From day one when we were ready to sit down and eat our meal we put axel in his crate. So he knew when we ate he needed to leave us alone. Now when we eat I don't have to crate him anymore. He just comes and lays at my feet and sleeps until we are finished and then it's his turn to eat. I got a halti for Axel as he was giving me such bad rope burn. But I don't always use it. It depends where I'm going. High traffic areas I use it but on leisurely walks I don't. As soon as he starts walking off and pulls I stop dead in my tracks and say "close" when he reaches the end of the line. he catches on after a few times. Like others have said. Don't move again until the tension is gone. The training classes will really help! It helped with Axel a lot.
Duncan is 6 months and 2 weeks and he is very high energy mostly American "working" lab & we have had him in training now for 7 weeks - training is about an hour and a half and we have learned some very valuable things and it definitely tires him out when we go to training class AND when we do training sessions outside of training everyday - prob two to three 15 minute sessions per day we try and do and they definitely mentally tire him out and make him calm down afterwards usually. For the pulling on the lead - we used a regular collar and short leash for training and Duncan pulls if he sees another dog or person he wants to say hi to, but other than that he was really pretty good at walking for a 6 month old, but still we wanted to train him to be even better especially for the occasions that we need a dog walker to come and take him out or someone else walk him and in training class they had us get a halti - not the ones that go over their faces, but the ones that you attach the halti to the collar and then the lead to the chest halti part (I previously did not purchase a halti because I didn't like how it went over their faces/mouths) https://www.chewy.com/halti-dog-har...ti&utm_term=&gclid=CJOxi-qZhc4CFRCOaQodJj8MxQ - the trainer then had us walk with this on and praise him whenever he was walking calmly beside us and anytime he started to pull or tension on the lead we had to stop and give a little bit of a jerk up on the lead to get his attention and tell him firmly "WAIT" then once he stopped and waited and look up at us we gave him a treat and a lot of praise and then started the process again - seriously within about 5-10 minutes at class doing this Duncan was already not pulling whatsoever and walking so much better! obviously outside in the real world is different and when he sees another dog or person he still tries to pull me sometimes, but the "WAIT" and halti really are working wonders and he is walking MUCH better -- we have learned a bunch of other really great things from training too - a couple things have seemed ehhh to me because I am doing all positive reinforcement so I don't listen to the trainer about a couple things he has thrown in that seem like "dominance" training older methods, but mostly everything he has taught is positive reinforcement and has really really helped us and worked with Duncan, but also him being 6 months and 2 weeks the trainer told me specifically between about 6 months to 9 months they will REALLY start testing you and gaining independence and doing things they wouldn't normally do etc.. and boy was he right! last night Duncan would not settle down he was so full of energy and he kept trying to steal dish towels and other things off the counter (yes jumping up to counter height like a bad boy!) and stealing things off the counter and running away with them trying to play keep away games - we keep everything off the counters for this reason but he still tries to put his paws up there and see if anything is up there which I am working hard to stop him from doing and I had just placed a towel on the counter for 1 second and he reached up there and snatched it and ran away playing keep away! then he did it with a sock and so on for a long time and then had his first accident in the house after so long of having zero accidents! a bunch of stuff like this.. stuff he knows is wrong but he is testing us ... so I have definitely heard 6-9 months is hard "teenage" years so hang in there with your 7 month old and I really hope the biting stops for you soon! have you asked your trainer for any tips on stopping the biting? I ask the trainer specific questions about Duncan for problems we are working on after class before we leave class and he has always had some great tips that have ended up really helping For eating dinner Duncan absolutely would not leave us alone when we ate even when we tried to keep his lead on and keep him in sitting position next to us and not let him bother us, he just seriously is so food motivated he would not leave us alone and let us have some peace while we ate and I am with him all day long dealing with all the puppy issues so honestly a few weeks ago I was just like I can't do this the entire time I eat dinner every night too! I need 30 minutes of not dealing with him while I have a nice dinner with my husband! haha so we started crating him while we eat dinner - the crate is already in the kitchen area because we spend all our time there, so he is nearby the table and can see us and doesn't make a fuss, but he can't be trying to jump up on us and jump up on the table to try and get the food
Sorry Bridget but any form of lead jerk is regarded as aversive by a positive reinforcement/force free trainer. An alternative is to just release the tension on the lead (if it is taut a dog will want to pull) and wait for Duncan to checkin with you or return to a heel position, whatever is your choice
We are seeing that light too. It is a bit hazy and it might just be the wine talking but we are having some fun and I only have two new holes in my arm this week. Those mostly just including me in his play kind of bites which is somehow better than the lungy kind. Yes, I know he might start up again anytime when he gets to be a bit older but not getting bitten now is wonderful! I can love on him and play which makes the crazy puppy times much happier. Even the roomies do not result in needing stitches! Love this boy! Hope things keep improving for us and you!
Hello he is doing well thanks much calmer - he does have his moments but is getting better. The training seems to be helping and we picked him up yesterday from a week in kennels and seems to have settled back nicely touch wood! X
So today I'm having a nightmare day again and wondering if it will ever get better - wondering whether a dog was the wrong decision 8 months and still mouthing constantly jumping up at work surfaces when I'm cooking etc, pulling on the lead still and barking in his crate while we eat. Hugo is awake from 5am still too and it all seems very overwhelming today and the light I thought had switched on seems firmly out. I have training class tonight 4 out of 8 sessions and Hugo definitely is the most disobedient out of the 3 dogs and the owners look at me in horror - they both have little handbag dogs. - feeling upset it's not working out x
Hi So sorry you re still having a tough time! I am sure more experienced people will be along soon to offer advice soon on mouthing and counter surfing. I wonder if teaching him to lie on a mat in the kitchen when you re cooking might be a way forward. My puppy is happy to lie in the corner of the kitchen or in his crate while and cook and he knows he gets fed if his does this. Having said that he is only 5 months old so I think we may be due it getting worse before it gets better. Also try not to compare yourself and Hugo to other dogs. Labs are notoriously hardwork as puppies and I've read that smaller dogs mature much quicker than larger dogs, and some can be considered mature from six months old. Sending you a hug x
Hi @Hugo's mum , Definitely what @Beckyt6 says ! Really try not to compare Hugo to the others at training . Sam is 7 1/2 months and he is also the barkiest ,bouncy , bit of a loon dog at our training too . So much so that the other dog owners (after many weeks)were rooting for Sam too . Especially when he went to sniff the wall instead of recall . Labs are a different level of dog altogether . It sounds like things had been progressing really well , so hopefully Hugo's just having an off couple of days . Sam is also a counter surfer and would love to help with everything I do . You must be exhausted with him still waking so early , which makes things feel very overwhelming . Big hugs from us too , you're not alone xx Good luck at training tonight , let us know how you get on !
Poor you! Definitely thought do not compare your dog to others at training or out and about. When our chocolate boy was around 8 months old everything went haywire! Seriously his counter surfing was ridiculous, one minute he was in his bed in the kitchen, and in an instant, while finishing making a sandwich he would put his head under my arm and grab it! Wouldn't trust him even now. When we started agility (to try and get more focussed) his reputation went before him..I was stood there with my leaping kangeroo, whilst someone commented...oh that's Benson isn't it? The one with poor recall..I was mortified. She called him the disobedient one. Pulling, well after a really good start with lead walking as a pup, that completely disintegrated. Foundation gundog training had me actually in tears. However now we are through all that now, and he has matured into a funny, goofy, kind dog. I really, really wouldn't change him for the world. He is well mannered, walks beautifully now on lead and off, just a great dog to have out on a walk. Don't worry, work at your own pace as well as Hugo's. Consistency and proofing got us through. Lots and lots of short training sessions really helped with Benson, making sure we kept our cues simple and always setting him up for success.
Thank you I burst into tears at training think things have just got in top of me hoping for better outlook knowing I'm not alone in these problems tomorrow x
Oh no!! Is there someone else who could get up with Hugo at five so you can have a good sleep and a bit of a break? Sending you a hug xx
Aw big hugs xxxx you are not alone in shedding tears over these labs either xx hope you feel a little better after a cry , I sometimes find a cry has a feeling of relief afterwards . Just getting rid of the pent up feelings is good ! You must be completely exhausted and feeling overwhelmed , so be kind to yourself xx
I remember doung adolescent training with Harley and the trainer suggested we 'take a short walk' to get Harley to stop being a loony!! Off lead Harley is amazing. On lead she was a nightmare........wouldn't listen, jumped up at everyone constantly, wouldn't walk nicely, you name it she done it. It is difficult and embarrassing, but they really do improve with consistency. I do use a K9 bridle headcollar for walking in new locations as I know she will pull, but in local places she now walks on a flat collar and lead. I am consistent with pulling and jumping. She always jumps up at certain people, 99% of them have no problem with it, I'm working on her knowing not to jump on the 1% who do mind. She's not perfect and I wouldn't want her to be as she is an amazing, funny girl.
I feel your pain. I have the world's worst behaved dog too! We are slowly making progress tho and I feel less desperate, so hang on in there. I am no expert. But these are thing that have worked for us. Counter surfing, I found this particularly stressful as I have small children who's sandwiches she used to make off with! She went into her crate if she was jumping up when we were cooking or eating. We then kept all surfaces clear so she couldn't reward herself when we weren't looking. This got massively better in around 3 weeks of being super strict. She can now be trusted out of the crate when I am cooking or the kids are eating., Pulling on the lead. Again Jessie was awful, but we turned this around in around 2 weeks of being really, really strict and stopping dead the minute the lead went taunt. Then rewarding when she walked nicely. She is by no means perfect, but much, much improved! I can now walk her with my kids without feeling stressed. She is still the worst behaved in training class! She jumps up at people like a loon and runs after other dogs and jumps on their heads, but we are slowly getting there. I can finally see a way forward whereas I was thinking we'd made a massive mistake around 6 weeks ago! but, boy, it has been hard work. Far harder than I ever imagined. Good luck. I really hope things improve. Xx
It seems to be so not very helpful to keep saying hang in there, it'll get better, one day it will change, but it's very true for many things. He's still very much a baby but it's so hard when they are "big" babies! On Edsel's especially awful days, I used to try to do more work with "mental" tasks, like seek and find games, learning names of toys, fetching certain objects by name. It seemed his bad days were always more about pent up mental energy. Lead walking and jumping is something we are still working at to this day and some days are better than others. I just keep believing that like biting, recall, destructive gardening and other bad habits, these things will also get better with time and maturity. You're not alone and likely just worn out some days!
Really sorry things are so hard. Are there any outdoor training classes near you? I know @Debs went to one in a forest when Maisie was a puppy and I gave up, temporarily, on the scout hut classes when Molly was about 10 months old and did gundog training for a few months. For us this had a big knock on effect on general behaviour. Where roughly are you? (Just county, not your address) It's possible someone on here might be near enough to give some practical help.
