can we fix this

Question
I there, we have had our yellow lab puppy now for just over 8 weeks...she is 16 weeks now...she is a very smart pup(she sits, lays, comes, stays, knows off,  shakes a paw-from sitting, standing, or laying, spins, and is learing take a bow), she is also bell trained to go outside...we have been working on the "nippy" puppy thing and she is getting so much better...we are concerned with something though, and need to know if we are in trouble with her or if it is correctable puppy behaviour...she has growled at us about 7 times(never about her food-she just wags her tail if we put our hand in her dish or remove it from her)...she growled once when the kids tried to take away a bone she found in our yard, but they had taken it away many times before and after and she was fine, she has growled a few times when she has been hyper and playing and the kids have tried to pick her up, and she growled once at me when she had climbed into the dishwasher and i removed her) BUT today my 11 year old daughter had chased her upstairs because she had gotten a toy(not a dog one) and the dog growled...i corrected her and we both attempted to get the toy again and the dog growled and snapped at my daughter and got her with 1 tooth...i was shocked and corrected her and put her outside...i need to know if we can fix this, i can not have a dog that bites but we love her and 99.9% of the time she is great, very submissive, will roll on her back..also, if she is nippy from playing and we yell ouch, she usually resorts to kissing us...please tell me what we can do or if we can fix this...she is still so young and normally such a people pleasing pup, please tell me we can fix this
sharon

Answer
Hi Sharon;
Whjat would you do if you had a young child, and it started biting or hitting when it didn't get it's way?
Well, same thing with this young lady.
She is trying to see what she can get away with.
Simple as that.
When she growls and snaps, pich her up by your hand under her tummy, and hold the scruff of her neck so she can't bite.  Scold her like the dickens. ?Really read her the riot act, shame her, tell her THAT IS NOT ALLOWED, and put her little behind in time out for half hour or so.
Very soon she will learn that just doesn't get it in that house, and she has to behave herself.
She ius just trying to asert herself as boss. Don't let her get away with it.
I have corrected this behavior in dogs that were several years old even, and used to snapping or even biting family members to get their own way.
They younger they are when you start the training, the faster and better they learn.
After a few times in time out, all you will have to do when they act naughty is say? DO YOU WANT TO GO TO TIME-OUT????!!!!!
Time out at our house is the small halway bethroom.
There is a 5X5 space between the fixtures, so all they have room to do is lie on the bathmat, no toys, and contemplate their crimes.
My dogs would rather be beaten, I am sure. They HATE time out!
They will snap at each other ocasionally, and they get threatened with time out, and they straighten up and act like little angels. They don't want to go to time out.
It is the same with dogs that it is with children, they will do what they are allowed to get away with.
I don't hit, but I chew them out and read the riot act, and NAG!!
When mommy chews them out royally, they know they have plowed up a snake.
When she growls at a child, tell that child to give her a grand chewing out, and refuse to play with her if she snaps while playing.
Dogs are pack animals, just like humans are. Their pack is their family, and they need that family structure. Dogs do NOT get along at all in a situation where they live alone or are isolated, any more than humans do.
Just like a family, the dog pack, or wolf pack has an alpha and a beta male and fe,ale.
The alpha is the mom and dad. The betas are the relatives, older sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles etc, that are in charge when mom and dad are away.
If you raise it just like it is one of the children, and allow it to get away with what the children do, and NO MORE, they will be a member of the family, only that Lab has it in her genes to protect. All dogs that arr rtaised in a loving family situation will give their life for their family, That Yellow Lab is a bit even more so in that way. BUT,,,,,, they are also take charge breeds, so they DO need to be taught that they are just one of the kids, and NOT the Alpha, and NOT allowed to bit or nip. They must also be taught that when a family member takes something away, it is because it is bad for them to have it, so they are NOT to nip and/or barkl and resist.
Don't let her be a juvenile delinquent, MOM. LOL
If you feel you need more help with training, Petsmart and Petco have weekend obedience classes.
You might go down and watch a couple of sessions to see what you think of that route.
Charlotte



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