Hi everyone, Looking for some help and advise with my 6 month old male black lab. He's my first ever dog. He's always been really well behaved and placid, (apart from the nipping from 8-14 weeks) Hes walked twice a day and has learnt his basic commands, sit, down, paw, wait for his dinner etc. I have 3 young children who he's always been so gentle with. Last week I took him to my moms with my children to play in their garden. He was fine, just wandering around and finding things to chew. He got up from laying down and went over to my 4 year old daughter and started jumping around her and barking. I went over to them to tell him to stop, and he just launched at me, I pushed him down and shouted no, but it didn't help, he just kept jumping and grabbing my arm with his mouth. I eventually got him to lay down and put his collar and lead on. I was very upset and shocked so took him home. He has since done the same thing to my husband (he jumped up my husband and he pushed him off and said no, which sent him a bit crazy) today on his walk, he started running wild and spinning around (I guessed the rain had made him hyper) suddenly he launched at me again, barking, ears back, showing teeth, grabbing at my arm. I managed to grab his collar and push him to the floor. I'm so confused and upset as to what I have done wrong with him? He went to vet for blood tests last Thursday and they have come back normal ( she said thyroid was showing slightly off what it should be, but said that's normal for his age??) and didn't seem worried. Any help or advice greatly appreciated? Sorry for long post x
This sounds frightening but he was probably playing. Certainly what you describe IS exactly how a lot of puppies play. The wild running around we call the Zoomies and I love to watch it and I encourage it. BUT... when my dog zooms I stand safely out of his way and he is not allowed to put his mouth on me. Play or not, it is not appropriate for my dog to mouth me, jump on me or bark at me. Are you in training classes with him? Classes and a good instructor will help teach you how to teach him his manners and they give him a mental workout which can be as, or more (remember your homework in school?) tiring as physical exercise. How much physical exercise, kind, where, off leash, does he get? Children should not be left with a dog unsupervised. Even the gentlest old dog could knock a child over. It seems to me you know this, just checking. Pushing is part of the game to many dogs. Watch how they play with other dogs, some push so it may only actually think you are encouraging him when you push. "NO" also is rather meaningless to dogs unless they have been taught it means some other action they should do, like SIT. I know I haven't given you any ideas about how to fix this. I think a class with an instructor who can see this behaviour will help you most but training a good solid SIT is nearly always a good alternative behaviour. Proofing the SIT in the situation you describe is harder and takes practice. Consider too, he is about to enter his teenage phase and he needs good training and practice to learn and remember good manners. Really, I am sure it is only manners he needs, a health concern is remote and it's highly unlikely to be aggression.
I think he is just being a very typical hooligan teenager which many become at around six months of age, feeling their feet , growing in confidence and generally trying it on , I don't see it was aggression , just being a bit wild in his play and over bouncy . The thing is , if you shout at him , he will see this as you joining in on his game , which will make him worse . The best way is distraction , so by all means gently push him down and immediately offer him a toy . Have you tried clicker training ? There is an article in the training section which might help you . I would certainly be asking your Vet what she meant re the thyroid , ask for a full explanation as it could be relevant to his behaviour .
Thank you for your reply. I agree that he is perhaps going in to play mode, but my arm is covered in cuts and bruises and is swollen from these incidents in the last week. With regards to the pushing away, I felt threatened and my natural instinct is to push him away He seems so relentless when he's doing it. He's walked off lead in fields twice a day, we do clicker training at home and when we are out, but agree that he needs to learn some manners, everything he has learnt goes out the window when he's excited. We don't go to obedience classes ( I thought I would be able to teach him myself) we started ringcraft classes last week, and although he was very excited and boisterous (trying to play with every dog there) he did really well. I'm just so shocked at these outbursts. We are planning to bring in a behaviourist ASAP, but 99% of the time he's so placid, I have a feeling the behaviourist would think we're making it up! Xx
Its so easy Steph , for pups to get over excited and frankly crackers ! They can and do hurt when this happens and so the ringcraft classes will help him to learn some self discipline . My current Lab didn't go through a bitey excitable stage at all but the one I had before him was an absolute demon, so I really do empathise . When he starts to get into the zone , try popping him into his crate ( if you use one ) or isolate him to a room, just for a very short time as pups don't have the best memories and he will quickly forget what he was put there for in the first place .
Yes we use a crate, the trouble I think I will have, is that he goes from normal to wanting to eat me, in seconds. And me trying to get him to put him in his crate, makes him run off and then launch at me again which I can see may well be a game to him, but it's something I need to put a stop too, because I can't risk him doing this to my children. I just feel so so disheartened by it, I begged my husband for a dog for 7 years and having him has been the best thing ever, until this week xx
I would read ALL of these articles, they are excellent. They explain why he is doing it and what you can do to help. You need to start training him, getting him to work for treats and to respond to you - also to work on your bond with him by playing games which don't get him worked up. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-behaviour/#nipping .
Buy "The Happy Puppy Handbook" by Pippa Mattinson, it will become your bible and will be such a support and comfort.
This is exactly how Ripple started behaving at six months - I was horrified and frightened by this now quite large Labrador behaving in this way. After lots of discussions on the forum and desperate pleas at my training classes, and reading loads, I have learned ways to manage his behaviour. Now he is nearly a year old we are getting fewer and fewer of these episodes but they do still occur particularly when he gets overexcited and can't find an outlet for his excitement. Ripple is the third lab I have had and I have never had to deal with this from either of the others so it was a real shock for me and has caused numerous arguements with my OH on how to manage it. I can give you a list of the things we've tried and what we've found helps (I can PM you if you like) but a lot of it seems to be waiting for them to grow up which means there's been no instant fix for me. However, I would agree it isn't aggression even though it can really feel like it, hopefully a behaviourist will give you a few more pointers to help you manage him through this stage.
Thanks for your reply, yes I agree it's excitement, but at the actual time that he's doing it, he seems so hell bent on hurting me and scaring me. It happened again last night on his walk, out of the blue, ran up to me and started jumping at me and biting my arm, lasted about 3-4 minutes, just couldn't stop him or calm him down. We have booked a behaviourist to meet us Thursday. Just seems to be happening more and more.i feel like my OH is not interested in him anymore and it's breaking my heart because he is usually the most laid back puppy. Any info or tips u could send me would be greatly received thank u xxxx
@gemnseph your OH sounds as if he is behaving just like mine, it's upsetting just when you need support. I have a busy day today but I will put together some info and PM you as soon as I get a moment.
Have you checked that your behaviourist only advocates positive reinforcement methods? By the sound of it you are dealing not with an aggressive puppy (and he is not aggressive) but a stroppy teenager. Hopefully the behaviourist will suggest some good behaviour management methods and lots of positive training.
I wouldn't say stroppy, but over-excited, bursting with energy and lacking self control. He's not doing it to be difficult. He's just on a big doggie high... But I can appreciate how challenging (and painful and scary) it is, no matter the reason for it. If he's leaping at you and biting either tie the lead to something solid and get out of his reach (if out) or leave the room and shut the door (if home). Training will help, and time and growing up will help too. Take heart, this is not an indication of how he'll be in future. Hope the behaviourist is good and uses positive methods.
Tatze did exactly this at this age - I still have the mended rip in my coat to prove it! Extra tasty treats are the answer. Save them for the mad times. Stand still and quiet, show her both hands in the 'stop' position, then get your tasty treats out and put her in a 'sit'. Improvement won't happen instantly, but with patience it will happen. . .
he never really wanted a dog, I was desperate for one, but he grew to love him, but recent events seem to have made him question our decision to have a dog Thank you xx
Hi there, I just wanted to stop by to say I hope you feel better after reading your replies.Dexter is our first dog and I know you can feel a bit bewildered by some of their behaviour ,I thought I was prepared for the tsunami of fur that entered our lives.....but I was so NOT prepared ! ::The Forum is always a great place to come for reassurance of what seems normal or not ,so always ask away and help does come x
