When our pup gets overly mouthy with me, which is nearly all the time, i calmly and gently hold his muzzle for a second and say No Bite! in a sharp firm but not angry voice and hand him a toy.

If he still goes for my hand or arm or whatever I again do the muzzle No Bite! routine and then stand up and turn my back with my arms crossed and totally ignore him. I also keep turning slightly if he is bouncing all over trying to get my attention so that my back stays to him.
At this age all he wants is attention, playtime and love from his new packmates and his new human Mom, he doesnt yet understand the rules of play with his new hairless pack.

Being a Lab he should retrieve naturally and tossing a ball short distances would be a great way to play and wear him out.

If mine is totally out of control I figure there is something else going on with him.
Does he need to potty?
Is he hungry?
Is he tired and overstimulated?
Does he need some focused attention like working on Sit or playing ball?

If he is tired and overstimulated he goes into his crate with a Kong to mellow him out and will usually fall asleep.
Obviously the others are solved accordingly.

 Quote: connie ramirez

Excuse me!!!!!!!!! I did not say we were smacking or was gonna smack her at all. We love this puppy and i want to do everything by the book. She was 5 weeks when we got her they were already eating dry food . They had to wean them alittle early because they were hurting the mother. She cought on to the potty training very well, she goes to the door and crys& barks when she has to go.she can sit when told and gives us her paw when asked.She does have a crate and loves it, she takes alot of naps through out the day and sleeps through the night.she has plenty of toys so if you need more info i will give it.

You have her since she was five weeks old? Wow, it is way too young to be taken away from its mother. Now you know why you have a puppy that won't stop biting. I advise you not to buy a puppy that is under eight weeks old. Stephanie Lemonine gave a good advise how to raise the puppy. I advise you to take her advice seriously.

Yes Connie R, that was me. Sarah did not say anything remotely like that. I understand my response was harsh. Many members here don't like to read about a 7 wk old puppy and the words "getting smacked", even if it hasn't happened. I just happened to be the first to comment on it.

I felt concerned because many dogs ARE abused and I hate to see/read about it. I was also concerned because you have kids and soon you will have a potentially 100lb dog w/crazy energy. Ed's articles are outstanding, they have helped me & a lot of people. Good luck w/your pup.

Hi Connie.
First off, sometimes what people write on a forum can be taken the wrong way and when most of us saw that you wrote 'we don't want to smack the puppy" we assumed (i was guilty of it too)you thought that might be the way to go if you couldn't get it under control.
The people on this site have a wealth of knowledge because we all own dogs in different capacities and of differenct breeds. Some work mostly with rescued or older dogs and some have raised their dogs from pups, and some have done both. Some are pets and some are working dogs. So you get the best of both worlds.

So take our harshness in some of the posts as concern for the pup and wanting to get the point across the hitting or smacking is not the way to go. Which i see after your last post you agree with.

Now, no one thing will work for all pups. Some get the point after a couple of times...some take a bit longer. I think for the time being you should keep the pups interaction with the kids a bit minimal until you get biting under control or at least make sure any interaction is totally supervised so you can intervene if the pup starts to get nippy.

I've had luck with the method of yelping (make a loud high pitched owwww sound) when the pup gets too rough and immediately ending play and walking away. For some pups that worked, for others you may have to be a bit more adamant in letting them know nipping is not acceptable.
But for such a young pup try the re-directing by offering him a high valued toy to play with. If just showing him the toy doesn't interest him...toss it a few feet away.
Keep at it though....but just know that the nipping biting play is the only play he knows because thats how he played with his littermates. You have to show him that the toys are more fun to bite than you

Wendy

Don't think this link was posted, if so excuse the repeat. A podcast from Ed Frawley, helps to understand what is going on when puppies bite: http://www.leerburg.com/podcasts/puppiesthatbite.mp3

Wow this is great, i want to thank each and everyone of you for your good advice this all sounds pretty easy as long as we all are consistant and we all do the same thing. My 8 year old is doing everything i ask her to do. My 4 year old wants to play with the puppy but yes the puppy gets to rough with her and she ends up in tears. So i went out today and got a long tug rope so she can play with the puppy without getting bit.then when the puppy gets to rough i make her stop. This puppy is doing very good considering how young she is, she is very smart already. How do i post a picture of her on here?????? Again thankyou

 Quote: connie ramirez

Excuse me!!!!!!!!! I did not say we were smacking or was gonna smack her at all. We love this puppy and i want to do everything by the book. She was 5 weeks when we got her they were already eating dry food . They had to wean them alittle early because they were hurting the mother. She cought on to the potty training very well, she goes to the door and crys& barks when she has to go.she can sit when told and gives us her paw when asked.She does have a crate and loves it, she takes alot of naps through out the day and sleeps through the night.she has plenty of toys so if you need more info i will give it.

sry to break it to you but sometimes you have to ex: if your dog is aggressive towards other dogs and hes ignoring the collar you have to smack him in the nose.

 Quote: Paul Watson

 Quote: connie ramirez

Excuse me!!!!!!!!! I did not say we were smacking or was gonna smack her at all. We love this puppy and i want to do everything by the book. She was 5 weeks when we got her they were already eating dry food . They had to wean them alittle early because they were hurting the mother. She cought on to the potty training very well, she goes to the door and crys& barks when she has to go.she can sit when told and gives us her paw when asked.She does have a crate and loves it, she takes alot of naps through out the day and sleeps through the night.she has plenty of toys so if you need more info i will give it.

sry to break it to you but sometimes you have to ex: if your dog is aggressive towards other dogs and hes ignoring the collar you have to smack him in the nose.

Uh....no, you should never smack a dog. Ever.

 Quote: elisabeth barber

 Quote: alex corral

 Quote: connie ramirez

... Can you help??

That puppy is only going to drive you "more crazy". Just wait til the teething era comes. Would you smack a newborn baby for crying? It's being a baby, just like this puppy is being a puppy. Find it a better home. Seriously.

This may be a bit harsh. They're looking for help, give them a bit of slack before implying that they are not worthy of owning a puppy.

She didn't say they were smacking the puppy, she said they didn't want to smack her and wanted to know how to properly correct this. I think the article that Wendy pointed to should be very helpful in this situation. Certainly more helpful that instantly condeming her for seeking help with her puppy. Seriously guys, she's trying, try to help her out a bit, or at least have a little more background before telling her to get rid of the puppy.

I've thought long and hard as to whether I wanted to reply to this or not...however, on more than one occassion I have been known to say it like it is..so here goes.

It may come as little surprise to most of you just how many morons there really are out there in the dog world. I have stated many times that I have grown up with dogs all of my life. Never, did I realize how to properly train one. Oh, all my dogs were trained but partially out of fear. Granted, never in my lifetime did I ever smack a puppy but I have been known to smack the snot out of a dog that chewed up my couch or tore out all my drip system! Thing is, I'm one of the few people on here that has the guts to admit such an atrosity! Anyone can post on this board and boast about how wonderful they are but truth be told only that person and God really knows just how honest they are in their dealings with their fellow man and dog. Those of you that are quick to jump on the condemnation wagon might not have been raised in an abusive environment, nor taught to deal with your anger in ways that are violent, good for you! Seriously. However, in reality, some of us have known of no other way to deal with adversity. It's kind of like an abused dog that bites all the time. What else does he know?? To jump on the original poster in the way that some have done is annoying at the very least to me. I have said many times, because I will, that I used to be an absolute idiot before I came to this site and learned how to PROPERLY understand dogs. Not just how to train them but the ins and outs of why they do the things they do. Never did I realize that there were so many aspects to the canine mind. Far be it from me to tell those that are more experienced here on the board how to deal with new members but if you ask me what Elisabeth has said is absolutely true concerning the sincerity of the OP's heart. Most ignorant people rarely reach out for help unless they are convinced that they are ready to learn new ways and humble enough to take the advice of others. Arrogance is much more of an issue if you ask me than the desire of those that truely want to improve themselves. I know for sure that had I come here almost 2 years ago and had posted something similar and had recieved the same response I might have said "piss on all of you" and left the board to continue being frustrated and stupid in my ways. I commend the OP for not taking that way out and for standing her ground on this issue. It is completely obvious to me that she is truely concerned about doing the right thing for this pup. I suppose that I have taken the risk that some of you might see me in a different light now because of this post but I am willing to take that risk in order to perhaps help some of you open your mind to the fact that all things in the world are not created equal and to judge others on such a basis is illogical.

To the OP: You are doing the BEST thing you can do for you pup logging onto this site and absorbing the information given. Coming here has truely changed me and the relationship that I have with my dogs. I can honestly say I have never lain a hand on my present dog and our relationship could not be closer. There are people on this site that truely want to help and though they have good intentions can come off kind of self righteous. Still, they have good intentions because they do care about the animals and their welfare. Sometimes dealing with animals all the time makes us forget how to deal with the human relationships we have in our lives. I have learned that to be on this site sometimes requires a forgiving heart and an understanding that all involved do what they do because THEY think it is right. One must remember that we are all human and our propensity to be judgemental and to jump to conclusions is a somewhat natural one. I have always considered myself a pretty intelligent person but that doesnt mean I'm intelligent in all things. May we all be a little more open minded and HELPFUL in the New Year.

Nor will I be offended if this gets locked