Hello.
So my family have had a black labrador named Bradley for about a year now.
When we first got him, he was as you'd expect, going to the toilet everywhere, whining constantly, always wanting attention, etc.
We took him to a session of training classes around October time. He learned to sit, heel, the basics really but would only ever do it if treats were held right in front of its face, which is not really abnormal I think.
We've been trying on and off to train him ever since the classes, and things don't seem to be working. I mean, he'll do things when there's the immediate promise of reward and only then. His whole attitude is just terrible, he has no respect for any of us.
We've been told the usual things, like making sure that we eat first at mealtimes, only feed him so much, walk through doors first, etc. but they don't really seem to be working.
He also seems to enjoy jumping up and biting. He's a very big dog, even if he was fully grown (my friend has adult labs and they are quite a bit smaller, as are other labs nearby). He's been doing it for a while and we've been trying to train him out of it by shouting NO!, stopping play, leaving and then coming back a few minutes later with a completely changed attitude, which seems to work sometimes, but very often his mood will completely change within a second, eg. he'll start to bite during play/petting, for example.

I am 17 and pretty tall, at least 6ft2, and earlier this evening he jumped up to my face. I would be ok if he tried to bite me, I am just very worried if he tried to bite my sisters or my mum, all much smaller, and my mum is the only one at home during the day, looking after my 2y/o brother.
We don't want to wait until its too late, but at the same time don't want to just give up on the dog and get rid of him too soon without trying to stop this behaviour.
He's been 'fixed' so it's unlikely to be anything to do with hormones.

Any help will be much appreciated.

I've got a bigger than average black lab too, he's 8 years old now and still not placid!

It sounds from your description that your boy is exuberant, boisterous and wilful but that's not necessarily the same as aggressive.

How much exercise is he getting? Not just in terms of hours but in terms of mental stimulation - they are working dogs, they need a lot of it! If he's got excess energy to burn off, he's more likely to jump up and be obnoxious.

Waving treats in front of his face isn't the answer, as you say, if he'll only 'obey' when there is the immediate chance of some food. But used correctly, treats are a powerful training tool especially for food motivated dogs like labs. It might be that you need to find a trainer to work one to one with you, or a new training class. What does your instructor suggest?

Sophie
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Ok.. for one.. ''We've been trying on and off to train him ever since the classes''

You can't just not feel like training a dog one day and doing some the next... training is something that needs to be kept constant, you need to do it every single day!

for example.. if some days you try to train him to stay off the sofa, but some days you let him on it because you aren't training that day... he will get really confused as to wether he is allowed or not..

Have you thought about going back to class with him? waving treats infront of his face is not really teaching him to ''obey'', it's teaching him he can ignore you if there is no food... What about clicker training? Hide the treat and once you have got him obeying you more, you can start to randomly treat so he doesn't know if a treat is coming or not.


Labs do need heaps of exercise and not just walking or running in a field. On top of at least two 45 min walks (minimum) a day I would encourage him to play games like ''seek'', labs have extremely good noses and it will get his brain going too, looking for hidden items.

Get him to work for his food too... scatter it on the lawn, hide it under pots, in boxes.

When he jumps up, you need to be consistent with what method you use, and this needs to be carried out every single time he does it, so either turning away and ignoring him, or walking out the room and shutting the door, or outting him out the room. Then do not encourage him to play or interact with you, just ignore him a while until he is completely calm. Encourage him to do cal activiteis like chewing on a bone. Grooming him should also be a calming activity to enjoy together.

x

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I was always told, to put your knee up, when dogs try to get into your face - when my GSD gets excited, I tend to do this. He no longers does as much to me anymore - it doesn't hurt them xx

Hope this helps xx

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We don't really have an instructor, and getting professional help, although definitely a good idea, is not an option at the moment.

Thank you for your quick reply.
Yes, I think you might (definitely) have something there.
He gets 2 walks of about 2 miles every day, usually 3 on the weekends and goes off the lead in the woods whenever we can.
How exactly would we stimulate the dog's mind? He has several toys in his room (well, it's the front hall, there's nowhere really else for him to go, but he has his own crate that he seems to like and we shut him in when he misbehaves).

We have a clicker, which we try to use but it is very often the case that he still does not obey.
What should we do about the clicker? If he does not obey, should we keep giving the command, or wait until he obeys? As I'm sure you can imagine, having a big family it is very hectic and we don't have all day to wait around for him to obey, especially because he just finds interest in everything and forgets about the command.

Also, we have a halti lead, which goes around the dog's neck and face, which helps with the pulling but he seems to like to rub his head against things to try and get it off. Probably not relevant, I just thought people should know as much as possible.

The trouble with some labs is that even negative attention i.e pushing him away, telling him 'NO' is good attention as far as he's concerned! Mine certainly thinks so. The best thing you can do is to stay calm and not give him any attention for the bad behaviour - easier said than done!

That's a good amount of physical exercise, but if he's off 'doing his own thing' and entertaining himself, it's not building a bond between you - he's just using you! You need to interact with him throughout the walk - get him 'hooked' on a favourite toy, and only use it for walks / training. He shouldn't have free access to it otherwise. With my lab, I drop toys as we walk and send him to track back and find them - he loves it. They've got great noses. Hide and seek / search games are a great favourite.

You could try him on a programme like NILIF - Nothing In Life is Free! Which makes him 'earn' his privleges - if you google it, some useful stuff will come up.

Haltis have their uses but my lab was the same and would rub to get it off (quite painfully). Practise walking on a loose lead in the garden, rather than when he's pulling to get to some loose lead activity on a walk.

He sounds like a normal active lab to me - but you need to harness the energy and change your relationship with him into a much more positive one before he becomes too much for you. You talk very negatively about him - he's not 'awful' from what you've written, he's just a pup who hasn't been chanelled correctly (yet) and I bet with the right input from you he will be what labs should be - a brilliant family dog!

Sophie
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Back to basics would be my advice.

He is still very much a puppy at 1

All the labs i know are super boisterous and super smart

Training really takes a long time. Oscar is 10 months and we are still working hard on recall and heel and there are still times when i can't do a thing with him because he has the wind up his tail and a scent in his nose

I am wondering if you could revisit training classes, go back to the beginning and talk to the trainer about the problems you are having.

They are the best people to assess his behaviour and advise as they will be able to see how you interact together.

Have you tried a squeaky ball instead of treats as a training aid, or maybe he would respond well to clicker training

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"I am not perfect and i don't have to be, before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean" - Bob Marley

https://sites.google.com/site/blisschalet/

Thanks, that's quite encouraging. I just fear for my family when he's in a horrible mood, really.
How exactly would using a squeaky ball work? Make it squeak instead of giving a treat, or give it him to play with?
Also, how exactly should we go about clicker training? At the classes they told us to click as soon as he performs an action so he knows that he's been good, and then follow this up with a treat.