How do i stop a new puppy with bad habits?

I have a beautiful little 6 wk. old female lab. Unfortunately, she came to me with a few bad habits. She came from a home where the children ran and she was allowed to chase pant legs and feet. Needless to say she is doing it to me as well. I've tried stopping dead in my tracks and bending down to close her mouth while sternly saying "no bite," but it only works for a few seconds then she starts with it again. I've been following with a flat hand motion in front of her face (ie, stop) and she jumps back and barks at me. I've also, when one is handy, tried substituting a chew toy for my robe tail or toes. She sleeps good at night and the potty training is coming along...even tho she was pad trained and now thinks my throw rugs are potty places. But her little teeth are sharp on toes and ankles. Any suggestions?

She is only 6 weeks old, you need time and patience, she won't behave like a robot in a couple of days! Give her time to learn and try to discourage her as you are already doing. Loose the hand in front of her, sounds too easily misunderstood for aggression. There are free classes for dogs training and loads of books full of tips.

Puppies crave attention and that is exactly what she is getting when you stop, bend down, grab her and talk to her. Even though you are supposedly correcting her she thinks it's great fun and will make this a very common game if you continue that.If you stop dead in your tracks then just stand there. Or, better, the second she grabs onto you or your clothes yell out like she hurt you, "Owwwwwww!" Then stomp out of the room rapidly and shut a door in her face. You go to one room she is shut out sitting alone on the other side of the door. This will teach the puppy that when you do that behavior it makes me leave, and leave quickly and frustrated--the worst way to leave a puppy! She'll catch on real fast if you can do this *every time* she does this. However, if you can't be consistent and do it every time she'll get worse and worse and you will become very frustrated.Lab puppies are very, very active. I suggest that you get some one on one training as she is too young to venture into a puppy class but not too young to get some training. A personal dog trainer can help you the most, not just the dog.Good luck. Labs are great dogs but you should definitely start training asap!

first, she should STILL BE WITH HER SIBS AND MOM. that's precisely why U are having this problem: she only had ONE WEEK of active play with her siblings, and her dam, before she was yanked away and plunked down with U... and U are == Not ! = communicating effectively with her puppy-self to explain that's not appropriate. 56 days is the earliest any pup or kitten should leave their family. lifelong problem behaviors are the legacy of too-young separation. waving Ur hand in a STOP signal only startles her - hence the bark and jump-back reaction. do us all a favor, ESPECIALLY Ur pup, and get her back to dam and sibs; wait FOURTEEN days, and try again. and next time, use a LEASH or drag-line to keep her off ur ankles, and pants-legs!!

Maybe try some of the natural animal repellent at the pet stores on your shoes. If you know you are going to be training it for a little while during the day you could try to rub your foot with some cayenne pepper or something really bitter tasting. My dog used to go crazy about chewing on things, so we would intentionally leave out something like a shoe that we covered in cayenne pepper, she really went after the toy for a few minutes until the taste hit her, she stopped really quickly.

I dont have any good suggestions other than I think you're doing the right thing by stopping in your tracks and saying no or giving her a chew toy...Oh, how bout letting her stay, kinda like time out. the same as little kids are put into when they don't listen...maybe have a portion of the house that can have a pet gate and put her there for a few minutes every time she does something she should......She's still full of energy and if you live in the Los Angeles county, we can help you out by taking care of her for a little while. Check out our website http://4friendlypaws.tripod.comwe'd love to help you out!Thanks, Rosie

My puppy did this a lot too. It just took lots of patience. The person who said to say OW! very loudly is on to something. You have to make it known that it hurts and she won't be able to play with you if she continues the behavior.

I'm not sure you are aware of this, but you have a 6 week old PUPPY! She did not come with bad habits, she came with puppy habits. Puppies explore their world by chewing, biting etc and labs are among the worst for this behavior. None of the behavior on your puppies part is malicious, she's just doign what puppies do.Secondly, training a puppy does not happen overnight. Everything takes lots of time, patience and consistency. It's normal for her to mess up (you also got her too young, but that's another matter). It'll take months, even with very bright dogs, for everything to fall into place. Part of having a puppy is you have to go through those months (or in your case years as labs tend to grow-up later than other breeds) of providing guidance. This guidance needs to be positive as much as possible, but the word "no" is important as long as you redirect her to something that is appropriate. If you do not redirect, i.e. show her appropriate behavior, she will not understand what is expected of her. She will only know that she cannot do certain things but will not know appropriate behavior. My GSD, now 9 months old, has a word that I use whenever she is doing something good. In her case I use the word "good". Initially I used good and then followed up with very energetic praise. But now that she does multiple commands before the release (i.e. the energetic praise), I use just strictly "good". This way she gets instant feedback that what she is doing, even if i am not right next her to provide the energetic praise. But again, this phase occurs much later in the training process. Just to reiterate, remember you have a very young puppy. Be patient, consistent, and always redirect followed by praise to an appropriate activity whenever she misbehaves.

this is to leashedforlifePuppies are ready to leave their family's at 6 weeks. I even got a puppie at 4 weeks and she did fine.

6 weeks is very young for a puppy to have left her mum, so be patient. Past experience has shown me that dogs do not understand English, they understand body language. Ignore bad behaviour and really praise good. Turn your back on her and totally blank her, she will soon get the message. If she really nips you, then a short sharp AH AH sound, or a sound that distracts the behaviour, then ignore her again. Praise good behaviour instantly, within 1 second, never hit EVER!! (not that you would of course!!)She will calm down, but you have to be in training mode all the time. On a lighter note, aren't Labs just wonderfull!Mines a Chocolate girl and she is 3 and a half months. We wouldn't be without her now, she is the first Labrador I've had and she won't be the last!!!Have fun with your puppy and good luck.Get Victoria Stowells book "it's me or the dog"It's my bible!