Layla's Mom,

As crazy as this may sound, if you make a really loud vocal noise when she bites down, something that resembles a yelp that should get her attention...then walk away from her and ignore her..this is a human way of imitating what a littermate would do if she was playing and biting them too hard. If youve ever watched a litter of puppies playing..when one gets bitten and yelps all the playing stops at least momentarily..try it and see..and Im sure also you know to never ever strike her for biting..this is something that will encourage her to be a fear biter in the future..although most Labs are rarely biters. Good luck

Renae

hello,

you need to give her a correction followed by the word no.. The correct does not haveto be hard but just enough to get her attention. When a mother dog correct her

puppies she nips then, i have found that doing the same thing works great. I DON'T MEAN BITE YOU DOG LOL.. I mean use your hand as a mouth and use to bite her when she misbehaves. The most important part for this to work is that she sees you as the pack leader.. good luck

Hi,

I have a young Lab as well. Because of the retriever in them, they are very oral.  We had the same problem with Cody when he was liittle.(he currently weighs in at 115 lbs!)  What seemed to work for us was to give him something else to keep in his mouth while we are playing like a rag bone or stuffed toy.  Cody has his own blanket.  Whenever he wanted to play we would encourage him to put the blanket in his mouth.  If he did bite we would yelp and give him the blanket back.  With a lot of re-enforcement and consistancey, I'm happy to say the biting has almost stopped.  He won't even say hello to us without his blanket.  Hope I've helped!

Oh, good grief, forget the pack leader mentality.  My dogs are not dumb enough to think I am a dog and they don't think I am a pack member.  I am not the "alpha ***"--what a mentality that takes!  I am the goddess--I have all the good things and good times.  It's easy to get cooperation if you see dog's as the ultimate pragmatists they are.  WIIFM--is the motto  What's In It For Me is how our wonderful opportunistic scavenging predator friends work.  The first comment is right on--yelp like it hurts (I've got three little 'ghan gators right now and it does!) and move away.  The Old Order Amish practice of 'shunning'--absolute active ignoral is VERY effective is stopping unwanted behaviors.  Do not smack them or jerk them--just leave.

I agree with the people who said to ignore her when she bites. However, I do not agree with the "yelping" part. Retrievers will usually take that as an invitation for a game. You should immediately pull your hands up and away from her. If you are sitting stand up and turn your back to her. If you are standing place your hands over your heart and turn your back. Do not walk away as this can be seen as a game as well. Just turn your back and ignore completely. Do not even look at her until she is sitting or laying calmly or until she walks away. If, when you pet her again, she bites, start over. It can get frustrating and overwhelming but it should only take a day or so to make her stop. This technique is also VERY effective with dogs that "jump up" on people.

I did not see where anyone mentioned exercise???? Labs are very athletic creatures and will often bite and/or chew out of boredom. A TIRED dog is a GOOD dog (as far as puppies go anyway). This breed is now often expected to be a perfect family member and people too often forget that they are HUNTING dogs. They should be retrieving something! You must give your dog a job!

I would start with a good old tennis ball and play fetch with her at least twice a day for approx. 20-30 mins at a time. Not only will she not chew on your hands anymore she will be content and exercised, and "Fetch" is an excellent training tool that they "think" is a game. You are teaching them to "come", you can reinforce "sit" by not taking the ball from her until she sits in front of you, and you can even teach "give" or "drop" by giving that command everytime you take the ball from her mouth. This is an IMPORTANT command as it shows her that anything she has in her mouth must be given to you on command. It is especially important to avoid adverse behavior such as "possessiveness" of toys and food. You MUST be in control. Good Luck! I'm sure you'll do great!

I'm curious.  It's now January.  Have any of the above suggestions helped?  

I have a lab puppy that is 4 months and have had a lab/rotti mix in the past.  Exercise with other dogs is the key.  My puppy was nipping and the woman who runs her obedience classes suggested I put her in doggie daycare 2 half days per week  for 2 weeks. After her first day the nipping was much lighter.  By her 3rd day it stopped.   Ongoing training is important as well but labs are very oral and they learn bite control from correction from other dogs.  Also they are very active and if the are not given enough exercise/mental stimulation they will find outlets for that energy.  The post that says a yelp is an invitation is accurate. Labs hear you yell or yelp and they get excited thinking its playtime (any attention even negative is still attention) .  Try putting your dog in daycare for a couple of days.  He will not only learn to play well with other dogs he will learn that biting hard hurts.   Best of luck