Appeal to Lab owners

supershy

i am posting this thread to see if i can get positive results from it. Earlier on this morning i posted in the rehoming thread for my six month old male lab. I won't go in to it all again but i am at my wits end, be it the dogs behaviour or conflicting opinions.

some facts about the dog:-

he is neutered.
he is on red mills large puppy feed.
he gets treats when i am trying to work/train with him
he is good in the house i.e. he doesnt wreck furniture but might go for a shoe or a book.
never goes to the toilet in the house.
not good around children at all.

the downside is outside of the home he is like a tornado. Wreaks havoc wherever he goes.
he is not good on the lead at all. he gets 3 walks a day. My legs are black and blue from me trying to hold him back and him wriggling and pulling to get away from me to get to another dog or piece of papers or stone or leaf etc etc.
i have done my very best to bring his attention back to me and give him a treat and make him sit. This works about 70% of the time, the other 30% he couldnt care less whats on offer - he wants to get to the dog or whatever.
at times people going past in their car must think i am being attacked by my dog as he is very very hard to handle.
he also has serious separation anxiety if i leave the room. I have done all the leaving the room for 5 minutes and then coming back in and praising him. This again doesnt work all the time. The only time he doesnt care is at night time when he is sleepy.

i walk him and play with him before i go to work and the first thing i do when i get home is out the back to play fetch with him. Quickly make my dinner and out for a walk and then a walk before bed time.

as he knows the routine, he is starting to get up earlier and earlier to the point that i am now up 4 hours before i have to be in work.

i am exhausted and so much so, i have had to pull over on the motorway cos i was losing my concentration.

I have the dog signed up for puppy training on the 20th April but i am closing to giving up, i really am.

I have spoken to a few lab owners but i am getting conflicting advice and i feel like pulling my hair out.

I would really really appreciate if people didnt tell me that "this is completely normal behaviour for a puppy lab" cos i know it is but i am about to have a stroke so i am looking for some definitive advice.

i would just like to say that this not my first dog but is my first lab and i was very unprepared for what was going to happen.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

BlueIsland

supershy wrote: »

i am posting this thread to see if i can get positive results from it. Earlier on this morning i posted in the rehoming thread for my six month old male lab. I won't go in to it all again but i am at my wits end, be it the dogs behaviour or conflicting opinions.

some facts about the dog:-

he is neutered.
he is on red mills large puppy feed.
he gets treats when i am trying to work/train with him
he is good in the house i.e. he doesnt wreck furniture but might go for a shoe or a book.
never goes to the toilet in the house.
not good around children at all.

the downside is outside of the home he is like a tornado. Wreaks havoc wherever he goes.
he is not good on the lead at all. he gets 3 walks a day. My legs are black and blue from me trying to hold him back and him wriggling and pulling to get away from me to get to another dog or piece of papers or stone or leaf etc etc.
i have done my very best to bring his attention back to me and give him a treat and make him sit. This works about 70% of the time, the other 30% he couldnt care less whats on offer - he wants to get to the dog or whatever.
at times people going past in their car must think i am being attacked by my dog as he is very very hard to handle.
he also has serious separation anxiety if i leave the room. I have done all the leaving the room for 5 minutes and then coming back in and praising him. This again doesnt work all the time. The only time he doesnt care is at night time when he is sleepy.

i walk him and play with him before i go to work and the first thing i do when i get home is out the back to play fetch with him. Quickly make my dinner and out for a walk and then a walk before bed time.

as he knows the routine, he is starting to get up earlier and earlier to the point that i am now up 4 hours before i have to be in work.

i am exhausted and so much so, i have had to pull over on the motorway cos i was losing my concentration.

I have the dog signed up for puppy training on the 20th April but i am closing to giving up, i really am.

I have spoken to a few lab owners but i am getting conflicting advice and i feel like pulling my hair out.

I would really really appreciate if people didnt tell me that "this is completely normal behaviour for a puppy lab" cos i know it is but i am about to have a stroke so i am looking for some definitive advice.

i would just like to say that this not my first dog but is my first lab and i was very unprepared for what was going to happen.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

First and foremost you need to calm down. " I am about to have a stroke?"...seriously.
Your lab sounds like he is doing great. He doesnt go to the toilet in house, doesnt chew furniture, comes back 70% of the time!And he is only 6 months old. Mine chewed up skirting board, about 10 pairs of shoes, every runner that comes in sight. She is 9 months old now and is learning (or getting bored of) not to do these things. To be honest the lab doesnt seem the problem. I think you need to relax.

borderlinemeath

supershy wrote: »

i am posting this thread to see if i can get positive results from it. Earlier on this morning i posted in the rehoming thread for my six month old male lab. I won't go in to it all again but i am at my wits end, be it the dogs behaviour or conflicting opinions.

some facts about the dog:-

he is neutered.
he is on red mills large puppy feed.
he gets treats when i am trying to work/train with him
he is good in the house i.e. he doesnt wreck furniture but might go for a shoe or a book.
never goes to the toilet in the house.
not good around children at all.

the downside is outside of the home he is like a tornado. Wreaks havoc wherever he goes.
he is not good on the lead at all. he gets 3 walks a day. My legs are black and blue from me trying to hold him back and him wriggling and pulling to get away from me to get to another dog or piece of papers or stone or leaf etc etc.
i have done my very best to bring his attention back to me and give him a treat and make him sit. This works about 70% of the time, the other 30% he couldnt care less whats on offer - he wants to get to the dog or whatever.
at times people going past in their car must think i am being attacked by my dog as he is very very hard to handle.
he also has serious separation anxiety if i leave the room. I have done all the leaving the room for 5 minutes and then coming back in and praising him. This again doesnt work all the time. The only time he doesnt care is at night time when he is sleepy.

i walk him and play with him before i go to work and the first thing i do when i get home is out the back to play fetch with him. Quickly make my dinner and out for a walk and then a walk before bed time.

as he knows the routine, he is starting to get up earlier and earlier to the point that i am now up 4 hours before i have to be in work.

i am exhausted and so much so, i have had to pull over on the motorway cos i was losing my concentration.

I have the dog signed up for puppy training on the 20th April but i am closing to giving up, i really am.

I have spoken to a few lab owners but i am getting conflicting advice and i feel like pulling my hair out.

I would really really appreciate if people didnt tell me that "this is completely normal behaviour for a puppy lab" cos i know it is but i am about to have a stroke so i am looking for some definitive advice.

i would just like to say that this not my first dog but is my first lab and i was very unprepared for what was going to happen.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

What age did you get him OP? 8 weeks?
He sounds like he needs socialization training if he's going mental to get at other dogs - and if he's a big lab boy like you say, then maybe people are reluctant to let him near their dogs on the street?

Also what sort of lead/harness do you have him on? He'll pull like crazy if he's on a regular collar/lead or a standard back attachment harness. There are a few varieties of front attachment harness available that may well help with the walking issues. Have a read of this thread for options available.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056876483

Also you said on the rehoming thread that you were trying different training techniques with him, one after another. This won't work with a dog - consistency is key for making training work.

I also think a visit from a properly qualified behaviourist would benefit you greatly as you seem at your wits end. If you let us know what part of the country you are in, hopefully posters here can recommend somebody suitable to come to you on a home visit and address the problems that your having.

bluecherry74

I can sympathize OP. I don't have a lab but I have a young setter who almost drove me insane when he was a pup. It took 8 months to house train him, he completely ignored me when I tried to train him to do basic commands and he was a nightmare when company came over (jumping, trying to sit on people's laps etc.). I couldn't leave him alone in a room unsupervised for more than 5 seconds or he'd find something to destroy.

However it was our walks that nearly drove me to despair. I came home almost in tears several times because I just could not control him. I tried so many techniques, I really persevered with each one until it became clear that nothing was working. I was so frustrated and upset, but I loved him to pieces and giving him up wasn't an option.

What worked in the end was a Dogmatic head collar: http://www.dogmatic.org.uk He didn't like it one bit, but he got used to it straight away and it completely changed everything for me. He could still pull a little, but he couldn't get any weight into his pull so it didn't get him anywhere. Eventually he just accepted that he wasn't getting anywhere and started walking more normally.

I used the Dogmatic for about 2 months and then switched to a perfect fit harness: http://dog-games-shop.co.uk/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness. The thing I love about the perfect fit harness is that it's a regular walking harness that comes with the option of a front attach D ring, so you can use it with a regular lead attached to either the front or the back, or a double ended lead attached to both places - this will give you the most control. In fact, since labs are so strong, you might be as well to use the Dogmatic in conjunction with a harness and double ended lead to give you some extra control.

I had tried the harness previously but it didn't stop the pulling, but after using the Dogmatic to get him used to the idea of waling nicely the front attach harness worked a treat. He'll still pull occasionally and goes a bit bananas inside when we see other dogs/friendly looking people/random stuff on the ground, but he's learnt a lot self control and is much more inclined to listen to my commands.

I should also add that my Henry is a lot more grown up than your guy. He's just turned a year and a half and I've seen an awful lot of changes in the last 4 months or so. At 6 months old most dogs, especially playful breeds like labs and setters, are so full of fun and energy that they can be quite overwhelming. Henry was mental a t 6 months and I wouldn't have wished him on my worst enemy.

What I'm basically trying to say is that things will get better. You just need to arm yourself with the know-how and the right tools and things will slowly get better. I would echo what others have said about talking to a qualified behaviorist. I went to classes with Henry last year and they helped enormously. Make sure you choose someone who is qualified and uses the right techniques. If you tell us where you are people can make recommendations.

Ms Tootsie

The thing with any dog, never mind a lab, is consistancy. Changing training techniques will only confuse him and not help either. Our guy isnt a lab and we are STILL working on his training, and have been consistantly since we got him and he is a year and a half old. Some days I still feel like tearing my hair out. But I knew when we got him this wasnt going to be an easy feet and the best thing for him was not to give up on him. The same goes for your puppy.

Don't let him off leash until you have his recall perfected. There are lots of threads on here about improving recall. Start in the house, then out to the garden, adding in different distractions all the time and only use high quality treats. I have been working on my dogs recall for almost 7 months and it is still taking some work but we are getting there.

Going for other dogs is a sign that he might need socalisation classes as well as puppy training classes.

As for pulling on the lead we found the halti collar good but again when we decided on this we stuck to it and didnt use any other method. We have greatly improved his walking to heel as well when on the halti. Please, for the love of god do not turn to shock collars as your originally suggested in the rehoming thread.

As for his behavior in the house try developing a command or sharp word so that he knows when he is misbehaving. I would suggest trying the time out method which was suggested to me. Again if you do a search on here you will find out loads.

We thought our dog had seperation anxiety you just need to keep up the 'leaving room and returning method' start with something lower than 5 minutes. Try 10 seconds and work your way up. Try giving him a frozen stuffed kong when you go so he pays more attention to that. Then reward him when you return so he sees 'no reaction gets rewards but crazy reactions get the firm command of disappointment'.

Please dont give up on your dog yet. Yes it is frustrating. I dont think I slept for the first 2 months that we had our dog. But I listened to the advice I got on here from more experienced dog owners. I worked on suitable training methods for us and our dog and most importantly I was consistant. After about 2-3 weeks of consistent training on one thing I started to see improvements and you will to.

westies4ever

OP, I am sorry you're finding it tough, puppies are hard work, but are you sure the whole issue is the puppy?

<snip>

also, I am rarely one to support giving up on a dog but if you are unable to cope, please contact your local rescue centres in order to get him rehomed. It may be the best option for you both.

RubyGirl

Ya can so relate, my guy is now coming on 2 and is now only calming down. I swear by two things the crate and the dogmatic.

anniehoo

I advised this poster to start a new thread asking for helpful advice regarding her dog. I did not expect people to comment on the OPs state of mind or diagnose mental health conditions. Some good advice was given regarding the dog, but as overall advice for the poster in general i was not impressed with.

They have since closed their account and I don't blame them. This poster asked for help regarding her dog and was told it was their fault and to "relax" then diagnosed with a mental health issue, that none of us are either allowed or qualified to do on Boards. Thread closed.

DBB

Hi Supershy,
I may be abusing my editorial powers here! But I felt the need to try to communicate with you, if you'd like?
I'm sorry that this thread turned out the way it did. As suggested to you before, I have a particular interest in the area of training and behaviour, so I'd like to have been able to help you earlier, but I wasn't online. I know you've closed your account, but I'm hoping that you might just read this post and drop me a line, as I can certainly help to put you in touch with a properly qualified behaviourist who can come to your home asap to help you with your pup.
I feel that getting a one-to-one session will be incredibly useful for you, addressing the issues that are important to you, in your home and your environment. Whilst classes are great, there are times where a one-to-one needs to happen first, as you get the undivided attention of the trainer/behaviourist, and a tailor-made program for how to deal with your dog in your environment.
I can see from what you've posted that you've been given conflicting advice, but this advice you've been getting is from people who are simply not qualified, nor experienced enough to be able to give advice on the problems which you find are overwhelming you. It's like asking a parent how to treat ADHD in children: just because they have kids doesn't make them qualified to give this sort of advice! So please, put your faith into a good, qualified behaviourist, because they will be able to help, and will be able to explain to you the right way to approach training, in a way that makes sense to you.
A good trainer or behaviourist will, within a VERY short space of time, help you to feel better: they'll help you get things in perspective, help you understand why your pup is acting as he does, and critically, within a couple of hours they will have helped you to put various measures in place to manage him better. By the time they leave your home, your pup should already be more manageable for you, and you should be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.. all in the space of a couple of hours!
Qualified and experienced trainers are absolutely used to dealing with pups just like yours, they'll have seen it all before, and they should be highly empathetic and gentle with you too! I can entirely understand why you feel so upset and at the end of your tether now, lack of sleep is so bloody draining.. and then to have to deal with a big furry looper on top of that?!
So I hope you'll get in touch privately (you can send me a visitor's message, for example), so I can point you in the right direction, if that's what you'd like to do.
All the best,
DBB