I'm starting to think I can't do this! My 12 week old golden lab is starting to bite out of control. Every time it happens I say no bite, and give him a toy and say bite this AND praise him as he does. 2 seconds later he's either attacking my hand or knees again! I don't know what to do. He is getting so wound up now that I have to pick him up as he bites my hands and put him in his crate to calm down because he won't stop biting. I know you aren't supposed to use the crate for punishment but I can't settle him down without consistently getting bit. What do I do? Hes going to be a big dog and his bite is so hard already I'm afraid if I don't handle this now he's going to hurt me or some else. My dad is telling me to get rid of him but that's the last thing I want to do. Because the place I rescued him from was disgusting and I never want to take him back there. PLEASE HELP!!

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about
Biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting
Another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are
Alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months
They are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking
Moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another
Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find
One that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens.
Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can
Chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords.
Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
Pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
There to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
Close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
Pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a
Dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not
Limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

Labman I've read that before. So I've got the kong w/ the treats inside. I also tried it w/ the nylabone inside but that only keeps him busy for a short time then he comes at my again, I try and play ball with him and he ends up going at me then too. I am trying so hard not to get frustrated and its super hard. I love him dearly and he's a really good guy except this biting thing.

It just takes time and patience. My 12 week old Lab bit up everybody at church yesterday.

Your question sounded familiar, but couldn't see where I had answered it before.

pmabbey, have you looked at labman's sticky at the top of this forum, or has he linked it in one of his responses to you? Within the body of that information there is a recommended reading list. Take that list and go to your local library. See what books you can find and check them out. You would benefit greatly to start reading everything you can get your hands on about how a dog's mind works and positive reinforcement training. I also suggest you call your vet, speak with friends & neighbors, or the manager of your local pet store, and gather names of recommended trainers in your area. It will be helpful for you to exactly what you need to do to positively correct the negative behavior.

Labman also has some information regarding leadership. If he hasn't included that in one of his responses, hopefully he will post it when he sees my response. It appears that your dog is viewing you as a littermate and not the leader of the pack. He sees your parents as the alphas (leaders) in your household, so right now, he will always give you a difficult time if you don't start showing him that you are the boss and that you will not tolerate any challenges to your position.

With somebody the right age in the family, 4-H dog training is a great idea.
In my area, clubs form soon after the first of the year. Even many urban
Areas have 4-H. For info look in your phone book under government listings
For extension or cooperative extension offices. Ask specifically about a dog
Or canine club. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a
Pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much
Easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn
To play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience
Class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete.

I had an employer with this problem - their kids were afraid to play with the puppy because he bit so much. He would come running at people - jaws chomping! They made sure to have a toy in their hand at all times when playing so they could quickly shove it in the dog's mouth. Stuffed toys worked best for them; the dog never responded well to hard toys. They would also yelp loudly when the dog did nip them to indicate he hurt them (even if he didn't). If all of that failed and he was too out of control, they would simply get up and walk away. If the dog followed and bit their feet (which he did sometimes) they would turn quickly and give a stern, NO!

It took some time, a TON of correcting, and training the people who interacted with the dog too, but it finally worked.

Something my mom learned when she got her dog (12 years ago now) is that a tired puppy is a good puppy - she walks her dog every single day, rain or shine, and has done so since she brought him home. I do the same with my dog. If they're sleeping they can't be biting! :)
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Rather than give you a reddie, I am going to use my moderator privilege to insert a warning that stuffed toys are unsuitable for most Lab puppies. Not only will many quickly shred them, they may choke on the pieces or have digestive tract blockages. Note, I already touched on this in post #2. Labman

BTW, I know you have been posting a lot and I don't know if anyone has discussed this yet, so pardon me if I am repeating something that labman or anyone else has told you to try on a different thread regarding biting.

A good trick that works when a pup is biting is to yelp and walk away. This is the way a puppy learns from his littermates & his parents. They don't understand how hard they are biting. In their little minds, they are just playing. It is up to you to teach them that he is hurting you. Dogs are highly social animals and if you refuse to participate, you will immediately get his attention. As soon as he bites you say "OUCH" really loud and do your best to imitate a dogs yelp. Then turn away from the dog and walk away. Ignore him completely. He will immediately follow you and try to engage you in his favorite play (biting). When he sits, lies down, or just calms down, you can then pet him, give him attention, or hand him a toy to chew on and encourage him to bite the toy (as you have been doing). When he bites you again, repeat the process. The worst thing to a puppy is to not get his person's attention. He craves it. It is going to take a lot of patience and practice on your part, but your dog will eventually get that if he wants your attention, he must stop the biting. After a while of repeating this process, he will eventually adjust his nipping to a softer bite. DO NOT allow him to even do that. No matter how soft he bites, or if he just mouths on you without any pressure, you need to repeat the "Ouch", yelp, and turn away routine. Doing this will eventually extinguish any biting behavior.

P.S. I was writing this when Jillian posted, and didn't see her response. As I said, I don't know if you were given this advice already on any of your other posts. But the yelping does work.

I might point out this is what part of the discussion on when puppies should go to their home in another thread. They need to stay with their mother and litter mates until at least 6 weeks to learn if they bite too hard, their company yelps and leaves them by themselves.

On the other hand, the puppy that lives in a kennel until it is 12 weeks old may not adjust well to living elsewhere.

Maybe that is part of my problem labman. He was dropped off at this shelter when he was like 3 or 4 weeks old. Also they were left outside w/ another litter of 5 puppies in one kennel so I know he used to the biting to play. I tried the stuffed kong and its been helping and when I can get out to walk him for longer periods he is much better. Its just hard because no one in my family is helping, its just me, which is fine because I wanted him. And I think I'm stressing because I haven't slept and I'm getting ready for finals next week. Hopefully his time w/ me more over christmas break we will get this habit broken 100% instead of just a bit. Thanks so much.