Kingdom of Pets

Posted by cujoblacklab
Apr 24, 2008

Hi, I have just got back into the world of puppy ownership after the loss
of my 16yr old labs passing.I now have a 9wk old black lab that I have had
for 1wk. He will not stop biting me,wife, anything in the house. I have done
alot of reading about the positive training method and have been following
this to tee. His name is Thorn{AKA CUJO}. Thorn does not even flinch at any
of these methods, am I expecting too much to soon. He does not know what
NO means at all. Other than this issue he is what I think a smart pup. He is
catching on to sit,stay,come rather well. Also, when I try to put him on a
leash all he does is bite it, we can not go even 30 feet. Please help with
any tips before we run out patience with him.

Posted by Todd
May 1, 2008

Hi there and thanks for the post.

I am sorry to hear that you have lost your long time friend. Puppies can be a big handful but with patience and some training the usually do come around.

He may require a bit more strict training to help fix this problem. The positive method is great but some dogs just don't get the message. So you often have to encourage things along with a tap or flick on the nose.

Don't make it too hard but just enough so they notice and turn to you. At the same time continue the growling etc to make sure he gets the message. Water pistols serve as a great method to help as well.

Tke key is consistency......mixed messages just end up confusing and making things worse. So make sure everyone in the house and visitors as well know how to react when he starts nipping.

As for the lead issue it is about getting him used to the lead. The best way to do this is to try and create some positive experiences with it. Leave the lead around the house when you are home, play games around it (but not with it) and leave it around the food bowl.
This will help take the fear away from the lead.
Don't be rough with the lead at the start. It is a lot like getting a horse used to a saddle....it requires patience and a very slow progression to avoid problems

1. Do not punish your dog for reacting poorly to the leash.

2. Do not inadvertantly reward your dogs behavior either. Do not reassure your dog or give it treats, just behave normally and ignore your dog as if you do not notice its fearfulness.

3. Do not force the leash upon your dog.

If he is being aggressive on the lead then punish him for that....but if he is being fearful avoid punishing him as this will only make things worse.

I hope this helped please feel free to ask anymore questions as we are always here to help.

Todd

Nipping & chewing