Presley, recently adopted 3 yr old lab
My family adopted a 3 year old chocolate lab from the San Antonio Humane Society this past Sunday. She had only hours before she was to be put down because she's heart worm positive. Having no experience with full-blood labs, we made a spur of the moment decision to save her, and we will begin the slow kill heart worm treatment method next week. (I'd prefer the fast kill to save her heart from any more damage, but she's pretty high-strung, and I do not feel confident that we can keep her calm for the required month or two.)
Anyway, this is a training thread, so I'd greatly appreciate any advice y'all can give on the following:
1. She only knows "sit" and she has not been taught boundaries, so far as I can tell. She's all over the couch and bed, and all 80 lbs. of her tries to jump from the back into the front seat of my truck while I'm driving. Any advice on positive reinforcement training methods to teach her these boundaries?
2. She has a habit of running in front of me when I'm walking, especially if I'm going out the front door. I have not seen what she would do if she managed to get out in the unfenced front without a leash, but the thought frightens me. Any tips on teaching her to stay in the house unless directed to do otherwise?
3. She humps like no dog I've seen before. (Might this be a hormonal issue related to the fact that she has clearly had at least one litter, and/or that she was spayed on Sunday?) We bought new dog beds for all our dogs, and Presley has made them all her sexual playthings. In case it is relevant, our other 2 dogs are a 12.5 year old male greyhound mix and a 1 year old female Bernese/ Staffordshire mix. Both are fixed and pretty laid back. Is this normal acclimation to a new home/ pack, and should I do anything about it?
4. Like I said, I'm new to labs. I've had big dogs all of my adult life, and they've all been relatively well-trained companions, though their training was informal. I have heard, however, that labs sometimes take a little more training than other breeds who just naturally seem to fall in line. If anyone has any advice on helping me to help our new family member, I'd be very grateful.