Hello Patti and welcome from me and Sky (10 years) and Red (8 months). When you know he is tired, put him in his crate and walk away. He might bark. When he goes quiet go back and treat him and walk away again. You might need to do this a bit but he will eventually get the message that it is rest time. I had this with Red at one point and I had to this - it was hard work but she did learn to rest quietly. It does pass .
Thank you Atemas. I will give that a try. Right now he will only go into his crate if I toss a treat in and I don't want to reward his barking at me by giving him a treat. Once he's in, he never barks (except for that very first night we brought him home, he's never barked while in his crate). Basically I just tell him "nap time", toss a treat in, and he goes right in. I'm hoping when he's past this phase I can work on getting him in there without treats. I just feel bad that he always seems to be in the crate. He WAS napping outside of the crate and now suddenly he wont - I think that's what is most frustrating. At 3 months old he'd nap wherever he was. At 4 months old, he's like an overtired toddler.
No, you are rewarding him for going in his crate - that's fine. I used to always do that when Red was that age. It doesn't last. Red is now 8 months and for a long time now she has taken herself off to her crate to either have a sleep, a nap or just rest - she doesn't need a treat to go in there. She also sleeps in her day bed as she's doing now - her choice. Koda will do the same.
Thank you for all of the brilliant advice on this site. We have had Arthur for six weeks now and yes, I have worried that we are getting it all wrong and ruining him. He is the most handsome son of a fox red dad and yellow mum. He is biting, chewing us and our clothes and who would have thought that our two pear trees would be the bain of my life! (I take it as a good day if he only eats two pears in a day). But he is so good natured and gone along brilliantly with all of our socialising ideas. He comes to his name at the beach and in large places having responded well in the garden. He will sit and stay, waiting for the word "cross" on a street. Having been perfectly house trained for at least a week he has puddled in the kitchen three times today, maybe because it hasn't stopped raining for the first time in weeks? My only real problem with him is that I have pulled so many pears from his mouth he now refuses to give them up and has become possessive. I know not to chase him but offering treats, throwing them nearby etc all fail. It is a race to let him out and collect the windfalls but I always seem to miss a few. He will surely make himself unwell. Any tips would be freat
Hi, I am a new owner of a lab he was born March 17 and his name is Quinn. I love this site it answers a lot of questions. It's nice to know the nipping will stop lol. He is such a good boy and crate trained very quickly. He some times goes crazy, I think someone called it the zoomies and jumps at me and runs around crazy and nips, but I have noticed his nipping is getting a lot better since he has just lost a bunch of baby teeth. We had to take him to the vet today as we think he got bit by a wasp and was swelling up around his face and eyes a lot, benadryl it is the answer. Wow they really do have a world of their own lol
Hi everyone Can i just say that without reading about how everyone is having the same puppy problems i would have been more worried. Penny my 15wk lab is a whirling dervish at times. But she is so clever and beatiful i love her so much. I have cried out in pain at the nips and bites she can give and trying to get her harness on is still a nightmare as she thinks its another chew toy. She eats like a horse and then wants my dinner lol ..i had to get new specs as she chewed them to death in about 5 mins. I work 13hr shifts as i am a nurse and when i come home i love how she greets me and surprise myself how i see her changing and she looks as if she has grown since i left her lol. I havent had a dog for 7 yrs ( last one was a beatiful boxer) and never a lab but its hard work that is worth every minute ..she will be best friend and loyal companion for my daughter and i. BTW she has just found her voice and can now hold her own against the dog next door. Obe more thing ..took her out for walk to park let her off lead and she was brilliant ..loved zooming about and chasing her ball ..came back every time i called ( harder to get her back in the house from back garden lol ). I am trying to enjoy the puppy time as it goes so quickly ..good luck everyone ..and once again great forum
Hey Jacqueline, it's good to hear you're generally positive - puppies are hard work! I thought this little video might help you. Its focus is a little different, in that I was trying to give her positive associations with the harness, but you can see she chews it at one point. I just wait until she lets go, praise and reward her. You can use the same method for your own puppy. https://thislittledoggy.com/2017/01/08/desensitisation-to-the-harness/
Karen, your post is just what I needed to read! my girl Two Socks is five months old and I was beginning to feel like I was a failure in taking care of her. I took her to star puppy classes and they wanted me to use a prong collar on her! I said NO and haven't gone back. She loves on me then turns around and does something bad that causes me to have to clean up after her. She also eats like she is starving. I feed her twice a day. 1and 1/4 cup per feeding. I was also giving her treats , but she seemed to get watery stools , so I stopped feeding her the treats. I was very upset with this class , I don't believe I should be using a prong collar to train her. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Again thank you for your post puppy mom
Hi puppy mom, so glad to hear this thread has been helpful to you! Two Socks is a great name, and she sounds like a completely normal lab puppy to me... What kind of horrible person would suggest using a prong collar on ANY dog, let alone on a puppy??? Regarding the feeding, I think you might find she does better with three smaller meals rather than two. My Merlin is six months old, and we are just starting to move him from three meals to two, so he gets two-and-a-half meals. The general feeling is that they cannot really hold enough in their stomachs before six months. I give Merlin raw food in the morning (so this morning he got one raw duck neck, one raw sardine, some raw chicken hearts and some left-over pasta and cooked vegetables), then for lunch he'll get about half a cup of kibble, then in the evening one and a half cups of kibble, plus lots of training treats during the day, including some sort of chew treat like a dried pig's ear. But he is a big-boned boy and seems to be growing fast, so he needs quite a lot of food. About the starving - labradors are ALWAYS starving, no matter how much you feed them!!!! Remember you can always put some of her treats on one side and use that for training and treats. About the doing things that mean you have to clean up after her - I think this is par for the course at this age for puppies of Two Socks' age. They are still very childish and exploring their world. Merlin loves to go into the garden and find a stick or moss or something, which he sneaks into the house and then shreds all over the place - or else prowls around the garden looking for mischief, or he bothers the older dog until she plays with him. While this is somewhat annoying, I do think it is preferable to chewing holes in the furniture, so I remain fairly relaxed about it all... I know he will grow out of this soon, and in the meantime we try to redirect his energy with mind games and with kongs or chew toys.
Hi, thank you for your advice. Two Socks is doing better, I have been walking her twice a day, using the perfect fit harness. she does well using this harness. she seems to be gaining weight quickly so I might have to buy the next size for her. I like the fact that I can buy the different sections . her girth is where she is now gaining more. she still wants to jump up on people when someone wants to pet her. I have a hard time holding her down. we have to work on this. after walking I thought she would be tired out some, but instead when I got her home and in the yard, she ran around like she was going to take off and fly. her speed is so fast, I have to make sure not to get in the way. she then wanted to play fetch. I am only working with her myself, I am not taking her back to that awful place of training. My heart just melts when she lays her head down and looks into my face. she sure has won my heart!
Brilliant post Having lost my 14 year old lab in May this year, I can laugh at all the things your puppies are getting up to. But believe me, those words crossed my lips several times throughout her puppyhood and young adult years. I never thought she'd get there. I remember crying my eyes out at her misbehaviour. Thinking why why why have we got a lab. They were difficult times. But patience and positive reward training paid off. I'd have that behaviour back in a heart beat, if only to see her and hold her tightly again. I might regret posting this as and when we get a new puppy in the next 6 months.
Shiko our 4 year old lab weighs only 23kg. Absolutely fine, she is frim a working Labrador line. Our other lab Sadie was 30-35kg she was a typical British lab.
I just joined this forum...first post here. After losing our 13-year-old chocolate lab early this spring my wife and I quickly made up our minds to get another; an opportunity arose, and we got a new pup, Hank, in late August. He is pushing four months now, and we love him dearly, but he's been a physical and mental strain on us; he's an angel 99 percent of the time, but the 1 percent when he isn't keeps us on our toes constantly...he eats poo, rolls in it, bites, chases the cats, chews up my shoes, won't pee when it rains, etc. Reading that other people are going through much of the same makes me feel much better though...it had been years since we had a pup, and I'd forgotten what a little terror they can be!
Yeah ha ha , I fell into that one too Now she's rising 18 months and shoes stay on the rack, tea towels stay on the rail and all bar one cushion remain on the chairs. The cat still still gets chased but less so and in the poo eating has diminished . If it rains she holds her wee for hours!
I have a new lab pups every few years and in about the 2nd week I realise why it was not such a good Idea. It's a sort of mental shrug and a oh yes now I remember
Hello, I have a 14 week old Labrador. She’s been absolutely brilliant so far. She’s crate trained with no issues. Had a few problems with biting/nibbling but that’s seems to have settled down now, until she starts teething at least! I have read the happy puppy hand book and have let her walk off lead straight away apart from next to busy roads etc. She’s been taught to sit, lie down, spin, paw. When we are out walking in the park she gets super excited to see people and other dogs and will run straight upto them and either jump up or try to play with the dog. Is it normal for her to do this and will she stop as she gets older? I’m trying to teach her not to jump up but it just seems she’s way to excited to listen. She always comes back to me when I call her if there’s no distractions but when there’s someone new to meet she gets too excited. Any advice welcome!
This is so funny and also the OP hit it right on the head. The irony is that it was the 10 pound beagle puppy who was a nightmare and caused much havoc, up to and including biting my hands to bleeding, eating the couch, and biting (and hanging from) our old male's sensitive bits. Our lab mixes have pretty much been angels in the house except for an unfortunate sock/underwear fetish as a pup for one. The other would actually bring me any scrap of paper that he found on the ground, which helped keep the floors clean! That said, the one major thing that almost brought me to tears was when my lab/bc would bark suspiciously at other dogs while he was on leash and eventually started lunging at any strange dog who got too close. It really took a lot of patience and hope to not get super discouraged or frustrated. Now at 4 years he is much more confident. He still doesn't like strange dogs getting near his face, but doesn't lunge or bark anymore.
We did a lot of treating for walking at heel past strangers, or else coming to heel and sitting.. It was months before I went out for a walk without cubed cheese in my pocket, and now that I have a seven-month old puppy my pockets smell of cheese once again... Both dogs now associate strangers with a nice treat, and as soon as they see someone coming along the path will run back to me expectantly!
Just want to encourage everyone that there's a light at the end of the tunnel with all the puppy stuff! Finn is 1 year and 1 month, and most of his puppy behaviors have vanished. He still has a few bad habits and some crazy days (he was acting like a nut on his walks yesterday), but boy was he a handful for a bit. Very headstrong and boisterous. Now he is such an angel. He cried when left in the crate for months, but somehow he just.....stopped. I was worried he would be a crybaby forever! He even used to cry in the car...that vanished. Now he is the most relaxed passenger and a pleasure to take on road trips. His sock and underwear and shoe stealing phase.....stopped. Mostly because I gave him zero attention or just left the room if he stole a shoe or sock. So he gave up haha. So don't give up and know that your hard work will be rewarded with an AMAZING dog in a very short time.
