Problematic lab! Help!!!

[aarcher]

A few months back, we found a black lab puppy. We took him in hoping to find him a permanent home, but 6 months later, he is still with us. I have never had a lab before. We are living in a RV while we build a house and we have 3 other dogs and a cat! My hands are full! I can not train this dog! He is about 7 months old. Loves to swim, full of energy, but lacks sense it seems. I have a German Shepherd, who we trained ourselves. Apparently training Ace, the lab the same way we trained the GSD isn't working! Ace is afraid of everyone new especially men, which makes it even harder to find him a new home.
His problems:
He is scared of everything new whether it be people or places, or dogs.
He is a counter surf, litter box surfer and trash can surfer! Ive tried OFF, LEAVE IT, NO, clapping, screaming, stomping my feet. I have not bought deterrents yet. I'm not sure what to buy.
He knows COME, but will come running towards me, but turns.
He knows SIT and DOWN, but wont DOWN unless I bring him from sit and bring the treat down to the floor.

I've had him since he was about 8-10 weeks old. He is full house trained and crate trained.

If I put him on a leash, at first he is afraid, like he is in trouble, but then realizes he isn't in trouble. I have a pinch collar, but it doesn't seem to be effective, maybe Im not yanking hard enough to effect him.

I tried to make him an outside dog, but he paced all day and night in his kennel and wouldn't eat, so we brought him back inside the RV.

I'm going out on a limb here for some help. I don't have any decent trainers in my area and I refuse to use Petsmart for training. Our original trainer moved to Texas.

[Labradorks]

A few months back, we found a black lab puppy. We took him in hoping to find him a permanent home, but 6 months later, he is still with us. I have never had a lab before. We are living in a RV while we build a house and we have 3 other dogs and a cat! My hands are full! I can not train this dog! He is about 7 months old. Loves to swim, full of energy, but lacks sense it seems. I have a German Shepherd, who we trained ourselves. Apparently training Ace, the lab the same way we trained the GSD isn't working! Ace is afraid of everyone new especially men, which makes it even harder to find him a new home.
His problems:
He is scared of everything new whether it be people or places, or dogs.
He is a counter surf, litter box surfer and trash can surfer! Ive tried OFF, LEAVE IT, NO, clapping, screaming, stomping my feet. I have not bought deterrents yet. I'm not sure what to buy.
He knows COME, but will come running towards me, but turns.
He knows SIT and DOWN, but wont DOWN unless I bring him from sit and bring the treat down to the floor.

I've had him since he was about 8-10 weeks old. He is full house trained and crate trained.

If I put him on a leash, at first he is afraid, like he is in trouble, but then realizes he isn't in trouble. I have a pinch collar, but it doesn't seem to be effective, maybe Im not yanking hard enough to effect him.

I tried to make him an outside dog, but he paced all day and night in his kennel and wouldn't eat, so we brought him back inside the RV.

I'm going out on a limb here for some help. I don't have any decent trainers in my area and I refuse to use Petsmart for training. Our original trainer moved to Texas.

A Petsmart trainer is better than nothing, and probably better than any advice you're going to get off the internet from strangers. Is there a Lab rescue in your area? It sounds like he's not a good fit for you.

[doubledip1]

I agree you may not be the best fit for each other. I second all advice given by Labradorks.

[BILBO]

Counter surfing -- We set up a remote camera in the kitchen and monitored it from our office. Toby had his training collar on and when we observed him starting to sniff around the counters we would buzz (vibrate on the collar) him. Worked pretty good since he no longer is problem in this area. Can't help ya on the other problems.

Good luck.

[Sue]

A Petsmart trainer is better than nothing, and probably better than any advice you're going to get off the internet from strangers. Is there a Lab rescue in your area? It sounds like he's not a good fit for you.

I agree you may not be the best fit for each other. I second all advice given by Labradorks.

Not very helpful.

You might want to check out the trainers at Petsmart, even though you're against them. On occasion a good one sneaks in there.

But what it sounds like to me, is you have an awful lot on your plate at the moment. And this will take a lot of your time. You also need to keep in mind that the pup is entering those dreaded teenage years, where any training often goes out the window. Oh, and another thing I should mention, is training a Lab and training a GSD are two different things. We have one member here who adopted a GSD, after many years of having Labs, and all she learned about training went out the window. Different temperament completely. And the exercise needs for a Lab of his age can be out of sight. Does he have a place where you can play fetch, or run free off lead, so he can burn up some of that energy?

Thank you for taking in a poor stray pup, but it sounds like he didn't get much socialization. It's not too late, but will be a bit harder. You need to take him places, where he can be exposed to many different people, sights and sounds. Invite friends over (particularly men), go to Petsart with him, take him for car rides, to parks, anyplace he can see people but not necessarily interact with them.

Even a non-problem Lab at this age tends to forget the word come. You cannot stop the training of that, ever. Don't ever call him if you can't enforce it. In other words, no grabbing or chasing to catch him, always have a treat or toy, don't call only to end the fun. You need to be the best thing in his world, so he always wants to come.

Counter surfing deterrent? Search this forum for posts by Snowshoe on the vinegar trick she uses. As long as Ace doesn't like vinegar, it's a very cheap way to help cure the counter sniffing. Kitty litter box? Harder, as dogs consider it a high value treat. Your best bet is to provide a safe place away from the dogs, bit where the cats can access. I know, it's hard in an RV, but do what you can. Gate off the bathroom, maybe? With a small door for the cats to get through.

About the pinch collar. It has to be fitted properly and used correctly. Also, watch your body language and tone of voice when you leash him. He shouldn't be cowering. A walk should be FUN.

This is only a hint of what needs to be done. If you can invest the time, and the effort, he'll probably be a great dog. But Labs don't come pre-trained, in fact, sometimes I think their brains don't come until they're two years old. Good thing FedEx delivers. Or is it UPS? Oh wait, it's the company that merged, called FedUPS. Which is what you sometimes feel when you're dealing with a teenage Lab.

[Tanya]

A few months back, we found a black lab puppy. We took him in hoping to find him a permanent home, but 6 months later, he is still with us. I have never had a lab before. We are living in a RV while we build a house and we have 3 other dogs and a cat! My hands are full! I can not train this dog! He is about 7 months old. Loves to swim, full of energy, but lacks sense it seems. I have a German Shepherd, who we trained ourselves. Apparently training Ace, the lab the same way we trained the GSD isn't working! Ace is afraid of everyone new especially men, which makes it even harder to find him a new home.
His problems:
He is scared of everything new whether it be people or places, or dogs.
He is a counter surf, litter box surfer and trash can surfer! Ive tried OFF, LEAVE IT, NO, clapping, screaming, stomping my feet. I have not bought deterrents yet. I'm not sure what to buy.
He knows COME, but will come running towards me, but turns.
He knows SIT and DOWN, but wont DOWN unless I bring him from sit and bring the treat down to the floor.

I've had him since he was about 8-10 weeks old. He is full house trained and crate trained.

If I put him on a leash, at first he is afraid, like he is in trouble, but then realizes he isn't in trouble. I have a pinch collar, but it doesn't seem to be effective, maybe Im not yanking hard enough to effect him.

I tried to make him an outside dog, but he paced all day and night in his kennel and wouldn't eat, so we brought him back inside the RV.

I'm going out on a limb here for some help. I don't have any decent trainers in my area and I refuse to use Petsmart for training. Our original trainer moved to Texas.

Some staff at petsmart are very good. And at a minimum they may be able to at least give you some other training ideas to try. As you can see not all dogs can be trained the same way. Maybe actually meet the trainer before refusing to use them. Oh and if your original trainers was from teh area they must have someone they recommend that is still in your area?

PLEASE do not YANK a pinch. that is NOT how they are ment to be used and you can hurt the dog.

How much exercise and what kind is this dog doing?

Is he always fearful of you? Have you worked on bonding and palying games, grooming, petting and such? Is he normally comfortable with you just the leash is making him fearful? What do you do on walks? Is there lots of stern corrections (verbal/ leash yanks)?

It sounds like you are miscommunicating with the dog. If he is timid you need to be very big on positive reinforcement and being gentle. A timid dog will crash/shut down when you apply too much pressure (and by too much pressure I don't mean being mean here just being too stern). My second rescue shuts down VERY fast when I get frustrated. Things that my lab would not bat an eye on! It was a learning experience and has actually be very very good for me. She is more confident now but if I don't go into a training session with a relaxed mind and body she can still shut down.

If the dog is fearful of people you need to work on positive association but working within the dogs threashold and SLOWLY pushing things.

Regarding the getting into things, you need to set the dog up for success. Put the litter box somewhere he cannot access (when I cat sit it is in a room with a baby gate the cat can get to), keep counters clean and supervise. when you cannot supervise then crate him.

[Tanya]

If you think rehoming him is still the best route I woudl recommend looking at rescues (all breed and lab specific) to see if they can take him in.

[Polly Pipkin]

He and you really need to invest in obedience training right away, if you decide to keep him. As others have said, labs certainly do not come pre-trained (!) and I love the "FedUps" phrase! You need a lot of patience, time and energy to raise a lab - and just when you think you've got it, a backslide can happen.

He shouldn't be scared and it sounds as if there is inconsistency happening which makes training more difficult. Always be patient and the best thing ever in his life - then you'll get positive results!

[POPTOP]

Hello and Welcome!

Thank you for rescuing this pup. You sure have your hands full. I have to agree with the above posts.

I have used PetsMart for training and found a wonderful trainer. She did leave PetsMart and I followed her. They have a program they follow so even if the trainer is dull as a rock, you'll be able to pick up on techniques.

Don't know if Sue was referring to me, but I home senior labs and about 1 1/2 years ago "rescued" a GSD. Wow, did I have to go back to training. I can read and work with labs; with a GSD was a completely different thing.

Train with patience, consistency, positive reinforcement, and post importantly love. Try NILF, nothing in life is free. Want a treat, sit, want out, down, things like that. The entire family has to be consistent in the training. For come, use a long lead; don't let him get away with not responding. Good luck.

[CraftHer]

When we got Mocha, we were building a house and it was a lot to take on. We took Mocha to PetSmart for training and had a wonderful trainer. It was hard to find the time and break away from building the house on the weekends, but it was so worth it! The training was as much for me and it was for Mocha. I would suggest you take Ace to PetSmart and meet the trainers. Good luck and congratulations.