sheree_e4 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 thankyou 4leggedvariety thats the point I was trying to get accross but you did it much better than me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlelabrador Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 not sure if the pic will work, this is Molly with my daughter yesterday. She can have her quiet moments, and she really is very lovable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlelabrador Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 sorry about the eye flash, i seem to get that every time i take an indoor pic. Now, about the crate issue, no as i said we dont have one. But i did buy a toddler type playpen for her, however, she still fits through the bars !! I even used shadecloth around it, but she pushed the cloth down and still got out. It will only be a couple more weeks i imagine before i can use the playpen with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belljari Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Hi, Love the picture! Lots of puppy's go through this stage and survive! And their owners too, I would get in touch with the breeder as they will maybe be able to give you some advise of how to handle it. Also there is Central Coast Obedience Training Club 02)43697433 give them a ring and find out where and when they have their training and go and talk to some people there you don't have to take the puppy as she is too young but Iam sure you get some advise. Good Luck with her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheree_e4 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 JMO but I would still get a crate, you will have it for the life of your dog and will no have to shut her in foreva. The doors on my crates always stay open now (unless feeding or needing them to be safe) and my dogs put themselves in and out as they please. They fold flat to take in the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlelabrador Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 I'll be back in a while to check any more advice. Just going to go and have a ball play with Molly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahona Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Hey I dont have any suggestions about training Molly, I just want to say hang in there I've had 2 labs, and they had both been through this aggressive stage! Our first lab bit my sister on the nose and snarled at me and bit my hand really badly when she was a puppy and the second one was just hyper as a pup, always jumping and barking and snapping. What really helped us was to isolate the dog when it was behaving badly, put it down, say no firmly and just refuse to engage with it. My mum and I did that with our second lab, while my sister continued to roughhorse with her, smack her and so on, and as a result we have a dog whose very well behaved around my mum and I, sits, listens to us, and is very sweet all up, but goes crazy jumping and biting the instant my sister walks through the door!! I'm sure that with perseverance, you will be able to get past this stage. Labs really are the sweetest dogs a. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4leggedvariety Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 She looks very much like my first dog ever, also a very hard to handle female lab. I did all the wrong things with her, no leadership and very harsh training techniques. She turned out to be people aggressive when she gets older. That was 17 years ago and since then I have had 8 dogs, learnt a lot more so you need to do the exact opposite to what I did to my poor lab. So do everything you can to EARN respect, and that means everyone in the household has the same rules for this pup and stick to it. DO NOT give her too much priviledge, it may sound harsh because she is such an adorable little pup & we humans find it hard to resist being too 'cold' to the puppy. Think about what an adult even temperament dog would do if a pup crosses the line. They would not tolerate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanglen Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 It sounds like you have lots of great advice and by all means take the help. I have to say be very careful with teh water bottle with a gundog!! My girls thinks its a great reward, no matter how gruff I try to be when using it, they think huge game and my youngest will even deliberately be naughty in front of me if she knows a water bottle is around, it's so clear that she loves it! I have lab's too and they can be a trying breed when young but she sound like a handful, if it helps those that are harder work at the beginning often turn out to be the smartest and best bonded! (just an observation!) Definatey get some training help and adopt those things mentioned above, but I would contact your breeder, half a day playing games with the other dogs will wear her out nicely, and exhaust her, hence she is unlikely to try much of the rough game playing. Also her behaviour is unlikely to be tolerated by an adult/motherly labrador and I certainly know that my girls would put her back into her place by ignoring her or pushing her out of the group until she settled a little. My mum has also been known to put a heavy paw on a pup and hold it down until it settled! Use the help of the breeder and the maternal instincts o the other dogs to your advantage, it will definately help her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlelabrador Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 what is a gundog ?? She is definitely very food oriented. I just spent 10 mins doing the 'sit' training with her, and i think we are well and truly beyond that now. As soon as she knows i have the food in my hand she sits, i dont even have to say it, lol. She doesnt jump at my hand etc either. I tried letting her smell my hand, with the food in it, to see what would happen, she had a sniff then sat quietly. Cant get her to 'drop' yet though, doesn't seem to understand that one yet. She's quite mellow this morning, in comparison to last night. So no one knows of trainers on the central coast who do house visits ?? thanks for all the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4leggedvariety Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 I, too contacted the breeder when I had trouble with handling the my puppy. Because I was such a novice I thought whatever the breeder said must be right (she has been breeding for donkeys years). All she told me to do was everytime she misbehaves, wack her on the nose with your hands, and I followed that. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. Beware of bad breeders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahona Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Also, if she's being nervous and aggressive, maybe try some Rescue remedy on her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4leggedvariety Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Try Vicki Austin(Formerly Vicki Bourke). She does home visits as well. She and her husband Steve Austin (well-known ) Trainer run Pets Resorts Kennels at Dural. Central Coast dog Obedience Club run by Darrel Turley is good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 what is a gundog ?? The different breeds of dogs are divided into groups, based on what purpose they are bred for - the Labrador Retriever is in the group called "Gundogs" Gundogs are bred to retrieve game shot by the hunter. (please feel free to correct any inaccuracies gundog people! I have utility dogs so I'm not certain on my explanation ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) This puppy sounds like a normal, strong willed, boisterous gundog puppy who needs boundaries. You need to bring in a qualified dog behaviourist who can advise you how to handle this puppy and who will help you understand how dogs 'think' and react. The whole family needs instruction as with dogs consistency is the key. BTW I am not a fan of interfering with a dog's food while it eats, IMO putting hands in bowls, taking food away etc. is much more likely to encourage resource guarding than prevent it. All my dogs eat undisturbed in their crates and I can take anything off them including bones. If you can implement TOT and NILIF you will find that both these programs will make a huge difference to how your dog behaves, I know because I have a very strong dog here who was really pushing me for a while and I found that TOT made a tremendous difference to his behaviour and he is now much easier to live with. The dog will be fine, you just need to know how to handle her and a behaviourist will teach you this and give you a routine to follow, mind you that routine will have to be followed exactly, every day, and will have to involve all members of your family. Edited November 1, 2007 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmons Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Littlelabrador A very good book that reinforces the "Nothing In Life is Free" routine is 'WHO'S THE BOSS' by Val Bonney. There is also a DVD that accompanies it. It is an easy to read book -very practical. Mollie is just being a typical exuberant puppy and needs to understand her correct place in the Pack Order in her home. Val Bonney is very strong on the necessity of having the correct pack order in place if you wish to have a well-behaved dog that is a pleasure to own and train. Buy the Book - it 's a great investment at a cheap price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlelabrador Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Thanks will look into the book. What is TOT and NILIF ?? I've never heard of those. Miranda, i sort of agree re the food. I grew up with a yellow lab, a black lab, a golden retriever, then a black lab again, in that order. My parents never did puppy school, never did obedience training. I'm not saying that was right, but none of those dogs ever showed aggression, they were all beautiful family dogs, the last one is now 11, lives with my Dad, and has had the new grandkids all over him, and just lies there, hes just lovely. We were taught as kids not to go near the dog bowls when they were eating, so this 'put your hands in their food' is totally new to me. This is the first dog my husband has ever owned (he always wanted a dog as a kid), and first one i've owned as a married adult with my own child. Like i've said, we dont have a crate, and to be honest, cant really afford one, all the vet bills since we got her were expensive and unexpected (and yes of course we knew we'd have bills, we just didnt expect $500 odd in the first 3 weeks!). Do you think we should put her in the playpen we have, to eat her food ?? We are currently feeding her in the laundry, door open, but she's in there by herself. Okay, so my plan of attack tonight, is to feed us before we feed her. Not let her on the lounge to sit with us. When she starts biting and barking at my husband i will try the water bottle squirt and see what happens. I dont think she will like it, as so far she doesn't seem to like water - she hated having a bath, and didn't like being splashed by my daughter when she was in her little toddler pool. Failing that, i will give her 'time out' if the water bottle doesn't work. Tomorrow i will make some calls about obedience training. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) Allerzeit: Gundogs are bred to retrieve game shot by the hunter. Gundogs have been selectively bred to either find, flush or retrieve game (originally to arrow or net hunters and more recently to shot). Some were only bred to find Pointers, Setters), or find and flush (Spaniels) or to retrieve (Retrievers including the Lab) game and some do all two (some spaniels) or three roles (utility gundogs or HPRs). The Tollers actually attract game and then retrieve it when shot. Some retrievers were selectively bred to retrieve from water (the Lab is one as was the Poodle) and some on land. Some were expected to work a range of terrain, others to work on dense brush or marsh. Gundog folk, feel free to jump in and correct any bits I've got wrong please!! What all gundogs share is a selectively bred desire for interaction and focus on people. These are dogs bred to work all day, for trainabilty (high intelligence and willingness to please) and without fail all of them have long puppyhoods. The retrievers have all been bred for their willingness to pick up and carry prey and as puppies this makes them very mouthy. I can tell you that an untrained Labrador is a bloody handful. Like children, it's the bright ones that tend to give you the most grief!! Edited November 1, 2007 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) What is TOT and NILIF ?? I've never heard of those. Sorry I should have been more specific. TOT (Triangle of Temptation) is pinned at the top of the Training Forum. Although it seems complicated at first, you soon get used to it and I found it invaluable, I've done a fair bit of research into dog behaviour and training (although I'm far from being an expert) and of all the things I've tried TOT had the most effect on my dog's behaviour. You will find NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) here K9 Force under Training Articles. I would also recommend K9 Force as a behaviourist and dog trainer, IMO he is the best around. Edited November 1, 2007 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Thanks poodlefan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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