So when Ned was a puppy he used to eat everything in there and we got passed that. He’s now 11 months old and he’s regressed and is getting worse and worse and worse. I would love to be able to leave the door open but he’s eating leaves, grass, bark. I have started only taking him out on his lead but was just hanging some washing out and he grabbed a shoe and was running around and around with it. He’s never done that ever. I’ve tried alsorts but once he’s out there and he has something he shouldn’t he legs it in the opposite direction. I don’t chase him but then he starts eating whatever he has so I try swapping with treats but now he’s not interested. We had a strong bring it and drop before but it’s disappeared completely. I was close to crying because it took 10 minutes to get him back inside with my shoe. Everything seems to be going wrong at the moment and I’m feeling so overwhelmed. I’ve done a terrible job training him
Ah bless you, try not to think that,he is an adolescent now i think and apparently so i was told, that is the time lots of dogs are re-homed because they regress and seem to forget all their training and become naughty puppies again. Owners feel frustrated and upset but he will settle and remember his manners again,start back with some basic training and maybe high value treats,my girl loved small chicken pieces, which i only used for important training such as recall. Don't despair
Oh dear, you're having a bit of a tough time! It sounds as though your young dog is bursting with energy and not quite sure what to do with it. Which is very normal at this age. You haven't done a terrible job, but it might be time to start afresh with a new plan. It can help to focus on one thing at a time. Obviously you don't want him to swallow lumps of bark, but often an excitable dog will be just biting up sticks and wood rather than swallowing it. And a few leaves probably won't hurt him. So maybe a good place to start over is with his recall. In the meantime, you may find it helpful to have him wear a houseline at home for a while, to give you a bit more control. There's quite a few articles I think might help you, I'll list them below Teaching a recall - step by step How to stop your dog stealing How to calm a dog down See if any of those resonate with you and post up with any questions.
Hi there, if it’s any consolation at all, I’m going through exactly the same at the moment, it’s exhausting. Our girl, Bonnie, is almost 11 months, and she has turned into a misbehaving monster. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of things she does well, like sleep through the night, toiletting etc. But generally pushing me to the edge is awful. About 6 weeks ago it started, she is a real handful in the evenings, stealing, barking, digging holes, tearing the washing off the line. And strangely she’s got really fussy with her food! Won’t eat a Kong, wont eat her usual kibble until she’s starving, she just wants high value treats, and will bark for them! Outrageous. You are not alone, it’s exhausting, we will get through this, and have lovely dogs in the end, there’s a reason we chose labradors right? It just seems to wear you down when you’re living through it. I’ve been really low lately, and although she has a lovely temperament, she can be a beast at times. I keep telling myself “patience”. I’m shattered.
Jax is coming up for 11 months and is the same. He gets a walk early morning for about half an hour, then he gets the run of my office most of the day, and with the weather our garden for the remainder. But I've now started taking him out in the evening just to the field with a stick and ball, or for a swim to let him burn some of that energy. As soon as his interest starts to relax we just walk home. It seems to be working.
I’m pleased to hear there are others going through the same phase. We have been working hard in the garden and we are doing much better with that. A wooden bit of the flower bed border had broken away and he grabbed it and I thought here we go. This is going to take a while. But nope. I sat down with my back to him and he crept round in front of me. And I said as upbeat as I could. Ooo what have you got, show me. And he came closer and then I held out a treat and said drop and he did. Yaaaay haha. Thank you pippa@labforumHQ for your links. We need to work on recall now on walks. If there is another dog around then treats even sausage and chicken and toys don’t mean anything. He’s always desperate to play with other dogs but he’s so boisterous no one ever wants to play with him. Lays down like a coiled spring if we see someone coming and then lunges and chokes himself to get to them. Slow progress. He’s currently wedged his 32kg self on the chair with me and having a snooze. Having a tough time but I wouldn’t part with him for anything in the world
Holly our 4 month old, discovered the joys of digging up the lawn yesterday. The 1st time I gave her a stern talking to and she looked as though she knew she'd done something wrong. I came inside to empty the dishwasher, she'd dug the same hole again. I gave her another stern talking to. Later on, she dug another hole a few yards from the earlier one.
A stern talking to won't help they don't understand. Provide a digging out for your pup and encourage her to use distract and don't leave her alone in the garden because she will develop a digging habit.
