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  1. #1
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    8 Month old Lab Puppy.

    Hello,
    I have an 8 month old lab puppy mix. We are not sure what he is mixed with

    We had him in training but ended up not liking the training we were getting for him. We are going to get him into more training within the next month but in the meantime we are having the following problems.

    1. If my wife is near me he will growl and whine until she moves further away and he will sit/lay where she was which is either on top of me or against me. (this annoys her more than me)


    2. He whines/barks,jumps,scratches if we are on the computer or not paying him attention everytime he gets up. I've run him outside for 30 minutes to 1 hour paying fetch etc and he will be tired however 30 minutes later he is barking,whining,scratching and carrying on. He is spoiled which is our fault but to me not to an extreme point.

    3. We are working on potty training which he has done pretty well with accidents here and there. We have puppy pads down just in case which he has been shredding into a 100 pieces lately if we aren't paying attention. I think this is him being bored.

    4. He has over 50 toys of various types and he gets many bones throughout the week. Bully Sticks, Rib Bones, Beef Knuckles, Yak Cheese, Treats, Antlers, Pig Ears, etc etc. He is a very heavy chewer and goes through everything within 30 minutes and comes back whining and carrying on. I have puzzle treats and treat dispensers he will play with but figures out how to get the treats out within 5-10 minutes. The Wobbler thing took him 5 minutes to bang it against the wall and have the treats fall out. I've tried giving him more exercise when he starts whining and he just carry's on after you stop. The only way I've been able to get him to stop carrying on in the evening is to take him to petco and let him interact with other dogs and people for an hour and a car ride. Anyone have any suggestions on this? I have an automatic ball thrower as well which he loves but loses interest or gets distracted after about 10 minutes.

  2. #2
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    Welcome to the board! What's your pup's name? After you've posted a few more times, you'll be able to share photos.

    Lab puppies at 8 months are at the peak of craziness,and I'm sure if he's partially husky, he's even more demanding. From your description, I will diagnose boredom. A dog that isn't kept physically and mentally active will find his own outlets. What is his daily schedule? How much exercise does he get every day, structured and unstructured? Even if you're not taking classes, training should be part of your every day life. Further details:

    1. He's claiming you. What's your wife's role in training and working with him? She should do just as much, if not more, than you. I strongly encourage you to practice Nothing in Life is Free Dog Training: Nothing in Life is Free : The Humane Society of the United States

    2. Most labs are no self-entertaining. Imagine if you were asked to just sit in a chair, all day, with nothing to look at , nothing to read, nothing to do, except for 30 minutes of some activity a day. You'd go berserk, too. Up the exercise, up the training. Until Kimber was 3, we took her to the dog park for 2 hours every single day, rain, snow, sleet, heat. Hiking is another wonderful activity to do with your dog. Leash walking is important to build up leash manners, but in general, it does little to get rid of energy. Toys that dispense meals, like Tug-a-jug and Buster cube, can be mentallly challenging and help.

    3. What's the "just in case"? At 8 months, your pup should have enough control over his bladder to be know he needs to go outside and alert you about his need. Are you missing the cues? Are you not letting him out enough? Is he not signaling? What's going on here?

    4. If you are giving him consistent exercise and training opportunities, then you can start training him to calm down. An important lesson for dogs is that while we're their whole worlds- and we need to really respect that- we also have to get other stuff done. Here's a really good guide on how to teach your dog to chill: How to teach your dog to chill out | The Peaceful Dog

    Good luck!
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  3. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Hi and welcome to you and your little energizer bunny of a pup! We'd like to know more about you all, such as his name, and when you can, post some photos.

    I agree that getting him into a training class should be helpful to you, not only to help learn how to teach him things but to have a resource who can see him and offer specific suggestions. Your wife's involvement in his care and training is so, so important. If you find another training class, it might be a good idea for her to take him to the classes so she learns to be more comfortable giving him commands and learning how to reinforce good behavior. I'll include some info for you to look over and try at home but having someone you can talk to who can see your pup and offer assistance can be super helpful.

    As for the whining and growling when your wife is near you, that sounds like what is called "resource guarding". You are his resource and he does not want your wife to interfere with his resource. It can happen with food, toys, and as you can see, people. This obviously isn't a good long term behavior. My first suggestion is not to allow him to sit on your lap or lean against you, however much you find this endearing. Don't let him onto the sofa or bed at all while he's learning the ropes and do not get down on the floor with him so he can sit on your lap or lean against you. By allowing him to chase your wife away, you are reinforcing to him that he is the boss of her, and of you for that matter. You are also silently communicating to your wife that you're OK with this, as you've mentioned a couple of times that it bothers her more than it bothers you. I'd make sure he learns how to "down" and "stay" and give him a place in the room where you are where he can go to lie down yet stay within sight of you guys. It could be a bed, a small rug, or a crate, but it should be a well defined spot that he learns is where he should be. You might start doing some investigation of resource guarding and what to do about it, often having a trainer come in to your home to help you is recommended. Resource Guarding: Preventing It and Stopping It

    Are you familiar with what's called "Nothing in Life is Free"? This is another way to help the dog learn that the house, the sofa, his food, his toys, yourself are controlled by you and, importantly, by your wife. These are just some introductory articles that might get you started.
    Dog Training: Nothing in Life is Free : The Humane Society of the United States
    https://www.awsjc.org/resources/nothing_in_life_free.pdf

    Have you tried crate training him? If so, during the times when he has been outside to go to the bathroom, play for a while, and he's had food and water and he's still acting like a nut, sometimes they just get overstimulated and putting them in their crate for some rest (for both yourself and for him) can calm him down and give him some rest. Not all dogs are good about regulating their own activity. Having a bazillion toys from which to choose can be also too stimulating for them. If he loses interest quickly, put 3/4 of his toys away and rotate them out periodically so that what's old seems new again and might hold his interest a bit longer. If you haven't done any crate training, let us know, there are tricks and techniques folks can help you with, you want the crate to be a safe and happy place for him to spend time, not a jail where he gets locked up every time he's in trouble.

    How long have you had this guy? If you've had him a few months and have been working on potty training, I'd ditch the pee pads today. I never use them at all and suspect it gives the young pup the idea that it's OK to go inside the house, not to mention when they decide to rip them to shreds and you have to clean that up. If you have him on a pretty good schedule for going outside to the bathroom, he's old enough that during the day he should be good to hold it for 8 hours or a little more if you both work outside the home. Some dogs are definitely more stubborn about learning not to go inside the house, you have to be pretty stubborn yourself and get him on a good schedule. If he's already pee'd on carpeting or rugs, make sure to clean the areas with an enzyme cleaner meant for dogs, such as Nature's Miracle, to eliminate any scent that might trigger him go in the same spot again. If he pees in the house while you're out, that's another time that being in a crate can keep him and your house safe.

    At 8 months, he's like an adolescent and many pups around that age seem to forget any training they already had anyway. Keep at it, be consistent, firm, and fair. Stay around and let us know how things go- he's still young and needs your guidance.

  4. #4
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    -13887135_1343770692303062_2766386928198153651_n-jpg-13775971_1652825258370712_847460181478402646_n-jpgI'll do my best to get him more exercise. We don't have a dog park near but we do have a fenced in back yard that we play and run him in everyday. His name is Roscoe. I've had him since he was 8 weeks we adopted him from an event at a petco near us. I cornored off part of the room for a pen that is his area. It has his water, food, etc and his toys. I keep most of them in a box and he has 3-4 of them around to play with. We haven't done any crate training since I have his pen area that he goes in when he gets put up and he has his bed and blanket in there. She is starting to not move and he has started learning that he isn't the boss but its a work in progress. The puppy pads are her idea I'd rather not have them down. His Q's to go out are hard to tell because of how much whining and barking he does. He doesn't go to the door or make it obvious he wants to go outside. I work 8:30-5 and she works 7:00-3 most days so he holds it until we get home and goes outside. During the evening hours is when he has accidents. We let him out about an hour or so after he eats however pooping is the main problem now. He will pee outside but the latter isn't happening. We do live on a farm so there are 100's of distractions therefore training outside is very hard. He goes out in the morning before work, again when we get home, again if he Q's and we figure it out and again before bed. He has an automatic water so we tried closing the water off and an automatic feeder that dispenses food 3 times a day at 7am 12pm and 7pm which he has been on for a few months. He eats all his food before 8pm typically. I'm really thinking his acting out is due to boredom and his playtime and exercise needs to be increased. I'm going to check out those links and take a look. With us both working how much time should we be trying to exercise him? Also when should I switch him over to Adult food. To me from what I've been reading he is on the small side. The pictures in my New Member post are older. We had him nurtured two weeks ago and he weighed 38lbs but I'm not sure if that was accurate. I think from the scale I have hes more around 45lbs. He is about 18 inches tall. I have him on Blue Freedom Grain Free Puppy right now. The part about him being husky was written by mistake. I'm not sure what else hes mixed with. The animal shelter the group rescued him from said he was lab/shepherd mix but they weren't 100% sure.

    Another interesting thing is that when I'm at work and she has the day off hes calm and will just lay around. When I get home hes nuts and doesn't calm down until bedtime. He goes into his pen fine for us and dosen't bark throughout the day while we are gone but when we are home he is right next to you and follows you everywhere you go. He did this as a pup and its my fault I didn't correct it. He does this with her when I'm not at home. It dosen't bother us really but I'm not sure its a good thing. Also before he will eat a bone I have to hold it, sniff it, then give it to him. Its almost like I have to make sure its ok before he will touch it.
    Last edited by James4020; 12-01-2016 at 05:24 PM.

  5. #5
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    Welcome to the forum!

    You've been given a lot of great advice above. I would definitely ditch the pee pads. At 8 months old Roscoe should be house trained and I know my 1 year old would shred a pee pad if I left it out You probably only need to be feeding Roscoe twice a day at this point, breakfast & dinner. I would get him on a more strict eating & bathroom break schedule. Take him out when you get home from work, feed him, take him out again 30 minutes-1hr after feeding, and then a final time before bed. Taking him out on a schedule rather than waiting for him to show signs will help him become more predictable until he can hold it longer.

    In terms of exercise, I give my dog an hour in the morning before work and an hour in the evening. We walk on a leash to the park and then he runs free playing fetch and with other dogs. If I only walked him on a leash he would definitely not be tired. A great way to up exercise is by combining it with training. You throw the ball, if he brings it back he gets a treat. Then he needs to sit, lay down, and hold a stay while you throw the ball. When you release him he needs to find the ball and bring it back. Things like that. But of course always make it fun! It's okay if there are tons of distractions! It just means you need to find the quietest place you can and use a really high value reward at first, whatever that might be for Roscoe, a toy or a piece of hot dog, while working on simple commands.

    Personally I can't stand attention whining/barking so I would ignore until he is quiet and then shower him with attention. That way he learns that behavior doesn't get him anywhere.

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  6. #6
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    Here are 1 when we first got him and one from last week. Attachment 5536Attachment 5537

  7. #7
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    i love the place command for dogs who seem too protective over owners and such. impose some rules to show him you are boss, not him, and that you can take care of yourself. I use the nothing is free and also never letting him sit on you, lean against you, no going on beds, pulling on walks etc... the place command is fantastic because they know what they are meant to be doing and that you want and like some space (also great for many other things, if you dont know what that is, there are many great videos on youtube and such)

    Do more mental exercise with him, work his brain, the puzzles and everything is great but training, going over known obedience and tricks, learning new ones, mix in commands during fetch and walks, impulse control, obedience commands etc... really get him working and thinking about everything, tires them out fast and well. Plus you will have a wonderfully obedient pup in adult years!

  8. #8
    Best Friend Retriever silverfz's Avatar
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    Some suggestions .
    Time to move to a 2 feeding schedule also get rid of the auto feeder. Feeding tells the pup who the boss is. No more free feeding. 5 minutes and left overs are taken back.

    U and Ur wife should start feeding him from now.also make him sit and wait before the eat command.

    He needs work on basic commands again from both . Do training but make it a family thing. We took the kids with us for her first 6 classes and Gigi was only 16 weeks when we began. It's something g where u invest so much with no result but 6 month later u see it.

    I for example would let my 5 yr old teach Gigi sit and stay. He actually taught her look leading some great pics. But she knows the kids are above her in family order. At 9 month she is mouthy but never with kids .we did not teach this she seem to test us her parents but not her siblings . She spends all day running around on weekends and doing stuff but come 7 pm after our walk she will lay around next to my wife and kids and will ignore me as if she has enough dad time.
    You have to teach that he needs to spend time with all not one person.my wife did this as the dog was obsessed with me a bit ...lab/shepard mix. She has alot of shepard.

    Get rid of the pee pad.he is old enough to hold it.
    How is he with others ,being handled and kenneled if you are on night out .

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    Last edited by silverfz; 12-01-2016 at 10:01 PM.

  9. #9
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    My labs switched to adult food at about 5 months of age- the breeders and the vet all said after they were 4 months old that adult food was OK. Some people don't feed an actual puppy food but go for an All Life Stages food right from the start. I switched to 2 meals a day at about 6 months of age. Like others, I used meal time as an opportunity to have the pup practice sitting and waiting until I gave the OK to eat, part of learning that the humans control the resources. Once they get their food, I leave them alone to eat without interruption. Messing with him or taking his food away while he's eating can cause resource guarding with his food. You mention he's usually finished eating by 8 pm, having gotten his food at 7 pm. My pups inhale their food and I don't need to try to speed them up. If Roscoe is a pokey eater, one strategy many people use is to put the food down for 15 minutes and whatever hasn't been eaten at the end of that time gets thrown out and no more food until the next meal, when the pup again gets 15 minutes to eat. They soon learn to finish up a little faster.

    Since Roscoe is a mix and you're not certain what else is in the mix, it would be hard to say what his weight or height "should" be. I'd just aim to keep his weight at a good level for his size. Whatever else is in the mix, he's just awfully cute! And following you from room to room is pretty common for labs- they do like to be with their people. It doesn't bother me and I do not discourage it. Many people do not get much privacy in the bathroom or even in the tub or shower unless they close the door tightly! At night, when it's time for bed mine go off and get on their beds in the kitchen to sleep but during the day when I'm home they often follow me around. At Roscoe's age, it's probably better he's within eyesight anyway in case he decides to chew on something he shouldn't and so you can catch him in the act and hustle him outside if he starts to go to the bathroom inside.

  10. #10
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Actually given the growling at that age I really would recommend getting a few in-home private sessions with a reputable, educated, learning based trainer. To observe and give you a game plan to deal with it. The sooner the better. It can be improved but it needs to be handled appropriately. I agree with the above post about "nothing in life is free" which sin't about NOT giving your dogs things but asking for appropriate behavior before they get it. Work for what they get.

    For exercise I would increase MENTAL exercise. Add a few short training sessions in the day. As often as you can go on walks in new places. Has he met another dog since you brought him home? Been socialized? For physical - yeah the average for a teenage lab is about an hour (or more) a day depending on the dog.

    It sounds like a general anxiety/inability to rest issue (well - apparently when you are home! if you say he is fine with your wife). Hopefully working him BRAIN more will help him relax some but you should read on relax cues and training a dog to relax/calm. Following you around isn't really that unusual many of our dogs do that.

    Being a mix (and if he was found with no mom the mix is really a guess - many puppies look alike) so how big he will be (should be) is a guess. Just ensure his weight is good for him body (a vet should be able to help if you are not sure).

    Pooping in the house: you know he is doing it in the evening so increase the supervision. Especially if he is "due" for a poop and hasn't gone. tether him to you. Maybe use the time he shoudl poop for a short walk to reduce distractions. at 8 mts and no underlying health issue there is no need for pee pads at all.
    Last edited by Tanya; 12-02-2016 at 09:21 AM.

 



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