I'm finding this soooo hard I almost want to give up! Libby's probably a fairly good pup really (she's 19+ weeks) but I'm not sure I'm coping with it. I'm reading the information, I have the books, I'm training, walking, playing etc which is all fine but there are several things I can't cope with and the lovely photos hide the strains I feel. The constant being on guard or having to hide things like my phone, remote controls etc. Her mad dash upstairs for socks or anything else when the kitchen or lounge door is left open. The jumping up at the back door if I leave her outside. The lunging, biting at me if she's bored or when I'm getting my shoes on for walks. I'm trying so hard to positive train but am just losing it more and more. I'm pretty fed up with it much of the time to be honest. It feels crap to say I've made a massive mistake. How do you keep going?
Oh,my......sounds so familiar to most or all of us I am sure! Libby is a normal Lab pup! If she wasn't doing all of the above, we would all worry! I know telling you now that this will get better doesn't help BUT IT WILL.....get better. Constantly being on guard or things are"stolen" is a necessity right now. She will get over one thing but something else will surface....example: my guest bedroom has a lot of little teddy bears ....Cooper used to fly into that room (if door wasn't closed) and snatch one of the bears...so many were totally ripped apart. Now (those that are left) he doesn't even bother with BUT he loooves dish towels, socks, slippers,shoes. In time he will get over some of those and pick up another habit, I am sure. So even though Cooper is now 2-1/2 years old, I still close my bedroom door, still have to "hide" the kitchen dish towel, still put my shoes on higher ground. He does not lunge or bite anymore....hasn't for a long time now. Do you crate her at all? That would help.....crate and stuffed Kong works wonders. Hang in there....she will change for the better.
Ah, I feel your pain! So many times I felt that "oh jeez what have I done" feeling. Others will be able to offer more sensible advice, but all I can offer is sympathy and the promise it DOES get better and it IS all worth it. One day you will suddenly realise that your little fluffy pain-in-the-a**e has turned into a sensible, beautiful young lady (although there will always be "those moments".....). Hang in there, you are not alone and what you are feeling is completely normal.
You just have to manage small pups, and tick off the training tasks one by one. You can't train them to do something else instead of all the annoying stuff they do all at once. I know if you are feeling frazzled it's easier said than done (and probably a tiny bit annoying, but that doesn't stop it being true ) you just have to manage things better. So don't be constantly 'on your guard' about your phone and the remote control. Get a storage box, that's too high for your pup to reach inside, and keep them in there. And so on. Put a baby gate on the stairs. etc. Just pick one thing to work on e.g. your shoes. Train her to go on a mat, and stay there while you put on your shoes. Just train that one thing, then it will be done, and you can move on to the next thing. There are always a few casualties with Puppies around though - the day my *darling* Betsy chewed through the power cable of my spare laptop, requiring me to spend a fortune at short notice in PC World on a new laptop.... and then she pulled the £200 money back voucher through her pen bars and ate it. I could have cheerfully have turned her into a foot rug!
Hey! I know ive only had Rolo a few short days but I think that thought goes through everyones mind, have i made a mistake. Once you start seeing them do new things, or sleeping peacefully for once it makes you feel guilty for thinking it. But with the support of everyone on here and the great materials out there you will get through it, people are genuine when they say it will get better. And one day you too will be saying the same advice to a new lab owner, Im sure! xx
I feel exactly the same some days. Alfie isnt really a bad puppy at all but he has his days!! I come on here not just for advice but reassurance that it does get better!! I keep telling myself labs wouldnt be the uks favourite dog if it didnt get better lol.
You do get used to it - I promise! Here is a great article - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-beat-the-labrador-puppy-blues/
Ps. There are some days when i take him to the park at the wrong time and he s run off a thousand times then pulled me round on the lead when i feel i could just leave him in the park lol.
......times out on a walk you are glad no one is around to see you crying........? Yeah. They all get better. Stick with it, Be consistent, be kind - to your pup AND to yourself. (wine helps too)
Ah you've given the cry Debz and the support troups will rally,honestly so many of us have been there.My dog used to make me cry with his pulling ,I couldn't bear to think this was going to be my next 12 years .....now I can cry just thinking that one day I won't have him,and I can't bear that! And I didn't even have the teeny tiny puppy stage! I adopted JulieT's approach...we had a containment ( of the dog ) and removal ( of any high value,to us ,items) policy.Dexter if left unsupervised was contained in his own space,the utility room off our kitchen behind a child gate ,we had a child gate on the stairs and nothing was at floor/ grab level.We are an adult only household so I appreciate that makes it easier than if there are little ones around but my toddler niece and nephew used to visit most days and they got very good at putting their things on the table or chucking shoes over the child gate on the stairs to the 'safe' place. And you know,if he'd had enough of everything i.e. company,play,petting,excersise ,food ,toilet and was just being a bit mad....he went in his crate to give us all a breather.Honestly they do stop being monsters but you have to help them,they've got no self control and everything is a game when they are little.Weve just had our bathroom altered and up until then Dexter used to push past me and nick the toilet roll EVERY morning....when he was 5 months old it was tedious dealing with it every day because it was just one more mischief on top of the rest but eventually it was one of only a few things he carried on doing and now I'm sad he's stopped....I grew to love his buoyant optimism that every morning could be the day he got past me without me saying 'Drop' Hang in there,they grow up so fast and you will have a young dog before you know it x
Now this MUST be true! Oh my, you are all so fab with your reassurances! The feeling guilty when they're asleep is true too. Temptation to leave them in the park also ha ha ha. I will try that training to stay on the mat while I put my shoes on trick. We've definitely come on a long way, I can tell. Love this!
Time for a stair gate we can step over rather than closed doors I think! We're also an adult house with my two year old granddaughter coming to visit almost daily. I keep telling myself it's just a game but that's not so easy when you're knackered and not up for the game. I think my partner would just send her back if I so much as hinted about this to him so your support on here is awesome.
Mine is younger than yours but he does the bite-at-shoes thing as well. I find if you teach him "wait", and treat regularly while he's being calm, that helps a lot. You definitely have to set aside extra time in advance though! Also, definitely a baby gate is your best friend. We let ours have full roam of the house except the work room and bedroom (we've put away things he liked going for, house is very minimal now!). We keep the bedroom door closed and have a baby gate on the work room, so we don't have to stress out and feel always on guard. I've felt like you as well, especially with lead training...I thought he was going to be a bucking lunging horse in dog form forever, it was miserable! I wanted to give up, it seemed impossible. But he's calmed down a lot, through regular training sessions. It's hard work I have to admit, but at least it does pay off in the end.
I'm on my honeymoon in the Lake District with Stanley. He's just tipped a bowl of water the nice pub owners brought him all over himself and me. I thought I could be in Barbados right now if it wasn't for you, you little turd. But then he put his chin on my knee and nuzzled in and all was forgiven. I'm still hoping it all gets better one day
Felt the same often at 3 in the morning, 5 in the morning, 8 in the morning, lunchtime, 4 in the afternoon - oh and several other times a day. It does and WILL get better, will look out for your 'It's so much better now' post
Yes! That! Sitting in the car SOBBING at the end of yet another humiliating puppy class or agility-that-is-really-just-about-dragging-him-away-from-other-dogs-class!!! That!!!!
