|
My yellow lab has behavior problems
My yellow lab is a year old and seems to be agressive to new people who come to the house. She looks out the window at people or other dogs who walk by and growls and barks with hair raised on her back.
She has also tore up two expensive throw rugs within a week. We are not home at the time. We have to keep putting her back in her kennel when we leave.
I had a chocolate lab before and she was nothing like our yellow lab.
I have twin daughters, six, I'm afraid she might bite someone one day. She loves the girls but too agressive.
I have thought about giving her away.
[ ]
Want to answer more questions in the Domesticity category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Pets?
Labs are generally very good with children. Have you had this dog since puppyhood? Has she been previously abused? Are you yelling at her and hitting her a lot? How often do you spend quality time with her? Also, Labs are known chewers so crate training (the right way) is highly recommended. If I were you, I would find a reputable dog trainer and enroll your dog and your family in classes ASAP.
]
you shouldn't give her away and when dogs are puppies meaning she is a puppy they are sometimes agressive and they just think they are playing and they don't know if they hurt someone or if they tear something apart all you have to do is spend alot of time with her. and you need to take her for walks or take her to the park and run around with her but keep her on a leash because you don't want her to escape. also if you got rid of her she will act different and miss you alot.
]
Hello,
Have you ever read any of the books on the monks of new skete for training dogs. They are absolutely invaluable! They have two books, HOW TO BE YOUR DOG'S BEST FRIEND and THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY. You need to learn the proper socialization needed for dogs. In both books, bad behavior, such as agressiveness and biting is thoroughly discussed.
You may be leaving your dog home for too long, and for the biting issue, get a nylon meat scented bone for your dog. Also, discipline your dog by giving her a brief shakedown by grabbing her collar picking her slightly up and make eye contact and say NO! NEVER USE THE DOG'S NAME WHILE ADMINISTERING DISCIPLINE! This form of discipline resembles how a mother dog disciplines her pups and is not inhumane!
When a dog bites, firmly discipline her "NO". NEVER DISCIPLINE A DOG WAY AFTER THE FACT. Discipline her in the act or right after. PLAY WITH YOUR DOG 30 minutes after discipline.
Be patient and kind, but show your dog you are the pack leader! There are many exercises in both books helping for the socialization of agressive dogs.
Get the books, and look into a LOCAL DOG TRAINIING CLASS FOR YOU AND YOUR DOG!
GOOD LUCK! KEEP ON BEING A GREAT PET OWNER!
]
In my opinion to what the person above me said ..its never good to beat your dog/cat it only makes them scared of you it doesnt teach them anything other than to be scared of you and why would you want that im not only saying that in my opinion but even vet's will tell you that?
]
Nallie gave excellent advice. I have a few ideas that might also help with her destroying things when your gone. She appears to have separation anxiety, this is not a sign of aggression. To help fix her of this, you need to show her that being alone is ok, and that you will always come back. If you leave her in a room for short periods of time, and then come back and play with her, she might start to get the picture.
You should put her in a room, close the door and leave for a period of time. I'm not sure what period of time you should start with. But it should be short enough so that she will not start to get stressed out. Try ten minutes. If she gets stressed, then make it shorter. When I had a puppy, I had to start out with 30 seconds because she would pee and get stressed otherwise, but since your dog is older, you may be able to leave her for longer.
Do this a few times a day, making it longer when you feel she is ready. I'm not sure how long it will take, since every dog is the same, but if you keep at it, and leave her alone, go do things elsewhere in the house, and then come back and play she should get the hint that she doesn't need to freak out when you leave.
You should also leave her with plenty of toys to play with so that she doesn't decide to play with any other expensive rugs.
If it was me, I might keep her from view of the windows to keep her from learning that barking and growling at someone makes them leave. If you have friends who could randomly show up, to let your dog know that strangers aren't bad that might be good. But, make sure she can't bite them.
You should also take her for more walks, to not only get some of her energy out, but to introduce her to some new things. The more new things you introduce her to, the better socialized she will be.
Also, teach your daughters to respect the dog. Teach them not to tease her, run up to her suddenly, or tug on her.
As nallie pointed out, growling and barking are not always the best way to tell if a dog is aggressive. The hair raised on her back might always be a sign of excitement, rather than aggression. My puppy has never shown any sign of aggression, I got lucky and got a social little butterfly, but her tackles are raised everytime she see's a new dog, out of excitement rather than aggression.
But, it could be fear or aggression. Introducing her to many new things should help. She's still fairly young and you may be able to turn her around completely, but if you don't feel comfortable trying because of your daughters that's understandable, and you should try to find her a home with someone who doesn't have kids.
]
well if the dark barks at others from outside its just trying to be protective of its family and its a good guard dog.. but sine its wrecking everything and that your affraid that it might hurt your little daughter then you should thinks about giving the dog away.. but wait for a while and see if the dog get really agressive around others in the house and if it does the dog might have to be put to sleep
]
The hackles raised and growling are signs of aggression, but the position of the tail and ears is important to know also. Puppies hardly ever show agression, and these symptoms do start at 1 year to 18 months old.
Tearing up the throw rug most likely is due to frustration--not agression and the fact that the dog is left alone, and does not get enough exercise. (Walks should be 45 minutes per day).
This dog is a hunting dog, and most likely has a high prey drive. Teach her to retrieve..give her appropiate things to chase. The reasons dogs bark and growl at people or animals walking by is, they are territorial..they growl and the people magically leave. What they do works...so they keep doing it.
Dogs bark/growl also out of fear...if the dog is fearful, harsh training methods will not work. The fear biters are usually unpredictable.
If the dog is dominate and not fearful, you do need to use strong training methods (not harsh) but strong. Make the dog know you are the pack leader and the behavior is unacceptable.
Dog behavior suddenly changes when a dog is sick or in pain..and they may not have other symptoms. Before anything else, take the dog to the vet.
As far as giving her away, that is up to you. I wouldn't want children to be at risk. I have daughter who was severely bitten in the face when she was seven by a neighbor's dog. Who also showed signs of aggression before that point.
By the way, I have a Golden that started behaving the same way, and when I started correcting him with a "No" and a pointed finger, he tried to "back talk" at first...but after persistance on my part he curtailed the behavior, now he rarely ever does this anymore. He will be a year old in August. I don't feel he is a threat to the kids however.
]
I have a 3 year old yellow lab named Daisy who used to be the EXACT same way when she was around 1. (and in a few ways still does). When my family ever left our home we would just leave Daisy to rome around the house. It seemed like EVERY TIME we came back, SOMETHING would be chewed up (especially things like baskets and towels.) We started putting her into a kennel/cage whenever we left the house and we did that for about...2-3 months. Then we decided to let her out and see how she behaved and what do you know; she stopped chewing on things! It didn't take her long to realize that if she destroyed things around the house, she would be confined to her kennel. I believe the cause of your dog and my dog's chewing (and I think it's the same in all dogs) is they're anxious when they're alone and need something to do;labs don't like being alone too much. Just keep doing what you're doing with the kennel and eventually you're dog will stop the behavior. When you DO let her out, be sure she has plenty of chew toys to keep her occupied.
About the aggression...Daisy barks and growls at people she sees and hears through the door. She also HATES vets;whenever we take her to the vet she seems to want to "protect" me when the vet comes in. Sometimes dogs develop such a close relationship with you that they feel the need to protect you from other people. I don't know about your dog, but mine ends up LOVING people once they come in the door and she gets a good sniff of them (and maybe realizes they aren't going to harm me.)Maybe you should experiment and keep your dog on a leash when people come in and see if she still acts aggressive.
Maybe you should buy a few books on labs. They will give you all the information you need about the breed.
If all else fails and your dog continues to show signs of aggression (or it gets worse) you should consider giving her away. I know it's sad, but you don't want to risk one of your children getting hurt.
Hope I helped! Tell me how it goes!
-Texancuti
]
Well, I have a black lab, and she tends to bark at things and have her hair raised on her back when she does this. She might just be afraid that something is going to harm your twins. These dogs can get very attached to their owners with the right loving. Were the throw rugs in the shape of any animal or made of any animal fur that might have a certian scent to it?
When your dog gets aggressive, do you show her its wrong? Do you say things like , NO or BAD DOG? These simple words will work if used enough. Labs are very easy to train, so this shouldnt take more than a month or so. If the problem persists, try taking her to the Vet. They will run tests on her, and see what this aggressive behavior is coming from. Hope I helped :]
]
Hey,
Every dog is different. How old was she when you adopted her? Where was she before? Also the tearing of the rugs while you were out is attention seeking, my dog chewed my brand new glasses, and he had never done anything like that before! Keeping him in a kennel while you are out is a good idea many people do that. As for his aggressiveness make sure that its not that he is just super excited as many labs are prone to. Before you get rid of him I would try obedience school, it may cost you a couple hundred of dollars you will be teaching your children a valuable lesson, how just because someone is bad you give them a second chance.
If school doesn't work then tell your kids that you found a farm for the dog where he can run all he wants, yes you may be lying but they are young and don't need to know the harshness of reality just yet!
Hope this helped
]
maybe you should give her away or take her to a personal dog trainer...do whatever your more comfortable with but if the personal training doesnt work out maybe you should give her away before she hurts some...its a risk but not worth getting your daughters or anyone else hurt
]
All you can try to do is disipline her more. Until she getst he point. Beat her if she does something wrong. Thats all you can basically do.
Good luck
]
More Questions: |