Some of you might remember my previous post about starting to have my girl out in the house more and I have stuck to it, although at the moment she goes back in her crate when we are eating or I can't keep a close eye on her - not too often. However my next issue - and probably my own fault - is whilst she is out she is a bloomin' pest half the time! Not referring to the incidences of petty theft, kitchen roll as streamers, "helping", cat chasing, "gardening" etc etc, I mean when I am on the sofa kicking back she has to be ON me. And she weighs a ton. I have a slipped disc which gives me horrendous neck and arm pain and having 20kgs of lab crashing into it and then trying to shove her off really hurts I'm trying to encourage her to sit on her bed - it has a removable pad which I put in her crate for when she has to be in it and next to me on the sofa. I give her lots of praise and use the word bed when she's on it, even a little bit on it. Am I expecting too much for a 9 month old to relax? I don't expect her too all the time
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! Could you try giving her a chew of some sort whilst on the bed, or rewarding her via treats for lying on the bed? I tend to do a 10 min training session with Harley (18 months old) before getting her to settle down as it uses her brain and tires her out more.
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! You are not expecting too much of a 9 month old lab to relax...but you are expecting too much of one that has mainly spent family time in her crate. I love you have her with you, it can only make things better. Stick at it, it'll get better and better. Growing up helps... In the meantime: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-labrador-pestering-you/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/teach-your-labrador-to-relax/
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! I have/ had a super boisterous pup. I used to wait until we had a moments peace ( and sometimes that was a L O N G wait) then I would gently stroke her and pet her, all the time I would speak quietly and tell her what a good calm girl she was. It seemed to help. Julie's right though, growing up makes a massive difference.
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! Persevere she will eventually get it....we've got family staying at the moment ,they were here 2 weeks after we got Dexter and visited 3 times that year,I was frazzled at meal times those visits .I wanted a dog that could be with us all the time but not pester people so I'd be looking after everyone,keeping the dog calm,nagging everyone to ignore him at the table,persevering settling him on his mat ,clicking and treating for being on his mat,feeling like everyone was rolling their eyes at me ;D he's 2.5 now and last night we sat down in the garden to eat and Dexter came and lay on his mat by my feet and didn't move a muscle the whole meal ..... 'There you are,told you he would calm down when he grew up' was a comment that was made ;D ;D Who knows,maybe that could be the truth but I Prefer to believe it was the training and time I put in when he was younger! ;D
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! There is an element of maturity, but I do think that training is vitally important. One thing that concerns me is, do we train our dogs to do undesirable things by letting them 'get away' with them when they are younger. For the avoidance of doubt I am not advocating punishment. There is so much to teach them when they are pups it is so easy to let something go which will turn into unacceptable behaviour when they are a thumping great 60lb or 26kg mature dog.
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! You're doing great, and as Julie says, the more you have her out and interacting with your family, the more she will slowly learn to relax around you, as family time will become the norm and not a hugely exciting treat. In the meantime, it is perfectly ok to have her in the crate when you are unable to keep an eye on her, or while you are eating. The crate is great for giving you a bit of peaceful time when you know your dog is safe and cannot get up to any mischief. Keep up the good work. Do ask any questions and let us know how Harley is getting on.
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! Feeding her all her food in Frozen kongs for a bit, on her mat, would help her associate lying down and being quiet out of her crate is a good thing. Definitely worked with my boy...
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! Oh I like that idea, she does love her Kong. If she tries and bring it on the sofa, just replace it on her bed and not make a fuss, then praise when she stays on it?
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! So long as she is ok with you taking her Kong to give it back to her on her mat, mine would be fine with that, but not all dogs would. Otherwise, pop her on her lead, ask her to go on her mat, and put your foot on the lead so she has a bit of slack to get comfy but not enough to move off the mat. Plus a Kong, you won't need the lead for long.
Re: Teaching Harley to relax, well trying to! We have a kong in the freezer with some of her daily kibble allowance and mashed banana for later
