toby'smum

Yes, maybe you're right - he doesn't have to chew night and day. The massage idea is a good one, although I'm not sure if my creaking joints will tolerate sitting on the floor in the evening! Toby is now weighing 23+kg and previous massages have resulted in him clambering on top of me and getting a bit excited (his testosterone levels are increasing as he hasn't been desexed yet!!) Maybe I'll have to spend more time wearing him out during the day.......

It was the 'Rumble Ring' and the Tuffie scale was 9!

I've got a couple of similar treat balls and they work well, and I agree that he needs to be stimulated during the day, but my problem is at night/evening. Sorry to sound so negative, as all the suggestions are great. I can keep him occupied during daylight hours, but in the evening when we're sitting to watch TV or read, and he's on his bed, he doesn't always want to sleep, but seems to have this urgent need to chew! A treat filled toy wouldn't quite work on the carpet! He loves softer textured things to gnaw on, but they only seem to last a few minutes. Even the heavy duty ropes can be unravelled in no time flat! I'm not keen on too many rawhide chews as I'm concerned they will swell up too much in his stomach (or am I being over-protective and paranoid!!?)

I think it may just be me - but I just don't 'get' kongs as play toys. I use a medium sized one for his breakfast, which I fill with kibble and then plug the end up with cream cheese (Toby has sophisticated tastes!!) and that last for 3-4 minutes at best. I've tried freezing the food plug (peanut butter/cream cheese) and that just prolongs things for another 2-3 minutes. Once the food is out he's no longer interested in the kong. I gave him the stick shaped kong (with grooves along the side) and filled it with the paste/cream cheese etc and he spent a while licking it then left it alone and the ants had a field day! If I smear peanut butter etc on the inside of the traditional kong won't that just frustrate him as he won't actually get anything out?

Hard to know if it would last - I've been amazed at the rate at which he tears strips and lumps off seemingly indestructible items! So far his digestive system is coping with the bits of rubber, plastic, cloth, rope and fibres that he's swallowing but I'm worried we may have a blockage soon!

I'm afraid our Tuffie Toy went well until a week ago, and then an evening of dedicated chewing caused it's destruction! It's weird because he had a couple of toys that had lasted since the day we brought him home, the suddenly we have a frenzy of chewing and now - nothing left. Even his absolute favourite - a floppy smelly dog has had an ear eaten! I guess he's teething in a big way. I'm worried that any fibre/rope strands that he eats will create a blockage at some stage.

Hi, Toby - my adorable black labrador- is now 6 months old and full of the joys of life. Whilst he thankfully doesn't eat the furniture, he is eating through the bank balance as I'm steadily working through the entire range of chew toys available in Sydney. Everything with a rope attached (and some are thick strong ropes) is reduced to individual strands within 5 minutes. All plastic toys show signs of being devoured with the same space of time. Soft toys are too dangerous as he swallows the stuffing! A couple of 'adult strength' nylabones have withstood the test, but I'm not sure if he will damage his teeth at a young age. We have a back garden littered with trees and he spends much of his 'leisure' time eating sticks and twigs! Evenings are the problem as he is happy to stay on his mat but wants something to chew. I'm not keen on the rwahide products (and pigs ears etc) as he ingests large lumps and I'm concerned they may swell inside him. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thanks for the help. I'll give him a call.

Many thanks, I'll give them a call.

Hi bozthepup I'm so glad you've replied as it was your original question on the forum that gave me the idea to join! I'd been on the 'net' to try and get answers. We've just finished the 4 weeks of puppy pre-school and he had a ball! Came home exhausted every Saturday and slept for the rest of the day. He played a lot with a choc. lab bitch same age as him, but he was always 'on-top' and had to be constantly separated by the teachers. Interestingly he got on really well with smaller dogs and wasn't so dominant with them. He met an adult dalmation one day last week on our walk and he was quite submissive and over-whelmed. Maybe I should foster him out for a week or two!! I know it will improve but I guess I'm impatient and want him to be well-behaved all the time - an impossible ask at his age. I don't want to be negative either as he's the most beautiful boy and is a real joy to have around - when he's on the ground and not clamped to my flesh!!

Hi everyone, I've just joined the forum and its been recommended that I post a request on this site as I'm having difficulty locating a recommended trainer near to me. I live in St Ives in Sydney. Toby is a black 16 week old labrador - adorable, cute and a more than a bit 'pushy'. He's our 2nd lab, as our 1st Monty, died aged 14 yrs, one year ago. Toby has been to puppy pre-school (run by Delta trained instructors) and I'm using a clicker with him. He's very trainable, but has real problems with keeping all 4 feet on the ground when meeting people - whether in the home or out. He also jumps up when we're sitting in the lounge at night, and has gone from nipping to biting for attention. We've tried all the usual - ignoring; leaving the room; yelping; verbal reprimands; even used a water pistol but he loved the water!! I've had a behavioural trainer come to the house for a session, but I didn't really connect with him or his methods and so am getting confused and a bit worried that the behaviour is getting worse. I've spoken with Stuart at Underdogtraining, and he's recommended K9 Force. I'll ring them tomorrow, but I don't really want to travel a great distance to get to someone. Also I'd prefer to rectify the problem in my own home. Many thanks in anticipation for your help.

Definitely give Steve a call, but it will definitely be worth the drive :rolleyes: OK, thanks - all I have to do now is acclimatize him to the car.................!!

Thanks Jesskah, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my problem. I've had a chat with Stuart at UnderdogTraining and he was very understanding and supportive. There seem to be so many trainers in Melbourne, I'm hoping to connect with one I can relate to here in Sydney. I think my husband got it right when he said that I have trouble with 'tough-love'. I couldn't do it with my boys and I'm not sure I can do it with Toby - but I realise that I'll have to be firm and disciplined with Toby. He's 15kg already and is destined to be a big boy.He does seem to have a mad time first thing in the morning and in the early evening, and as we actually had some fine weather today I put him in the garden for a while. I think he knows I'm trying to sort him out, as he was a perfect angel in the kitchen tonight and lay down quietly and watched me without moving a muscle!! I'm inclined to agree also about keeping him restrained in the evenings, but at this stage it's a relief to not be jumped up on and eaten!!

TM, you could contact Steve from K9 Force and book a session with him :rolleyes: I am sure he will be able to help as he has helped many others on the forum. http://www.k9force.net/ Thanks Huski, a number of different sources have recommended K9 Force. My only problem is that as far as I can tell from his website, he's situated quite a drive from my place. I'll give him a call tomorrow though and have a chat.

Hi Cosmolo, I'm in total agreement with you and the steps outlined above are exactly what's happening with Toby. We seem to be triggering his excitement levels to the point that he can't/won't listen to even basic commands that he knows so well (sit/leave etc). I hadn't come across the phrase extinction bursts before but it makes sense to me. I've just been on the Underdogs web site and I'll have to move to Melbourne! I'm in St Ives in Sydney (north shore) and I couldn't find anything on the site about inter-state training. Do you have any suggestions or know of anyone in my area? The key, I'm sure, is to give the correct correction - but I'm desperate to find the right one.

Hi Lab lady, many thanks for the invite - all I have to do now is find out how to get to the sub-forum! I'll wait till my son wakes up and get his help! I'm OK with ignoring the jumping, but my husband doesn't tend to be so tolerant when he's in his suit ready for work and Toby threatens to jump up and tear a hole in the trousers!

Perhaps I need to clarify! He's crated at night for sleeping - loves the whole experience and its a big crate. I'm a bit hesitant to put him in it all evening as its situated in the family room where we're sitting and he agitates to be with us. The 'tying up' occurs when we're sitting down to watch tv or read. He's in the same room as us, about 1-2 metres from our feet - just not able to eat our feet or jump up and bite us for attention. I never leave him unsupervised whilst attached to the concrete post and have bought a thin chain metal leash to discourage him from eating a fabric/leather one. Its a strategy to give us some respite and to establish that he has boundaries and its a privilege to be 'off-leash' and free in the house. (I'm para-phrasing the trainer that came to the house!). I'm waiting for the weather to clear to give him more bones outside - daytime isn't really too much of an issue (other than jumping up) but its evenings and I'm not sure about him being out in the dark eating bones - maybe I'm too soft!

Hi Jesskah, its so hard not to sound negative, but......we really do try and ignore him (95% of the time) but I guess its the 5% that's undoing us. I think it would be fair to say that I'm more consistent with the ignoring than my husband and son. They don't seem to have the same tolerance levels and/or patience. Maybe it comes with the territory of being a mum to 2 boys! I keep a house lead on Toby during the time he's inside and so am able to tread on it and restrain him from jumping up (only works when I'm there though). His energy levels are med-high, which makes restraining him a bit harder. I'm wondering about the wisdom of clamping over his mouth with my hand when he goes to bite - I can remember doing that with our previous lab. (he was a bit younger though) and this seemed to be effective. Maybe this method has fallen out out favour now though?

Thanks for the reply - the local obedience club won't accept puppies until they are 20 weeks old, so I'm going it alone for another 4 weeks. He seems to be like the nursery rhyme - 'when he was good he was very, very good, when he was bad he was horrid'! I'm trying to stay positive but its a bit worrying to think we're moving out of the early puppy stage and into the adolescent period - he's such a beautiful boy and I don't want to be responsible for owning a dog that nobody wants to visit.

Thanks for the suggestion - I have already had 2 trainers here at the house. It's so hard to lock into the 'right' trainer. The first was when Toby was 11 weeks old, immediately prior to starting puppy pre-school. I could already see that we were going to need help and training ourselves! The trainer was the teacher at the puppy pre-school. She works very much with positive reinforcement - something I'm a great fan of. I got a bit desperate when he was 14 weeks old, as northing seemed to be curbing the mouthing/biting and engaged another trainer from a dog behavioural organisation (I'm not sure if I can mention names on the forum?). He also came to the house and was of the 'tough-love' approach. As my husband points out - I'm not a 'tough-love' type of person, so I wasn't comfortable with some of his suggestions - although the restraining in the evenings was his. He identified that we have a dominant puppy (surprise, surprise!). His organisation was started by a well-known dog behaviorist in Australia and I have since purchased his book, which all makes sense until I get to specifics with Toby. One of the main issues is that Toby gets hyped up when he chews - rawhide chews; pigs ears etc. He then transfers the chewing to anything/anyone handy. He's just had his 16 weeks innoculations and the vet recommended that we don't mix with other dogs for another 2 weeks - I'd love to take him up to the park at the top of the road to get some energy used up (on a 10 metre long line that I've made), but I don't want to go against her advice. Sorry to be so long winded about this but I know that if I can find the key to this it will work out. Yes, you're right - 3 adults in the house aren't always consistent, but the other 2 are pretty well trained to do as I tell them!!

Hi, not only 1st time to this forum, but 1st time to any forum! I'm really keen to access the collective wisdom of the forum users. We own an adorable 16 week old black labrador - Toby. He is our 2nd black lab. (Monty died a year ago aged 14 3/4 yrs) and he has a totally different temperament. He's quick to learn and a joy to teach - everything except how not to get excited by visitors/anyone who's been out of the room for 5 minutes and returns/people we meet on our short local walks. He jumps up at everyone. He also has progressed from mouthing to biting for attention (particularly me - I'm at home with him full time) but also my husband and 25 yr old son who lives at home. He is crate trained and we are about to transition him to sleeping outside at night (currently in family room). Currently we restrain him in by tethering him (via lead) to concrete base of outdoor umbrella stand - moved inside for the purpose! I know from past experience that he will mature later rather than sooner (Monty took 7 years!) but his behaviour is causing tensions at home - not an uncommon issue judging by past posts! Many thanks in anticipation!