Hugo is 11 months at in the past month has turned into a nightmare!! It is as if he has had no training whatsoever- he is dragging me round on walks (we'd got pretty good at loose lead) he is biting again pulling our clothes running off with things and constantly humping my leg and jumping up! He has always been allowed on one sofa and has settled well on it but now he is dragging the cushions off and trying to rip it apart. We have cancelled visitors with little children over xmas and my mum who is coming for xmas day is dreading it because of him! If it wasn't for my children I would be giving him up to rescue - going to start clicker training in January already completed two training courses and he was doing well up until a month ago !
Do you plan on giving your children up if they misbehave during their teenage years? Seriously though, Hugo is just entering the dog equivalent of the stroppy teenager phase. They all go through it, and we all throw our hands up in the air in frustration at all of the 'lost' training. Rest assured that normal service will be resumed once he is through this phase so please be patient with him. Make sure that you keep up the physical and mental exercise regime as this will help to get rid of some of that excess energy. Oh, and keep your cool - if you get agitated/excited/annoyed at his behaviour then this is likely to make him more excited rather than less. One last thing - do you have any options for a 'time out'? Popping him in his crate for a short time while you prepare a meal, or a friend/partner walking him while you do something else, or doggy daycare now and then.
Honestly it does get better, Jessie has been a right pain in the backside at times. But consistent training and patience are key and she is getting better again. My top tip for visitors is to keep him out of the way when they arrive. Get all the excitement of coats off and greetings out if the way, then bring Hugo in, but ask visitors to completely ignore him. Any attempts to jump up, brief people to turn their backs on him. Any out of hand sillyness, he's out of the room or back in his crate. Also find something for him to do (Kong or chew). Things will improve.
Don't start clicker training in January - start now! Here are two great articles to get you started http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-behaviour/#naughty http://www.thelabradorsite.com/ten-great-reasons-to-start-clicker-training/ ...
Again, I wil reiterate what everyone else has been saying so far. Labs, lovely as they may be, are often slower to mature than some other breeds. They don't really 'settle' down until 2 or 3 or sometimes past that. This is all just a naughty teenager phase, comparable to the 'terrible twos' or 'tween' stages. There are tons of articles about this particular time in a lab's life and threads on here as well. There's nothing wrong with your dog and all of it is normal. My boy went through adolescence until about 18 months but he still has moments where I want to lock him up and throw away the key. The only thing to make this better is consistent, positive training. Keep your sessions short and upbeat and don't do it if you're frustrated, dogs can pick up on this and it will just make everything worse (trust me). I cannot stress this enough! Exercise, exercise, exercise. A good lab is a tired lab. Make sure he has off-leash romps or playtime with other dogs to wear himself out. Walks are not enough and sometimes will make them even more excitable. A good round of water retrieving is also a great way to tire a dog out, assuming the weather is permitting. Hang in there!
Hi there,just stopping by to say sympathies ....as everyone else says it won't always be like this.I second Mags about starting with your clicker now..if you are delaying because it's a busy time of the year and you don't think you have time,don't fret,just start now with some basic tasks 'go to your mat' ' sit and wait nicely for the door to open/lead to go on' that way you've made a start.You will find things improve,Hugo will love it,you will love him again and you can start the new year excited about making in roads with his training! Has Hugo got his own seperate place he can go to during the busy parts of Christmas?I don't mean to say lock him a way,ideally if he can see you all but if you can gate him away from say the kitchen or to give your Mum a break ....that can take a stress away from you .....To get through Christmas as friends while his behaviour is 'teenager' I think it's all got to be about management ,I'd have a think about how you could set things up in the house for you to maintain your patience and sanity x Also to say,if you are losing your loose lead walking and Can't focus on training at the moment ,just don't let him practice pulling until you can ...if you can ,drive him to his walks so he doesn't get the chance to self reward himself yanking you along......that comes from someone who has learned the hard way! Angela x
