Hiya and I hope all of you are doing great. Introducing myself today and Louie our chocolate lab pup. I am Kathy C and we found Louie on the classifieds at my work. He is an 8 month old chocolate lab, but we are his third home. I'm not so sure where or how to begin. I've never owned a lab. I have owned a few Irish Setters, a Basset/Beagle mix, and I presently own an Otterhound named Kidder. I saw one poster said OH gets it all. I wonder if there is another Otterhound owner present. I have titled a dog in basic obedience but it was years ago and was an Irish Setter which wasn't easy. Louie was told to us to be house broken, but it seems that's far from the truth. I think he spent much time in the crate all day while they worked. I work from home but just can't seem to get him to get the idea at all. The OH that is here was given to me by her breeder and is now 11. It took me a long time to house break her and I had a golden retriever who was also elderly at that time. Kidder now rings the bell to go out but it took her a good year at age 8 to learn. She was a retired show dog and kenneled. These are the things I am not sure what to do about. 1. Louie pees more than any animal I've ever met. I can take him out every 15 minutes and I hate to kennel him. He pees everywhere daily on the throw rugs mostly. He is not neutered yet and would that help? and what else. 2. Kidder growls at him but he constantly likes to devil her and the cat and I realize he is a playful pup. I've started walking him at home on the treadmill in anticipation of winter and also took them both for a walk just around the grocery store in the back where there are no distractions. Had a very hard time doing this as Louie chokes himself horribly on the choker and then I used the prong collar even though I did not want to do that with a puppy. He was as good as gold in less than 5 minutes and then I took it off and kept going and he behaved. 3. Kidder is old and we have an old cat. He takes turns tormenting them. I have worked with him to "leave it" and when I am on him, he does ignore it. I know he has tremendous energy and tremendous strength. I live off road and have acreage around me. In the beginning Louie would run free but "check in." Now he wants to run off to the neighbors etc. So he is back on the 20 foot leash. 4. Louie is sweet, loving but just young and very immature. Teach me how to help Louie especially with the house breaking. 5. I have to train a Boyfriend too. who when I train Louie to wait and let me out first, he just lets him out and thins everything is cute. Thanks for listening. Hugs. Loving Louie and know he was crated way too much in other homes for all day for work. Not here but this is not working so far in a month. I'm washing scattered rugs etc daily. Today he squatted in front of me. I thought he knew but gotta go back to square 0 with him I guess. I am glad for your love of labs and support. Kathy
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hi there, Kathy, and welcome to you and Louie! I can hear your despair over the issues Louie is presenting, deep breath!! As you say, he IS a puppy yet and although you do have some things to overcome I am quite confident that you can do it if you have patience! I know this as we got our LabX when he was a year old and he came with some issues as well but now, a year and a few months later he has settled down into a lovely pet. So don't despair, there is hope. Regarding the peeing, have you had him checked for a urinary infection? That can cause frequent urination. You might want to eliminate that just so you know for sure! I think the best way to proceed is to start from square one and forget about what you have been told about what he can or cannot do. So treat him as a small puppy and give him frequent potty breaks outside, and massive treats when he does the right thing. I would highly recommend you have a look at the main site The Labrador Site) and check out the many articles there on puppy training and housebreaking. There are much better ways to train a dog to walk nicely on a leash without a prong collar, they do take patience and perseverance but build a much better relationship with your dog rather than using something that will cause him pain. Again there are numerous threads on this forum and articles on the main site on this, please do have a look. Regarding recall, the best resource for that is the book Total Recall, again, it takes time and perseverance and it definitely is harder with a rescue dog than one raised from a pup but it certainly can be done, many on this forum have done so. Others will be along to give you more ideas and encouragement, but don't worry, there is hope!
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hi and welcome from me and 15 month old Harley I agree with Lisa about going back to basics with his housetraining etc, and about getting him checked by the vets for a urinary infection. Also, get a non ammonia based product for cleaning to help get rid of the scent. Walking nicely on a lead has been a nightmare for me - I have spinal problems so need her to not pull. I have tried several harnesses (some tend to help more, especially the ones that are Y at the frount). I use a K9 Bridle which is a head collar and have found it to be brilliant. It doesn't pull their head to the side, rather downwards which is uncomfortable for them. Prong collars and choke chains to me are a form of punishment and won't help them understand what you want them to do. Would love to see a photo of your brood
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hello and welcome! I think the others have given you some good advice. Most everyone here is into positive reinforcement rather for teaching, rather than using punishments such as the prong collar. It does take a little time, but is so worth it for helping the pup to understand what it is you're after, as well as excellent for building a stronger bond between dog and trainer. There is loads of information about this, and things like clicker training on the main site (www.thelabradorsite.com) which you should find useful. I can also highly recommend the books The Happy Puppy Handbook which you can get on Amazon - although your pup is a bit older, it sounds like you may have to go back to basics with a lot of things, so it would still be relevant. [quote author=Kathy C link=topic=8893.msg126430#msg126430 date=1416889565] I saw one poster said OH gets it all. I wonder if there is another Otterhound owner present. [/quote] Possibly, but I think it's more likely they were using OH as shorthand for "Other Half", ie partner. If so, I think their OH is very lucky they "get it all" (whatever "it" is). My OH gets very little. It all goes to the pups Good luck with your new little man and I hope we get to see some pictures of him soon
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hi there and welcome! First things first - Louie sounds like a lovely, but confused boy!!! You are almost certainly right - he spent way too much time in his crate with his last family and doesn't know yet how to behave around the house, or around your other pets. I agree with Lisa - take him to the vet to rule out a urinary infection. Every 15 minutes sounds way too often for an 8 month old to be needing to pee. Secondly, ditch the choke collar (and definitely the prong collar). Use a flat collar or harness until he has learned to walk to heel - a choke collar is the worst thing to try and train walking to heel. Try to play lots with Louie outside, retrieving games and 'seeking' games will make him think you are the most interesting thing in the world. Once he believes you are the center of his world, he will not be so keen to go off to visit the neighbors. In the meantime, you are probably right to keep him under control on the long lead. I think you both probably just need some time to get used to each other - and that goes for your other dog and the cat too. Stay calm and hang on; you can do this. And please keep coming back to the forum with any questions; we will be delighted to help in any way we can.
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends from a teeny tiny black 6 year old Lab known as The DivaDog and her human
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hi Karen: Firstly, I would like to say greetings to everyone as I am also a new member and introducing Luigi "Louie The Lab" our eight month old black lab. He is huge, over 90 pounds already(English mother, American Father, long and lean, short and stocky, respectively...Louie is a combination of the two). He is loveable, smarter than any lab I have ever known (raised three), stronger, and crazy!!! We love him!!!! Secondly, Karen...I feel your pain. When we first brought Louie home at six weeks (would never recommend this unless you have adult Dogs to "babysit"....we learned our lesson...raised three other labs, but the first was eight months old and trained, a female who then took care of the two males we had as pups)...Louie peed more than any animal ever should. Every five to ten minutes...my first thought as a nurse was urinary tract infection (UTI); but as he was a baby I knew it was just training issues. So I agree with the other members, check with the Vet first regarding a possible UTI. I would also get rid of the throw rugs...as a deterrent (he may think that it where he is to go), and to save yourself extra work. Louie is now house trained but it took a lot of discipline, and positive reinforcement with treats (I use just dog food; he thinks it's a treat because I am hand feeding it to him...lot's of junk in most "treats" or a carrot. Dogs love carrots!!!!). Good for them too. The name Louie alone is a predisposition to a nut!!!! I sing that song "Louie, Louie, Oh baby we gotta go..." to my lab and he dances with me(goes crazy actually). I also started training him in German as a pup and it helps. It is the tone of voice in commands rather than the language they respond to. Good luck to you...believe me, it will get better. I have many antics to post regarding my Louie and many questions. Like has anyone ever heard of a Lab who tried to "herd: it's owner? LOL ...never laughed more in my life. Always remember that Labradors are not meant to be calm and you will survive it better. My Vet told me they grow up when they are around 12! In other words, when they stop moving. My three previous Labs lived to be 17, 14, 13, respectively. Good luck. Regards, Rita Casteel
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Welcome Karen and Louie! Sounds like you have a challenge on your hands...but the fact that you were willing to take a chance speaks volumes! A good trip to the vet to ensure all is right in his world and he is up to date on shots and to have the neutering conversation are all relevant in his world right now. Time, patience, and a sense of humor will get you miles with your new addition! stop by and update us every now and again...I'm new to the forum too...but far from new to dogs or labs in general. I've currently got an 11 week old chocolate named Bella who is on week 2 of antibiotics for a UTI and doing marvelously since then....gotta love those break through moments!!!
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hi there, Welcome to Kathy and Rita! Not much to add to what has already been said. Back to basics. Ditch the choker and prong collar - sounds like your boy needs positive training by the bucketload. And I would also vote for a vet check to exclude a urinary infection. Good luck. jac
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Just stopping by to say a belated hello from Dexter and I in Dubai,he's a 2 year old yellow boy....
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends How's it going now? ???
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hello again, Sorry I didn't get back here sooner. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the important information. I came back to tell you what happened with Louie. On Thanksgiving Day, he became very very ill and had dry heaving with bloody mucus at least 8 times at home. It was really scary. We took him to our local pet ER that is open 24/7, and they did x-rays and blood work. He threw up 6 more times there with the same bloody mucus. Louie was diagnosed with some type of infection, where they could not be sure but his white count was very high, just in his GI tract they thought. The doctor then gave Louie a shot to calm his stomach and a shot of antibiotics and some pills of both types of medications to take for the next week. Doctor said if it returned then he should go to our regular vet and have barium studies. I'm glad to let you all know that Louie is doing fine again and is happy and very FAST! 8) The medication worked, and the constant urinating stopped too. He has a few accidents but things just totally turned around after the medication. He has 2 days of Flagyl to finish it. He was also put on sucralfate, which is to calm his stomach. I hope whatever made him so sick does not return. I'll have to do some reading on the site about all the types of training and I like to do things in a step-wise fashion myself. Louie is only 9 months old but he can sit, down, roll over, spin, shake and does high 5's. Thanks for all the encouragement and the helpful information. I've never had 2 dogs in the house at the same time, let alone a very old 11-year-old Otterhound. I would post some pictures if I can figure that one out. THanks everybody!! Kathy, Louie, Kidder PS I wanted to post pictures but I don't understand it. I went to the picture section but there is no way to upload. How is that done? Thanks!
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends How scary. You must be so relieved that the medication for Louie has worked. Would love to see some photos - but I'm not the best person to help with that! Hopefully someone will, though.
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Glad that he is on the up If you go to the technical section it explains several methods of how to upload photos. You need a host site like flickr or Dropbox.
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends So glad Louie is doing better!
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Hello and a warm welcome from me and my two dogs , I`ve only just come across your post , so very pleased that your Louie is so much better now, what a relief for you
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends A very warm welcome from us, Hattie 7 years and Charlie our rescue 4 years. Glad all is going so well with Louie. Helen xx
Re: Louie Louie our new Chocolate lab and oh boy we need a little help from friends Glad to hear this, thanks for the update!!
