[feinwoman]

Hello, I have an 8 month old chocolate labrador. He's very difficult to train. He voids and moves his bowels in his crate/and or in the house, and then, he steps all over it. He's extremely hyperactive, clumsy, and he still chews on furniture. I don't know what to do. I work approximately 12 hours a day, therefore, he's alone a great deal of time. I really don't want to give him up for adoption, but his behavior is out of control. Please help me.
Thank you.

[jorgen182]

Labradors need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. Most of his behavior problems are more your fault than his. I don't mean to be rude, I am just laying out the facts.

Labradors are very intelligent dogs and are very easy to train. I work 12 hour shifts so when I get home it's all about my Labrador Puppy Nala. She is 4 months old and is already house trained, sits, lays down, rolls over, and is getting better at not tugging on her leash.

It took me a long time to find Nala something that she liked to chew on. Finally I used pig ears (Labs go absolutley crazy for them) and then substitute that with a large hide bone when I am not around. Chewing is a big way for dogs to relieve stress. You need to praise him when he chews the right things. Let him know how proud you are of him when he chews something acceptable.

Dogs have to go potty after they play, drink, eat, have a nap, just like we do. He doesn't want to have that behavior. Labs are very eager to please. They want nothing more in the world but to please their master.

Tell me what you do with him on a daily basis and on your days off. Labradors need a good two hours of excersise at least every other day at the minimum, even letting them outside to sniff around and smell new things is like us staring at a beautiful sunset.

A happy dog is a good dog. I am here to help. I love labs.

-jorgen