Hi Everyone I have an 18mth male lab, and I’m after some advice. He’s always been a chewer, many a skirting board and cushions I’ve lost along the way. He is taken out for long walks at least three times a day, he has ostrich bones, chews, longs etc as well, but he just seems to be on the go all the time. He has started to jump Up and nip me, which is quite painful. I’ve tried the old turning my back, walking out the room to disassociate his behaviour with having no attention from myself, but nothing seems to be working. He actually growled at me this dinner time as I tried to stop him nipping me. I break it up by asking him where his ball etc is and he stops, but it’s getting a bit too much now, he also does it when I’m out, and I stop to talk and he wants to go! Any help please?
Hi Delbo, welcome to the forum! That sounds really frustrating for you. What training games do you play with him at the moment? Lots of Labradors are still working dogs at heart, and crave the sense of having a job to do. It could be that no amount of walks or distracting toys scratch that itch to work in the same way, and chewing is a displacement activity to ease the frustration of not having a 'purpose'. From the information you've given, this seems to tally up with how willing he is to drop everything and go perform a fetching task when you ask it of him. So, my advice is to find more activities to work his brain. Training games with a problem solving element are just as effective at tiring dogs out and calming them down as physical exercise (some times more so!), so you can swap one of your walks for training at home - you don't need to carve out yet more time in your busy schedule! Have a look at the games in this article to get you started. If you're the sociable sort, you might enjoy getting involved with a dog sport such as flyball, agility or dock diving. If you'd like to try some training which most closely mimics the Labrador's original purpose, look for gundog training or field work training in your area. And finally, if you'd like some structured games to play in the comfort of your own kitchen, take a look at Pippa's Dogsnet courses. I hope that helps, let us know how you get on!
