97 Tips for Raising Labs
Following are approximately 97 questions readers of BigYellowDog.com submitted in recent years. They were answered by a licensed veterinarian on the site as a general service to all Lab owners. This information is for general reference only. Always consult your veterinarian for any questions about your Lab's health. We hope this information is somewhat helpful. At this time, we are not accepting any more questions.
Question
Our Yellow Lab is 12 weeks old. A week after we got him, when he was at 9 weeks old, he began biting slightly, which we considered normal. We have tried all the deterrants for biting that we have read and none seem to work. His biting has become very aggressive and he acts very frenzied now when he does it. Is there any reason why a puppy's biting might go beyond the norm?
Answer
All biting is normal to a puppy and should not be discouraged. However, you should teach them what exactly they can and can't bite. When your puppy starts to bite you, you should redirect your puppy from biting your hand, foot, etc., to a nylabone or other toy. This shows the puppy that the toy is acceptable to bite on, but you are not. When you push a puppy away that is biting, or if you have children that run from the puppy, you are making a game out of biting. The puppy does not see this as bad behavior, rather it sees it as normal in how he/she would play with his littermates. If redirecting the puppy from biting does not seem to work with repeated attempts, then start telling the puppy firmly, but gently, NO and then giving your puppy other things to chew on. I suggest that you have plenty of chew toys such as gumabones, nylabones, kong toys, etc., available for your puppy.
