Hello, I'm looking for some advice as to how to keep our new labrador puppy (10 weeks) from biting us. We're almost sure it's all just innocent puppy play, but Bailey is our first dog and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bailey is wrapping his paws around our legs like a toddler if he wants our attention when we're standing up, at which point we've been walking out of the room for a minute or two. We are starting him in puppy school next week, and our trainer has advised us to completely stop what we're doing, bend down & give him a little scoot away while saying "OFF" in a meaningful voice. The only problem with this is that when we trade an arm for a leg, he'll take that! He'll latch on & start doing the headbanging thing, which drives us nuts. I'm actually starting to avoid walking past him at all costs because I don't want to be "attacked". All I can hope is that this is normal puppy behavior because he's going to be a very big boy in the near future.
If we're sitting on the floor trying to play with toys, he'll put his mouth around the toy for a second and immediately turn around to bite us. Now, I know we're more fun than a toy and all, but he's drawing blood at times and every day his bite gets more powerful. He has also torn holes in pants, sweaters & socks from the lunging & biting. We just can't keep this behavior going, because I don't want to be afraid of my own dog!
Is anyone familiar with clicker training? Our trainer gave us one, and Bailey has been responding very well (because he knows he gets a treat when he hears the noise)...I would love to use it as a tool to teach him either "OFF" or "NO BITE". Is the clicker a good tool to use for this purpose? How much can his little mind process? Should we use just one word for both actions? "OFF" my leg, "OFF" my arm, "OFF the couch, etc? Or will this just confuse him more?
I apologize for such a long post, but we've been so frustrated and don't know what else to do. I feel like we're "tricking" our puppy into leaving us alone by offering him a toy, but I really would like to have one-on-one interaction with him as well. Anyone have any ideas?
Bailey is wrapping his paws around our legs like a toddler if he wants our attention when we're standing up, at which point we've been walking out of the room for a minute or two. We are starting him in puppy school next week, and our trainer has advised us to completely stop what we're doing, bend down & give him a little scoot away while saying "OFF" in a meaningful voice. The only problem with this is that when we trade an arm for a leg, he'll take that! He'll latch on & start doing the headbanging thing, which drives us nuts. I'm actually starting to avoid walking past him at all costs because I don't want to be "attacked". All I can hope is that this is normal puppy behavior because he's going to be a very big boy in the near future.
If we're sitting on the floor trying to play with toys, he'll put his mouth around the toy for a second and immediately turn around to bite us. Now, I know we're more fun than a toy and all, but he's drawing blood at times and every day his bite gets more powerful. He has also torn holes in pants, sweaters & socks from the lunging & biting. We just can't keep this behavior going, because I don't want to be afraid of my own dog!
Is anyone familiar with clicker training? Our trainer gave us one, and Bailey has been responding very well (because he knows he gets a treat when he hears the noise)...I would love to use it as a tool to teach him either "OFF" or "NO BITE". Is the clicker a good tool to use for this purpose? How much can his little mind process? Should we use just one word for both actions? "OFF" my leg, "OFF" my arm, "OFF the couch, etc? Or will this just confuse him more?
I apologize for such a long post, but we've been so frustrated and don't know what else to do. I feel like we're "tricking" our puppy into leaving us alone by offering him a toy, but I really would like to have one-on-one interaction with him as well. Anyone have any ideas?
