Hi, I'm new to the site/forum. This is my 1st post. I soooo know exactly how you feel. I have a 7 month old yellow lab, Leo, and am going through the same thing. He's the 1st lab I've ever owned. Before him we had 3 female chihuahuas over a period of 20 years. Our last little girl had to be put down in April of this year b/c of end stage congestive heart failure. I was missing her terribly but wasn't quite ready for another dog yet. My husband & 15 yr old grandson kept pushing the issue of getting a lab puppy. Before consenting I did some research. I'd never had a large dog before & wanted to be prepared since I knew I would be the one who would be bearing the brunt of the responsibility. I quickly found out there is no such thing as being prepared. I wasn't prepared for him to fracture his right rear leg at just 3 months old, be in a splint for almost 2 months, & everything else that went along w/that. But thank goodness we all managed to survive that. He is the sweetest, most loveable big boy ever but he is also the most mischievous, rambunctious big boy ever as well. He's very smart but he's also strong willed & stubborn. As much as I love him & enjoy his company I, too, have mornings where I don't look forward to getting out of bed & having to deal w/him. My husband & I are both in our early 60's & I can't help but wonder if he's just a bit too much dog for us to handle at our age. At the same time, though, I also feel like he's worth not giving up on...on good days that is. We work w/him & try our best to make sure he gets plenty of exercise but there are some things that he does that we can't seem to break him of. One is he will grab hold of my arm and not let go. If I try to break free, he will clamp down tighter, even try to thrash it back & forth like he does w/his toys, & sometimes drawing blood. Let me tell you, I have a nice collection of battle scars on my body...lol (not really that funny though). I really don't believe he does it out of aggression & he doesn't do it all the time. Most times it happens when he's been playing really hard out in the yard (running, fetching, etc) & think maybe he's just too overly excited or maybe tired. My concern is that I have a 4 yr old grandson & know it could be a much more serious situation if he were to get hold of him in the same manner. We really aren't in a position where we can afford to hire a dog trainer. Just not sure what to do at this point
Hello there, and a very warm welcome @leapingleo I moved your post from the thread about Marie and Ziva, because I thought you might get more replies this way - people will want to say hello to you without filing up Marie's thread about Ziva. I hope Mollly will be along soon - I know she is a wise Lady who knows a lot about a teenage Labrador who crashes into your life in later years. Leo really doesn't sound aggressive, he just sounds like an excitable teenager. It's significant that you say he grabs your arm after he has been playing hard - this points to it being about over excitement. There is a useful article here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-an-excitable-labrador/
Thank you so very much JulieT & Karen. Once I was able to break free from him I did put him in his kennel for some quiet time but, as Karen said, probably should have stopped sooner. He is very much like a toddler. As a matter of fact, before he fractured his leg I was watching my little grandson everyday. It was like having 2 toddlers of the same age & emotional maturity. Talk about being mentally & physically exhausted at the end of the day. After he fractured his leg I had to stop watching my grandson while he recuperated. I haven't resumed watching my grandson b/c I just don't think I can handle them both & also felt like I needed to really devote myself to helping Leo become a more well mannered young man . I felt a little guilty at 1st b/c I felt like I was choosing Leo over my grandson but at the same time feeling like I needed to do what was best for all concerned (my grandson, Leo, & myself). We were going to try a trial run tomorrow & let my grandson come visit for the day until this morning's incident. I sent my daughter pics of my arm & told her I didn't think it was a good idea for him to come back yet, not w/me being alone w/both of them. If there were another reliable person here w/me to help keep an eye on things, I wouldn't have any objections. I would love for them to become playmates b/c they would be so good for each other but I don't want my grandson to get hurt in tge process. Not that Leo would mean to harm him, he's just a big, rough boy.
Hi and welcome to the forum from me and Juno, my chocolate girl. Nothing much to add to the advice from others and hopefully the article Julie T linked for you will help. These pups are certainly sent to try us sometimes but they certainly remind me of our human babies except they grow into adults more quickly, physically if not mentally. I'm sure once Leo's over-excitement has improved you'll be able to have your grandson visiting again as they will need to be supervised at all times and a time out for Leo if he shows signs of becoming over excited. They will become great friends, they both need to grow a little
Thank you MaccieD. I have browsed through the forum subject matter here. So much of it applies to my situation & life w/Leo . I know I'll find all the help I need.
Oh and one final thing. Try not to react when he throws a wobbly, it just makes him more excited you yell at him. And that definately come under the heading of 'easier said than done
Thank you all so much for the warm welcome. Mollly I'm beginning to believe that everything is "easier said than done" w/a lab...lol. I'm not exactly sure what is meant by "throwing a wobbly" but it sure was difficult to keep my cool while he had his teeth clamped down on my arm. It was extremely painful. Once I was free of his mouth I went inside to get his leash. When I went back outside he was lying down with his head on his front paws just looking up at me w/those eyes of his & w/a look on his face like "Man, am I in for it now". I just put his leash on & he was very cooperative. I led him into the house, said "kennel", & he went in w/no problem. I usually put him back in his kennel anyway after he's been up for 3-4 hrs for a morning nap. He's usually pretty tuckered out after our morning routine of breakfast, play/excercise, w/a few 5 min training sessions tucked in here & there.
"Throwing a wobbly" means behaving in a silly manner. I sometimes forget that we have members all over the world and use slang. I know just what you mean about not wanting to get up in the morning and face another day with the dog. It really does get better. You need to be diligent and persistent with his training even though right now you are not sure you like him. Molly could be a nightmare on the lead. Everytime she saw another dog she would whine and lunge towards them to play. Every human she just wanted to jump all over and play with. Going out was sheer hard work, but I kept kept on at it and would take her to the most challenging places. I am only a little lady weighing about 114 pounds and just over 5 feet tall walks were more like wrestling matches. I kept telling myself that she didn't know any better and it was my job to teach her. I had made a mistake by choosing the wrong breed of dog and it wasn't her fault and I couldn't bear the thought of putting her into rescue when basically she had done nothing wrong. Keep up the training sessions, if nothing else it wears them out i used to make Molly work for nearly all her food. I used toys like Buster Cube, Treat Balls etc, you don't much feel like buying toys for a creature that is causing you so much trouble, but it is worth it for the peace the toys bring. I am assuming you know about the beloved frozen Kong, a bit of a chore to prepare and freeze them, but oh the wonderful peace they bring Keep us up to date with how it is going. We are a friendly lot here, many of us fellow sufferers. It is a good place to come for advice, sympathy and if all else fails a moan.
Hello and welcome to the forum from Fred and me. Fred is a 18mth old black Lab. I have nothing to add to the good advice given to you, but wanted to say hello to you and Leo.
Thank you Cath & Fred for the welcome Sorry it's taken me a while to get back. Been a bit busy. Mollly thanks for the interpretation of "wobbly". Leo has those a lot...lol. We introduced Leo to the stuffed Kongs when he fractured his leg. Poor baby was so frustrated b/c he was restricted from physical activity that the Kongs were a life saver for all of us. Even though he's completely recuperated we still use them & he loves them. Also bought him the Buster cube early on to keep him both busy & to keep him from gobbling his food down in 2 seconds. Like you, I no longer use his food bowl. We also make him earn his food/treats. We never randomly give him anything food related. He has to do something to earn it even if it's just one command. I had stopped taking him for morning walks b/c he was getting too unruly. I opted for play & mental stimulation from training sessions to drain some of his excess energy b/c I felt like that worked better for him & me. I left the walks for my husband in the evening when he got home from work. After venting on here & everyone's wonderful support & advice I decided to give the morning walks another shot. I started off just walking him short distances w/the start, stop, & going in the opposite direction when he pulled. Starting from square one & taking baby steps w/him. He did very well w/that. I did notice one thing w/him though. During one of our walks he had picked up a plastic water bottle along the way & held it in his mouth the entire time & I didn't have one ounce of trouble w/him. It seemed to keep him focused & like it gave him a purpose. I'm not sure if I read it on here or elsewhere but I recall reading that b/c they're working dogs if u give them something to carry when they're on a walk or give them something to do while they're walking they do much better. Does anyone else recall seeing that anywhere. All I know is it worked like a charm on that particular day. I usually take treats w/me to try & keep him focused but this worked even better than treats.
I don't know about the carrying with Labs but have known several GSDs who are an absolute dream on walks as long as they have their favourite squeaky toy, stick or ball to carry. If works for you and Leo on walks I would try it out again
Hello,there,from Dexter and I,he is our first dog and he's 3 years old now. It sounds like you really have had a hectic time.....the leg fracture was really bad luck,how did he manage that?well done for getting through the rehab .....a young injured dog on restricted exercise is challenging to the most experienced owner. I'm just picking up on you mentioning about struggling to manage Leo and your young grandson.I can sympathise with that,I don't have children myself but I have a niece and nephew that visit most days and that sleepover one night each week...We took ownership of Dexter at 5 months when the children were 18 months and 2.5 ish.....Luckily Dexter wasn't hugely mouthy or nippy but It took a fair bit of planning,effort and energy to keep,everyone safe.It can be done but it is tiring so I think you've absolutely done the right thing for now if you want to be able to concentrate your energy to get Leo more settled and trained.Young children are very exciting for young dogs.What really helped me was having a totally,separate gated off area that was for Dexter...this was the utility room off the kitchen and contained his crate...the children were taught ( but always supervised ) to know that they never went in his crate or shut themselves in behind the gate ......this gave them very clear clear areas and this really helps you to keep them apart when you need to. Leo,sounds like he needs a little longer to stop mouthing so hard,you will get to a point where you can enjoy their company together.Dogs and young children need supervision and that can be quite exhausting .That said its lovely for children to grow up around dogs....maybe if you find it a bit much to do the whole slot that you used to do ,you could reduce the time abd then you still have an opportunity to help them learn to get along safely together. Hang in there,you are surviving a huge Labrador culture shock after raising chihuahuas. Best wishes Angela x
Thanks MaccieD. I think I might just do that Hello Angela & Dexter. Thank you so much for the words of encouragement. When I did have my grandson & Leo together for a short period of time before Leo fractured his leg I tried keeping them separated. I have an addition adjacent to my living room w/french doors. That was the only room I could keep Leo in & kept my grandson in the living room. The problem w/that was they could both see one another & it only made them want to be w/each other all the more. I tried crating Leo too but all he did was cut up & carry on so bad the entire time. When I left him in the room w/the doors shut he chewed on everything in the room, climbed on the back of a chair I had back there trying to reach the valences on my windows. Even caught him trying to chew on the electrical outlets. How did he manage to fracture his leg? I was walking w/his food bowl & wouldn't put it down on the floor until he would either sit or lie down & wait for it. He was jumping & jumped about a foot in the air & landed w/all of his body weight on top of his leg on the ceramic tile. Hence the nickname Leaping Leo...lol. We also affectionately call him our "golden boy" for the amount of vet bills he managed to rake up for us during that period not just for the fracture but the chewing he did on the bandage frequently & his foot getting infected as a result of the chewing causing us to have to make an emergency trip to the vet & them having to keep him over night to keep him heavily sedated in order to keep him off the leg so they could clean the foot & leave the splint & bandage off for the foot to air out. I don't know which of us suffered more, him or me. After I picked him up the following morning he had to be kept heavily sedated for the remainder of his recuperation period. I was a nervous wreck from worrying about him so much. I have 3 grown children & not one of them ever had a broken bone or even stitches during the time they were growing up.
And he was wearing a "cone of shame" & still managed to chew through his bandages. Actually, he graduated thru 3 of them during that period. The last being a kind of custom made one for him by the vet's office. It has been an interesting journey w/this big boy so far. I know one day I will be able to look back on all of this & laugh. As much as I may feel frustrated at times or it may sound like I don't like him, I do love this big guy. I don't always have to like him but I will always love him.
Hi again, reading that Leo likes to carry things in his mouth makes me think... Does he enjoy retrieving? You could buy him a small puppy dummy, and use that as a special treat, for him to be allowed to carry when he's done something especially well. Personally I am not a fan of a dog carrying a toy in their mouth all the time, as they can easily become over-obsessive (and having a toy can create problems when they meet another dog). However, if he knows that for instance if he walks nicely for 10 minutes on the lead, then he gets to play fetch a couple of times and then carry the dummy / ball for a few minutes, that might work well as a training strategy. Just thinking aloud here!
Hi and welcome to the forum from me, Willow and Shadow. You've been given a lot of information above so I won't muddy it by rambling on! Good luck and let us know how you get on
