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  1. #1
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    I feel like my dog is taking over my life (just a bit of ranting, maybe you have advise?)

    I've made some post earlier about my pup peeing in the house and things like that...well, good news is, we managed to make some progress, sometimes he won't pee inside for the whole day or two, yay...but there is much more actually...It feels like my dog is taking over my life...perhaps I made a mistake by choosing such a energetic breed like labrador. When we brought him home, yeah, I did know that there will be stressful days and that I will need patience but now I just feel hopeless. I do agree on a saying that "there are no bad dogs, just bad owners" and yeah, I believe Im not the best owner, but I try my best. I train him, take him for walks, play with him, show him affection but it seems like I did something wrong since my dog won't listen to me when he gets so hyper-active. He is still very young, only 6 months old, I shouldn't expect much from him, but I have fear that he will always be like this... When I don't see him, I always have ideas like "is he peeing?" "is he chewing wires?" "is he taking things from the table?" and stuff like that... I have to be worried about him 24/7...Does this labrador madness ever ease? Will I ever be able to relax when I am home? :/ And please don't blame me for saying things like that I LOVE MY DOG AND IM VERY ATACHED TO HIM. But sometimes I doubt if he loves me :/

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    When my first lab was a puppy, I walked, walked, walked him for miles and miles every day, played soccer with him in our yard, and he was still very energetic. I clearly remember a neighbor asking how old he was and at the time he was about 8 months old. The neighbor chuckled and said if I could hold on for 2 years, I would have a really nice dog on my hands. Two. years. It seemed like a lifetime back then and I felt a bit discouraged. Eventually he did calm down and has really been a great, calm, friendly boy. Our second lab calmed down much sooner than our first pup but she had an older "brother" to play with and by then I was an experienced lab Mom.

    I think in some of your previous posts people have suggested getting a crate for your pup to stay in when you are not home. Are dog crates available where you are? At 6 months, you have missed some time that could have been spent training him to go into a crate and remain there calmly for a few hours at a time while you are not home to watch him but it's not too late! Crates are very helpful in that most pups do not like to pee or poop where they have to rest or eat, so house training goes pretty quickly. Also, if your pup is in a crate when you're not home, you don't have to wonder if he's eating wires or socks or chewing rugs or tearing up sofa cushions because he cannot get to them. It keeps them safe. You cannot leave them in the crate for hours and hours every day, you still need to feed and exercise him before he goes into the crate in the morning, assuming you work or go to school during the day. You cannot stay out late after work or school without going home to make sure he gets to go outside, get more exercise, gets fed, either by you or a responsible family member or someone you hire to come let him and and walk him. My older lab had to be in a crate during the day until he was about 3 years old, my younger one was trustworthy by the time she was one year old. They do demand your time and attention just like a human baby would, you just can't put a human baby into a crate and leave!

    Our first 2 dogs were littermates, we did not know about crates. It took FOREVER for them to not pee in the house, I mean at a year of age they would still have accidents, and in the meantime they tore up sofa cushions, pillows, chewed on the kitchen cabinets, chewed up dry wall that was stacked and waiting to be put up in our basement. Once we learned about crates, got a couple, trained them to go in and relax in there, we all were much, much happier. There are some pups who are never trained to go into a crate but I am a strong advocate of training your pup to be comfortable in a crate when you cannot be home to supervise.

    It can be a big challenge. I'm sure your pup loves you, particularly if you are the source of his meals! He's still a baby, even if he's nearly his full size. He's still learning what you want of him, he's still got all that puppy energy and it's going to last for a while yet. Are there dog obedience classes you can take him to? They can be very helpful in developing a good relationship with your dog, too. We've had 7 dogs and even though I know how to train the basic commands, I always take them to classes to give us a chance to work together with other dogs around, with a trainer who can give us pointers and answer questions.

    Good luck, don't be discouraged. Love and patience and consistency all help.

  3. #3
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    Puppies, like babies, do take over your life. I remember counting down the minutes until Kimber's bed time so I could just freakin' watch a TV episode. 23 minutes to myself sounded like- no, WAS- heaven.

    It got better. Kimber became trustworthy around the house, when we were home, by about 6 months. Sue has a lot of great advice about crate training and classes. I really bonded with Kimber through classes.

    I kept telling myself that every ounce of effort we were pouring into this puppy would pay off- and it did. Kimber calmed down noticeably at age 1, and by age 2 she was a joy. Now she's 11.5 years old and her time with us is ending. I'd give anything to go back to the beginning.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
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  5. #4
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    Yes, a lot of people suggested me to get a crate, but it's just that my parents are very busy people, they are total workaholics...there are no crates to buy in the pet shop at my town so In order to find one, we would probably have to go to other bigger city and look for a shop which would have one, and they just couldn't find the time to look for it. Every time I suggest my mom to buy a crate she is like "I dunno...", because my pup is getting anxious if I leave him in a room, so It's hard to even think what would happen if I left him in a crate, haha. And my dad, he probably likes older ways of raising a dog, I doubt if he even knows what a crate is haha. So yeah, it's just that we couldn't find the will to finaly get a crate, but now I really think we should get it...I'll try to look for it. And thank you very much for sharing your story, it really calmed me down and gave me more courage!!!! cheers!!!!!

  6. #5
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    awww, im very happy for your relationship with your dog!!! It's sad that her life is coming to an end AND I ACTUALLY KNOW THE FEELING!!!!!!! When I was somewhere 6-8 years old we lived with two dogs, a german shepherd named Ron and a basset hound named Droopy.

    my mom described Ron "he was like human". AND HE WAS. Even though I was afraid of him when we just got him CAUSE HE WAS BITING THE LIVING SH** OUT OF ME AND I THOUGHT HE WAS BEING AGGRESSIVE AND I WAS VERY LITTLE CHILD AND HE MADE ME CRY MANY TIMES. One time he started biting me so hard that I went to my room crying and I went to sleep. While I was sleeping, he came next to me, licked my hand and after that night HE NEVER BIT ME ONCE IN MY WHOLE LIFE, NO JOKE.

    Though when Ron got older,he would mostly put his attention to my dad since he chose him as his master, but Ron still loved me and I loved him and he was a very good family friend. But when he got very old, he started to get sick, and it was obvious that he had some sort of serious disease, he was in pain. The vet has been to our house personally to examine him, but no medicine would help him, so we did not want to let him suffer and we put him to sleep...When I saw his lifeless body laying on the ground, i felt very bad and it I couldn't that his life has come to an end . I EVEN GET SAD JUST BY REMEMBERING THIS!

    As for Droopy, he was also a very good friend, he ignored me less, and licked my face all the time, but he was not very smart haha. He was living in our yard and we did not have a fence back then, but we trusted him that he will not go away from his home. Though one time he did. Im not sure what happened then, but my mom told me that SOME FREAKING BREEDERS FOUND HIM AND AFTER WE FOUND THE POSTERS THEY WANTED A F***ING RANSOM. I was still little so my opinion did not matter very much to my parents so they decided to let the breeders keep him, since from what I heard they were breeding basset hounds and they thought it would be better for him actually...

    So yeah, now I have my own dog, he is sleeping right now next to me. I try to cope with the stress of raising him and I try to be patient!!!! And I hope that he will the best companion I ever had!!!!

  7. #6
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    If there is someplace you could order pet supplies online, you might look at getting one there. For a male lab, a 42 inch (?110cm) crate would be the right size but you could go larger, too.


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    Chase 9/29/2006- 6/30/2017 Always in our hearts
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    “Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”

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  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by kimbersmom View Post
    I kept telling myself that every ounce of effort we were pouring into this puppy would pay off- and it did. Kimber calmed down noticeably at age 1, and by age 2 she was a joy. Now she's 11.5 years old and her time with us is ending. I'd give anything to go back to the beginning.
    You brought tears to my eyes. Give Kimber a big hug from me.

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  10. #8
    Best Friend Retriever silverfz's Avatar
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    I have a 5 yr old and 9 yr old kids.. They have karata ,home work for kids ,I cook. Me a d my wife are always a tired as Gigi takes so much time.she is going to be 1 next month.

    My wife had a lab as a kid and one those no leash law days the dog was never leashed and went where it wanted and played .So we did it know-how much a in home dog needs .

    Anyway, she is getting better as she ages. As long we take care of her needs. I took her to the dog park last night with a viral infection. Walked her in snow storms , below freezing nights in a industrial park where it was plowed but very scary for my wife . when I tell her I am doing that, considering people have been killed there.if you are from america and follow NFL it's where Hernandez killed a guy.it was TV alot. I got an LTC now and do carry a gun now.

    It will calm down as they get older. We did do some things . She has been going day care from 4 months , being boarded some weekends , she can be handled by boarding places and day care providers. This helps as we can do a weekend off if needed or a day off if we are sick and need her to spend some energy.

    She been solid in the house from 6 months and at 8 months we started leaving her alone in our camper. The camper is easy to break out if needed be as they are a not house.

    Hang in there. They just need to grow up and are babies .

    She has a 48 inch crate she sleeps in night or when we need to crate her. I got it from cragislist for 40 bucks. We actually got a few crates as she grew.






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    Last edited by silverfz; 03-09-2017 at 08:37 PM.

  11. #9
    Senior Dog MontananDakota's Avatar
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    I just cant say it enough-dogs require patience and at 6 months old-yours is still a baby. You need to lower your expectations at this point. I was in the same place, exact same. By 1 year both my labs were showing their manners and behaving very nicely. By 4 they were both very calmed down. I lost one at 11 and the other is now 12 1/2. I also now have one turning 10 soon as well. It goes too fast. No one and nothing is perfect. Ever. Enjoy your time. Labs do have a lot of energy and require attention and playtime-but isnt that what you want a dog for? Certainly not to just sit there living a life separate from you right?
    Be patient and before you know it you will realize your lab is your best friend

  12. #10
    Best Friend Retriever annkie's Avatar
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    When I got Jules, just like you, I was terribly overwhelmed. I had 0 experience with dogs. He was 12 weeks old and at 15 weeks I tried to re-home him because I just couldn't handle it. A family with 2 little kids came out to look at him. And after one meeting I never heard from them LOL. He had so much energy! Well, after they left I took one look at Jules and started crying. I cried because I realized that I was attached and I wasn't going to give him up. So, I'm glad that I never heard back from that family. He was SO HYPER! He destroyed 2 very expensive crystal chandeliers that my mom loved with his crazy zoomies around the house. Here are some things I found helpful during that crazy puppy stage.

    I discovered that physical exercise was not enough. I would take him on 1-2 hour walks and he'd still be hyper. Mental stimulation is a must! A 15-30 minutes game of fetch outside followed by or including a 10 minute training session did more than an hour walk. Also, I got puzzle feeding toys to drag out feeding time and stimulate him mentally. The Kong Wobble is a great one. When he got hyper and didn't listen to commands I did a loud clap and told him to sit. That always got his attention. I then quickly followed with another command like lay down. You have to match his energy sometimes to get his attention. Then I'd tell him to stay, go into another room and call him.

    Also, Jules walked around the house with a 6 ft leash dragging behind him until about 3 yrs old when I moved out on my own. This way, if he was doing something bad I could get a hold of him easier. I also crate trained as other mentioned. If you can't find a crate then perhaps you can confine him to a safe area of the house for when you're gone. Maybe gate him the kitchen or something. Jules was about 4 yrs old when he wasn't confined to crate anymore when we left the house. He still destroyed something once in a while though.

    I totally understand where you're coming from though. My parents had 0 participation in shaping Jules and his behavior. In fact, they continually undermined my training to the point where I literally retrained Jules with German commands and hand signals. I don't know any German but I just learned the dog commands. That helped a lot. I wish you good luck!

 



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