My 9 month old yellow lab, Molly, is a typical lab, in that she's curious, social, and playful, but she does tend to get over-stimulated easily. She was actually asked to leave her doggie playgroup for being 'too playful' with the other dogs and 'being unable to calm herself down.' We socialized her as soon as we got her at 10 weeks - we have a dog-friendly neighborhood and she has dog friends she plays with every day, as well as neighbors and friends she interacts well with if we see them out. We've gotten her to the stage that she's mostly calm and well-adjusted if she's in a routine. Three days a week she's home for 8 hours on her own (gated in the kitchen), with a dog walker who comes in once - the other 4 days a week she's with us all day. On the days she's home alone she does tend to be much more excitable in the evenings, which is to be expected as she's had less exercise and interaction than on the other days, and on the days she's home with us she usually goes through about an hour or two in the morning or evening of being excessively hyper, but otherwise she is fine in her routine of playing, walking, settling, and napping. We have lots of outdoor space and make sure she gets at least 2 hours a day of exercise and training. The problems really start when other people actually come to our house. She jumps and barks excessively, and even bites at people, though thankfully she hasn't hurt anyone (besides me) yet. My arm is black and blue from where she bit me last week when someone stopped by to do some work on the house. A few days ago my mum stopped by for a cup of tea and Molly barked and jumped on her the entire hour she was there, up until the last 10 minutes, when she fell asleep. My mum is 76 and I'm worried Molly will hurt her, even though I know it's not aggression, just excitement. It's making it difficult for us to have people over - even family and people she's familiar with. We've had people over for meals twice in the past month and have had to put her in her crate each time because she was totally out of control. We've tried gating her in the kitchen, and she just barks excessively. We've tried keeping her on a lead in her harness, and she practically strangles herself trying to twist out of it. We've tried ignoring her, and she just bites and jumps (she can jump as high as my face now, which is hard to ignore). I want to have a dog that people like being around, but right now I don't feel like I do! When we've had friends to stay for a few days, which has happened a couple of times, she has usually calmed down on the second day, but still has bouts of excitement. It's gotten much worse in the past few months, especially as she's getting bigger and stronger, and feels more difficult to control. Is this normal puppy adolescence that she'll grow out of? If not, what can I do? I'm at my wits end!
Hello and welcome to the forum from me and my three Labs, plus foster Podenco-cross. Ah, it sounds s if you made the common mistake f thinking "socialisation" means "meeting lots of dogs and people". Not so. It's more about seeing different sights and sounds, feeling different textures, being exposed to different environments. Often, for our over-friendly Labs, it can mean learning to not meet other dogs and people. With my puppy, I would take her to busy places with people walking by and we'd just watch without interacting with them. Very useful lessons for a young puppy. Still, it's too late to be telling you that now, except that you can keep it in mind for your next puppy So, my advice would be to do a lot of work around calmness and learning to settle. On a walk, take a minute every now and again were you just stop, put your foot on the lead and stand, not looking at her or talking to her. Do nothing. You'll have to see how she is as to what's achievable at first, but build it up, and build up the distractions, too. When you're ready to set off again, pick up the lead, tell her she's a good girl and "let's go!". Teach her that she doesn't get to meet most people, or most dogs. When she does, calmness is a prerequisite; you never release her to greet when she's excitable. Inside the home, use a baby gate, pen or crate to keep her away from your guests. Put her in there while your guests enter the house; it's always a hugely stimulating time, generally people crowding in a narrow doorway, taking coats and shaking hands, hugging or kissing. It's too much to ask a, excitable young Lab to stay calm with all that going on, so put her away before you open the door. She can greet once she's calm. If she gets too bouncy once she's let out, back she goes behind the barrier. Give her a frozen kong or a long-lasting chew to keep her occupied. Train a "go to bed" cue and proof, proof, proof it against distractions. You can also use a lead in the house; stand on it so she can't jump up. Above all, keep in mind the simple rule; she doesn't get any attention when she's barking or being a dick. No looking at her, talking to her, shouting at her. She just gets placed behind her barrier. Those are a few ideas. You will get there if you're consistent in working on and rewarding calmness, and never giving attention for excitability. Good luck
Hi there, and welcome!! Great advice from snowbunny above. If possible, I would also see if you can join a training group; although it will be difficult at first for your dog not to play with the other dogs and to learn to wait her turn, it is excellent training for young dogs. I find that an hour's group training tires my eight-month-old pup out more than anything else; even though he doesn't seem to do terribly much at the class (a bit of heel walking, a bit of sit and stay, some calm 'meet and greet' situations, a bit of retrieving), he is really tired after the session and sleeps deeply! Young dogs of this age are naturally gregarious, bouncy and friendly, and really need to learn patience and self-control - a good training group will help no end.
Hmmm. Not sure if any of this will help? It seems in the early days everyone just LOVES a puppy, lots of excited voices, attention, etc. Took us a while to figure out that was getting to be a problem. We have really good friendly neighbors. So, we would walk over when they were out with Murph on the leash, they would say hello to him and then we would all chat while we ignored him. (we had asked them to help us with this beforehand) It worked!!! Now, we go somewhere, he will say hello to people for maybe a minute at the most, then if we are just talking, he lays down and observes. Same thing if we go somewhere and dine outdoors. Says hello, then lays down. We do not even need to tell him to lay down. Maybe you can use some of that info to help you out?
I think socialization should include meeting lots of other dogs and people as well. When I was growing up we had a Rough Collie, who took offense at anyone who was not well dressed. We just thought he had good judgment, and it was not until years later I realized that it was because he had only been introduced to people who looked like us. We make sure that all our pups meet people of all races and social classes when they are young, so they won't react negatively when they grow up. They also seem to pick up on treating young children and frail older folks differently than older kids and adults. Kind of the same thing with other dogs. Dogs need to learn to read other dogs cues to know whether they are probably friendly, or otherwise.
I do not have a clue how to help him (Murphy) with that. I guess he is sorta like me, I presume everyone is a good person until they prove otherwise. He has not been bitten or attacked, but he is willing to meet any other dog unless it is really obvious the dog is a problem.
I don't think all dogs can read other dogs cues very well, if at all, therefore don't have such good doggie skills. My rescue Charlie doesn't read other dogs well so can be quite anxious around certain dogs, yet Hattie who I have had since a puppy has excellent skills that can't be faulted. I believe it just depends on the dog.
Tatze is four and still gets over excited. While people come in, give coats, get coffee made etc I put her in her crate. Then, when everyone is in and sorted, I have a very short lead which I attach to her collar (it doesn’t reach the ground). If she starts jumping up I hold the lead and have her sitting by me. I let go when she’s calm and get hold of it again if she gets excited again. Eventually she settles but it takes her about half an hour. This method really works for us - and I have tried everything. We had a meeting here this afternoon. Keir, only five months old, greeted people beautifully and settled no problem. Tatze? Nope, we needed the short lead as usual .
I think the American style "Dog Parks" are a good place to start with this. Most all of the dogs will be reasonably well behaved, but some will really want to play, some will want to be left alone, and some will have to go meet everyone and then ignore them. I just listened to Dave Davies (NPR Fresh Air) interview Alexandra Horowitz "Inside of a Dog" "Being a Dog" I think her approach to dog training is much like ours. When asked how she trained her dogs she said that she really did not train them beyond the usual Sit, Stay, Down, Recall, etc. that you need to have the dog be a good citizen and easy to live with. She liked to let her dogs be dogs. We are pretty much the same way. My dogs love to retrieve, so we make that a priority and they love to run.
But when your dog "just being a dog" is causing problems to you and other people, it needs addressing, hence the OP's post. This is a dog that isn't being a good citizen and isn't easy to live with. It will get better with age, for sure, but for now, management and training are something that will make life easier for everyone.
True that. Mine (especially Cooper) are a little rambunctious when they first meets people, and we have to control them, or put them in another room for a few minutes, but it gets sorted pretty quickly.
Agree Snow, a dog has to be a "good citizen". I think what Ski and I are talking about is a bit different. Ski can correct me if I am wrong. There is no earthly reason for Murphy to heel when we are walking. He does not need to be in any exact position relative to me. He has learned to move close when we are on a sidewalk with other people. I say "wait a minute" and he does exactly that. It is more relaxed. When Murph and I go for a walk, he does not need to keep his head up. If he wants to sniff, it is fine with me as long as we keep walking. And sometimes he lets me know he REALLY wants to sniff something, so, being his friend, I let him. Maybe it is a retired guy attitude? Ya think? LOL. BTW, Ski? Cooper IS terminally cute! Great pic!
There isn't a thread on here that hasn't given me help in some way so far! Mine is 15 weeks tomorrow (if he doesn't kill himself today chewing things he shouldn't haha) in the 6 weeks he has been here, he has proved our previous lab was born trained! Never had a single problem apart from pulling on lead. Our new boy dashes from one disaster to the next daily, just when I nail it, we find something else. Soooo glad I found this site. The slightest bark, bite, nibble or stupid zooming moment, and I dash to read a thread on it! Thanks folks
