How to Stop Lab Puppy From Biting? 5-Step Training Guide
How to Stop Lab Puppy From Biting
Are you struggling to stop your puppy from biting? So, now are you wondering how to stop Lab puppy from biting? Use our 5-step guide to teach your puppy how to stop biting.
It is crucial to stop Labrador biting habits at a young age so you will not have a Labrador with bad habits. Labradors are wired to be calm and loving, and not to bite or be aggressive.
Table of Contents
Is it normal for puppies to bite a lot?
For puppies, using their mouth for fun and exploring is their priority. They love to use their needle-sharp teeth to chew things.
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Labrador puppy bites are never a problem until they jump into the 7th week of their age. Even at this age, their bite is not dangerous, but still, we never want to raise an ill-mannered Labrador.
Firstly you should know that puppy biting is quite normal, and each Labrador does this at some certain age in their life.
The reasons are quite obvious puppies love to use their mouth to explore this world, and this is their type of exploring.
Moreover, there is a possibility that your Labrador is in the teething phase, which causes some irritation in the gums due to which they chew everything.
It is inherited in dogs that they play hard with their siblings soon after their birth, in which using teeth is their priority. Labrador retrievers are wired in a way to pick up objects in their mouth for longer Times.
It is crucial to mention that biting is normal when Labradors are four months of age. After that, it is a behavioral issue that should be stopped at the very first step.
Puppy bite can be dangerous sometimes, but mostly, it is not harmful to owners. The bites are dangerous if the Labrador injects bacteria into the skin, which as a result causes infection.
So it is the bacteria that is harmful to humans, not the Labrador’s teeth directly. Also, if your Labrador is suffering from some serious contagious disease, then the bite is dangerous for you.
No matter what, consulting a doctor after the puppy bite is always a good approach because you never know when your Labrador is carrying bacteria in its mouth.
How to stop lab puppy from biting
Training dogs at a very young age is always a good approach when you want to raise a well-mannered Labrador.
Parents need to understand that dogs need training soon after their birth; otherwise, the habits may become part of their personality.
1. By redirecting
Your Labrador needs to learn that biting human skin is not acceptable. Redirection is the most simple and easiest way to stop Labrador from biting.
All you have to do is to pull back your hand whenever Labrador tries to bite you. When you are taking your hand back, you must provide him with a treat away from you so that he will run for it rather than bite your hand.
The dog parents need to understand that touch games are not good when the Labrador has a biting habit. Playing tug of war or fetching a ball are good options.
Along with redirection, ignoring is highly recommended. There is a possibility that a Labrador is biting your hand to get your attention, and even with redirection, you are somehow giving attention to it, which means the Labrador succeeds.
Before redirection, you need to ignore Labrador so that it will understand biting is not how to get your attention.
2. Biting means game over
Stop playing when Labrador starts biting you. Labradors are quite social, and they love to play, so they never want to end any game early.
With time it will understand that biting means no more playing and hence a well-behaved Labrador.
3. Provide something else to chew
Redirect by giving your puppy a toy when they are biting or gnawing at you. Eventually, your puppy will learn not to bite you. It does take time to teach your puppy this.
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4. Use of no command
Selecting an effective command is a good option when you want your Labrador to stop biting. Ensure that your no is strict and loud enough to grab your lab’s attention to make him feel that you are not happy with bites.
For example, use the word “no” whenever Labrador tries to bite you. Mentioning, and yelling should not be there when you are teaching some new behavior to your darling pup. Using and selecting the commands wisely will solve more than half of your problems.
5. Don’t be aggressive
Dogs observe their owners deeply and even try to copy them. Similarly, they may copy your behavior when you are yelling or hitting them. Hitting a Labrador and even hitting someone else in front of them teaches them aggressive behavior.
There is a possibility that Labrador also starts biting to show their anger even to the owner.
How long is the puppy-biting phase?
Lab puppy bites; it’s their natural behavior that they carry soon after birth. But the period is very small, and after that, you can train them not to bite. For the Labrador breed, the biting phase is from the 6th to the 10th month after their birth. Even they may stop this behavior before these months if you are strict enough to stop them from biting.
At what age do lab puppies stop biting?
Maybe you’re not getting angry, but none of us like it when a puppy bites us. As mentioned above puppy biting is normal, and natural behavior and they will avoid this with time.
But still, you need to know that when your Labrador will understand not to chew our hands. Usually, puppies stop biting by 8 months old.
References
https://www.thelabradorsite.com/
