New person, puppy biting etc problems

Hello,
I have a 5 month old chocolate lab mix.
Today she started running into the back of our legs when we were walking around the yard. I am worried she will knock someone down and they might get hurt. I want to stop this behavior before it goes any further.

Also if we are ahead of her, when walking around the yard, she will often run up and jump and nip at us. This concerns me because she has ripped my clothes a few times and tends to nip at our hands also. She also chews on my shoes frequently.

My husband likes to play running/chasing games with her. I am not sure if this is good or not. She loves the games, but I am concerned it may be encouraging agression. What do you think?
Thanks

Sounds like you have my almost 4 mth old pup living with you.

You have a pup that gets over excited , playing the sort of games your hubby is playing with him, won't help the situation.

When he gets OTT, stop the play, used distraction, or simply put him in a quiet situation.

Hello Emily welcome.

It sounds normal puppy behaviour and I think you puppy is trying to instigate play.
However jumping up and nipping is unwanted behaviour and should not be rewarded with attention. Better to fold your arms and turn your back, no word no eye contact. The moment your puppy stops and has all 4 feet on the floor ask her to sit then bend down (so you are not encouraging her to jump up again ) and give lots of 'gentle' praise .

It is best to discourage a puppy from jumping up at any time otherwise it becomes confusing when it is allowed to jump up some times but not others.

Don't expect instant success, it will take a time and everyone in the house needs to adopt the same approach. Also the behaviour may get worse before it gets better (this is similar to raising your voice to get someones attention when you think they can't hear you ) .

Thanks for the suggestions. What are some good games we can play or interact with a puppy that won't encourage aggression?
I had thought running with her would help work off the energy, but she tends to run at us and bite us or run into us when we run.
We have been trying the "ignore" thing with her when she nips, but sometimes it is hard because she will continue to nip at our hands. We will try it some more though. Should we keep our hands down or pull them up when she nips? The natural reaction is to pull away, but I think that makes her try harder to nip them.
Thanks again for your suggestions.

Hi and welcome.
As has already been said her behaviour sounds pretty 'normal' for a pup, albeit exceedingly annoying and painful for times for us.

I can only advise on what we did when one of our two littermates did this. The more me we ran and raised out voices the more our pup would get excited and think it was a game to nip more. Firstly when she nips or tries to nip, say 'no' or 'yelp' and turn your back on her and stand stock still. Initially when we did this our pup would simply jump up and try and nip our elbows and I remember feeling totally exasperated and thinking we were bringing a dog up who would turn out to be a biter. As soon as she tries to nip all games stop immediately and leave the room or go inside if necessary but most importantly ignore her for a few minutes. They hate being ignored You could try replacing your hand (in her mouth) with a toy and immediately praising her. She will soon learn that any nipping on skin is totally unacceptable but don't smack or shout at her as that will probably just make her even more excited and encourage her to nip more. Calm voices and movements will help when she's getting over excited.

My dog didn't really calm down from the nipping behaviour until he was about 6-7 months.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Like Jenny said, it can really help to simply get up and leave the room when the puppy nips. The game simply ends when the dog nips. Since they have short attention spans, you only have to leave for about a minute. And if the biting begins right away when you return, simply turn and leave again.

I like to hand the dog an appropriate toy when she bites. Sometimes it helps to have two toys, so if she gets bored with one or won't give one up, you can distract her with the other. You could also start teaching her to play fetch using treats when she drops the toy. Interactive puzzle-type toys are also great for when you want them to sit still somewhere

I'm sure you're already doing this, but starting to take her on structured walks where you teach good leash manners will really help tire her out.

Best of luck! I'm sure she will grow out of this phase soon.

Couldn't add anything at all to what Jenny said up there ^

I was in and out with Bella like a yoyo (except it was me putting her out - but I live in a warm country and the verandah doors are right there!) or up and down if it was when we were sitting together. As soon as she stops in she comes, as soon as she starts again, out she goes. She got the message and she is a minpin renowned for loving to bite!

I had a foster that would get over-stimulated and would jump up nipping arms, legs, and heels. It was impossible to simply turn around and ignore since he was a big dog and it hurt. While I am not fond of using tie outs, I used a very long line and tied it to a tree. When he would behave in such a way, I would move out of range from him. He learned that all fun ended when he acted this way and eventually stopped and it kept me out of harms way since I was afraid of being knocked over. It does need a lot of patience and consistency to get a dog to stop but it will get better with consistency.
As for some games to play, scent games are great. Since you have a lab mix, playing fetch could be another way to get her energy out. Hope this helps.

All good advice up above! I will second fetch-- a great game for a high-energy dog. Do you have a wide open space for free running? If so, pick up one of those ball chuckers, the ones that look like giant ice cream scoops. Those are brilliant, especially for a dog who loves to chase. If you've got a place to swim, even better. Labs love water! (don't waste money on expensive retrieval toys unless you're in an enclosed pool where you can always get them back-- a plastic water bottle with some stones in it for ballast makes a very good floaty fetch toy).

Has your puppy many dog friends? Older dogs may be wonderful allies here-- puppies have to learn manners, and they usually learn them from their elders. If you can meet up with other people in your area with friendly dogs and let them run around together, some good education might happen.


The best way to encourage aggression is to be aggressive. Avoid that, and you're on your way.