Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:51 pm Post subject: Help I am at my wits end
Please can someone give me some advice.
I have just bought a 7 month old golden lab dog and he is an absolute nightmare.
They said that the dog was lovely and house trained and good with kids but after getting him home he is a bitter and is always jumping at me and nipping and if you try to stroke him he bites your hands and thinks its ok.
I am a single mum of 3 young children and am afraid to let him near them as i worry he will hurt them.
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Sorry your story in not unusual, and you have been landed with an untrained dog who has not been given boundaries, and I am sure that that is the real reason for selling him on.
OK, well, you have him now and other than going to rescue and asking them to take him you have to now decide whether you can put the time into training and rehabilitating him.
You will have to start way back at the beginning as if he were a puppy and train from scratch and if you have not had a dog before and don't have the time you are going to be struggling.
If you want to call me to discuss options through rescue and rehoming then please call my mobile 07816591792.
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
Hi and welcome to LF, it sounds to me as though Oscar needs to be taught bite inhibition, its something they start to learn when with their siblings but if Oscar was homed too young the first home he had, he won`t have learnt what it is, to him the kids will be like his siblings and pups do rough and tumble with each other and of course they have nothing but their teeth to use.
There is a thread on here started by one of our members that gives a lot of good advice on how to help overcome this problem, I`ll have a search for it and come back and put the link in.
At 7 months Iscar is still very much a baby albeit a rather large one and like your kids has to be taught right from wrong
Oh dear. Well your new dog may be a bit overwhelmed in his new home with 3 children, and I am sure you all want to cuddle and fuss him. My rescue mouthed at us lots when we first had her and still does when she gets over excited, so just try and be as calm as you can with him and encourage your children to do the same, it may just take him a while to settle into his new home. Make sure he has somewhere he can go to get away from the children when he needs to, and make sure they know not to go near him when he is on his bed/sleeping.
Natalie is very experienced and helpful and I am sure she will support you if you need to ring her.
If you decide that you can and will put the time into this dog that he needs (and to be honest, ALL dogs need) then you should start by finding a good training class to go to with him so you have someone to support you when you need help. Also, read through the stickies on here in the behaviour/training/puppy areas of the forum. HUGE amounts of information and advice here so grab a glass of wine after the kids are in bed and have a darn good read through. Good luck with Oscar.
Sorry to hear you are having problems, he sounds like a typical untrained lab. Unfortunately they are very active bouncy dogs and unless taught right from wrong can be quiet a handful as they grow to full size. It will take time and effort to train him but it can be done. I know it will be difficult with 3 children to look after and you need to think very carefully about whether you have the time to do this. A young labrador takes a lot of time and commitment and your poor boys sounds like he has already been let down by his first owner. Unless someone teaches him he will never learn and could get into all sorts of trouble. I hope you manage to get things sorted out.
I`m really sorry, I`ve searched the forum and can`t find that link, I did have it but had a major crash and lost it.
I`ll post and see if other members happen to have it.
As Nat says you`ll need to be committed to give this boy the training he needs, your children too and if they are only youngsters they are more likely to just want to play with him rather than teach, if you feel you are unable to do this then please contact Nat as she`ll be able to find a place for him to go, no one will think badly of you, you obviously care about Oscar or you wouldn`t be looking for help
Thank you for your help, i am unsure what to do at the moment.
I am going to look into some training classes and see where it goes from there. I hope i can help him as i do not want to have to rehome him.
I dont suppose anybody has any advice on how to start discouraging his biting until i can sort out some classes??
Toys help to distract my two who even now like to hold hands or clothing in their mouths if no alternative is available
Luna has been taught right from very young to 'get a toy' when she was excited when young I would give her a toy to say hi to people with. Instead of grabbing their sleeve or clothing she would waggle around dancing around them instead. 3 years down the line she automatically runs off to the toy box when someone comes in the house or she automatically runs to me for a toy when we are out walking and she meets someone.
Tucker 16month rescue I've had for 3 months is still learning to 'get a toy' I stuff one in his mouth when he gets excited or get the visitor too.
Well done you for wanting to do the best for this boy. If you can afford to it could be worth subscribing so that you can make more than 5posts. Have a look in the puppy stuff sub-forum as many stickies in their could be worth a read.
One thing you can do is if he gets mouthy/nippy is yelp, (a pup would do this if hurt by a sibling) and stop play immediately, turn your back on him and fold your arms, ignoring him completely.
It may take a while but if you do this each time, he`ll learn that being too rough means no play or contact and as Labs love being around their humans he won`t like it.
Do you have a crate fro him?, if so you could also use that, a lot of the time pups get bitey when they are over tired and again like kids they need to made to have a rest, putting him in his crate and leaving him will usually end with the pup falling asleep for a while.
How old are your children?, they`ll have to help with this training as everyone needs to be doing the same thing for the dog to be able to understand and it to work
I think Mary is looking for the link to biting inhibition for you Welcome to LF have a look through the puppy stuff especially the stickys they are really good as they go from young pups through to older pups.
It sounds like you really want to help this dog and I am sure training classes will help good luck.
sorry cross post I use the crate as Mary suggested for Max when he gets to bitey he soon gets the message
Cheryl
____________
Max my shadow
Luther 1994-2008 I will see you at the bridge sweetie
One life Live it
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Help I am at my wits end
