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Old July 10th, 2002, 05:34 PM
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Training

A question for a pet expert or trainer.

Our 7 month old (spayed) purebred Chocolate Lab "puppy" antics are getting worse. She gets plenty of exercise, sleeps most of the day..bounds around from 6 to 7 pm; is then taken out @ 7 and again at 10 and is awake a good part of the night! There is always someone at home with her.

She has eaten/chewed/ruined, dozens & dozens of articles i.e. from an afgan to a nightgown!. Of late, she seems to be acting vindictive, but we have never punished her. The word "NO" just doesn't seem to cut it.

We could never inflict harm on this beautiful animal but are at our wits end. I may add she has never been crate trained (too late now), so how does a "time out" apply?

Just when I think it can't get any worse, she tops her last antic!! We recognize the energy and playfulness and she does very well at "puppy school" re leash training, etc. Also, she barks in your face and will not give up until you have figured it out as to what she wants!! Very, very vocal. We have tried covering her muzzle (not squeezing) and it seems to annoy her more than ever.

Any input/advice would be appreciated.

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Old July 15th, 2002, 10:08 AM
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Talking hey!

Hey there, ive got a 17wk old choc lab puppy and i hear you! Was talking to a guy yesterday that works with dogs, and he owns a german shepard, his dog is amasing, guy raises his eye browns and the dog stands up from lying down. anyway he gave us some great advice... we let our pup off leash throughout taylor creek and the first thing the guy said to us was "get a tracking harness" this gives you more control he said, his dog also had one on. he said choke chains and neck colars are garbage. tracking harness gives you more power and control, if you need to grab the pup.. with the harness you are doing so like his mom would be doing, they wont pull as much with the harness because it is around the chest and is difficult to do so plus it is so much more easy on the neck. he said leave the harness on in the house at all times except when you are not home so it doesnt get snagged, this way you can correct her easily when she does something wrong just by grabing her by the harness, which will not hurt her. all i can say is it is never! to late to crate train... crates are heaven, although never used as punishment. our pup loves his crate, even goes in on his own sometimes to catch a catnap. just make sure they arent wearing a colar or harness.. anything that can get snaged when they are in there. if you do try it out.. you wont be sorry! we used to keep our pup in the bathroom to sleep.... that is until he started digging holes in the walls..if they dog barks while in the crate the best thing you can do is ignore her and soon enough she will settle down.. we put a light sheet over top of our pups crate just to give him a little privacy, and so he isnt nosey.. and looking for attention while in there. if youd be interested in the crate issue let me know and i can tell you some other tricks that ccan help you to get your dog used to it... crates are a blessing. though i really reccomend getting a crate.. and if you do id get her used to being alone for short periods of time so she doesnt develop seperation anxiety as she gets older. I find for chewing.. our pup "Mr. Big" is his name.. he loves nylabones.. mind you they last no longer than a day but they are great and come in different flavors.. ours goes wild over carrot ones. and also peanut flavor...rawhide and other bones like that you might as well call garbage.. if your dog is like mine and tears off big chunks plus there is no nutritional value. when it is warm out like now, cut up an old pair of jeans soak them down w/ water and freeze them in the freezer then give her a peice and she'll love it itll feel great on her gums, this is also good for teething pups. if your pup is awake part of the night.. i wouldnt let her fall asleep so early what we had to do was from about 8pm on.. we had to keep waking mr big up and not letting him sleep till about 12am, then finally putting him in his crate, so that he sleeps till about 7am... its really worked well, now we just let him sleep whenever.. usually around 930-10pm, let him out of his crate at 12am (hes only paper trained right now seeing he just got his last set of needles) and he goes pee on the paper then he is ready for bed for the night. anyway ive been rambling on so if you want some more ideas let me know.. ill be happy to give you some more ideas.
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Old July 15th, 2002, 03:19 PM
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Training

Thanks Choc Lab Lover; any input is appreciated. I don't want to give up on this beauty, but she is so strong-willed...I should have named her The Jersey Nut! (her name is Jersey).

I'm going out to buy the harness...good idea. At 7 mos. she weighs 60 pounds, and that's a lot of weight to try and control.

Should you have any more ideas that you would care to share please do so...we need all the help we can get!
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Old July 15th, 2002, 04:33 PM
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How is your pup for commands like: sit, lie down, heal, come, paw?.. etc.
*If your dog does know paw... dont let other people ask her for paw as it is a sensitive part of their body and only the owners should ask for paw.
Side note : never give her tennis balls for toys, the same guy i talked to yesterday said the paint and stuff it is made with wears the protective coating off of dogs teeth. :|... sad things is lots of people don't know that and the majority of people have a tennis ball for their dog
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Old July 15th, 2002, 06:20 PM
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Chocolate Lab

Our pup was enrolled with a very reputable trainer at the tender age of 10 weeks. He said she was extremely smart...she learned very quickly. She is a friendly dog, loves everybody, knows how to sit; she is never given a treat unless she sits. She will give you her paw (I'll keep in mind your advice). At school she walks right beside you, and is very good when she is out, with the exception of a bit of tugging if she recognizes someone. The biggest problem (or one of them) is that she will not "leave it!"

When she runs off with something in her mouth it's a game because you have to chase her to "retrieve" (moan) it back. You can screech "leave it" until the cows come home, but she will not drop it and you can't approach her, then, frustration takes over and it's a battle of the wills and she wins!

She loves her ball (it's a rubber one that I bought at a Pet Store), can run around with a soccer ball in her mouth, then punt it back..life is a game!!

She is a very stubborn pup. May I add this is not the first dog we have owned; this is the 3rd, and while the first one was a Black Lab, their personalities differ. Or, maybe it got easier with time and we only remember the good ones!

She doesn't respond too well to a female voice (the trainer said to say whatever very loud) and I'm so tired of shouting at her.

Your input is greatly appreciated....I have to love her like mad to keep putting up with her and I don't want to give up...she's a handful.

Thanks again.
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Old July 15th, 2002, 06:53 PM
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Well the two of them have something in common other than their breed than... Lol We havent come to find anything to fix the "stealing game" is what we call it... Our pup steals anything he can get (somehow he knows he isnt allowed to have it, and if he is allowed to have it then surely he doesnt want it.) Though its strange he doesnt really pick up anything outdoors other than sticks which he is allowed to have when he sees garbage and other stuff he doesnt bother with it, but in the house it is a whole other story. My sister has a rottie and she taught him to "leave it" i dont know how she did it ill have to ask her.. but what she does is, she puts two treats on her dogs paws and says leave it and he will just sit there till she says okay, so im guessing her trick must come in handy for "leave it " on other objects... ill have to ask her how she came to teach him it, he is only about a year and a half now. will let you know once i find out, maybe that will be a key to fixing our problem.
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Old July 15th, 2002, 07:47 PM
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Talking

Do you have a pic of your girl on pc?
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  #8  
Old July 17th, 2002, 01:47 PM
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Yes, I have several pics on a disc....I keep trying to copy it to this page but no luck. She's brown, she's sassy, she is now asleep!!
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Old July 18th, 2002, 01:22 PM
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Unhappy

Well thats too bad! If i can ask, how much does she weigh? weve looked through a few books/sites and they all say something different, i know males will weigh more than females but i was just curious, and if you dont mind me asking... where did you get her from.. we had a hard time finding a choc lab we finally got Mr. Big from just outside of walkerton ON, from a breeder.. 'adamswaykennels'... does she have her papers and all that good stuff yet? What region in toronto do you live in... ever wander around taylor creek?

http://www.adamswaykennels.com

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  #10  
Old July 18th, 2002, 01:50 PM
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One Big Dog

I have to reiterate the story of how Jersey came to us. We had to put down our pal of 13 1/2 yrs. last Nov/01. I cried for 9 days straight! Just after Christmas we were at a neighbour's Open House. The neighbour(s) next door to them were there and the lady remembered me as "Jessie's Mom." Well, (lump in throat) I had to tell her that I was no longer Jessie's Mom. She asked if we were going to get another dog. I answered that I wasn't going to "get" one, the dog would come to me. She told me that her brother owns a kennel in Ottawa, and that a litter had just been born; there was one pup still left to be sold. I emailed her brother the next day (at that time the pups were too young to be let go) and the pup was ours.

On the weekend of Jan. 12/02 the neighbour/sister of breeder & her husband drove to Ottawa on the Sat. On the Sunday she "came" to me. I had already named her, but I hadn't set eyes on her. She was quite dark (I knew she was chocolate) and looked like a bear cub...so, we got her at 7 weeks.

Jersey is now nearly 8 months old, and weighs between 60-65 pounds. She's been spayed, but she is not fat (too active for that). I'm told she will go up to about 75-80 lbs. by the time she is one year old.

I think I know where Taylor Creek is (Oakville?). We live in Etobicoke North (formerly known as Rexdale). It takes forever to take her for a walk because she stops at every house where she knows someone!

Like you, we adore our Chocolate Lab...she is the funniest animal I've ever had. She ate my walking shorts this am...took them out of the laundry basket. My youngest son reminded me that our Black Lab ate an entire plastic army helmet! Enjoy! We have to have them for a reason!!
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  #11  
Old July 20th, 2002, 01:42 PM
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taylor creek runs through a lot of the city.. we live in east york 5 min walk and we are in taylor creek.. tonnes of dogs and pups to play with most are offleash.. mr big loves it.. especially the offleash part.

yesterday morning met up with a guy he had a 3 yr old choc lab he weighs 100lbs.. hes huge! really cute though his name was dawson.. guy said he just got rid of dawsons ear infections cost nearly a grand.. said wipe their ears out every 2 days with a rag since they have floppy ears and they hold in moisture.
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  #12  
Old July 21st, 2002, 10:44 AM
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Davies4 Davies4 is offline
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Puppy's Ears

Thanks' for the tip re wiping out pup's ears. Our's is a digger and when you look in her ears there is so much debris you could grow a garden in there! I have ear drops that we got from the Vet, and TRY to put them in; he suggested Q-tips but I'm afraid of hurting her, so the soft cloth is a good idea.

The communication has been great here; I've learned a lot...as they say..."a common thread!"

We live near the Humber Creek, but there are so many cyclists on the path it can be dangerous for a pup who doesn't know what a bike is...just interested in the person on it..ha.ha.

Thanks again.
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Old July 21st, 2002, 01:57 PM
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Oh the joys!!... thread "new puppy"... they are just going to be getting an 8wk old black lab..hope they are prepared for lots of sleepless nights.. <laugh> and lots of running around... oh I hope they know what they are getting into <grin>

But its worth it!
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