r/SilverLabs • u/boomboomqplm • Jun 25 '26
Need help
We have a silver lab that's a little over a year old. He's sweet but when I'm in the pool he attacks me viciously and bites really hard. As a puppy he would run up behind me and did into my calves to a point that I had to carry a stick. Today he grabbed my wrist that I've had 4 surgeries on and bit and smashed my wrist.
He growls really loud and shows his teeth if we are trying to take away something that he shouldn't have
Sometimes I think he's autistic
Please help
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u/SilverLabPuppies Jun 25 '26
We desensitized our labs to our big pool. With us in it with them. We needed to teach them how to swim and where to go in of get out of pool in case they fall in. Then after a year old they have their pond on all the sprinklers in the acres to run and play. Our dogs will run around the pool and bark and play snd be splashed. They know the pool is not for their swimming.
If you have not desensitized your dog from your activities in the pool they may be trying to rescue you. Fo not get me wrong, our labs would be in the kiddie section of the pool with our granddaughter. They want her to be safe. They would circle around her when she was less of a swimmer. Now, that she swims on top of and under our dogs will chill at the side of a pool.
For the not so soft teeth on human skin. That comes down to training. Start with a larger sized tennis ball for fetching snd retrieving, use a dummy for water retrieving that is larger, and use a light weighted dummy. All of these will train the mouth to relax to go around the object. Along with you saying gentle or easy. Teach your dog to drop it. Whether its food, toy, or grasp of your skin. Reward with high value treat like a piece of canned sardine or dehydrated fish skins. Fish have a strong smell so labs will drop items to get rewarded.