Hi, I have an 11 week old choc lab, I am starting obedience class with him Friday and they want him to wear a collar or harness, I tried a harness the other day and he kept trieing to get to it to chew it off. So I bought a collar and he freaked out, he tore all around the house running into things, I was afraid he would get hurt. Any advice, please
Hi @Jrzgirl You have to desensitise her. Let her look at harness. Say yes then give a treat. Let her look a bit closer. Yes and treat. Let her touch it. Yes and treat. Put one part on. Yes and treat. Next leg. Yes and treat. And so on. Take it slowly. With every attempt to bite it redirect her teeth from the harness to a small tug toy. Make the toy imitate a snake. Let her win. You'll have to keep an eye on her. 10 seconds free time and she'll bite through it withose neddle sharp teeth. Let her wear it for short periods without the lead on it. I'm not sure you'll have enough time before your class this Friday. But try it on. She will be probably preoccupied with everything else. Have lots of fun.
Michael Thanku very much for your feedback. I will try what u said, if he’s not ready by Friday I will carry him in and keep working on it at his speed. He can always go and start socializing. Did you find it hard to train a choc lab?
I'm afraid to say she was a nightmare--for the first year. Mouthy. Biting. Worst Lab I've owned.Turned out to be a truly brilliant dog. She was very caring and loving. Calm. Super intelligent. Miss her every day. I don't think colour is the issue. They are all different. Individuals.
Yes, that was my beautiful Amber. As far as I can tell, we Australians don't normally use those terms for Labs. Most, if not all, of our stock came from England. I lived in America for 4 years (1977 to 1980) but did not see a single Lab apart from one in New York city. At the time I did not notice any difference. The dog was young. It was only much later on that I learnt Americans had bred for taller dogs than the British breeders. Amber was what you would call English. I kept the weight off her. So she was not portly, which can happen to some Labs. I currently have a 9 year old black female. She's "English" too. As part of a dog training course I was completing, I recently taught Shadow, the black Lab, targeting with a target stick. Amber would have been 12 and I had never taught her any targeting. She sat and watched Shadow for, say, two short sessions. At the third she came over and put her nose on the yellow ball of the target stick and then turned to me for a treat. I was really, really surprised. I had been holding the stick well clear of my body. My teachers had told me not to expect much from mimicry!
Haha awesome! Thanks for answering. Interesting stuff. My eight month old black lab, Bud, is a half American and half English. I’m trying to keep him on the thinner side just to try to avoid any issues with joints. His nose is always working. He likes to sniff things out. I have him sniff out hidden kibble around the house. Lately I’ve been putting some kibble in small baggies for him to find. He loves to retrieve and his recall is very good too. Very smart dog, knows tons of tricks, and doing very well........FOR THE MOST PART. I’m still working on over excitement (jumping) when people come over, table surfing, and just developing better manners around other people and dogs in general. But he’s still young and has those puppy mannerisms. It’s a process because he’s a very excitable and friendly dog. Slow progress every day. He’s been so great though. I look forward to seeing him every day.
Maybe do scent work as a formal exercise. I taught my Black Lab to sit when she detected a specific odour. She loved it, as most dogs do.
Michael, I am sorry about your loss, I guess I should have read more about labs, not to say it would have changed my mind but I would have been more prepared . He is a little booger already ,but when I am about to pull my hair out I look at him and I am so in love. Have you raised many labs? Sorry to bother you
Not a problem. I have had 6 Labs. They have all been different. With patience and consistency you'll get there.
Michael, i brought Logan to his first class with collar, yay! He did well but now for the walking on leash, he seems smart and definetly frisky , most of all a little lover. Thanku for all your help
Hmmm a little lover? Up until 16 weeks the dog will follow you. Evolution selected for the trait:Stay close to the protection of the mother. When your puppy naturally follows you, even around the home reward the dog. Carry some treats on you to reward the dog. Reward the dog if he walks just a few spaces beside you. The lead is only required when you are out.
