Milo is now ten months old. On the whole doing well. Plus points settles well in his puppy pen when left for a few hours and overnight without any fuss. After a walk is happy to potter in the garden or chill out in the house. Enjoys playing retrieving and chasing games with his rope toys or balls. Eats like a horse of course!! In the evening likes nothing better than to curl up on my knee on the sofa from about 7 until bedtime at 10. Very affectionate and loving. Does have mad moments every day when he seizes the cushion or throw and races round the table with them! He loves a good game of chase! He isn't terrible on the lead but is very strong and if he decides he wants to greet someone or a dog I find it hard to hold him back. He has started laying down and watching other dogs on the opposite side of the road now too. Then it is very hard to get him up again. My husband manages to walk him quite successfully on collar and lead but I'm only 5 foot two and on the slim side so struggle. Have got a variety of harnesses - front fastening walk your dog with love (good for control but can rub under front legs), fleece back and front fastening one, another than has points on back, shoulder and front to attach a double or single ended lead. A lot of the time when given the command leave it and a treat he will ignore people or dogs. Not 100% but getting there. The problem is when people approach him. Today a lady fussed him at a set of lights and he jumped all over her, nearly pulling me into the road. Later another lady getting into her car crossed the road to pet him despite me telling her he will jump up, her comment being, I have two dogs. I wish people would stay away! Back home he raced up to a bird in the garden - have seen it before and it has a damaged wing and moves slowly - grabbed it and raced round. Got him to drop it eventually and think it has got away but probably badly injured. That has really upset me. I know it is survival of the fittest in the animal world but I love all wildlife! Feeling exhausted and emotional, silly I know, but going through a difficult time at the moment (depression/anxiety) and starting to think having a labrador was the wrong move.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? I feel your pain, been there and bought the T shirt . Its all very normal, its puppy behaviour but yes, other people can be a right royal pain and you must speak up . I used to take Sam out on his own, doing lead training , and had a neighbour who would insist on coming out of her house and calling to him from over the lane : even though she knew that he was in training . We are no longer friends as I did have to tell her firmly not to do this and she took exception to it, so , when you see someone coming , ask them politely to ignore Milo as you are training him to walk nicely and not jump up, if they don't like it, its tough, he is your dog The bird incident , best way to deal with them picking up undesirable things is to teach the Leave command, best way is to use treats as a trade off if they do pick up, and lots of praise when they don't , or if they hand it over as a trade . I`m afraid that training is an ongoing exercise , I think for life as they do need reminding every so often , even as adults . Hang on in there x
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? Sorry you are frazzled; it happens to us all (I think!). My pup is almost 10 months and driving me mad since her spay last week: she is full of beans but can only have lead walks. She is really tiring, getting into mischief, pulling and prancing on the lead etc. I have noticed a HUGE difference while she is not able to have her two walks a day, off lead. She loves to run and will run around me the whole time we are on an off lead walk. I mention this because your pup seems to be crated several hours during the day? How about thinking of some of those days sending your pup to day care, if you can afford it. It will give him a lot of fun and another interest in his days. Just a thought.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? Hey there suze12.....10 months is quite an exhuberhant age,you've nearly got your full grown dog but they are still getting through their life with their puppy brains! Not easy. You've had some good advice already with regards to Leave it training....persevere,Dexter wouldn't have left a bird at 10 months.....Im more confident now he's 2..5 bit I still wouldn't say I could be 100% ....although one flew in the house the other day and he didn't rouse himself! Dexter can be reactive on his lead ,part of the problem was him lying down when he saw another dog.Off lead this is a desirable behaviour ,to say 'I'm not a threat' ..on,lead it was all about Dexter being able to gather himself into a strong lunge at the dog he wanted to get to/ see off......upsetting,embarassing and actually quite painful when he really meant it.I had a few 121's with a trainer and she taught me how to interrupt the sequence before he lay down .Left to himself Dex will lock onto the other dog with a stare and almost do a GSP 'point' ...Then he starts start a creeping walk, like a stalk :-[ then he will lie down. I use a clicker so I was taught to start rewarding any eye contact on me,wherever we where,in the house,when he was on his bed ,if he followed me into the garden etc and we played lots of focus games .Once I'd got really good eye contact I got it on verbal cue 'look at me' and that is what I use to interrupt his reactive sequence ,as soon as I see his interest I tell him to 'look at me' we can get past every dog I need to now ....Milos motivation might be different but trying this out might help you stop the lying down and that boisterous jump that can hurt and upset you.i also should say,I was becoming quite anxious about this until I got help,I was actually holding my breath as I approached a dog and Dex would start his shenanighans .......this does not help ;D and I'm sensible enough to know that bit it's hard to keep calm when you know a tussle is coming,once I'd practiced this and saw it working I was much more relaxed and that definately makes a difference x
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? Thanks for the replies.Calmed down a bit now after a swim and Jacuzzi! He is lovely dog but had underestimated how strong he would be. Had a cocker before. It is great when I have him off lead, which I do most mornings, as we have a disused railway line and canal nearby and rarely met anyone. He comes back to the whistle reliably. My husband worries about him having too much off lead time though. When he sees a dog if I let him lie down he just watches the dog doesn't try to get to them.I'm worried it looks menacing especially to smaller dogs. A lot of the time he's ok. I'm concerned about my back and shoulders when he does lunge.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? He sounds like a very normal 10 month old Lab to me I wouldn't worry about the lying down when he's off lead - it's normal behaviour before they decide to greet another dog. But, on lead, you need to get him focussed on walking with you and not pulling anywhere or lying down for any reason. Maybe puppy classes will help (ours take all ages of dog, 6 years is the oldest in class) I would use super tasty treats to start with - like smelly tripe sticks (brilliant for the dog's concentration, not so great for the smell of your hands!)
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? I'm only 5ft 2" as well. My Lab broke his elbow at 16 weeks so by the time he was allowed out for walks he was 8 months old and very strong and when he lunged, I had to throw myself to the floor so that he had to drag me as well! I made sure no 2 Lab didn't lunge, so trained him from a pup. He may give a little lunge if he sees a cat, but not the problem no 1 was. I think Labs do have this lunge problem and it can take people unawares. Never had a lunge problem with the GSPs.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? Regarding the lying down on a walk to watch another dog - have you taught an "up" or "stand" command? Maisie, when tired, likes to lie down and chew on her harness for a little break in the walk, but now that I've taught her "up!" she usually will get up pretty fast and come get her treat for getting up. Also, it is very frustrating when people try to pet your dog or interfere with training on a walk… what I would do is don't even mention "he will jump up" because that opens it up for the other person to say "oh I don't mind!". Rather, I would say something like "I'm sorry, he is in training and can't be patted today, maybe another time". This is firmer and doesn't allow them to say "oh, I don't mind", because there is nothing for them to mind, he is training and you have asked them not to pet him. You may still get annoying people trying to pet him, but at least most courteous people would be deterred by this potentially.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? [quote author=Stacia link=topic=9984.msg145317#msg145317 date=1424701437] I'm only 5ft 2" as well. My Lab broke his elbow at 16 weeks so by the time he was allowed out for walks he was 8 months old and very strong and when he lunged, [size=14pt]I had to throw myself to the floor so that he had to drag me as well! [/size] I made sure no 2 Lab didn't lunge, so trained him from a pup. He may give a little lunge if he sees a cat, but not the problem no 1 was. I think Labs do have this lunge problem and it can take people unawares. Never had a lunge problem with the GSPs. [/quote] This just made me splurt tea all over the screen! Off to find a hankie...I laughed so much - I can just imagine it! From experience I think it's because labs are so interested in people and other dogs. Harry who's half gwp walks past everyone unless they make the effort first - dogs and people alike! x
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? My trainer told me that 10 months was the worst time. Adult size dog with a puppy brain. Not a good combo. Take comfort from the thought that things should start improving now. People can be a pain when you are training. I bought a bright blue lead with the word "TRAINING" woven along its length. It came off the Net was about £10 and I reckon it was money well spent as people have walked past us and said 'I can see you are training, so I won't interrupt"
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? Bailey 8 months and I was going to ask advice on the same thing! His impulsive behaviour on the lead is as irritating as ㊗️㊗️㊗️㊗️㊗️ But now gonna just try and work through it! Feeling your pain but feeling better it's not just us! Bailey has also stopped coming when off lead and meets other dogs! Was doing brilliantly until last week! Do I now lead walk him always or just praise like mad when finally returns? Advice pleasex
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? Just to make you feel better ..... When Molly was going through that stage last summer...I was wearing shorts and singlets so I got scratched to hell as she jumped up and pawed at me whilst on the lead.I longed for the winter so I could wear thick clothing and not get scratched. Sometimes it was so bad I would try to find something, lamppost, tree etc to hang onto for stability. I didn't want people to think I had a mad out of control dog (I did at the time) that was a danger to them, so I would try to walk her on different routes every day. I longed for the early sundown so I could walk her under the cover of darkness. It was worse when she was tired (so where did she get all that mad energy from) It would come out of nowhere, boom! And disappear as quickly as it came. But that period when she was 'doing her nut seemed like a very long time though in retrospect it was no more than 30 seconds to a minute. I never did discover a trigger. it got worse just before the end. One day we had 5 episodes in about 200 yards. I seriously thought she would have to go to rescue as I doubted my ability to control the situation on slippery surfaces. Then, just like the biting, it stopped.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? [quote author=Petrina link=topic=9984.msg145666#msg145666 date=1424851907] Bailey has also stopped coming when off lead and meets other dogs! Was doing brilliantly until last week! Do I now lead walk him always or just praise like mad when finally returns? Advice pleasex [/quote] You have to train him to come back to you when he is with another dog. Just trying to use your recall in this situation, without having trained for it, will just ruin your recall. So you need to find a way to work on your recall around other dogs gradually - this is very difficult to do on walks, as the other dogs are not co-operating with your training plan! It's much better to try to find a class, and there are lots of classes that give you this opportunity (everyone needs to do it, well, everyone who has a dog very interested in other dogs and who wants a good recall). So the exercises at first would be things like come away from a boring, quiet dog who is not going to engage in play and is on lead. And then off lead. Then moving...and so on.
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? You can get labels to put on a lead or harness which say something like 'in training' or 'don't pet' which might help to discourage people from approaching him. Somebody on here mentioned them a while back and there was a link - perhaps someone will remember who makes them?
Re: Is this the norm for a ten month old? I have one. Bright blue with the word "TRAINING" woven along it in white ( but not for long) I got it from a company called "Friendly Dog Collars". It cost about £10. They also do collars, harnesses etc with various messages woven into them. I chuck it in the washing machine when it gets too grubby
