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  1. #1
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    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.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog charliebbarkin's Avatar
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    Hello, welcome to the forum. Thank you for being so wonderful and adopting this bundle of lab!

    First off, remember, lots of praise for what you do want, redirect from what you don't want.

    1. I would get a seatbelt for your dog to restrain her in the car. Or crate her if you can fit the crate inside of your vehicle. I have the Kurgo harness and it works fine to keep the boys in their seats. I also have the Kurgo hammock and that keeps the front seat divided from the back. Though they can climb over or under it if they really wanted to, so maybe a metal divider like what a crate is made of would be better for you. In the house you can keep her on leash until she learns her boundaries. Do you have a crate? If not, I would get one and look into how to crate train.

    2. You can put a temporary gate up on your door, I did that for a while and it was very helpful for when guests or packages came. You should also teach her to sit and wait any time you are leaving. Be sure to leash her up before ever opening a door. Then you can ask for a sit, wait for the sit, then say wait (I like to combine it with a sweeping hand motion with my palm doing somewhat of a downward karate chop creating an invisible 'do not cross' line in front of my dog's face and chest). Do not let her take a step forward until you say 'okay' and allow her to do so. If she moves, repeat the process. If you want to be able to open the door without taking her out (say a guest arrives, or you are grabbing the mail etc) you could again use a gate for this situation. Put the gate up about 5 feet from the door. Teach her this is her limit, she can not cross the gate. Once mastered (she accepts the gate, settles nicely, isn't trying to bust it down), you can take the gate down and put a mat there or a line or whatever you want to mark that as her 'spot' and do not cross until invited line. It will take a lot of practice and praise but it is doable. Again if you don't feel confident and comfortable, leash her up.

    3. I would guess that the humping has more to do with being under stimulated mentally and physically. Sounds like she needs more exercise and more obedience work and maybe a 'job' to do. Obviously both of these things will be tough to do while she is recovering so most of what you do will be on leash I am sure you can find something. You could easily set up some nosework training in your house. You could even work on the above training at the same time! Order some training tools on amazon, when the ups guy comes it will be a good time to teach her the 'wait' or 'stay' command that 5 or so feet behind the door. Save the boxes. For nose work you take some yummy, smelly treats and put them in one box. set out all the boxes on the floor and without indicating which box they are in, let her find the box, lots of praise and treats for finding the box, let her have the treats in the box, then take the box and put it up. Do maybe 3 or 4 runs and then put all the boxes away for next time. You want her to keep wanting more. For further training, leash her up and tether her to something study or have a second person hold her. Then get her riled up by shaking the boxes and moving them around the room. Return to her and release her to go find the box with the treats. I use the words "find it" to release my guys. You can do it on leash or off leash, up to you, but I think it is important to train it both ways. Then you make it harder, make all the boxes the same, put boxes on top of boxes, put boxes under chairs, etc. Then you move on to putting other items out instead of just boxes, then putting your treat inside of a container, like an altoid tin with a couple of holes punched in it, and then you hide the tin with a few treats on top, eventually you stop putting treats on top. It's amazing how fast they learn and how powerful their noses are. Nosework is super fun and less 'controlled' or rigid than something like obedience, but it might be something to help break up the day and give her something to do that works her brain. You can do this indoors, in your yard, in your garage, etc so it is easy to do without needed a large facility or play area.

    Once she is better I would get a trainer, either get in a class or bring one to your home.

    Good luck! I look forward to updates!
    Charlie and Burton


  3. The Following User Says Thank You to charliebbarkin For This Useful Post:

    wboggs (07-30-2014)

  4. #3
    Real Retriever krosen's Avatar
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    I would tether her to you(basically using a leash tied to your belt or waist) and ensure just enough leash length that she can lay down beside you if needed. Keep her tethered to you in the house gently coaxing her wherever you go and give her commands as you go, always praising, never punishing or yelling or pulling hard.

    Make her sit and stay until you go out the door first, then give her a command to come, then you can switch the leash to your hand for walks, or take it off for outdoor fenced in potty/play time. Same goes for feeding time, make her sit and stay while you put the bowl down and then give her the command to eat.

    Labs are smart, she'll do great. Thanks for saving her.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to krosen For This Useful Post:

    wboggs (07-30-2014)

  6. #4
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    Wow, what great and timely advice-- many thanks!

  7. #5
    Real Retriever KenZ71's Avatar
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    Thanks for rescuing!

    Great advice above. Scarlett, our yellow female, also like to hump our black lab mix. I think its her attempt at dominance. Sometimes I will squirt her with a spray bottle or just tap her shoulder. Although most times Max simply rolls over then starts wrestling.
    -- Ken, owned by:

    Max - Black Lab mix gotcha 4/23/2012 Born 12/2011
    Scarlett - Yellow Lab gotcha 4/19/2013 Born 2008? 2007?
    Lizzy - Terrier mix gotcha 6/29/2014 Born 2006?
    Zeus - Papillon mix gotcha 1/30/2015 Born 3/26/2014

    Avatar: Ziggy, my kitty who crossed the bridge a few years ago.
    He slept in the sink for years, silly boy.
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