Two Puppy Behaviour Problems

Hi Guys

Sorry, have only just joined and already asking for help!!

We have a 14 week old lab boy puppy and there are just 2 issues with him driving us nuts. As I am the family dog expert I am getting hounded (excuse the pun!) to sort these problems out, but so far no luck.

Firstly, he is dry overnight in his pen and dry when I have to leave him for 3 hours each weekday morning when I go to work, absolutely great and we are thrllled. But ..... in the evening when he comes out of his pen to "free range" around the downstairs he piddles everywhere!!! You can let him out to toilet and he will do a lovely big wee then within about 10 minutes he has wee'd on the floor, and then again, and again and again ...... Have tried scolding when we catch him but no joy. Any ideas?

The other really annoying thing is the constant nipping of your hands or feet, have tried telling him off, stopping fussing him etc but he carries on, he drew blood on me the other day and I worry as I have 2 young boys who adore him but I don't want him nipping them.

He's a quick learner so I know he's bright, if only we could sort these 2 issues out it would be great.

Thanks in advance,
L

It sounds like he is full of energy and behaving like a typical little lab pup

Have you considered enrolling him into pet training classes once he has had his vaccinations? This could really help with the nipping as it mentally exhausts him. Labs love to learn, and love to have a job to do. Practising his basic training, can really help with that.

You could try target training - Arrange in your lounge or a large room lots of different textures for him to move onto. You could have pillows, sheets, a hard dog bed, a soft dog bed. Something higher, something low down, maybe a crate for him to go into.
Then you can use treats to lure him to each place, and clicker and reward him when he sits each time.

This is great training for puppies to help them learn their sits, and to learn to focus on the handler. Its also a great game to play and practise the clicker training!

With the nipping, its best to just say "ouch" quite loudly, then hold your hand as though you are hurt, then ignore the puppy as it attempts to get your attention. If you shout, or scold the puppy it is in fact getting just what it wants.. your attention, whether it is being told off or not.

So the key... Train, Train, Train *But don't bore the puppy with the same game, or the same repetitive commands.*

Don't panic.. Its just being a mischievous lil puppy ^_^

Giving him lots of hard chews and strong toys can help with chewing. Kongs could be a good thing to introduce when it comes to feeding on some days. It just gives the pup an opportunity to use its brain to work out how to get the food. Labs normally love them.

Is this pup only out of his crate in the evening or have I misread your post? If so, it`s probably sheer excitement.

Also the pup may be the sort that won't dirty in the crate,but are you toilet training for him to use the garden on an regular basis?

How long is this puppy actually in his crate?
what is his daily routine from dawn til bedtime?

You've said you've tried scolding him for accidents, but are you praising him for getting things right?
Ideally you need to offer lots of toilet opportunities - if you know he hasn't weed in a while, then you may need to stand outside for however long it takes for him to wee, be it five minutes or twenty! You have to go out there and stay near him, don't just open the door and let him out to wee on his own. Once he goes, lots and lots of praise! Act like he's just peed out £50 notes and you're so pleased with him! You can try to give a cue word for toileting too which can help. With my pup, as she was toileting we'd keep saying "well done" - this was different to her "good" for other rewards, and we felt less silly saying it and after a while we could tell her to "do a well done" and she'd toilet on command.
Also make sure you clean the areas he's had accidents with something that will remove all traces of pee - household cleaners may not do the job well enough or may leave the smell of ammonia themselves, you can use a biological washing powder or something like vinegar or lemon juice to clean it up. Alternatively, petshops sell products for toileting accidents. If a dog can smell faint traces of ammonia, they can think that area is their toileting place and keep repeating their "accidents" there.

For the nipping - again, normal puppy behaviour! Try redirecting his teeth onto something else, and again, lots of praise for doing the right thing. Get a rubber ring, or a rope toy or something and encourage him to chew that. As someone said, telling him off is still giving him attention - you're far better to teach him that he gets attention for doing something right than for doing it wrong. Reward him for chewing on toys, and ignore him for nips at you. If he gets really OTT and won't stop trying to nip you, walk away without saying a word, or keep a houseline attached to him - you can get houselines that have no handle as such, just a length of line that they trail around, so you can grab hold of this and lead him to the hallway/kitchen/any other boring, quiet room and just give him a 30 second timeout. Let him back in, try to redirect his teeth to a toy, and again, praise if he does it right, ignore it if he does it wrong.

I agree about assessing his daily routine and making sure he's not just a bored pup with too much energy. You don't need to take him on walks for hours to tire him out - infact, puppies shouldn't be overexercised as this can be bad for their developing joints. But mental games, training, etc. can wear their little brains out and tire them out just as much as exercise.

1 Don't "let dog out" to wee, but TAKE him out, on a lead, and when he eliminates, give him lots of reinforcement, also make sure you take him out regularly. Dogs when inactive, like us, need to wee less, when active need to do more.

2 Google "The bite stops here" by Ian Dunbar, which demonstrates that dogs MUST bite in order to learn bite inhibition, puppies that are NEVER allowed to do not learn this VITAL skill.

3 It is no good scolding a dog for inappropriate elimination, you would not do this to a child, so do not do so with a puppy, all this will teach the dog is that it is DANGEROUS to eliminate whilst you are around, not a good idea.

HTH

Thanks very much for your replies, its really good to get some different takes on it.

I think he probably has spent too much time in his pen (its a large pen as opposed to a crate) although its in our kitchen/family room, so plenty of company and activity.

We have changed his routine now so he has several smaller walks as I am very aware of not over excising him (dog walker by trade and currently helping in the rehab of a lab who has had elbow replacement at 18mths due to overexercise as a pup )

Also he has more time out of the pen and free ranging now, I am still taking him out to wee and he is brilliant - wee's outside no problem, dry overnight and dry when left in his pen, but he can literally have gone out for a wee, done one, comes back in to free range in the kitchen and within 10 minutes has pee'd in 3 different places Its really frustrating for us, we have praised him to the sky everytime he wees outside just hoping he gets the idea soon!!

The biting is tailing off now, I have perfected a sharp ouch noise which seems to stop him in his tracks, and he is immdiately given something other than our hands to nip.

Thanks again for the suggestions, will keep you posted how we get on.

L

It very much sounds like attention seeking (only a guess, of course, as it's impossible to be sure without seeing what's going on).

Could I ask, what do you feed him?

Many dogs who thrive on attention seeking, seem to be either penned up too much or are fed on a food with lots of additives/preservatives - or a combination of the two

Hi Brierley

He's on Beta Puppy which is what the breeder was feeding him on.

Do you think the wee-ing is attention seeking, or the biting or both??

L