Lisa asked for help with her sometimes grouchy lab puppy….
“My puppy is a lab about 9months and loves people but when he is sleeping and we try to get him to get up so we can bring him in the room so he won’t roam around the house and chew everything. He will show teeth and growl even to us.He is very friendly unless he wants attention then he will nibble are hands try to get us to play. He is very active we take him swimming and walking and running daily. He is getting better except for the sleep part. Why does he do that and what can we do to correct that?”
Here is what I suggest:There are a couple of issues and solutions for this. First of all, your pup is being the equivalent of a human teenager, testing the boundaries of how far you will let him go. This could lead to dominance issues later, so it is important to establish yourself as a pack leader, and to make sure he knows where he stands in the pack.
Secondly, the nipping for attention is what puppies do unless you teach them otherwise, so let’s start with that. Next time he nips, make a painful yelp or ouch sound then immediately turn away from him or leave the room. Be consistent with this and he will soon realize there is nothing in it for him to continue with this behavior.
Now on to the night time grouchiness:
Establish yourself as the “alpha dog”, as at the moment, he is setting the boundaries for you to follow! There is a great free bonus guide to this when you buy Sit Stay Fetch that is really useful for asserting yourself as the top dog. Alongside this, why not set a night time routine before he even gets sleepy? Take him out for his night time walk or potty break, then straight in and to his bed (crate training is a great method, but if you train him properly to settle in his bed, it does not have to be a crate or cage that he goes to). Then he can go straight to sleep without the need to disturb him and risk any cranky behaviors that could escalate
Tags: aggressive dog, behavior problems, disobedient labrador, dog nipping