I have a 7mo. old golden retriever / labrador retriever mix who has a ton of energy. There are times when she is very sweet and relaxed. There are other times however where she does the following:
Grabs items including TV remotes off of tables and runs away and hides.
Jumps up on everything, people, tables, everything.
Is still a bit mouthy, doesn't really bite at all but still puts her teeth on people.
Bites and growls at her leash.
Only eats her food after she has spread it all over the floor.
Runs around the house like crazy.
Barks at us when she's supposed to be eating in the kitchen.
She's definitely gotten more well-behaved since we first got her but I'm wondering if there is anyone who has any suggestions as to how I could break her of these other habits, the worst of which being the jumping thing.
Ah.. the teenage years of a dog. The period from about 6 months to 1 to 1.5 years (depending on breed) can be a real challenge with some dogs.
I have a weimaraner, and she had a pretty good teenage phase.
Without getting into too many specifics, basically what is going on is that the dog is manipulating you to get attention. The jumping, the grabbing the remote, the "mouthy-ness".. etc is all just to get your attention. Never mind the fact that the attention might be "bad" (ie - you are angry at her), she just wants your attention and bad attention is better than no attention.
So, the goal is to start using that basic desire to shape her behavior.
Work on teaching her a basic sit. Once she has that, you can use that to interrupt these other behaviors to show her they aren't required to get your attention.
Here's an example:
You walk in the door after being gone for some time. The dog goes berserk, running around, barking, jumping, sniffing, licking... obviously just happy to see you but also obviously being a nuisance. She's jumping on you. You calmly look down at her and give the sit command in an even tone of voice. Chances are she doesn't sit and keeps jumping on you. I know it is tough with a big dog, but at this point, you have to ignore her. No eye contact (most important), no verbal communication, try to avoid touching her as much as possible... completely block her out. Let that sink in for 30 seconds or so... then give the sit command again.
Here is the hard part.. while ignoring her, you really need to try to pay close attention to her. There may come a very brief moment when she sits for just a split-second. If at all possible, that is when you want to turn around and acknowledge her. Pet her, talk to her, love on her... make it like the best thing she ever did in the world was sit down after you walked in the house. After a few days of repeating this drill, it will slowly sink in to her that jumping on you doesn't get her what she wants (attention)... but sitting sure does seem to do the trick! As long as you hold up your end of the bargain and love on her when she sits when you come home, she'll be happy to comply!
You can extend that basic idea to shaping a lot of the behaviors you mentioned. There are some times that corrective action (ie - punishment) has to be used though. Punishment typically does not get results as good as positive reinforcement like the scenario above, but it is sometimes required. The most vital thing about punishment is that it has to be administered EXACTLY or as CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the moment that the dog did something wrong. If the dog chews up a shoe and then lays down in the floor and you walk in and punish her, she will think that laying in the floor was the wrong thing.. she will never connect the punishment to chewing the shoe unless you catch her in the act.
For that reason, the best punishments tend to be things you can do quickly and at a distance. Many hunters use electric shock collars for precisely this reason... but those cost a significant amount of money and some people don't feel comfortable with the idea. For our Weim, we used a squirt bottle filled with water. For her, getting squirted a couple of times is the ultimate punishment. It is cheap.. you can do it from a distance.. and it is quick, making it a good option. However, it only works if your dog responds to it. Give it a shot and see.
As for the eating thing, I have no idea. Some dogs just have weird eating habits. Try feeding her from a cookie sheet. It will take up more room than a regular dog bowl, but it might be better than her spreading the food out herself.
Grabs items including TV remotes off of tables and runs away and hides.
Sporting dogs can be high strung especially as puppys, and when they get bored they do things to get attention. She had obviously figured out that if she runs off with the remote you will chase her. To break her of it leave a old broken remote you dont use on a table and put the rest where she can't get them, then when she runs off with it just ignore her and retrive it later when she is outside and return it to the table, pretty soon she'll catch on that it's not working any more.
Jumps up on everything, people, tables, everything.
Puppy's love to play "king of the hill". There are a few ways to break this: One way is to hobble her with a special harness that keeps dogs from jumping. You can get these at the Fosters & Smith website. The other way to break it is to kennel her for 15 minutes every time she jumps up on something, she'll whine about it but she will eventually make the connection that when she jumps up on things she gets a time out. Make sure to say "NO" firmly when she breaks the rules just before punishing her.
Is still a bit mouthy, doesn't really bite at all but still puts her teeth on people.
Once again this is typical puppy behavour that she should grow out of but to speed it along give a frim "NO" command and thump her nose every time she does it, not hard enough to hurt her but hard enough to get her attention.
Bites and growls at her leash.
You don't say if this is when she is on it or not. If she is not on it at the time it could be an indication that she wants to go out. If it is while she is on it then it is a defiance to your control of her and you need to use a firm "NO" command and a nose thump.
Only eats her food after she has spread it all over the floor.
You got me on this one, no idea here.
Runs around the house like crazy.
She is bored and needs to go out to get some of that energy worked out.
Barks at us when she's supposed to be eating in the kitchen.
This could be an indication that she wants you in the kitchen with her. My father-in-law's dog won't eat unless someone is in the kitchen with him.
I hope this helps... Have fun with that puppy!
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I'd definitely recommend the Dog Whisperer (National Geographic Channel). Great ideas, and he works with some tough cases.
Your dog sounds like Marley, of the book Marley and Me by John Grogan. Marley was a lab that had boundless energy, got kicked out of obedience school, ate holes in the wall (among other things), and was generally what many people would consider a 'bad' dog. But he loved his owners unconditionally, and really turned out to be a great family dog. Great story!
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You need to seek the advice of an animal behavior specialist. Your local SPCA likely has a list of such individuals. How about asking your veterinarian for a referral?
reward good behavior first and formost.
They say you're not supposed to hit your dog at all, but when they do something bad I'd give them a bop in the nose or something. Just a little one like usmc says "enough to notice". She wants attention, so be sure to give her plenty of it and make sure she gets plenty of excersize. That way when she's supposed to be relaxed, she'll be tired enough that she'll realize to just lay down.
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Interesting, I'll have to take a look at the dog whisperer show. I have been working on the various ideas mentioned in here and I definitely think she's getting better, i guess just not on my time schedule. Thanks for the advise!
Sounds exactly like my dog when he was a puppy. I got him at the age of 5 months from the local pound. Here were my experiences...
Problem: Hyper. Ran around allot and jumped on furniture.
Solution: Exercise and additional pay time each day. I let him take ownership of the chair though.
Problem: Would not eat and would stare at me until I followed him into the kitchen.
Solution: Now all I have to do is pet him and say, "Hows your kibblin buddy? Mmmm good". Then he starts eating.
Problem: Jumped on people that came over to visit.
Solution: He now wears a harness and I hold onto him when people com over. After my guests sit down I can let him go and he wont smother people. It has to do with the dog being excited when someone initially walks through the door. A trainer suggested this to me and it always works.
As for your other problems its hard to say. The issue with the leash may be either A) The dog wants to go outside or B) the dog wants to play.
On the teeth issue. My dog when young, always played rough. Thats what dogs do. What I did to help that problem was spend some play time each day (at the dogs level) and when ever he grabbed me too hard with his mouth I would tap his nose and tell him "Easy". By tap I mean in a playful way with one or two fingers. It should not be a punishment. Just get his\her attention so you can say easy.
Over all though everything sounds like you have yourself a puppy! Pretty normal. 3 years later my buddy turned out to be the most lovable dog.
Jumps up on everything, people, tables, everything.
Grab the pawls and walk then back words and tape on the table top and counters help a bit.
Is still a bit mouthy, doesn't really bite at all but still puts her teeth on people.
i have found shoving the body part down the mouth a bit helps some. (works for cats to)
Bites and growls at her leash.
don't know both dogs loved there walks
Only eats her food after she has spread it all over the floor.
our Sheltie would take a mouth full of food into the living room to eat then go back for more. no big deal if the mess is cleaned up.
Runs around the house like crazy.
send her out side a play with her and stuff animals are a good toy. Spirit did run allot around the house but mostly grow out of it.
Barks at us when she's supposed to be eating in the kitchen.
spray bottle in my first post works like a charm got the idea for the shelter we got Spirit form
Spirit is hound mix
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