Help! We rescued Gryffin in April and he is believed to be about 7 months old. We went on vacation this summer and a neighbor took care of him... and completely untrained him We are semi back on track with staying off furniture. But he's back to jumping on us. The worst is he bolts when taken outside to go potty. He used to run around but would come back when called. Now he's running across the neighborhood like he has rats in his head and I'm desperately trying to get him to come back. My husband is furious and the kids are frustrated. He is getting exercise (leash walked), and now leashed just when we are in our yard, and has various puzzle toys. It's so stressful. All our other labs have been female. Is this a boy thing? Help please!
I am not a trainer, nor do I pretend to be one on the internet. That said.... Leash walking is not much in the way of "exercise". Maybe for you, but a labrador? Nah. Murphy (that is him in the avatar) is 45kg (100 lbs) not overweight and can chase a tennis ball all over the yard (we have a huge backyard so he has lots of room) for a half hour at a time, full speed, leaping, jumping, etc before he takes a rest. Let your hubby know that the dog could care less about his being "frustrated". Gryffin is frustrated by never getting to release all that labrador energy. Or, to put it another way, I would run all over your neighborhood too, if I were him. Only way I could get some exercise evidently. You did not rescue a machine, he has serious needs and just because you rescued him does not mean he owes you anything. BTW, how about a pic? We just love to see labradors!
Likely the neighbour didn't help but it's pretty common for them to "forget" their training for a bit. At 9 months they don't have rats in their heads, they have loose cannons, so you can look forward to it getting worse, sad to say. LOL. Got back a few steps, review things he does still do reliably. Taking another class is a really good idea. It's not a boy thing, some are just worse than others. I agree leash walking is not much exercise. You don't want to overdo exercise either. IS there a safe place where he can play off leash, maybe with a doggy friend? A friend of mine takes her crew to a fenced ball diamond. I'm not sure if this is actually permitted, she is very thorough at cleaning up any potty leavings, but people seeing her there might not be happy about it. But it's safe for her dogs.
