My 7 month old Kobe, yellow Labrador, whilst on walks, enjoys attacking me. He runs at me, bites me, jumps up me, nips me, rips clothing, its driving me insane. I’ve tried going out at different times, different walks but he still does it. The only thing that seems to get him to stop is a bit of food, then he carries on once hes eaten it! It reduced me to tears today as he bit me so hard, is there anything i can do to calm him down or stop him from doing this??? He is so strong and it is a real struggle for me.
Hi Rachel, welcome to the forum I'm sorry to hear you're struggling - Kobe is at a really tough age for lots of Lab owners, you're not alone! Take a look at this article on our main site - the link will drop you in the middle, at the most relevant bit. It's all about boisterous 7-8 month old puppies, and how to manage them. Lots of Lab owners have the same experience as you at this age - I'm happy to report that it does pass! Let us know how you get on
I am sure he is not “attacking” you but playful. It is more about manners and training. Work with him how to walk and return when recalled. Start indoors and then step up level of distraction and outside environment. This one is on you and not the dog
I'm sorry you're having a tough time with Kobe. As Sarah says above it's very common at this age and really he's just trying to get engagement with you but doing it in an inappropriate way. I would stop thinking about actually getting anywhere on your walks and concentrate on engaging with Kobe during them. If you live in the UK you could drive to a secure off-lead area and then work on the engagement, but if you have to pavement walk then don't worry if the distance covered is very short - what matters is the activity. First of all at home train some behaviours which you will then ask for on a walk. 1. Teach your dog to carry a toy and give it to you when asked (if he won't give it up, try swapping it for a treat or another toy). 2. Teach a sit at heel. 3. Teach a down at heel. 4. Teach go round you in a clockwise direction back to heel position again. 5. Teach 'come front' so dog goes from heel position to sitting facing you. 6. Teach tug (an old sock attached to a length of bungee cord is easy to carry with you - if you look at 'flirt pole' activities on You Tube you'll see the sort of game I have in mind.) Then on your walk you are not going to walk, you are going to do all these activities. For example start out by giving your dog a toy to carry, then after half a minute swap it for another toy (you need to have a bag of stuff with you!) After another half minute take the toy, give a treat and put the toy on the ground. Encourage your dog forward(with food if necessary for the first few goes) and after a few yards, turn and say get it and run back for the toy together. (If you are in an off-lead area you can send him back alone but on a pavement walk just run back together). Walk a few yards then take the toy (again swap for food) and ask for a sit. Then hand back the toy and change direction (it doesn't matter where you end up). Do the 'toy on the floor' one again. Do one of the other exercises you've practised at home (down, come front etc) I know this sounds exhausting but it will also tire your dog and, more importantly, make him engaged with you in a positive way. After some time you will learn which activities he enjoys most and you can build on them and also leave bigger gaps when you are walking between games. I hope this will help - good luck!
