Hello all! I am new to the site and have a few questions. My female black lab is 8 months old. She weighs close to 60 lbs and has more energy than any dog I've ever seen. My main issue with her is her behavior towards other adults when I'm not home. ex: A friend of mine visited the other day; she only met him once before. He was in the house for over an hour without any issues. I had to leave for 10 minutes and while I was gone she went absolutely crazy on him. She was jumping and nipping at his face and would not listen. She would not listen to basic commands and he had a difficult time getting her to stop and simply go outside. She has done this to other people, including my mother, who spends a lot of time with her. What can I do as she has made it so nobody wants to come to the house? Thanks, Brandon
Re: Help needed for 8 month old Hi and welcome What is pups name? Photos please Whenever we have visitors I make sure they use the same commands as we use. I also get them to do some commands and get them to reward her with a treat. Does your mum use the same commands? Maybe she wasn't comfortable with your visitor - it sometimes takes time for them to build the relationship and if she had only just met him, she may be a bit unsure of him. Hope this helps!
Re: Help needed for 8 month old Hi Brandon, and welcome to the forum. When young dogs behave in this way, it is because they have inadvertently been reinforced for doing so. This happens very easily because when people accidentally reward the dog with either attention or even play, whilst it is behaving in an excited way. The first thing to do with a dog like this is stop all physical play. Completely. No-one plays with the dog at all. The next thing to do is to create a calm environment around the dog, so slow movements, no snatching hands or sudden patting, and a calm quiet voice. Then, and this is the fun part, you need to train some calm 'default' behaviours. Things that the dog does automatically, around people, to get their attention. A clicker is very helpful for this. Spend ten minutes, two or three times a day, training 'calm'. You need to 'catch the dog in the act' of doing something calm and quiet. This could be sitting, standing still, looking at you, following you quietly, or lying down. Click the moment the dog does the behaviour you like and quietly and slowly place a treat on the ground for him. Keep this up for a few minutes, or until you've used up 20 or 30 tiny cubes of cheese, or meat, and repeat several times a day. Let us know how you get on
