with him, as he appears like a completely different dog. My wife has got a bit scared, as he had snapped at her face and has now said she dosen't want him.

RoverZT

Puppies love play fighting and nipping, you have to be patient and do all you can to train him.

I find this site good.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-biting.html

Rafa1977

RoverZT wrote: »

Puppies love play fighting and nipping, you have to be patient and do all you can to train him.

I find this site good.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-biting.html

Yes, I know it takes time but just concerned as it has got quite aggressive and appeared out of nowhere, like a completely different puppy.

BUACHAILL

All puppies go through a stage of snapping and trying to figure out where they fall in the food chain. Its your job to make sure they know its not acceptable and they fall beneath you and your family. Thats all part of it. Give an inch with them they will take it especially Labs. Dont be fearful of him just correct him, punish if needed, ie put him outside until he calms down etc, but dont correct with physical punishment.

DBB

RoverZT wrote: »

I find this site good.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-biting.html

The advice on that link starts out so well, then it starts referring to the pup being dominant, and it all goes downhill from there, quite frankly. I've seen this link before on this forum and said the same.
The video link is world-renowned puppy behaviorist Ian Dunbar, who I can tell you would be horrified to think his video has been used on the same advice page which claims that a pup is being dominant (it's rather akin to saying that a naughty 4 year old child is trying to be dominant), and also advises squirting pup with water, grabbing pup's lower jaw, using taste aversion (thus teaching pup that human hands are bad news... Eek!), and most alarmingly, advises to use a choke chain or pinch collar and give the pup a jerk with it when he bites? Sheesh. That website needs to come out of the Dark Ages.
This is not about being leader, or letting the pup know he's "below" you in some odd chain.... Dogs do not understand our strange interpretation of what "dominance" is.. the human/dog relationship is not one of one trying to be pack leader, it's far more similar to a parent/child relationship... The parent shows the child how to do stuff, and gently corrects the child when they get it wrong, always focussing on what's good about the child's behaviour. The parent does not give into the child's every demand, and often waits for the child to do something good before interacting any further... Something good includes stopping being bold! Is this a dominance relationship? No. It's a relationship whereby the parent acts as a benevolent leader. This most accurately also describes wolf society, and dog society (such as it is). And that's why it also works well between humans and dogs. The pack leader/dominance idea has long been dispelled as a myth, but for some reason it continues to endure, possibly because people don't realise it's all... Bunkum!
Why not instead go directly to Ian Dunbar's own site, where you'll get some consistently correct advice on how to ethically stop your pup from biting? Click on the "training textbook" link of www.dogstardaily.com
If the verbal warning has stopped working well enough, which it often does, you need to start following through with a consequence for ignoring your warning, in the form of a "time out" (it's the lack of consequence that stops the warning working on its own). This means that if you say "ow" or whatever, when pup bites, and he comes back biting again, you say "uh-uh", or "no", or somesuch, and calmly either get up and walk away from him, or (often more effective, though you can use both in combination), gently lead him into a Time Out zone... A small, boring room where you can leave pup on his own safely for 30-60seconds... No longer. When you let him out again, keep cool and continue where you left off.
You may have to repeat this many times at first, but consistency is key... Act on ignoring the warning every single time. Eventually, the "ow" becomes a clear signal to pup that if he keeps it up, he's going to lose out big time! And the pup then stops the biting when he hears the warning.
You will find it much easier if you attach a light lead to pup's collar (strictly under supervision, never leave the lead on unless you're there to make sure pup comes to no harm) so you can gently lead him to the Time Out Zone, without having to manhandle him or beg him to move.
Keep loads of toys hidden under cushions and other handy spots so ye can quickly redirect pup's teeth onto something more appropriate, before he ever gets to bite you.
My link above has loads of excellent advice, beware the half-baked websites that try to mish-mash techniques ranging from good to bloody dangerous.
Good luck with pup!

LucyBliss

Pups are not aggressive in the sense of the word as we understand it. They haven't been exposed to enough stimuli or situations to develop that kind of behaviour. If a pup does seem snappish or different, then sometimes it's a good idea to bring them to the vet and make sure that they're not sick or injured.

Pups learn their behaviour from their siblings. They're used to rough housing and jumping about and play biting. But they have pretty damn sharp teeth at that age and human skin just ain't used to being bitten like that! The dog is only 3 months old. He seriously hasn't got a spark of sense. Everything is a game to him. When mine were pups, one of them nipped me on the nose and the lip a few times because he thought "Wooh! She's on the floor to play with me!" Actually I wasn't. I was trying to tidy up the bloody dog toys!

If you have him a week, I would suggest that the novelty of being there for the dog has worn off slightly. He might have been a bit overawed and getting used to the place. Now he's thinking "Free room, free food, lots of attention - oh yeah, I'm living like a rock star here, baby!!"
Gentle doesn't really cut it with some dogs. They need a firm "NO!" or a sharp handclap. I used to have to knock on the wooden floor sometimes. Basically, you're distracting them from what they're doing so you can tell them what's acceptable behaviour.

Training from when they come to the house until they're about three years old can often be a one step forward, two steps back affair. They understand something one week, the next week they couldn't be bothered doing it. Consistency is the key. Keep at it.

I'm sorry your wife got snapped at, but to be afraid of a puppy isn't worth the hassle she's bringing on herself. I don't mean that in a dismissive way. He's the dog equivalent of a child. He doesn't know any better until he's told and it's up to you - his mum and dad - to teach him and not to give up on him until he's the dog you want him to be.

He can't be walked much either at this age because it can damage their growing joints but you can exercise the hell out of him by playing with him. Now's the perfect time to get him running after toys around the garden or teaching him to sniff out bits of food or treats. Get that extra edge off his energy and he'll be a lot more receptive to what you're telling him. Also, playing with the dog is a great way to reinforce the 'letting go' training. Does he have toys to chew on? You can get great ones - nylabones are fab! Mine chew on them so much, they're practically whittled down to shanks! Plus when he tries to chew someone's hand, you can redirect him by giving him the bone. That way, he's learning what is and isn't acceptable.

You only have him a week. He's only a baby really. Yes, he's a lab so he's a big baby(!), but I would advise that your wife has nothing to be scared of and that she should do a lot of work with him. I say this as someone who had a very tough pup who did scare me a few times with his goings on. And then I thought, the hell with this. This little fecker isn't getting the better of me and when he started being snappy and barking, I pretended to be tougher than I felt and spoke firmly and we didn't budge until he did as I said. Which was mostly just 'sit'. I wasn't asking for circus style tricks or anything, which was just as well considering. :rolleyes:

Best of luck, OP.