Hi good evening I have a male Labrador he is 9 months old he has been neutered I have never owned a dog before but my problem is aggressive behaviour & I am finding it difficult to now trust him it's not every day but at least every second day I go in kitchen or let him in from being out the back door there doesn't seem to be any triggers but he jumps up n he jumps high trying to bite at face or bite me anywhere I am unsure where to go from here like he just been in front room n he took the pouch of tobacco off coffee table he was told to drop n he went into the attack position he seems to go in he has since been removed from the room I have 2 small children & I am scared for them so I don't now allow him to have contact with the children hope someone can give me some advice thanks Pauline
It sounds more like an over-excited greeting than aggression, when you are letting him in, and similarly when you've taken something from him, I suspect he sees it as a game and is simply trying to get it back. How much exercise and interaction with you or another adult is he getting? I'd suggest making a plan for your daily routine involving doing something with your dog for at least three 30 minute sessions a day. So this might include going for a walk, playing games like fetch and tug, learning some simple behaviours like sit, stay, come etc. He needs some time in the same room as you to get used to 'chilling out' with you too. You may need a dog walker if you are too busy to give him the attention he needs. You might also consider going to a dog training class. In the meantime, I think it's sensible to keep your puppy and children separate unless you are supervising and when you are teach them to be calm with him. When your puppy jumps up, turn your back on him, but as soon as he has four paws on the floor, then praise and reward. If he takes something you don't want him to have, swap it for a treat and try to keep low surfaces clear of things until he's older. You can train 'leave it' as a separate thing as well. They are demanding in their first year, but if you can put in the time he will turn into a lovely companion.
This is something Jura started doing at about the same age for a short period. It was, as Joy suggests, over excited behaviour rather than anything aggressive. With her, when she was over excited she would leap up in the air, all four paws off the ground, and snap at your face. Thankfully she only did it to either myself or OH! When it happened we would immediately withdraw all attention from her until she calmed down. At the same time we increased the amount of impulse control exercises we were doing with her as part of her training which really helped. I'm sure there is an article on the main site about coping with an excitable young Labrador which you might find helpful.
Good morning thank you both for your replys he gets 3 walks a day morning afternoon & night he has someone home all day which is my partner so gets plenty of attention gets rewarded for good behaviour his training has been going great he has only done this to me personally twice but it's a regular occurrence with my partner who he spends most of his time with we turn our back on him n tell him a firm no but he doesn't stop just keeps going when we manage to calm him down we withdraw all attention which seems to make him worse when he does it he does snap trying to bite he hasn't managed to bite me or rip my clothes but has drawn blood many times with my partner n ripped his clothing as wont let go once he has hold
Could I also add even tho I have never owned a dog I know the difference between excitable behaviour & aggression example as when I come home from work he gets very excitable n jumps up n I tell him no down n sit nice n he does n I give him a good pet n a treat for being good he does do sit & stay and knows the word no n recognises it he knows it's wrong whatever he is doing when we tell him no as he puts his head down n goes n sits by kitchen door this always seems to happen after his tea at night he gets his tea at 5.30 every night n it's always after that he is great any other time he will do it a couple of times in the evening then nothing till next evening he I keep him away from my children at the moment and he gets in the living room only once there in bed but we spend most of our time in the kitchen while kids are still up n about thanks
Hallo. Sorry to hear of your problems with your pup. When you say "attack position", what does that look like? Could it possibly be a play-bow? The dog lowers his chest to the floor but keeps his bum high in the air. And then he'll spring forward to play. The play-bow is his invitation to play. You'll see it when two dogs meet each other and initiate play. It has helped me hugely when wondering if a dog is friendly or not; if it play-bows to my dog then I relax. Puppies do it a lot.
He does do that just he bites and hangs on when he meets a dog he does it then jump up at them It is in a way a play bow because when you go to grab him he runs like for u to chase him this is from my partner as he spends the most time with him & it's him he does it with mostly only twice he has done it with me
I agree, it sounds like inappropriate play. I swear 9 months old is when more people report problems than any other age. You say he gets three walks a day. How long are they? ARe they on leash? Some off leash running and playing does a lot to take the starch out and if they have a doggy friend to play with, even better. Surprisingly, obedience classes, or other like maybe RAlly, also tire a dog out. Thinking is hard work, remember doing home work at school? Plus it tends to help form a bond between dog and owner. What classes have you done with him? The person having the most trouble with him would benefit most from classes. You can predict when these excitable times will happen so what about some running and playing just before, or just when he gets like this? My dog did not jump on me or bite me but he does get the Zoomies and by encouraging him to zoom and doing play bows at him myself I can now instigate them when I want them to happen. I stand behind a tree or something so I won't get knocked over and let him go to it. He tends to want to Zoom just after a run through a puddle (or during, better to splash me that way ) and just after a walk. A surprise again, a long, hard walk or ski or snowshoe does not prevent the zoomies just when we get back home, that's a usual time for all my dogs to zoom. But it does make them calmer the rest of the time. While exercise does help it should not be in place of classes and thinking work. They need both.
