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    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #1

    Aug 29, 2007, 07:26 PM
    My Lab
    From a PM
    ''I just read your name.. and thought.. this guy must know a lot about labs. So if you don't mind, I have a question that could use an answer

    I have a one year old black lab, he still bites, and he barks whenever someone is eating and won't give him any of their food.. he has his own food.. also, he does not understand the word no.. We also cannot get him to walk properly.. he always has to be running.. could this be because we take him down to the flats once a week? He is nutered.. and still has so much energy.. he also tries to eat my cat? How do I get Milo to stop biting? We've tried everything.. he is very smart... but if he doesn't get his way he acts like a 2 year old child..

    If you don't mind.. I would appreciate an answer''

    I support the administrations policy that questions should be asked and answered in the public forum.

    Have you read Marley and Me? Some Labs and other dogs will just take over if not given proper leadership. Some dog guides have to be dropped from service by the time they are 3 because they take over. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

    Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about
    biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting
    another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are
    alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months
    they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking
    moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

    You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens.
    Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can
    chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords.
    Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

    The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
    pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
    there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
    close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
    pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
    I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a
    dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not
    limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

    Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
    lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
    foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
    them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
    carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

    If your dog is at least 4 - 5 months old, start with a good 6' leather
    leash and a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain ones with the rings on each
    end. You want the shortest one that will go on and off easily. If you walk
    with the dog on the left, pull the chain through one loop forming a "P".
    Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack when there is no pull on the leash. Before 4 months use a conventional flat collar to protect the tender young neck.

    Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash
    combined with a stern "Bad dog!". You can work up to forceful corrections
    with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it. But
    you don't want to use any more force than you need. One gentle technique I
    like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when
    the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the
    only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to
    pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half
    hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a
    lesson. Pulling the dog backwards is a good technique too

    Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a
    dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one
    without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.

    As soon as you see it focusing on the cat, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and offer it a chew toy. Make sure the cat has safe areas of refuge such as some of the cat furniture, poles with boxes. Don't leave them alone together, You may want to crate the dog when you aren't around.

    It is only natural that a dog resists its crate at first. What the dog
    wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
    household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
    other things distract us from the attention an uncrated dog must have. The
    only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
    happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
    den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
    its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
    will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
    ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
    in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
    a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

    Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
    anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
    bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

    A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
    Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
    in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
    feeding time for more than one dog.

    The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
    safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
    else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
    to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
    intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
    "safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
    give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
    do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
    itself.

    When he barks for food, down stay him, and hold your hand out palm up, and say ''Milo, no, quiet!'' in a quiet, firm voice. Dogs need to be eating a dry commercial dog chow and very little else. You can place small tidbits of your meal in his dish after the meal. Small! All the other discipline will be more effective as he accepts your place as top dog.

    You might look at the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802 Most of it is for young puppies.
    Clough's Avatar
    Clough Posts: 26,677, Reputation: 1649
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    #2

    Aug 29, 2007, 07:39 PM
    Thank you for posting this publicly labman so that others might benefit from the answer! :)

    You do a great job here and I do wish some people wouldn't private message to get answers also!

    Your answer helps me in understanding more about the dogs that are owned by people for whom I house sit frequently.
    HaRLoS's Avatar
    HaRLoS Posts: 86, Reputation: 8
    Junior Member
     
    #3

    Aug 29, 2007, 10:55 PM
    Wow! Thanks, but I live in a small town and we don't have any crates large enough for Milo. He sleeps with my parents in their bedroom at night, and when we are gone we leave him free to roam the house.. he just sleeps.. he hates ebing alone.. could his behavior problems have to do with something like he is lonely? We are thinking about getting another dog, a grown one from the humaine society to keep him company and help him learn all the rights and wrongs? Will this work?
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #4

    Aug 30, 2007, 03:34 AM
    As long as he behaves himself when nobody is around, the crate isn't that important. I was thinking of protecting the cat by crating him. A 36'' plastic crate is big enough for most Labs. Nylabone makes a slick folding crate that should hold the largest ones.

    I don't think the problems are from being being lonely. Either the dog or the person is in charge. If nobody is providing leadership, the dog will just take over. Labs can be bad about it, but many a home is run by 10 pounds of 4 legged Napoleon. It is largely a matter of will.

    How old are you? If you are under 18, you could take him to 4-H next year. In my area, clubs form soon after the first of the year. Even many urban areas have 4-H. For info look in your phone book under government listings for extension or cooperative extension offices. Ask specifically about a dog or canine club. I love the program. It is over 10 years since our daughter was in 4-H, but my friend is the 4-H leader in an adjacent county. She recruits people raising dog guide puppies and kids to show them in 4-H. My Holly took first place at the state fair among a handful of dogs in her class this year.

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