sorry everyone just need somewhere to vent frustration. Indy is now 9 months old, big, heavy and a nightmare. Over the past few weeks I feel like we have taken so many steps back... 1. walking off the lead and recall- is going backwards- lots of training however if sees people or dogs will not listen or return, my partner has stopped letting him off out of frustration and nothing I say helps, we have so far tried 2 different puppy classes, then this happened....off the lead with me at the woods close to home, saw something think it was a squirrel or rabbit wouldn't stop or come back when recalled, ran and off got lost. I spent the next 10 minutes shouting him to get him to return, panicking and nearly in tears he eventually came back looking like he had been on a great adventure. I am now very nervous about letting him off his lead. 2. guests- tries to sit on everyone's knee when they come to visit or tries to jump up. if he doesn't have their attention barks. I tell people to ignore him and put him in the kitchen behind the baby gate as a time out for a few minutes, let him out he does it again 3. biting- has returned, no idea why he stopped doing this months ago, he also tries to play rough and as a result I am struggling to sit and play with him as he jumps all over me and I am covered in bruises from it (not aggressively may I add) no idea where It has come from as me and lee have certainly never played rough with him. 4. chewing/ eating- constantly has bad stomachs as he eats everything outside off the floor no matter how much I sweep and tidy the garden up he will bite leaves off a bush. I'm struggling with him at the minute- I have read that this is the worse age- someone advised to have him neutered but he seems to young for that and I heard its a myth that it calms them down. Anyone in the same boat with their not so puppy labs- be good to know i'm not the only one ripping my hair out. Thanks Pippa
Hi Pippa, this sounds perfectly normal behaviour for an adolescent dog. The only way to get through it is by training, training and more training. You have to go back to square one on absolutely everything. So, treat each task as if it's something he's never been good at. If you don't have Pippa's book Total Recall, I'd recommend getting that and working through it for the recall issues. The thing is, with all the hormones, his environment has become massively distracting to him now and with the confidence he has now, you're no longer his safety blanket, so he's more than happy to go off hunting by himself. You have to make it so that you're the most interesting thing in his world again, and that takes a lot of work. I forget if you use a clicker, but if you do, it's perfect for marking attention on you and checking in with you. Playing lots of games with him and doing lots of training during his walks is a great way for him to want to spend time with you. I never just plod around a walk - I spend the majority of the time interacting with my two in some way; be it throwing in sit/stays, loads of hand targeting (which they love), retrieves, chase games, hide-and-seek, hunting in long grass for treats, off-lead heelwork etc etc etc. It means that they want to spend time with me, rather than running off, because I am interesting and they get lots of treats or games for staying close. The pestering of guests is an annoying one. I assume you ask them to turn their backs on him and completely ignore him - not even any eye contact? Then, as soon as he is demonstrating any calm behaviour, he gets a fuss - which is immediately removed if he gets excited again. You have to be really consistent with this. I find people need "ignore the dog" really explained to them, because they'll inadvertently reward the behaviour with eye contact or words. You could try training an incompatible behaviour, such as sending him to his mat/bed/crate. You need to make this a super rewarding thing to do, though, which takes time and lots of proofing. You can also set up scenarios with someone coming to visit, just to train Indy. If he barks or fusses when they enter, they leave again without a word. They can come back a minute or so later, but they only stay around if he's calm; as soon as he gets excitable, they up and leave. It's a weird thing to ask someone to do, but it can really help. With the biting and rough play, just deal with it as you would a tiny puppy. Again, it's easier to set it up in a training scenario rather than just dealing with it as it happens; crouch down or sit on a low stool, so you can get up really quickly. Stroke him calmly and praise him for remaining calm. If he should he start getting boisterous, immediately stand up and turn your back on him. No eye contact, crossed arms, no talking. If he continues to jump around, walk out of the room and close the door. As soon as he is calm, reinitiate the stroking and reinforcing the calm behaviour. In your daily routine, you can also capture calm behaviour. If he is quietly settled in his bed, for example, say "good" nice and gently and feed him a treat. You don't want to make him excited, so you wouldn't use a clicker in this instance, as that's quite arousing. Eating everything he comes across is one thing I struggle with with Willow (who is very nearly a year old). We're working on strengthening her "leave it" cue for things we find on walks, but I'm interested to hear if anyone has any other tips. She did go through a phase of eating plants and digging out my flower pots, which they were only given access to a couple of months back, when we removed some fencing we'd had up for when they were small puppies. I just kept on top of her, not allowing her unrestricted access to where they were, and every time she went for them, I called her away. She got bored in the end and hasn't done anything to them in about a month (famous last words). You're certainly not alone, don't worry! You can see why it is that the majority of abandoned Labradors arrive in rescue centres during adolescence. It's a trying time, but with persistent training - and going back to basics - you'll get through it!
Your "tiny terror" is not tiny any more, he is a teenager. Need I say more. This time last year Molly was a teenager. She was so bad I was wondering if I would be able to keep her. The walking on a lead was a nightmare. Letting her off was not a good idea because although she did a perfect recall at home, away from home she became deaf. When she was on the lead she would have episodes when she flung herself around me or jumped up and pawed me. It was summer I was wearing shorts and sleeveless tops. I was covered in scratches and it was sore. Occasionally, she would grab my arm. I wouldn't say she bit me, because she had learnt bite inhibition, but it hurt. I tried to walk her on different routes and at different times. I didn't want her to get a 'reputation'. I longed for the winter so I could walk her under the cover of darkness and so I could wear jeans and a thick coat so it wouldn't hurt so much. I tried desperately to find a trigger for her behaviour, but I never identified one. I think tiredness could have played a part, like a toddler she was hyper when over tired. Nothing reached her. It was like an explosion of energy with nowhere to go. There was nothing I could do but 'ride out the storm'. A teenage Lab I'd a big muscular, powerful dog. I clung to lampposts, fences etc. Not to depress you, but i don't think there is anything you can do. They have lost it. Any attempt to do anything will either not work or escalate matters. On one inglorious occasion it happened 5 times in about 200 yards. On the ring road for all to see. Me hanging on to dog for dear life and feeling a right prat. And now for the Good News. It just stopped. Thinking back it was when she was around 10 or 11 months. I recently encountered a fellow dog walker who had told me I ought to get her a muzzle (no way). He said it was like a different dog and slipped a biscuit into her unprotesting jaws Don't despair. You don't have a mad, bad and dangerous to know dog, just a teenage one who will soon grow out of it.
You have some pretty detailed advice and I would print it out and stick it on a door. At 15 months Chepi still is bouncy and I need to put her in situations that are a little challenging for her so she knows not to be worried. We probably all have things we need to work on and I can hear your stress! Give yourselves the odd day off and spend a little money on a good day care place. A little break will charge your batteries.
With an unneutered male, sadly daycare options are limited. I have yet to find one who will take mine. Pippa, you are not alone! I almost think there needs to be a board just devoted to the struggles of the teenage months . I am shamelessly stealing the advice others are giving you to help deal with my 8 month old.
Thanks everyone, each time we are over a hurdle I feel we hit a new one. We get married next friday so Indy is having a few days in a trusted kennel so that will give me a little break to recharge. He has never been away from me over night before, stressing about that aswell lol. Glad im not alone will defo print out the advice and do even more training than usual for the next few months till it seems better. X
Ah, they can be a right pain in the bottom, teenagers. Training, training and more training is the answer. But try to take it in "bite sized" chunks. It can seem like you have so much to work on it's overwhelming. A plan helps, write out what you are going to work on, how, when, etc. and document your progress. Always helps to tackle things with a plan..... You could do a training log if you think that would help.....
Some great advice from Fiona. One thing I would add regarding Indy's jumping up on visitors is to make sure that you apply the same rules. When you've been out and come home don't greet until he is sitting calmly. First thing in the morning, again don't greet unless he is sitting quiet. It's amazing how quickly you can stop him jumping and barking as they soon learn what gets the best response from us. For picking things up on walks or in the garden the only solution I know is to train "Leave" and have great value treats. Also when on walks be aware of what is laying on the ground, it's a case of trying to spot "interesting" items before our pups do and distract them before they touch. A sniff is fine but not to touch . Good luck for your wedding
Pippa you are definitely not alone! Phoebe is 10 months and things can be difficult. I am finding we have a really good day followed by a terrible day when she completely ignores me and does everything I thought she had grown out it!!! We started some 1-1 training with a gun dog trainer (not because we are using her as a gun dog but just for some structured training). This has been excellent and we have worked really hard on Phoebe paying attention to me at all times off lead, staying close and leaving things she shouldn't have (mainly poo!). There have been some big improvements here and in particular the poo eating has massively improved with 'leave it'. However Phoebe has started jumping up at people again and we have had some of those mad running around the house / snapping / biting episodes again. I am finding I have to go back to all of the things we did when she was a small puppy and just try to be consistent. It's tiring and frustrating. I was speaking to someone on a walk yesterday and she made some comment about not to worry as she will grow out of it in about 8 years!!!!!! I'm just hoping it will be a bit sooner than that!! She does make me feel guilty though - as I write how naughty she is, she is currently lying with her head on my lap, good as gold, gazing up at me like butter wouldn't melt.....
We got our dog Obi at 9 months when his original family decided to re-home him. He did a lot of the things Indy does. But with training, consistency and time he improved hugely and is now really easy to live with. Don't despair. You'll get there! What sort of treats are you using in your training?
Rory was is the same. He had the added problem of having colitis and being on steriods and being hungry. I could always tell when he was going to have an attack because he was more bitey. It was a hard first 9 months with him and My chemo failed too which made it a bit more stressful . I think i was tired by Rory and my health so I tried to stay calm and think back to my other dogs and how well they turned out. I just did the same as everyone else has said dug in and trained and trained and forgave him for being a git. That was hard sometimes but I have a deep abiding love for this pup I think because he was so hard to be with for a while. He has turned out to be the most loving dogs I have ever had. I also realised he needed praise more than my other dogs and that I was just telling him off all the time. I changed this and always made sure i told him he was a good dog even if he was doing something normal like taking a toy to his bed to lie down. I tried to be positive and upbeat. It was so hard sometimes At his worst he was a bitey nightmare at his best he was like a feather bed. As time gone on lovely sweet Rory lives in my house most of the time but we occasionally get visit form the maniac. He's going through another bad patch at the moment, he's about 20 months. It seems to come in phases. I didn't neuter him and I'm glad I didn't he seems to becoming a more balance dog because of it. He is very sensitive and not so confident yet so he needs to keep them at the moment When we get vistors I distract him with things that take a long time to chew. He's only a boy so he can only do one thing at a time and chewing calms him enough for him to be respectful to visitors. It just gets him over the intial crazy of people visiting him. Your not on your own. love and hugs to you both
Thanks for all the advice everyone really appreciate it, I am going to make a training schedule for him and keep training and training. His treats can be anything from chicken, ham, bits of sausage etc. however I do have to be careful as sometimes they can affect his tummy. lets see what tonight's walk brings.
