Need Help With 18 Month Old Lab Puppy

[loonylabowner]

Hi, can anyone give me advice on how to handle the following probs with our 18mth lab?

1. Barking - actually yelping for attention - at the moment we baaahh her (barkbusters) but it really doesn't do anything (neither does the mesh cushion with a chain in it - the noise doesn't phase her)

2. Jumping - we have tried turning our back, crossed arms. She sits for me - but not for anyone else.

3. Stealing - she will steal anything. Yesterday she was downstairs and got hold of the cordless phone, but instead of running outside to chew it, she came running upstairs to show me and wait for me to chase her.

We would have a living doll if we could get these things under control.

Bring on the advice! Thanks everybody.

[Miranda]

Is the dog getting plenty of daily exercise and training?

[Dogsfevr]

Yep what sort of exercise is she getting,Did you attend obedience classes at all??

[loonylabowner]

Yes, Scarlett gets daily exercise. We take her to a local off lead park where there are about 30 dogs and she runs wild for about an hour.

We did take her in the early days to obedience training, then we got Barkbusters to come in. They haven't really helped (which I feel isn't her fault). Unfortunately it's very hard to get my young daughters to do what they need to and - sadly - my husband!

[persephone]

Hi

aren't labs wonderful!!

Re Exercise.

Sorry, but the exercise she is getting is not enough!

Letting her run WILD at an offlead park is kinda like letting a two year old loose with his mates... giving him a drink of c*ke, then expecting him to sit still and pay attention

Whilst she is enjoying the run... her BRAIN is NOT getting any exercise--- and this is the important bit ... and you end up with a 'wild' dog

A 20 minute/half hour walk ,twice a day...with her walking AT HEEL...and with YOU in control... no sniffing along the way, etc, is a much more valuable thing.She can have a shortened run with her friends.. but a controlled walk, with a 10 minute obedience session, will mean she is

tired ,from 'thinking'

calmer, from the physical effort of walking at heel

concentrating, from having to listen to what YOU want

and growing, from learning, in a gentle way, how to behave!

This is a start... I am sure people will have more suggestions...

Edited June 24, 2008 by persephone

[loonylabowner]

Hi

aren't labs wonderful!!

Re Exercise.

Sorry, but the exercise she is getting is not enough!

Letting her run WILD at an offlead park is kinda like letting a two year old loose with his mates... giving him a drink of c*ke, then expecting him to sit still and pay attention

Whilst she is enjoying the run... her BRAIN is NOT getting any exercise--- and this is the important bit ... and you end up with a 'wild' dog

A 20 minute/half hour walk ,twice a day...with her walking AT HEEL...and with YOU in control... no sniffing along the way, etc, is a much more valuable thing.She can have a shortened run with her friends.. but a controlled walk, with a 10 minute obedience session, will mean she is

tired ,from 'thinking'

calmer, from the physical effort of walking at heel

concentrating, from having to listen to what YOU want

and growing, from learning, in a gentle way, how to behave!

This is a start... I am sure people will have more suggestions...

Thanks for that. I thought she would be getting more exercise from running. I'll try the two walks from today and see how we go with that. Thanks.

[Kavik]

To add to persephone,

Obedience training is great for wearing out their mind and can be fun too. Are you going to obedience classes? Trick training is also fun, and something the kids may get excited about. Tricks like shake hands and rollover incorporate some obedience too (sit and drop)

[Dogsfevr]

The main key is exercise should combine body conditioning & mental stimulation.

When there running wild there not learning respect,manners or etiquette.There learning that being wild is the accept behaviour preferred.

Going on individual walks is all about "education & respect".Its a time where your in control.

barkbusters are useless & cost money with rarely a good result.

Basically get her to do jobs for reward,get her to use her brain.

The key is you dont have to go overboard just doing simple things that keep the brain active really achieves so much.

[loonylabowner]

The main key is exercise should combine body conditioning & mental stimulation.

When there running wild there not learning respect,manners or etiquette.There learning that being wild is the accept behaviour preferred.

Going on individual walks is all about "education & respect".Its a time where your in control.

barkbusters are useless & cost money with rarely a good result.

Basically get her to do jobs for reward,get her to use her brain.

The key is you dont have to go overboard just doing simple things that keep the brain active really achieves so much.

Thank you for your sound advice. Can you give me some examples of the types of 'jobs' you are talking about? Thanks

[Poodle wrangler]

You can get the kids to do basic training like "sit".

Use food as a reward- a great reward for hungry labs- and you'll be successful quickly.

Unfortunately, unless you also train kids and hubby, the dog will be confused by the mixed messages he receives.

Kids and hubby must be "rewarding" the bad behaviour in some way??

Dogs also have a knack of knowing if you secretly think their misbehaviour is kinda cute- and will misbehave accordingly

Check out TOT. Something you can do yourself:http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101.

Print it out and do it for one meal a day, at least.

[Guest Pandii]

No real advice but I can say kids love teaching dogs tricks and for a food oriented lab it should be easy

shake hands, hi 5 even hi 10. catch all these the kids can teach and is heaps of fun.

DO the kids like it when the lab jumps on them, I pressume no, then tell them how to stop it and how important it is for them to follow through.

[loonylabowner]

You can get the kids to do basic training like "sit".

Use food as a reward- a great reward for hungry labs- and you'll be successful quickly.

Unfortunately, unless you also train kids and hubby, the dog will be confused by the mixed messages he receives.

Kids and hubby must be "rewarding" the bad behaviour in some way??

Dogs also have a knack of knowing if you secretly think their misbehaviour is kinda cute- and will misbehave accordingly

Check out TOT. Something you can do yourself:http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101.

Print it out and do it for one meal a day, at least.

You're exactly right. The hubby and kids are not getting with the program! Scarlett is great at sitting and staying (when food or a toy is involved). The other stuff is a problem.

Today we came home and I told the girls to ignore Scarlett when they first came in. Success! She didn't jump. We'll keep going with that.

[Dogsfevr]

Im not sure how old your kids are but maybe make up a chart with jobs they can do.

ie making it sit,feed the dog,brush the dog ,joining you for activities,playing nicely,teaching to catch.

When they have successfully completed a task you can buy a stamp(smiley face etc) & stamp a job done.

maybe make it more fun for them to be involved & more responsible.Maybe if you can get the kids to achieve your hubby may feel the desire to be a better role model on there success.

[dee lee]

Can you give me some examples of the types of 'jobs' you are talking about? Thanks

I think settrlvr was talking about the NILIF principle (Nothing In Life Is Free) where the dog must do something for you to get what it wants.

For example, If your dog wants a pat make her sit, and only pat her when she does. Make her sit for EVERYTHING- food, toys, attention. Then she gets the idea that you have the power in the relationship.

I cant help with the barking and stealing (my dogs no angel, but those are prob the only 2 things she doesnt do ) but if you find the ignoring thing doesnt work (didnt for me) I managed to stop my dog jumping by using a pop top water bottle and squirting her and saying ah ah if she jumped. Worked almost immediately. Then again you do have a lab- she might like being squirted with water!!

[charli73]

I agree with everything that has been said above...

In relation to the barking though, our Shepherd when she found her voice she worked out we would come out and tell her to be quiet when she barked, so she started barking even more for attention. Working out whether she was after attention or alerting us to something took a while but if it was attention barking we ignored her... she would run inside to check if we were watching her then she run outside again...

After we ignored her for a while she has since stopped barking for attention.. and alert barking I let her know its all ok, and tell her off only if it wont stop but shes pretty good now...

Jumping up? We just taught her she would get a knee up if she jumps and no attention until shes sitting...

Thats all i can add but hope it helps???

[loonylabowner]

I agree with everything that has been said above...

In relation to the barking though, our Shepherd when she found her voice she worked out we would come out and tell her to be quiet when she barked, so she started barking even more for attention. Working out whether she was after attention or alerting us to something took a while but if it was attention barking we ignored her... she would run inside to check if we were watching her then she run outside again...

After we ignored her for a while she has since stopped barking for attention.. and alert barking I let her know its all ok, and tell her off only if it wont stop but shes pretty good now...

Jumping up? We just taught her she would get a knee up if she jumps and no attention until shes sitting...

Thats all i can add but hope it helps???

Thanks a lot - it does help. I started being very assertive and calm with her this week and it is definitely helping. I am using the 'nothing for nothing' philosophy. It seems to really be helping.

The barking is still going though (high pitched yelp) which drives us nuts. We're also trying to ignore her.

Will keep everyone posted as to how she's going.

[EVERYLABDESERVESAKID]

The trick is you only ever pat them if they are sitting, when they jump up, say nothing, but grab hold of their paws and walk into them , making them walk backwards, keep holding the paws and making the dog go backwards for another few seconds even after you feel the dog wanting to get down. This is aversive training as it makes them feel uncomfortable and they avoid the behaviour. Our Lab was a chronic jumper, a real hard case, after using the method above she now never jumps up on us.

[charli73]

I agree with everything that has been said above...

In relation to the barking though, our Shepherd when she found her voice she worked out we would come out and tell her to be quiet when she barked, so she started barking even more for attention. Working out whether she was after attention or alerting us to something took a while but if it was attention barking we ignored her... she would run inside to check if we were watching her then she run outside again...

After we ignored her for a while she has since stopped barking for attention.. and alert barking I let her know its all ok, and tell her off only if it wont stop but shes pretty good now...

Jumping up? We just taught her she would get a knee up if she jumps and no attention until shes sitting...

Thats all i can add but hope it helps???

Thanks a lot - it does help. I started being very assertive and calm with her this week and it is definitely helping. I am using the 'nothing for nothing' philosophy. It seems to really be helping.

The barking is still going though (high pitched yelp) which drives us nuts. We're also trying to ignore her.

Will keep everyone posted as to how she's going.

Keep it up, it took a couple of weeks even 3 to get our girl to realise we werent going to pay attention to her bark for no reason, but the trick is figuring out which bark she is making.. she is soo much better now with barking..

and NILIF works wonders too!

[CliftonPark]

We offer our dogs a range of fun activities that involve them using their brain and natural abilities as well as exercise.

The variety of activities keeps them stimulated and happy. Flyball (great if your dog is ball obsessed), Agility, Lure, Retreiving and depending if you're an

early morning person (as they start very early) Tracking. Obedience training is important and throwing in some of these activities incorporates your dog learning to listen to you and follow instruction as well as having some fun too.