Labradoodle Puppy Biting Guide!

Labradoodle puppies bite for various reasons. Some of these reasons include:

• Teething
• Play-wrestling
• Fear
• Pain
• Territory guarding

Finding out why your Labradoodle bites will help you address the problem. Let’s look at some of the different reasons Labradoodles bite and how you can prevent your Labradoodle from biting or nipping at you.

Please note that it is very common for Labradoodle puppies to play bite until they are 11 months old. However, we were able to use various techniques to prevent our Labradoodle from biting us as often.

Before scrolling down this list, check out these recommendations: My puppy won’t stop biting me. I’ve tried everything. What should I do?

Training Techniques to Stop a Labradoodle Puppy Biting

If your Labradoodle puppy is biting, there might be a good reason. Often, if your Labradoodle puppy bites you during a play session, it’s because you missed their signs to stop. It’s not intended as an aggressive bite.

You have to think of the Labradoodle puppy playtime experience as akin to being tickled by someone who can’t speak your language. With no word for ‘stop’ that’s effective, you lash out. That’s what a lot of Labradoodle puppy biting comes down to.

So, when is a Labradoodle puppy’s bite considered aggressive, and when is it considered frustrated?

Signs of a Tired Labradoodle Puppy

One way to tell the difference is to watch for these signs in your puppy. A Labradoodle that no longer wants to play will:

• Look away/break eye contact
• Puppy turns away/won’t engage
• Lies down to show disinterest

All these are clear signs from your Labradoodle that they don’t feel like playing and want to be left alone. If you spot your dog behaving this way, stop.

Depending on the dog, you might be able to give them a stroke or scratch behind the ears, but these are all clear indications that wrestling and playing are not on.

Labradoodle Puppy Bites and Incorrect Playing Technique

Another reason your Labradoodle puppy might bite is if they don’t like the game. Many owners enjoy gently roughhousing, especially with medium- and large-sized dogs.

But, like people, dogs have different personalities and temperaments. Depending on your dog’s personality, they won’t tolerate more extreme play sessions.

Unless you know your dog is comfortable with it, and even then, we recommend avoiding:

• Pulling ears
• Pinning Labradoodle to floor

This makes sense when you think about it. Dogs might be natural predators, but even they have vulnerabilities.

That’s why a dog that voluntarily rolls over and shows its belly displays vulnerability and submission to its human. A Labradoodle doing this wants to appease you but also trusts you not to attack their stomach.

Owners that want to keep that trust learn not to approach a dog’s stomach uninvited, and that includes during play sessions.

The problem is that once a Labradoodle puppy learns biting works, you have your work cut out for you breaking them out of the habit. And while it’s entirely possible to teach an old dog new tricks, training goes fastest when you’re laying down new rules, not changing an old one.

So, how to stop Labradoodles from biting?

How to Stop a Labradoodle Puppy from Biting

The best way to stop a Labradoodle from biting is to learn to speak dog. There are several ways of doing this, and they all make it clear to the dog that they cannot get away with mouthing behavior or biting you.

Let’s have a look at some of the most effective ways of stopping a Labradoodle from biting.

Imitate Their Mother

Mother dogs have to deal with all kinds of biting and mouthing as their puppies’ teeth come in. And unlike humans, who can be an infamously soft touch, mother dogs don’t stand for it.

Instead, they growl, not aggressively, but low enough and with enough conviction to get their wayward pups to stop. Puppies are hardwired to respond to that sound. Imitating it is an excellent way to stop a Labradoodle from biting.

Unsure of how to growl? The other maternal behavior pups respond to is a click of the teeth and a pinch on the scruff of the neck. We did this whenever our dogs played up. They still have opinions, but they know which people they can try them out on, and we aren’t one of those people.

Turn Away from your Labradoodle

Remember we said a disinterested dog turns its back? You can do this too. It signals that the behavior your Labradoodle exhibits when biting isn’t acceptable.

Persistent puppies may keep trying to play with you. Don’t succumb.

Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Teething puppies mouth everything, including you. Letting a Labradoodle gnaw your hands, however gently, tells them that’s acceptable. It’s cute when they’re puppies, and their teeth are soft. It’s a lot less cute when a full-grown dog chews on your hands.

The best solution is to keep your hands away from your Labradoodle while playing. They can’t bite what they don’t have access to. Instead, use toys as barriers. Hand-gnawing alternatives can include:

• Rope toys
• Old towels
• Tug toys

Engage at Human Level

Dogs are pack animals, and one of the reasons they love a human that wrestles at their level is because they see them as fellow dogs. This is interesting since, unlike cats, who perceive humans as overgrown kittens, dogs recognize that we’re different from them.

But getting down on all fours blurs that line. The way a dog behaves with a fellow dog isn’t the same as how they behave with a human. Nips and biting are a sign of healthy dog socialization when they play-wrestle, and that’s what they’re trying to do to you.

No wonder they’re confused when you get upset! Instead of getting down on hands and knees, stay upright when playing. Don’t bend past your knees. Your Labradoodle will remember you are human and play by the boundaries you set.

Discouraging Labradoodle Aggressive Biting

But not all biting is playful. So, how do you stop a Labradoodle from aggressive biting behavior?

Two key factors help minimize aggressive biting in Labradoodles:

• How you train them
• Spaying and neutering

You must take these seriously because when aggressive biting gets out of hand, sometimes the only solution is the painful decision to euthanize your dog. No one wants that.

But it’s also essential to recognize what causes aggressive behavior. A Labradoodle bites aggressively out of:

• Fear
• Possessiveness
• Pain

Training and Upbringing

This has a considerable impact on dog temperament. Anxious, frightened Labradoodles are much more likely to bite than their more trusting peers because they lack that trust. They see threats where there are no threats and react aggressively.

Labradoodles with Nervous Aggressive Biting

Early socialization is imperative to reducing fear-based bites because it encourages your Labradoodle to form healthy bonds, not just with you but strangers and strange animals.

Labradoodle Biting and Resource Guarding

Sometimes, you may find a well-socialized dog is possessive of a specific toy. They may carry it everywhere and even try hiding it to stop anyone else from having it.

This is not cute. In extreme cases, possessive behavior results in biting as the dog tries to keep its toy to itself. If you spot any of these behaviors, you want to take the toy away as soon as possible.

Sometimes it isn’t a toy. With Labradoodles, it’s often to do with food. Experts call this resource guarding.

When you spot it, it’s time to take control of dinnertime. The best way to counter it is to teach your dog to wait. This command is excellent because it teaches your dog to wait for your say-so before eating.

This goes a long way to stopping your Labradoodle from biting the hand that feeds it.

Labradoodle Aggressive Biting and Pain

Finally, another reason a Labradoodle might resort to aggression is pain. Again, you must remember that Labradoodles and humans don’t share a common language. So, as painful as it can be when a well-mannered dog gives you an unexpected bite, it might not be the attack you think it is.

Aggressive biting caused by pain can be caused by many health problems, like:

• Ear infections
• Hip dysplasia
• Unusual growths

You probably touched the painful place without meaning to while stroking your Labradoodle, and they retaliated. Pain is the most likely cause of aggressive biting once you rule out anti-social behavior and resource guarding.

If your dog will let you, try and examine the area around the suspected injury for clues. If they won’t, monitor your Labradoodle for further signs of illness.

Labradoodles Aggressive Biting and Dominance

Finally, spaying and neutering significantly impact your Labradoodle’s propensity for biting.

Our previous dog never got on with the one up the street because ours was spayed, and the other dog was not. Whenever they met, they vied for dominance.

That instinct reduces when two spayed dogs meet because the spaying process significantly reduces the instinct to fight or bite. 

Conclusion for Labradoodle Puppy Biting Guide

If your Labradoodle is biting furniture or objects, you can usually fend them off with the application of a chewing deterrent. Labradoodle biting becomes a problem when they start directing that behavior at you.

So, how to stop a Labradoodle from biting you or others?

The best way to do this is through a combination of socialization, firm boundaries, and avoiding using your hands as toys.

You might feel bad being strict, but failing to set appropriate boundaries can stress your Labradoodle because they don’t know the rules.

So, reward good behavior and remember to do your best to speak your Labradoodle’s language. You’ll soon come to an understanding that stops your Labradoodle from biting.

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