I am having a problem with Max my 8 month old lab. Over the last couple of weeks he has started to become more aggressive by by first barking at either my wife or me and as we try to ignore he gets more vocal. If we try to touch him or calm him down he goes into zoom mode. The only thing I have been able to do is put him in his cage for a time out but that seems to have little results. Today while I was at work my wife was on the phone and as soon as she hung up he started to bark at her and then bit her in the arm. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
I would think that too but when I get home from work I take him out and play with toss a ball Frisbee, etc and then take him for a long walk. But even when we are on the walk he would heel and be fine but the last week he has been pulling more than usual and not wanting to listen. This is the fourth lab I have had in the last 30 years. the only difference between the other three and Max is that Max is an English and the other ones were American. We chose to go with an English as they were supposed to be more laid back, although that may come after the puppy years.
To me it sounds like playfulness and teenage boisterousness. My boy (6 months of boisterousness) also demand barks and we try to ignore it and then give him attention when he stops, even if he only stops for a few seconds. There are some good articles on the main site about dealing with a bouncy teen.
my labrador went through this stage, not jumping up and biting but he was definatly more mouthy than usual. we got a trainer out and she said if he bites while playing get up and ignore him. If he jumps up and bites walk out of the room and leave him in there for a minuite, then come back in, repeat until he gets the message. Lucius really hated to be left on his own, always wanted to be with the family, so he soon stopped. He's 3, nearly 4 and is the most laid back dog now. His mother was a working lab and his father was a show lab, but definatley looks more like his father.
Are you providing enough stimulation and exercise for him, including play and training and food puzzles....? Typically my dogs, when well-exercised are just rugs around the house for me to fall over. They become obnoxious only when I can't exercise them enough for some reason. Are you meeting his physical and mental stimulation needs...?
Yes we provide plenty of stimulation for him. Sometimes I feel he is getting so much attention that he isgetting spoiled, last week my son hi wife came over with 4 of the grand kids and Max was excited and and jumpy when they got there but after five minutes he was fine, the grand kids ages range from 3-15 and the 3 year old and him got along fine, so maybe the problem is he just wants more attention.
Agree with other individuals that it sounds as though he is frustrated by lack of physical and mental stimulation. All that I wanted to add is that one needs to walk kilometre after kilometre after kilometre and so on to tire a young dog. But since he is less than a year old I advise against long walks. Instead if you follow a familiar path, then the walk will provide little mental stimulation. Get in your car, and drive to a completely new neighbourhood. Engage your dog with something new.
My dog can be more hyper if I give her too much exercise. I learned this the hard way. Finding the right balance between too much and not enough exercise is difficult. But know that other dogs sometimes act this way after a lot of exercise. The other day we played frisbee for an hour, and I thought for sure that she would be nice and calm later. Nope. A complete nut job. Eventually I put her down for a nap in her "room" and she feel hard asleep and when she woke up she was much better. But it took me way too long of a time being frustrated to realize what she needed was sleep. I thought I just had a crazy dog.
Hi DV 102, I have the same problem with high anxiety, jumping and mouthing. I agree with Mike Brooks. Bring her to new places to walk especially wooded as opposed to city walking if that's possible. That seems to work great for me.
