Susie, aged 5 months) had to spend two days/nights at a local kennel while we were away. Joan, who runs it, is very good as are her kennels. However I think Susie must have been in with some juvenile delinquents! Joan said she was fine with being in kennels but was "quite a handful". Since Susie has been home her behaviour seems to have reverted about 2 months. She is wildly excited around us, play biting but doing it overly hard again, snatching at our hands if she thinks we have a treat in them, and so on. However, if we go into training mode, she is OK again. Does what she is told, and won't take food from my hand even when held in front of her nose until I say OK. But in play mode, she is almost uncontrollable. If she does something she knows is wrong and expects to be told off, or we want her to go to somewhere she doesn't want to go, she goes and hides under the table, or other inaccessible (for us) places. Needless to say, or perhaps I should say it, we don't indulge in physical punishment so she is not hiding from fear of being smacked. She is just challenging us. "No - I'm not coming and you can't get at me - so there". Teenage behaviour?
Hi @sigard a bit early for rebel without a cause. I think she ran wild while at the kennel and is now determining whether she can do so at home. Just be consistent. You say all is good in training mode but disobedient in play mode. How does she know when she is in the different modes? How do you tell her, which mode she is in?
I doubt she knows the difference between play and training modes. If she is being taught something she is well behaved; if she is free to potter around doing her own thing, or we are playing with her or just making a fuss of her, that's when she is what I call play mode and when she tests the boundaries of behaviour. A bit early for rebel without a cause? You mean worse is to come
Hi @Sigurd I would get into the habit of finishing off each and every exercise with a release cue. Once she hears that she knows she can get up and move around. Then give her a cue to do something such as sit. Reward intermittently. Importantly, when you are finished with that exercise give her a release cue. In doing so, she will learn whether she is in or not in work mode. Admittedly, it's a bit more complicated. When you tell her to go in the garden is she in work mode while in the garden? But let's put that to one side. Don't call her to come if it will be followed by what she regards as an aversive. You will inadvertenly undo all your good work with Come. If you want her just go and get her.
Thanks Michael. Re going in the garden, she seems to know the difference between being there for a purpose and when to generally potter around. If we take her out and say "Do your wee wee" she does it (subject to physiology of course!) then comes straight back in. As for going and getting her, she often considers that a game of tag! Waits till you are almost in contact and then darts away. Working on the verbal "come" command. For getting her back in from a largish garden, she comes very quickly and reliably to two blasts on a police type whistle.
I know you said she isn't hiding because she is expecting being hit or physically punished, but you do say that you tell her off. And, to many sensitive labs, being told off verbally, can be very punishing. I would just not engage with her when she is over the top - because she can't think. When puppies are like this, they are over-aroused and not in their thinking brains(!) - they can't process cues, they are just manic biting machines. Instead, it is best to have a pen or crate you can calmly and not angrily put her in, when she is in these states. 10 minutes in there, and they will typically come out have calmed down.
I spoke to soon re the reliable recall using the whistle. She has now started to ignore that. She was becoming a manageable dog but she has been driving both my wife and I up the wall recently, to the point that the expression "you'll get sent back" (to breeder) has been heard from both of us. It is an extremely unlikely event, but she has suddenly become much more difficult than any previous Lab that we've had. Susie is number 5. Maybe it's her age, though Michael commented she is too young to have become the rebellious teenager. In my professional life (retired doctor) I have had to deal with hyperactive children. I think I now have another one - a 4 legged one. Diet can be a factor with children and the owner of the kennels she was in has suggested we switch to adult food rather than puppy food as "she is getting too much protein and that is giving her too much energy. Medically I don't quite agree with this but she is an experienced breeder. The problem is that when Susie wants to, she is well behaved. Sits, lies, stays, goes to her crate, waits till told she can before she goes for food either in dish or hand, and even comes when called. A bit of a rant with no specific question - sorry. Maybe we're suffering from "puppy blues".
Hi @Sigurd to clarify. The age of a one-year old Lab in human years is 15 years. A five-month old Lab is the equivalent of a child. Yours is certainly not a rebellious teenager ........yet.
She should not be able to ignore you. You have transitioned to off-lead work too quickly. You should have her a long-line until you recall is reliable. Encourage her in by running backwards. Give her a treat to reinforce a successful recall.
What Michael says. All my dogs trail long-lines until they are around 18 months unless they demonstrate their have such trainability or food motivation that they are just never (literally) ignoring me. In which case, it can come off earlier. It is not about the protein level in her food, that is a very out-dated idea which is disproven (well, it was never proven in the first place to be disproven). Dogs need high protein levels. Mine are all raw fed and their diet is incredibly high in protein, as is that of any raw fed dog... and we're not all experiencing behaviour up the walls.... Unfortunately the experience you're describing is very common from people who send young labs off to kennels or daycares where they will have contact with other dogs. They just get very very hyper and very very 'into' other dogs as a result. I've seen it happen over and over... in fact, I just got back from teaching a class today with one lab exactly like this, in it... Labs (well, most dogs but labs and other very socially 'enthusiastic' dogs especially) should not have free access to play with other dogs after the socialisation period (14-16 weeks) and/or for prolonged or extended amounts of time. This is the result...
