I'm new to this forum, so I don't know if I'm repeating this topic or not. Here it goes... I’m a proud owner of a chocolate labrador and I’m a little concerned about my puppy’s behavior. He’s 5 months old and I already taught him a few things, like how to sit (though it’s really hard for him to stay sit for a long time), wait for the the food and lie down. However, when I take him out for a walk I really despair! He always pulls hard on the lead, trying to smell/eat everything he sees. When he sees someone coming (person or dog) he just gets super excited, trying to reach the person/dog and NEVER listens to me if I tell him to sit or just call his name. Another thing that concerns me is the fact that he doesn’t show submission. When he’s biting our hands or chewing on things that he’s not supposed to chew I grab him by the scruff of the neck like the mothers do (without harming him!) just to make him stop and he still doesn’t show submission! However he sometimes shows submission to other dogs. I sign him in in a training school very recently and the dog trainer told me this behavior can be related to the fact that he was taken too early from his mother (we brought him home when he was a few days from turning 2 months old). Has any of you experienced this/knows anyone who experienced this? And if so, how did the situation turned out? Did the dog changed/improved? I trust the dog trainer I chose but I would like to hear your opinions on this… Specially if any of you experienced something like this Thank you (English is not my native language, so I’m sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes)
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hello there I have a mad chocolate too! ;D ;D ;D They are not all mad, but some are. It can be a bit tough - but you've got to train your way through it. My boy is definitely getting much better now. But I've had to work quite hard. I don't think that this is anything to do with whether a dog is "submissive" or not - I think that's nothing to do with it. You can read up on how thinking has changed around "dominance" here: http://totallydogtraining.com/the-demise-of-dominance-theory-the-evidence/ I personally wouldn't shake a dog to punish him - it's unlikely that he knows he is doing anything wrong. You could instead teach him a "leave it" cue to get him to turn away from things you don't want him to chew. There is some help for biting here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/ In terms of getting over excited and pulling on the lead. First you need to get him to walk nicely on his lead without people or other dogs around. Then you need to "proof" this training by getting him to understand it also applies when he wants to get to a person or other dog. It's quite normal to have to do this, he just doesn't "get it". Start by being some way away from a person walking towards you (cross over the street if you have to and get his attention - star jumps if necessary ;D ;D ;D) and give him treats when he looks at you (do whatever you can to keep his attention on you - even if you have to feed him treats constantly). Eventually, you can slow down the rate that you give him treats, move closer to people, and in the end he'll look at you in expectation of a treat instead of pulling to get to the person. Its the same principle with dogs. I found that very difficult though, and have a trainer to help me. I can do other on lead dogs now, off lead dogs is still a work in progress! Best of luck with it.
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! It sounds like your puppy is just way over excited when he gets out on his walks. Do you ever let him off the lead? This may help to reduce some of his energy and tire him out which will help with the puppy biting when at home. You could lido at some training aids for walking him with such as a harness or head collar, but I have found the best thing I ever did for teaching my dog to walk nicely on the lead was clicker training. It is so versatile you can employ the clicker in all aspects of everyday life such as trick training and also for calm behaviour so to help with the mouthing behaviour. This is also a good article from the main site which may help you with the pulling on lead too: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-labrador-pulling-on-the-lead/ With regards to showing 'submission' to you this is not something I personally beleive in. Dogs will show dominant or submissive behaviours to other dogs but I don't beleive this same behaviour can be transferred to humans. There are several other methods that are generally recommend which are more in line with positive training techniques. Here's another article from the main site you may find useful http://www.thelabradorsite.com/teaching-bite-inhibition-to-your-labrador-puppy/
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hello from Molly, my 10 month old Golden Girl and me. I had the same problems as you when Molly was 5 months, she just wouldn't stop biting me. I tried everything, but still she bit me. Then one day it suddenly stopped, I think she just grew out of it. Because they are big dogs it is very easy to forget that they are still so very young. At his age the world is full of things to explore, to smell, to try to eat no wonder he pulls to get to them. My last dog, not a Labrador, was abandoned very young and didn't have her mum to teach her. She was a very independant dog and took a lot of training. I trained everything with words and hand signals. She turned out to be a very good dog. I train Molly using both word and hand signals. Sometimes it is very useful to be able to control your dog without making a sound. Your English is excellent, you have no need to apologise for it.
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hello from Molly, my 10 month old Golden Girl and me. I had the same problems as you when Molly was 5 months, she just wouldn't stop biting me. I tried everything, but still she bit me. Then one day it suddenly stopped, I think she just grew out of it. Because they are big dogs it is very easy to forget that they are still so very young. At his age the world is full of things to explore, to smell, to try to eat no wonder he pulls to get to them. My last dog, not a Labrador, was abandoned very young and didn't have her mum to teach her. She was a very independant dog and took a lot of training. I trained everything with words and hand signals. She turned out to be a very good dog. I train Molly using both word and hand signals. Sometimes it is very useful to be able to control your dog without making a sound. Your English is excellent, you have no need to apologise for it.
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hi and welcome My pup (now 11 months old) was a puller on lead. When she went into season a while ago, we could only do on lead walks. We started by walking up and down the street where I live, but every time she pulled I turned round and headed towards my house, if she walked nicely I would turn around and keep walking away from the house. It took a week just to be able to walk up and down my street (only 11 houses in the street) so not very far. After 2 weeks we were able to walk on lead to the shops and back (about 15-20 mins walk). Good luck, let us know how you get on
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hi Mariana, your English is excellent Welcome! You have had some great advice, have a look through the articles, and let us know if you have any questions. And we'd love to see some pics of your pup if you have time
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hi my pup is the same age. She is wonderful and does have similar behaviour. She will pull on he lead but with loads of work she is getting better. We are now on our second puppy class and the trainer ( who is great) says it can take some time and and it's lots of hard work to stop pulling so stick with it. As for chewing I never say no, I just replace with something else. At this age they will chew. Enjoy your pup and post some pics I you get chance. Emma and meg.
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Thank you all for your words and advices! I read the articles you all suggested and I hope that with all this information and the training classes I'll be able to diminish this behavior I'll keep you updated! Here's my puppy, Bruno: (then) http://instagram.com/p/mvHpLthzI1/?modal=true (and now) http://instagram.com/p/qKbMuVBzEo/?modal=true
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Hi Mariana! Just wanted to say Welcome to the Forum! Your pup is gorgeous, Jac and Lilly (4 year old black girl)
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! [quote author=Karen link=topic=7001.msg96353#msg96353 date=1406012234] What a lovely boy! Welcome to the forum. Where are you from? [/quote] Portugal!
Re: Puppy behavior - help!! Portugal - great! Who has the map with members marked on it? [shout loudly] *Julie!* [/shout]
