Hi I have 6 month old yellow laabrador puppy who we got when she was 12 weeks old she was shy with people coming into the house from day one and all I get from people is she's not like a Labrador we had sadly lost our 3 year old cross lab from sudden heart attack so after 5months of grieving we thiught now we are retired we would have a puppy having only ever had rescue dogs lab crosses thought I would like a pedigree lab a friend said she saw some advertised at vet she was last of the litter to be rehomed we were away so left her with breeder untill we got back from holiday she gets on well with other dogs i take her out and about into the market she's ok in crowds her recall is great and she loves the beach but its seeing the person walking along the road on thier own and now started growling and barking at people when in the car once shes meets people shes ok but I had visions of this out going friendly puppy who loves everyone we have only had rescue dogs in the past never had this problem any hope she will improve thank you
Hi Tabbatha, and welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear you are having problems right now. It must be difficult for you, particularly losing your previous lab so young and so suddenly. What is your lab's name? Does she do this just with you or with other in your family? It's sometimes difficult to say what might be causing this, or to help with trying to find a fix. Do you have contact with any (positive) trainers where you are - sorry, don't know if you are in the UK or elsewhere. I would be surprised if it was due to picking your puppy up later, although they do say that socialisation happens when your pup is pretty young, and I guess she might have missed out on some stuff. Can you sit somewhere on lead, maybe in the park, and just "watch the world go by"? jac
Sorry new to fourms, my labs name is Ellie a very bright loving little girl with us, and once she knows people she is fine. I do take her into the market and shes fine walking past crowds of people, its just when we meet people on their own down the street for example. So my next visit into town I will sit for a while and people watch as you sugested thank you. Tabbatha
Hi @Tabbatha welcome to the forum. I had the same issue with my two year old girl. She is absolutely fine in crowds but when we come across someone completely on their own she used to bark. Personally I think she finds them a threat. I began by turning round and walking back the way I came if I couldn't put some distance between us and the stranger. I would also walk in a curve past the stranger, ultimately the idea is to give some distance between you and the person. When she would look at the person and not react I would C&T. The idea being not to stop her looking at whatever frightens her but as she looks she doesn't react. Today we went walking in the countryside and as the day was bright, crisp and cold we came across a few ramblers all walking individually. She actually looks at me first for a treat. I also found reading Turid Regaas's "On Talking Term's with Dogs" really helped me understand calming signals in dogs. It's an easy read with lots of pictures, it makes a good reference point. I hope that helps you a little. Claire x
Hello all, I too have the same problem. He was alright all these days, but recently he has started staring and barking at strangers. Recently we had an incident. We were having our house renovated for winter and after the renovation there were a lot of junk in our garden and backyard. So we called disposal bin rental service Toronto in order to clear the junk. On the while my daughter was just picking up some wooden bars and told me that she'll help me. My lab saw it and came running towards her and he too started picking up the junk woods. Soon the disposal service arrived and when they tried to clear the junk, he started growling and barking at them. For more than 15 minutes he didn't let them touch the junk and then I had to pull him and lock him inside our home. This behavior was totally weird because he used to be friendly towards everyone. Then I thought that may he liked to work picking up the wood and when they tried to interfere, it made him angry. But nowadays he has started barking at all strangers. Is this behavior usual in labs?? He hasn't attacked or hurt anyone, but he scares everyone.. What shall I do??
Work on that problem, show him there is no need to react. Kona has the same problem, she is scared and will bark or even growl at strangers. It started when she was about 5-6 months old, but she never was keenon strangers. A book The Cautious Canine by Patricia C. McConnell has great exercises. Among that there are a various things to do with you dog to build up his self-confidence, like sniffing games.
Welcome Tabatha from Hattie 9 years and our rescue boy Charlie 6 years. You could work on a "look at that" or "look at me" cue. Lots of members use these cues with great success and there is information on the forum. I am sure if you are consistent with your training you can overcome this issue. Helen x
