Lab Help

[Chasingame]

Need a little help,

I got my first Female Chocolate lab about 5 weeks ago. She is now 13 weeks and wants to chew apart my hands, and arms. She has plenty of toys to chew on (rawhide, ropes, etc) but when we play she wants to bite me. My wife is getting [PoorWordUsage]ed cause our arms looks like hamburger (not really but fairly scratched up.) Will she just grow out of this after she gets through teething? Is there something that we are doing wrong?

Thanks,

[LABS4ME]

At 13 weeks your dog is entering the stage that sets in motion the way it acts for the rest of it's life. You have to let the pup know firmly, but calmly that this behavior will not be tolerated. When it bites, slowly pinch in on the sides of it's lips and put a little pressure on their teeth while saying NO. Do not let her snap back at you...although she is playing, she is trying to establish a hierarchy with you, and you do not want to let her feel that she is your superior. Don't use to much pressure, just enough to make her uncomfortable, she'll outgrow it quickly once she realizes she will not get away with it. this is also one step towards you becoming the master. Good Luck! Ken

[Mr. Nailz]

Labs is right, stop the wrong habits now. Another thing that works well is when she bites hold down on her tounge with your thumb. She won't be able to bite down and won't like it very much.

[Guest]

My wife and I had the exact same problem. We battled with her for at least a few months with this. One trick I tried (which I read from a book) said to smear some butter on your hands, which will force her to lick instead of bite your hands. The theory is that they will soon begin to associate your hands with licking and not biting/chewing. We also tried to not wave our hands around her face when we played with her and would jam a toy into her mouth when she tried to go after our hands. All in all, I feel time and patience was the only real cure. Good luck and rest assured that you and your wife are not the only couple out there with hamburger hands.

[KJSnider]

Chasin,

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get you lab from???

KJ

[Benny]

I would have to agree with Labs way to stop it.All the books and dog trainers I have read and talked to all say the same thing about showing the dog who is the alfa or leader.
In the wild ,canines use this same way to teach the younger animals who is on top.
The Alfa will usually grab the neck area though, or around the muzzle to the point of pain on the younger animals part.
We as humans know when the pup is uncomfortabel so we stop at that point.
Don't be afraid to draw a wimper, they will learn not to do it again.

Benny

[This message has been edited by Benny (edited 10-19-2003).]