I thought Maisy was getting better with this, but yesterday we were playing nicely then I popped indoors, went back out and someone had changed her into a monster. She jumped up (not allowed to do), was completely overthreshold in an instant and snapped at my clothes, she tore a big hole in my t-shirt and actually bit into my stomach and drew blood. It really hurt and made me so angry with her, it is so difficult not to react or yell out, surely it must get better. The thing is, when she is having a wild moment, she looks like she is having so much fun, there is no aggression at all. Be warned, she is 33 weeks now so although everyone says it will get better (I am counting on that) you have a way to go - unless Maisy is a freaky viscous beast that will never change - I hope not as she is an angel otherwise.
Hi! My pup Gandalf the Wizard is 7 months old extremely intelligent and boisterous. He started his naughty journey with opening the refrigerator and sitting inside and continues to do activities which surprises me angers me makes me laugh (actually in that order). But recently he has started to hump... He holds on to my hand or মmy
I couldn't complete my post courtesy my pup... He ran away with my phn and pressed something so whatever I typed got posted. My 7 month pup is humping away... He will hold my arm or shoulder and hump. Do help me... Will this stop naturally or how do I calm him down. My life has changed since I got my lab... I can say no one has ever loved me more than him.... Humans can't love so unconditionally I guess
Hey... So I have a 7 month old lab.. Kita. @ 8 weeks I had already taught her how to do all the basics. But now at 7 months she is an absolute monster and she chews EVERYTHING!! my shoes, cloths even my pho e and headphones.. I don't want to go back to basic dog training but i get so mad that all I know how to do is tell and put her in the crate I have even caught myself staring her down because I'm so aggravated with her.. plus she is just like you said in your post.. running they doors and jumping on people pulling the lead like crazy.. I almost feel as if I have created a monster.. please help
Hi, the only way to prevent your things being chewed is to put them away and out of reach of your puppy Putting your puppy in her crate, being mad and staring her down is not productive and won't teach her anything but it might make her frightened which you don't want. Distract her with some games and training, have you thought of clicker training? Clicker training is a great way to form a close bond, it's fun for you and your pup and it tires their little brains out As for door rushing you could pop her in her crate or another room whilst you answer the door. Puling on the lead, you could use a harness and train lose lead walking or you can also clicker train it with high value treats such as cooked chicken, sausage, ham, frankfurters etc. You haven't created a monster you simply have a young Labrador that needs constant training and continuity for the rest of her life x
Hi snowbunny, just a question about the bully sticks that you may be able to help with. Some of them Maisy will just not touch, she throws them in the air and barks at them. Others she sniffs and accepts no problem but she is really picky about them. Why would this be? Is there something I can do to make the unaccepted ones more tempting? I have tried smearing meat paste on and also soaking them in water to soften. She just won't have it! Thanks
Hello. So, I'm new here and I am seriously needing some help. I read that labs can get super crazy around 8 months and for Olive, our staffy/lab mix, she's always been a month ahead with everything from losing teeth to behavioral "marks" and such. So she was doing GREAT with loose leash walking and had calmed down a small bit and wasn't jumping on the kids' backs and nipping at their ankles anymore. Suddenly she turned 7 months and I swear I have a demon dog. She's making me so frustrated and I've been crying and my husband is upset that I "complain about the dog" so much. During the day, I usually had been getting her about 3 walks for about 5-15 minutes each time. If she was being really good, we would stay out longer. I bring treats along as well so when she's walking super good I get her a treat or try some recall to have her come back to where I am. Lately though, ANY stimulus such as a leaf blowing or god help me, a person or a car, has her LUNGING and JUMPING and PULLING me so hard. Today on a short hike at a local state park she was so overexcited by all the smells, she pulled so hard I hit my head into a tree and almost fell off the trail. That's when I decided to come here and see if anyone had any good tips. She's my first dog and my husband's first young puppy. We don't live near any dog parks and there's nowhere for her to "run free" and personally at this state she's in, I don't trust her off leash. She is great at home until everyone comes home from school or work. THEN she goes bananas, so my go to for now is to put her in her kennel or keep her on a short leash inside until she is over all of the excitement. Outside is where most of the problems lie. My neighbors keep making awful comments about how she's walking me and smirking and laughing at me. It's frustrating because INSIDE, Olive listens unless she's overexcited by her people being home. Outside, she's just so overexcited by every sight and smell and sound that it is getting painful. She's almost 60 pounds! Mind you she is a sweet cuddle bug and thinks she's a tiny lap dog. She FINALLY started to learn to be calm by herself and not need attention 24 hours a day. She's slowly staying when I tell her to and letting me leave her sight for a little bit. She can sit, look at me, shake both paws, and lay down. Sometimes she will drop it. She can also go find her toys too. This insanity outside on a leash or when everyone gets home from work and school though.... I need help. We hopefully are having an inhome trainer coming next month, but until then, I cant NOT walk her and would take any input. Thanks
Hi there. This came up in my box and I’m not really sure how your question is here as it’s on the end of another thread I think which is probably why no one has answered. I can honestly say that Alfie who is now two and a half was really hard work as a puppy and I would often end up weeping at his antics. I would practice walking on the lead and whenever he pulled I would stop and make him sit and then start again. Hugely frustrating but it worked in the end. He gets an hour and a half walk off lead in the morning and forty minutes on lead in the evening. It’s taken a lot of hard work and patience to get him to the point where he doesn’t lunge at every dog we pass but we got there in the end. Ignore your neighbours,they’re just being completely insensitive. I’m sure that Olive (gorgeous name) will calm down in time,it’s just a long process but totally worth it. Good luck. x
Hi, We have a 6 3/4 month lab and whilst he is incredibly good at most things, all the basic cues, doesn't steal food, is great at retrieving etc. He continue to try and play fight with us, even after exercise and mental stimulation. He's never been great at settling and always wants to be involved, but he's getting quite big now and we want him to realise he can't play like that with us. We've tried all the recommended tips, but it is slow progress. Help!
I would just not give her any attention once you start to realize that she is getting too aggressive with her playing. Just get up and walk away. Give her a toy and leave her alone. Once she calms down, give her a treat. I’m new and others could probably give way better advice, but just trying to help! Haha hopefully it got better.
My 16 month old chocolate lab barks and cries whenever she gets in the car. We have been going places with her since we adopted her last year. What could be wrong? What can we do?
I have had dogs all my life, but the last time I had a puppy was seventeen years ago. I bought a lab pup and I too feel so useless and he has me in tears at times. Biting, jumping up. Hyper . Fortunately, the lady who I take Ed to for puppy training has been very helpful, as has this site. It can only get better.!!!
My lab is 9 month old and has started barking at other dogs from inside the car when we are moving.he has also started pulling and seems to have forgotten all his training we have done since he was 3 month old he was asolutely brilliant.but now I just don't know what to do with him we have almost completed basic training which he is good at but we get home he's a different do I also nearly had a breakdown when he was three to six months just couldn't cope but I hung on in there with the help of the lab forum. Would be great full for advice on the barking and pulling
Hey y'all, I have a black lab who is a little over a year old. Recently he has been acting up while going on walks and it's only with me not my wife. By acting up I mean he jumps around like crazy and tries to bite. Usually he is very well tempered, calm, and relatively obedient. I'm not really sure what's causing it but he's ripped a few of my shirts and left a good mark or two on my hand. He doesn't show any aggression towards other dogs or other people and it's not frequent, but it's happened enough times to be worth asking about. I think he is trying to establish dominance as I was deployed for 6 months. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Hi there, yours is a common problem. The good news is, this is nothing to do with dominance. This is how young adolescent dogs play together, and your dog is attempting to engage you in rough games. Please read this article: Alpha Dog explaining why your dog is not trying to dominate you - I think you'll find it reassuring. There are lots of contributory factors to this kind of behavior, it tends to happen most in the last few months of a dog’s first year. Sometimes a little bit later. And it tends to be directed at close family members. It can be made worse by over-excitement, lack of exercise, boredom, inappropriate games It can be improved by access to free running in a safe area, controlled games such as fetch and tug. And multiple training sessions where your dog learns to work with you in order to earn food. It also tends to improve naturally as the dog matures - but you can hurry things along Practical steps you can take: Make sure your dog gets opportunity to run off leash in a safe area each day, or on a long line if that isn’t possible. Play tug with your dog for short periods of time. You need to control when the game starts and when it stops. Play fetch your dog - If your dog will fetch a retrieving dummy, toy or ball, place one on the ground and walk your dog away from them on his leash, then remove the leash and send him back for them. Gradually increasing the distance the dog has to run back over. You can give a dog masses of exercise sprinting up and down to collect dummies or toys this way. Dedicate a quarter of your dog’s daily food ration for training. Set it aside and aim to use it up in training sessions, or as rewards for great behavior indoors (such as lying quietly while you watch TV, or keeping all four paws on the ground while you stroke him) Here’s a link to playing games - some of these can be played indoors if the weather is bad. https://www.thelabradorsite.com/4-fun-games-to-play-with-your-labrador/
Hi Pippa ! i am in Argentina, I have an 18 month chocolate female lab. She is a bositerous and happy and loving dog. i did some basic trainig following your explanations in the book, indoors so far. Sit, down , hand touch. She learnt fast and seems happy to participate. But there is one horrible behaviour we can´t manage so far. Whenever we go out to the backyard, not inmediately but, at some point, she starts jumping and biting and barking really hard. Shouting is not working, if we respond violently it gets worse. I am begining to do some basic trainig in the backyard but doesn´t seem to be working, specially when we want to walk back inside she becomes mad...I hope you can help me because she is hurting us badly and ripping our clothes. We have to be careful and keep her inside whenever we want to go outside which doesn´t seem at all reasonable. Thank you.
Hi there, although your dog is a little older than the example in the quote, the same applies: ________________________________________ "There are lots of contributory factors to this kind of behavior, it tends to happen most in the last few months of a dog’s first year. Sometimes a little bit later. And it tends to be directed at close family members. It can be made worse by over-excitement, lack of exercise, boredom, inappropriate games It can be improved by access to free running in a safe area, controlled games such as fetch and tug. And multiple training sessions where your dog learns to work with you in order to earn food. It also tends to improve naturally as the dog matures - but you can hurry things along Practical steps you can take: Make sure your dog gets opportunity to run off leash in a safe area each day, or on a long line if that isn’t possible. Play tug with your dog for short periods of time. You need to control when the game starts and when it stops. Play fetch your dog - If your dog will fetch a retrieving dummy, toy or ball, place one on the ground and walk your dog away from them on his leash, then remove the leash and send him back for them. Gradually increasing the distance the dog has to run back over. You can give a dog masses of exercise sprinting up and down to collect dummies or toys this way. Dedicate a quarter of your dog’s daily food ration for training. Set it aside and aim to use it up in training sessions, or as rewards for great behavior indoors (such as lying quietly while you watch TV, or keeping all four paws on the ground while you stroke him) Here’s a link to playing games - some of these can be played indoors if the weather is bad. https://www.thelabradorsite.com/4-fun-games-to-play-with-your-labrador/" ____________________ Shouting and violence doesn't work because the dog is trying to get your attention. She just doesn't know how to go about it in the appropriate way. What kind of training are you trying to do in the backyard? Is she on a leash, or running loose? How much free running exercise is she getting each day? Will she fetch a toy? Or a ball? What are you using for reinforcement? What behaviors are you trying to reinforce? All things to think about
