Hi! I'm new here. I have a 2 1/2 year old male lab named Bear. He has been an indoor dog since we brought him home. He has always been a very excitable dog but as he gets older his excitement is only getting worse. When we come home or if we have company, he gets so excited that for the first few minutes he is completely uncontrollable. We have had 3 labs and they have never acted like this?? He is also extremely protective of our house. Anytime someone comes that he doesn't recognize, he barks non-stop to the point he scares our UPS driver and he now leaves packages at the neighbor. I know he is all bark and I don't think he would hurt anyone, he is scared of everything. Once he realizes there is nothing to be concerned about he gets excited and wants to be petted. Im sure a lot of these behavioral problems are my fault for not training properly. Is there any hope?
Hi there - there is always hope! A big loud bouncy dog can feel very overwhelming to handle.... lets see what we can do to help. I suggest you take a look at our bark centre for lots of ideas on how to reduce the barking: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-barking/ And here's an article on helping your dog be more calm https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-calm-down-a-dog/ And this one on jumping up looks at dealing with the arrival of visitors, which may be helpful too: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/no-more-jumping-up/ Let us know if they raise any questions for you Sammie
