Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:45 pm Post subject: Help! Fast approaching nervous breakdown!
Hi all,
Well, ive had Layla for 5 days now, and mostly i feel like crying.
She is lovely, cute, adorable and i love her to bits, but she is so naughty. She is constantly nipping (biting is probably a better word, as she is drawing blood and pretty much refusing to let go), she completely ignores me when i say no, barking and growling at me and thinking its all a huge game. Toilet training is a slow process i know, but just when i think we're getting somewhere she pees everywhere except where she should.
Im using a crate, which she is happy being in overnight, but today i have been using it during the day simply because i am so tired, and im beginning to dread the biting/running round like a lunatic/eating the walls etc. She's not overly bothered about being in there, but i dont want to have to crate her all the time.
I hope i dont sound like i hate her, i dont, its just proving really really difficult. One of my children is now avoiding her completely because of the biting, and im just so disillusioned. I thought it was going to be such a positive experience for us all, and im gutted that it isnt.
Firstly, I will say everything she is doing sounds like perfectly normal puppy behaviour, so there is no need to worry.
Secondly, she will be hard work for the next few week, but it will get easier. She needs to learn bite inhibition, which just means that she learns that she needs to be very gentle with human skin, as when she was playing with her litter mates she would have been able to play a lot rougher. Have a read of this link which explains this further.
And lastly, You are not alone in feeling, bringing up a puppy is a lot harder than you thought....We have many members here that have gone through this, or are still going through it now. Come and rant on here...there is always someone who'll listen and offer helpful advise.
Thanks, the article does make sense. I spoke to the vet yesterday and he just said to ignore her - which is pretty hard when i have blood pouring from my hand.
You're right, i did think it was going to be, for want of a better phrase, a walk in the park - and regardless of all the books i bought and read, there's no way i was adequately prepared for this.
Im definitely letting my emotions get the better of me today, having had several "this is so unfair" cries in the toilet.
A lesson to all who havent yet had their pups i think - it isnt as easy as it looks
All puppies should come with crocodile warning labels
I went round with hands and arms that looked bruised and cut all the time when Corbie was little. Eventually we used 'time out' for him whenever he started to bite us. We would shut him out of the lounge for a few minutes so that he could calm down and as we put him out there we said 'no biting'. We let him back in without saying anything to him. If he started to bite again he was straight out. No quick fix, as it took around 6 weeks of continually doing this everytime he bit until we could just say 'no biting' for him to stop. Labs love being with people so you are removing them from what they want - human attention.
It's important that everyone in teh household does whatever method suits your pup. Whether it's time out, or folding arms, replacing your hand for a toy, etc.
It does get better, but the first few weeks are a hard slog at times.
The toilet training will come. Corbie was dry by 10 days at night, but he was still having accidents indoors even at 4 months, mainly my fault for not keeping an eye on him!
It could be worth trying some basic training with her. Take 5 mins a day for now and do some sitting, etc as this will tire her out a bit, nothing like some mental stimulation for a puppy to get them sleeping
Last edited by Karen_theArtist on Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Please don't despair Majic as a pup was a pain and I wanted to get rid of her more than once but now she is the most fab lab ever, so it does get better.
Majic nipped for Britain and not knowing LF staright off I was at the end of my tether everyday and couldn't cope.
Come on here let us know how she is getting on and bring up any questions you have most have us have been through it so will be able to guide you in the right direction
not that this will help much but i still have very bad days with Coal when he really tries my patience... like nearly pulling me over on my ass in a very muddy field today (it was like a mud lake and my wellies lost grip! ) but then they give you lots of smiles and laughs -like now when he's playing with a piece of frozen orange!!!
once she learns some bite inhibtion then things will get easier. Coal still trys to mouth us or bite us on occasion when he's been bad and got cornered but he doesn't bite hard now. never breaks skin anymore...
____________ Sam, Coal & Finn
It�s never too late to be what you might have been
All photographs remain copyrighted to me with al
My Corbie is 2 now, and I look back to puppy days and think 'wow, we made it!'
Some days he drove me insane, constantly pinching things he shouldn't have when i was trying to work, chewing stuff, etc but I wouldn't have changed the puppy days for the world He still has his moments now though
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