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skidadl said:
My dog has proven to be a real project. I'm learning as much as I can at this point. Problems in experiencing or solved so far:

1. He was overweight - he apparently was fed from the table and hadn't been walked much. Every time we eat I take him into and area of the house set aside for him. We feed him gelatin dog food. We excersise him as much as we can. He had already slimmed down.

2. He is extremely mouthy - this is very hard to solve. When you let him he goes crazy with his mouth and starters biting. Even when we approach him calmly he bites and swats and cannot control himself. He clearly understands the commands and ever seems like he tries obey but he's stricken with a giant case of adhd. We are working on keeping very calm around him at all times. He has spells where he jumps on he couch and goes crazy clawing a biting. He is a giant attention whore that can't stand to not be constantly touched. We are working with him to get him under control. He killed on my wife while she was laying on the couch and scratched her pretty bad. Unfortunately my first response was to clock him on the nose. I know this is a bad option but it really did the job. He was very calm for the rest of the evening and even sat quiet and still for the first time in two weeks while he was pet. I've read all about physical punishment for dogs and how it isn't good but what is yalls experience?

3. He will war anything of he's left alone - that is just a fact of life for is right now. I don't know what to say. He's won't do it while with us but it takes about 5 minutes of being left alone to ear a shoe or remote.

I believe that [MENTION=7]P_T[/MENTION] is a lab lover. Any help here?
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Labs are complete chaos until they mature. That doesn't begin until at least 18 months. In the meantime keep them outside in a contained area unless you walk or exercise them. They should never be allowed in the house until they are fully trained and that takes a lot of time. I recommend a trade in on a small breed.
 
L.T. Fan said:
Labs are complete chaos until they mature. That doesn't begin until at least 18 months. In the meantime keep them outside in a contained area unless you walk or exercise them. They should never be allowed in the house until they are fully trained and that takes a lot of time. I recommend a trade in on a small breed.
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I don't agree with this at all. If this is going to be a house dog, keeping it outside separate will only heighten it's anxiety. It will never learn what area is acceptable or not. I have a lab now, and have had them in the past. They aren't nearly as hyper or as chaotic as you've made them out to be.

The main thing is everyone in the house has to be 100% in agreement on the dog's boundaries and what you expect out of him. If you don't want the dog on the furniture, but somebody lets them when you're not around is only confusing to them. Yelling at them or striking them will only worsen it's behavior. Repetition and routine is what will make them learn the fastest and easiest.

As for exercise, I've found that labs love to chase balls and run alongside their owner. Ours will run alongside my kids on their bike, or will run along side me when I'm driving my UTV. You don't have to do it for a long time. 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a day is ideal. Not only will he be getting his exercise, but it will also calm him while he's in the house. A bored dog is like anybody else. It starts looking for ways to pass the time. And chances are, it will manifest into something you don't want them to do. Digging, chewing, barking, etc...

Also, to trade in a dog just because you don't want to take the time to train it is despicable. An animal is only as good as the owner working with it. Don't get an animal unless you are fully invested in knowing what you're getting in to, and willing to take those steps.
 
Well there you are Ski. You have a laid out plan and a source to direct your queries. I withdraw my suggestions. Happy Labbing.
 
He is not a holy terror but he is difficult in many ways. He is just very energetic and gets bored easily. Right now the dog is barking at my wife because she's doing something else and not paying attention to him. We've found that ignoring him or looking away from him helps but isn't a total cure. I honesty had no idea about dogs but I'm learning all that I can. I secretly got this dog because I knew my wife would fall in love with him and he would keep her busy. She's had 6 babies and I knew that her mom instincts would kick in. I can see her mood lift when she's having to care for him. Manipulation technique success!
 
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Another thing is how big and goofy this dog is. You can hardly sit down because he is constantly going back and forth, panting and stomping all over everyone's feet. If you lay back on the couch with your feet sticking out forget about it. He's so big that the force of him constantly ramming into your feet hurts.

Question:

We can't really be with him 24/7 like he wants so how much is too much in his solitary confinement area? I don't want to punish him but if we want to watch a movie or something it is impossible. He just won't let us do it at this point. I feel bad but if we leave him alone he will chew everything up. He can't be outside by himself yet as we have open country and no fence. He apparently had fears of cars, so we are sorta stuck for a while.
 
He is going to be a house dog at this point. We have all of this black clay out here. When it gets wet it is the most impossible stuff to clean. It is terrible. He would have it be 75% inside or 90% outside with or current setup. It he was outside in the mud all of the time he'd be a smelly mess. I'm one to suggestins but at this point I think he's pretty much an inside dog.
 
skidadl said:
Another thing is how big and goofy this dog is. You can hardly sit down because he is constantly going back and forth, panting and stomping all over everyone's feet. If you lay back on the couch with your feet sticking out forget about it. He's so big that the force of him constantly ramming into your feet hurts.

Question:

We can't really be with him 24/7 like he wants so how much is too much in his solitary confinement area? I don't want to punish him but if we want to watch a movie or something it is impossible. He just won't let us do it at this point. I feel bad but if we leave him alone he will chew everything up. He can't be outside by himself yet as we have open country and no fence. He apparently had fears of cars, so we are sorta stuck for a while.
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You talking about a dog crate? The key is to get your dog to see it as a safe space to relax and not as a punishment. I'm shit with dogs, but that is what my wife taught me
 
skidadl said:
He is not a holy terror but he is difficult in many ways. He is just very energetic and gets bored easily. Right now the dog is barking at my wife because she's doing something else and not paying attention to him. We've found that ignoring him or looking away from him helps but isn't a total cure. I honesty had no idea about dogs but I'm learning all that I can. I secretly got this dog because I knew my wife would fall in love with him and he would keep her busy. She's had 6 babies and I knew that her mom instincts would kick in. I can see her mood lift when she's having to care for him. Manipulation technique success!
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A shock collar is a very effective tool in training. But the main thing to keep in mind is not to use them as a form of punishment. Buzzing them for something that is already done is useless. They'll have no idea what they're being punished for. (for example, if you find they've peed on the floor) It will only work if you buzz them WHILE they are doing whatever it is you want to break them of. The collar I have for my dogs has a setting from 1 to 8. I have never went higher than a 5 with them, and even that has been very rare. It also has a button for only a quiet beep.

To see how powerful it was, I actually tried it out on myself. :unsure I placed it across my wrist and hit the button on 1. It was barely a slight tickle. 2 was a bit stronger, but still not painful in any way. 3 was where it was a little uncomfortable, but still not pain inducing. 4 was where there was finally some pain. Kind of like a brand new 9 volt on the tip of your tongue. (I know we've all tried that a time or two. :art ) 5 was where it would make you sit up and pay immediate attention. The few times I had to use that on my dogs, they immediately stopped what they were doing and ran to my side. 6 made me jerk my arm and swear a little. 7 hurt quite a bit, kind of like if you've ever touched an electric fence. 8 was a holy shit, I think I may have peed a little, why the F would they make a collar go this high curse inducing shock. No dog would ever deserve that. Also, I always just laid the collar on my arm, so if/when I jerked it would fall off and break the connection. My mama didn't raise no fool. Well, she might have considering I was shocking myself with a dog collar...

Anyway, the point of all this is, an electric collar can be a very useful tool. It didn't take my dogs long at all to learn what I expected of them. The hardest habit I had to break of one of my dogs was that my kids' cats were not chew toys. He is a field bred Springer Spaniel hunting dog, and his main purpose in life is to kill anything furry that is smaller than him. Before we got the collars, we had to be very careful with him around the cats. He would literally sit there shaking he was so excited to try and kill them. Once we got the collars, it only took about a week for him to learn to leave the cats alone. They now lay together on the floor. I also used the collars in training my dogs to hunt. I leave the collars set on 2, and would give them a buzz when they'd start getting out of range of my shotgun. After a few times out, they now know not to get any further out than about 30 yards.
 
As for how long, not sure there is an easy answer to that. We would put ours in there to sleep for the night or when no one was home. Other than that we usually let them out all the time
 
skidadl said:
Another thing is how big and goofy this dog is. You can hardly sit down because he is constantly going back and forth, panting and stomping all over everyone's feet. If you lay back on the couch with your feet sticking out forget about it. He's so big that the force of him constantly ramming into your feet hurts.

Question:

We can't really be with him 24/7 like he wants so how much is too much in his solitary confinement area? I don't want to punish him but if we want to watch a movie or something it is impossible. He just won't let us do it at this point. I feel bad but if we leave him alone he will chew everything up. He can't be outside by himself yet as we have open country and no fence. He apparently had fears of cars, so we are sorta stuck for a while.
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Give him his own space. A dog crate somewhere away from the main activity of the house, but close enough where he can hear you. Draping a blanket over it to make it a little solitary is actually a good thing. Just never cover the entrance. It's ok to close him in if you have company over, or you just need some time away. A couple hours or so is fine. Crate training is the best way to housebreak a dog, too. Dogs do not like to use the bathroom where they also sleep. Crate them at night when you go to sleep. The first few nights they will probably cry and whine. Don't give in to temptation by letting them out. It will be better for you and him in the long run. After a time, he will learn that is his den. Just be sure to let him out to go potty when the first person gets up in the morning. Also, place the dog in it's crate during your meal times. Unless you don't mind a dog hanging around your table when you eat. Once you feed a dog from the table, good luck in ever breaking it of that habit.

As for the chewing, make sure he has some strong chew toys. I don't recommend stuffed animals. They will destroy it in short order, and will probably swallow some of the stuffing. Dangerous and messy. Get him a Kong. They make very tough and nearly indestructible chew toys. When the dog is chewing something he shouldn't, don't yell at him or hit him. Just take it away and tell him no in a firm voice. And replace it with what he can chew on. Praise him when he's chewing on what is acceptable. Yelling at and hitting a dog will make a very jumpy, timid dog. One that will piddle on the floor every time he gets upset. And that is VERY hard to get over.
 
Our house has a hallway the closes off from the rest of the house. It is about a 6 x 6 area.
 
Don't stick him in a hallway. Base boards and drywall are apparently tasty as we found out.
 
skidadl said:
Our house has a hallway the closes off from the rest of the house. It is about a 6 x 6 area.
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Get him a crate. They need a place where only they can go. Don't let little kids climb in and out of it.

http://www.amazon.com/OxGord-Double...3417088&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=dog+crate&psc=1

This one is great. Sets up and breaks down for storage very easily. Just put a padded bed in the bottom.

Also, a dog that gets anxiety when you guys are away will chew crap up trying to get out of the house. Leave a radio on for them, so there is some kind of sound and it should help with that.
 
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NoDak said:
Give him his own space. A dog crate somewhere away from the main activity of the house, but close enough where he can hear you. Draping a blanket over it to make it a little solitary is actually a good thing. Just never cover the entrance. It's ok to close him in if you have company over, or you just need some time away. A couple hours or so is fine. Crate training is the best way to housebreak a dog, too. Dogs do not like to use the bathroom where they also sleep. Crate them at night when you go to sleep. The first few nights they will probably cry and whine. Don't give in to temptation by letting them out. It will be better for you and him in the long run. After a time, he will learn that is his den. Just be sure to let him out to go potty when the first person gets up in the morning. Also, place the dog in it's crate during your meal times. Unless you don't mind a dog hanging around your table when you eat. Once you feed a dog from the table, good luck in ever breaking it of that habit.

As for the chewing, make sure he has some strong chew toys. I don't recommend stuffed animals. They will destroy it in short order, and will probably swallow some of the stuffing. Dangerous and messy. Get him a Kong. They make very tough and nearly indestructible chew toys. When the dog is chewing something he shouldn't, don't yell at him or hit him. Just take it away and tell him no in a firm voice. And replace it with what he can chew on. Praise him when he's chewing on what is acceptable. Yelling at and hitting a dog will make a very jumpy, timid dog. One that will piddle on the floor every time he gets upset. And that is VERY hard to get over.
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I totally agree. Crating worked great for our dog when he was a puppy. At the time the way our schedules were he was never crated for more than 4-5 hours at a time. I don't know how long is too long but I thought that was about as long as I would want to keep him in there.

It kept him out of trouble while we were gone, helped housebreak him, and he definitely came to see it as a sanctuary. He is 10 now and still sleeps in the crate sometimes and on occasions where he knows he is in trouble (ie, he will occasionally get into the garbage or snatch food off the table/counter when no one is looking) he immediately slinks over to his crate to escape.

Highly recommend it.
 
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NoDak said:
Get him a crate. They need a place where only they can go. Don't let little kids climb in and out of it.

http://www.amazon.com/OxGord-Double...3417088&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=dog+crate&psc=1

This one is great. Sets up and breaks down for storage very easily. Just put a padded bed in the bottom.

Also, a dog that gets anxiety when you guys are away will chew crap up trying to get out of the house. Leave a radio on for them, so there is some kind of sound and it should help with that.
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Sounds like it takes a village for this type.
 
I've never owned a lab but my family did have a couple of golden retrievers and a German shepherd when I was growing up. I don't remember any of them being overly energetic. Could be because they were outside dogs so they ran around a pretty good sized yard all day. I couldn't imagine having to deal with hyper-energetic dogs of that size within my house. Good luck to you, Skid. I'll pray for you.
 
L.T. Fan said:
Sounds like it takes a village for this type.
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I have no idea what you mean by this. If you mean the type of dog, that goes for any breed. If a dog gets anxious by being in the house alone, they can get destructive. A radio left on helps.
 
Skid, if you got a pit bull you would not have this problem. :tippytoe
 
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