puppy training

Question
Hi   We bought a 7 week old puppy 2 weeks ago she is a black lab. we got her sleeping in are bedroom in a cage seems to be working well. The problem is when she wakes up she goes nuts i know she is a puppy and she came from a family of 8 other puppies but my wife and I are having problems controling her. we bought her a  small kong, 3 balls, a frisbee. the lastest thing we got her was these edible bones. she goes for are feet and pant legs she gets real agressive. Any help would be great i talked to a vet she said to turn the behavior around as a positive thing by training her with treats. That where we stand kind of warn out with puppy training. i love black labs i had one as a kid.

Answer
Your pup come came home at least a week too early and didn't get enough time with siblings and mom to teach proper bite inhibition. If you are close to the breeder, find out if anyone nearby has a littermate and set up play dates. She'll get tired out from the play and be less likely to want to bite at you.

Some puppies get over-aroused by moving objects - like legs and feet when you walk around the house.  As you move about, always have a long toy that you can hold and drag near the ground. Keep it at arm's length so the puppy is attracted to chase it instead of your pants.

If she does grab your feet, stop moving and see if the lack of movement deters her. If not, pick her up and put her in the crate for a time-out. Give her a few minutes to calm down, then let her out and give her a chew toy.

She should be getting all her meals from the Kong so that she uses her mouth to work to get the food out. You can wet the kibble, put a small amount of peanut butter on the top and freeze it, so the dog has to work even harder to get her meal. Get a Kong big enough to hold her entire meal.

If you have kids, they should not be allowed to engage the dog in chase games. Find a good puppy kindergarten class in your area for training and socialization. If you need help finding one, let me know where you are located.  For more information on all things puppy, check out www.dogstardaily.com. There's an online training textbook dedicated to puppies that has great information.

Please let me know if you have further comments or questions.