my puppy bites a lott..!!

Question
hey i have a labrador puppy which is about 6weeks old.He's perfectly healthy(touch wood!) and playful as well.His vaccinations are due in a day or two.My vet when she examined his behaviour said he would have to be an alpha male has he exhibited a lotta signs of those shown by alpha dogs.The most important and the latest one also being that he was seen humping on a couple of occasions on a pillow kept on the floor for the puppy. He really bites us a lot and i have provided him as of now with about six to eight chew toys as well..but everytime i even replace my hand woth a chew toy he drops the chew toy and comes lunging back for my hand (or leg or any part of my body).I have tried different techniques with him like reprimandng him in a firm and stern voice by saying "NO" whenever he bites me,and also catching him by the cruff of his neck the same way his mother would and repeating "NO". All this hadn't helped and now we just read in a book that yelping when he bites and then ignoring him after he's done that will help him inderstand that he's actually hurt one of his pack members and also not giving him any attention would make him come back to us and ask for attention thus enabling him to understand that biting us is not a great way out.But i am really disappointed with the outcome of this as well...he just does not seem to be bothered even if we walk away.He comes back running to bite usand just does not listen even if we pick him up when he does that.
Someone also suggested gently slapping under his jaw and repeating a "NO" so that he associates that with a bad act.But none of this has helped.Moreover his jaws are really strong and his bite is razor sharp...so none of his bites are ctually tolerable for any of us.They actually leave really red and deep puncture marks after he bites us.
Please please please help me out on this one...Also this thing of the alpha dog is really bothering me. He does things as per his own will and even after repeated commands for him to change there doesnt seem to be any improvement worth talking of.NOt once has he ever licked us when excited,all he has done so far is bite us.Whether it's the face, the hands,the legs wherever,he's not licked us even once.He also does not wag his tail too often when he sees us. My friend has a labrador puppy of around the same age but his puppy actually come running when called and llistens to all his commands. It's also very loving and affectionate and vigorously wags it's tail ad licks him when he comes home.Can i never expect my puppy to do the same ever???Wob't he be as expressive and affectionate as this other pup?Aren't alpha dogs affectionate at all??
pls pls pls help me out n this one...this guy has an excellent lineage (father english and mother australian) and is perfect if not for this small problem.Pls temme how should i handle him and train him to listen to me.
thanks a lot in advance.
-n.

Answer
Namitta, you have a 6 week old puppy. His behavior is 100% completely normal, and also the reason that puppies should remain with their littermates until at *least* 8 weeks of age. It is during this time that they begin to learn bite inhibition from one another - how hard is too hard, and when it's inappropriate.

One thing you could try for the biting and nipping is getting a very small squirt bottle (try to find one that you can almost fit totally in your hand), filling it 3/4 of the way with water and 1/4 with white distilled vinegar. Carry the bottle around with you at all times, so it becomes 'part' of you. Whenever he starts his inappropriate biting and nipping, offer him a toy and if he still goes after you, say "NO BITE" in a firm tone of voice and squirt him a few times in the mouth/muzzle area. You may find that he doesn't mind this much. If that's the case, you may have to use a little more vinegar. Don't worry; the vinegar will not hurt him, even if it goes in his eyes by accident. It will sting a little for a second or two, but it will not harm him. Something else you can do would be to get a few baby gates and put them up over your doorways. That way, when he starts up, you can tell him "NO BITE" and leave the room, or put him in another room, and he cannot get to you because of the baby gate.

Would your friend with the other puppy let you bring yours over to play with his pup several times a week? If so, I think that would be a good thing for them both. They can get out some of their energy and learn how to interact properly with one another.


As for obedience; he's 6 weeks old. You cannot expect perfect (even semi-perfect) obedience from a 6 week old puppy. Teaching some basic commands with treats and praise can be done, but when he gets a little older and becomes a little more explorative, you're going to see him start to become sloppy and test the waters, so to speak. So even though you may get him to where he listens every time right now, he will hit a phase where he will become rebellious and refuse to listen. That's normal for all puppies, too. When he reaches that phase, you will have to introduce firm but gentle corrections with your voice and the leash to enforce those commands. For now, though, all you will need is food treats and verbal praise. Start with the come command, because most puppies WANT to be with their owners and will follow them around on their own. Take advantage of this and whenever you see him start towards you, say "[His name], come here!" or whatever command you want to use to make him come to you. Then praise praise praise him all the way until he gets to you, and give him a piece of treat and lots of petting (the treat is used as an incentive to come to you, and also keeps his mouth busy while you pet him). This means you're going to have to carry some treats around the house with you all the time. An easy way to do this is to go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get one or two of those cloth 'toolbelt' things that have two pockets. They are usually around $1.00. They tie around the waist and you can put treats in the pockets. They're easy to wash and cheap to replace if they get torn or something.

Teaching sit is fairly simple, as well. Hold the treat *just* above your puppy's nose, but not quite touching it. Slowly move the treat back towards his tail, and at some point, he should automatically plunk his behind down. When you see his rear start to drop, say "SIT." When his butt hits the floor, give him verbal praise and let him nibble at the treat for a few seconds. Do not just give it to him because that will make him jump back up out of the sit, and you want to teach him that he needs to stay sitting at least for a few seconds whenever you tell him to sit. When he's nibbled at the treat for several seconds (you might have to wear gloves for this if his teeth are rough on your fingers and knuckles as he nibbles), you'll need to release him from the sit with another command. This will be his release command, and can be one word or a simple phrase. I say "You're through," but some people use "Free," "Alright," "All done," or even a nonsense word like "boogabooga." You can even use a word or phrase in another language, like "es brav," which is basically German for "good job." The word or phrase should not be something that he would hear in normal everyday conversation. So, after he's nibbled on the treat in a sitting position for several seconds, say the release command in a happy tone of voice and drop the treat or move your hand slightly so that he will get up. Tell him good boy in a normal tone of voice. Repeat up to 4 times per session, throughout the day. Eventually you'll want to be able to tell him to sit before you show him that you have a treat, and he will sit on his own.

To teach the down command, which should be taught after he knows the sit command without having to be lured with a treat, you start off with him in a sitting position, and hold a treat in front of his nose just the way you did whenever you were starting sit. Bring the treat straight down to the floor and when he starts to lie down, say your command for the action. Some people just say "Down," some say "Lie down," and some use something totally different. It's up to you. Whatever you use for this command, though, cannot be used for making him get off the furniture or stop jumping up. For example, you cannot teach him to lie down by using the word "down," and then tell him "down" or "get down" when he jumps up on you, or when you want him off the furniture. The command for both of these situations is "Off."


As for his supposedly alpha behavior, I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially if you start training him every day. Training enforces you as the alpha, and he will soon begin to respect you more and more. Please take a few moments to read up on the "Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF)" program by going to www.google.com or www.yahoo.com and doing a search for NILIF or "nothing in life is free" dog. This is something I do every day with my dogs, and something I recommend that everyone do. To answer your question, yes, alpha dogs are affectionate, but they have to respect you first.

If you are not planning on showing him, I would highly recommend that you have him neutered before he is 6 months old, because this will also help with his trainability and with the alpha behavior. Food can also help. What kind of food do you currently have him on?

Kristen