Hi! Our 13-month-old chocolate lab Charlie has all of a sudden become really naughty. He's disobedient, too aggressive when he's playing and recently he was caught digging at the carpet. He hasn't been this naughty since he was a puppy. I know he still has a puppy mentality but over the past few months he's really improved with his training, his attitude etc. The only thing that has changed in our house is that my partner is now pregnant, she's only 10 weeks though, too early to be a catalyst for his bad behaviour?
Your behaviour has probably changed in ways that you are not aware of, but he is Time to redouble your training efforts, going back to the very basics if you need to as if he was a tiny puppy again. Use the tastiest, most amazing treats you can find (like roast chicken, raw mince....) to motivate him to pay attention to you. And think about ways to give him more to do with his brain (learning new things and going new places are good things to do). Usually this kind of behaviour is just an example of a slightly bored dog finding ways to keep himself occupied.
He may be going through his adolescent stage still and as Oberon said, might need more mental stimulation. Might be worth doing some games at home that require him to work out things such as hiding treats around the house or paws in a box or something.
No help at all but yesterday my 16 month boy just had his worst day of behaviour we've had for ages - all day he was throwing things around, jumping and mouthing, snatching at my clothes and growling. He ran off when I let him off the lead on his walk, normally he waits for a treat and to be released. I think what I'm trying to say is that they all seem to have times when they regress, as Oberon said it may well be something they pick up on from us. But I'm going to approach today as a totally new day and hope things get back on track .
I think often, we see our dogs' good behaviour and stop reinforcing it too quickly. We think they've grown up before they actually have and when they regress, we think it's because something has changed in them. Which, sometimes it has, because they'll have different hormones etc as they get older, but I'm sure some of it is because we've stopped doing what we did before - making a fuss when they were good because it's become "normal". So they try acting out other behaviours to try to work out how to get that same fuss back again.
Thanks for the replies. We've been doing extra training with him, we bought him a puzzle toy where he has to roll the ball around to get the treats out, instead he just chewed it until the toy was useless, not sure if that's him being clever or dumb ha. The behaviour has improved a bit but sometimes he can still be too much, especially with my partner when I'm at work. She has to keep putting him in his crate for a time-out.
Physical, maybe, he gets a 30-40 minute walk in the morning with me which also involves a bit of fetch, sometimes he wants to play fetch and will drop the ball repeatedly, other times he will just carry the ball in his mouth after 1 or 2 games. He also gets the same walk in the evening when I get home from work. Mentally, I don't know. I do some training exercises with him in the evening, but during the day with my partner, probably not enough.
OK, well, others may disagree but I don't think two 30-40 minute walks a day are going to be enough for a young and fit labrador. It sounds to me like you need to up his exercise and training regime. At 13 months he is old enough for more intense exercise, and lots and lots of stimulating training. Have you considered starting gun dog training with him, or agility, or similar? Labradors are extremely intelligent, and do best when they have a 'job' to do, not just trotting along fetching a ball every now and then. If your partner is pregnant, you will want to get on top of this issue now, rather than finding you have a wild young dog AND a baby at the same time. I know this is going to take time out of your schedule, but it really will help make your life easier in the long run.
Thanks for the good advice. I'm not keen on gundog training, I don't hunt and probably never will. But I'm quite keen on other methods. I'll do some research and see what I can do.
I agree. Unfortunately what you are doing now isn't enough. More walking time isn't necessarily needed but more training time would help hugely - time when he learns new stuff and gets to earn rewards by using his brain. Going to new places would also be a good addition to his regime.
Thanks, I can think of a few new places nearby that will help. Might set up daily training regime for him, something I can do on our walks as well as at home.
The great thing about gun dog training is that you don't need to hunt or ever intend to, as the training is all done with dummies. But that was just an example really, of something you can do with your dog to keep him interested. Agility; search and rescue; flyball; all are good. Setting up a daily training regime is a good idea, particularly things that you can do on your walk, that will also improve your bond with him (and possibly things that your partner can do with him, too). For instance, you can drop the ball and walk on, then send him back for it. With practice, you can walk him at heel for 100 meters or more, and then send him back for the ball. Great exercise for him, and he has to use his brain to remember where the ball is, too, as you can make this increasingly complicated by changing direction or crossing an obstacle such as a ditch or stream. Remember to start very simply and slowly make it more complicated! Another example of a good training exercise to practice on your walk is to take two or three balls and hide them in tall grass, then send him in to search for them. It helps to keep the balls for these training exercises sacrosanct, i.e. he isn't allowed to play with them at other times, they are just special for the times you and he train together. And above all - keep it FUN!!! Swimming is also great exercise, and most labs love it and will happily retrieve out of water. Good luck with all this, do let us know how you get on!
Gundog training with dummies would be great fun for Charlie, I will have to see what's available in our area. Same for other activities. As for the ball retrieve idea, I might try that tonight or in the morning. Be interesting to see how he performs, we can't go on a walk without him having a ball in his mouth. He loves water, we often take him for a swim at the weekends.
Karen has give you some great ideas there. I would encourage you not to discount gun dog training. I don't work my two because of where I live, but even if geography didn't get in the way, I couldn't work my girl, because she's gun-shy. It doesn't stop us all loving the training, though; it's really stimulating for them and really works their brains as well as their bodies. I do some training around it most days, even on my walks. You get interested in the little details, too. For example, recently I've been tightening up their sit at heel so they sit immediately I stop, and straight, and that if I call them to heel, they race to my side and sit very straight. It's not important for everyday life, of course, but the level of detail really works their minds, and because we're using positive reinforcement, it's fun for us all, too. Then, of course, there's the flashier stuff you can end up doing, like throwing out several dummies or balls while they sit calmly, then sending the dog to go and get a particular one, maybe stopping him on the way and directing him onto another one. When we go swimming (the dogs, that is, not me!), I will throw things into the water while they sit, and then send them in individually by name. I've not cracked proper water retrieves yet, but I use some of the basic principles we've learnt from gun dog work to make it more mentally stimulating than just chasing after a ball as soon as you throw it, which is a bit mindless. Labs love to learn and on walks they stick like glue to me now, not because I'm telling them to walk at heel, but in case there's a chance I might ask them to do something super fun
