Dog Obedience Help

I have an 8 month old yellow lab. she has a very bad problem with jumping on people to the point that my kids are scared to play with her. Knees to the chest do nothing. If she has been in her kennel for any length of time she is so crazy when she gets out, only I can deal with her. She also has a problem with mouthing people. By that I means she doesn’t bite but will put her mouth around things like an arm or leg. The mouthing is less if she always has a rawhide but there has to be a better solution. The jumping right now is the biggest problem. Also, how old do they have to be to get spayed? I have heard that it helps also.
Any tips are welcome.
DT

I have also had these problems in the recent past, an e collar can do wonders but also major harm, I bought a collar with a beeper and have shocked her on 1 honestly 2 times months ago and her behavior with the collar on is night and day. When she is not listening I simply beep her Repition and consistant comands are key, age will help. Good luck!

I use a trainer out of buffalo, he is spendy but worth every penny! I have the most high strung 48 pound lab and he worked wonders with her! I’ve been around quite a few dogs he’s worked with and they all are awesome dogs. PM me if you want contact info.

When you are kenneling, you are going to get a period of time for them to “run out”. We don’t expect too much from the animal in this period.

After that, WE write the rules. She’s got you over a barrel and you need to take back your pack position. You, and the family and mom will have to cause some pain, but not much, given how young the dog is.

I would not advise an ecollar (then they have to wear it) or neutering (more health problems than with intact dogs)

When they mouth, grab the lower jaw, roll the lip over it and press it into the teeth forcefully, until it causes pain. The animal is testing who is the alpha and you are losing. It does NOT take much force to regain your position, but it does take some.

I’d suggest a book on obedience, probably by Dick Wolters. He’s a nice balanced person and will help you to understand how the dog sees the situation. The Dog Whisperer is also good. This is NOT brain surgery.

You have a very normal dog and very normal problems. A good dog obedience course that mom or the kids attends is worth it’s weight in gold. Pay the 10yo to go to the course, then to teach the family what needs to be done by everyone.

Waiting is not an option. It will only get worse, then you are taking the family pet to the pound and feeling like a failure.

There are also good summaries of what needs to be done on the internet, but i’m sorry, i’ve not collected those URLS. Google dog obedience procedures.

Curious if you done ANY basic obedience yet?? Like at a training center or even some of the pet shops have obedience classes. Definitely a place to start and then apply it to these situations.

Mouthing can be corrected easily as well. But with my Lab, it was every single time he did for nearly a month before he figured it out. You have to be consistant and patient and stick with it. It might take awhile and won’t happen overnight. With the mouthing… correct her by grabbing her tongue hard and saying no, and then give her the rawhide. Teach her she can chew on the rawhide but not your hand.

A great video to watch is ‘Fowl Dawgs 1’ by Rick Stawski as well. I wish I’d have had it when my Lab was much younger, rather than finding out about it a couple months ago.

My black lab was that way. High strung, always on people, kids were scared of him. He wouldn’t bite but he would tackle. I did basic obedience with him and taught him hand signals. I had a woman who claimed to train dogs tell me that when he did these things and wouldn’t heed commands to tackle him and pin him down for a minute. It worked very well, you can actually see them give in. I also went through 4 shock collars with him. They just didn’t stand up to a hunting dog. Tried all the top brands all the same result, they would break within a year. We had to put him to sleep a few months ago at the age of 14 and a half, great hunter but bratty dog to the end. I do miss him!

as Hanson mentioned, the Stawski Fowl Dawg series is a great training method for a novice. If you are only looking for obedience, then just pick up disk 1.

You need to create an obedience training routine, and follow that routine everyday, and everyone in the family needs to follow those same standards. if anyone lets the dog slack more then others, it will be very counter-productive.

as far as an e-collar goes, i will stick my neck out and say that is THE WORST thing you could do at this age. an E-collar is used to reinforce known commands, not teach commands. and this is how people burn out and wreck dogs, trying to use an e-collar to “teach” a dog.

follow the training program of your choice, and do not skip any steps. I would suggest doing everything up to steady drills for an obedient dog.

Fowl Dawgs

Evan Grahams SmartWorks

those are both great training programs for a novice.

oh, and for the sake of the animal, do not get it spayed looking for a “quick fix” for obedience. it will change nothing.

this dog is well into the age where we are teaching formal obedience and demanding a lot from the dogs. you need to get this animal under control, and show her who is boss. but remember to teach her…

This may sound crazy, but for once Perch_44 and I pretty much agree on every point!

And so I guess this winter is looking good for the Vikings, too…

Patience, Patience, Patience amd more Patience, Having a dog is alot of work and dogs need A TON of attention wether it be from training or playing they need attention. Sounds like she also needs A LOT of exercise. Take her swimming, take her for runs and long walks. I have taken alot from the “Dog whisperer” and have put it to use with my dog. Just a FYI knees to the chest as you have learned will teach a dog nothing nor will swating it with a paper. Good Luck it sounds like she’s a hand full but in the end she’ll probably be a great dog

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. I always like to “train” a tired dog. Be consistent…ALWAYS. For example, if you don’t want him up on the furniture, don’t allow it; EVER. Not even, that one time just for fun. If you don’t want him to beg, never feed food from the table. If you want to give him food, put it in his dish.
I like Wolters stuff. He has a book called “Family Dog”. Good stuff.
Also, teach your kids how to deal with a jumping dog. Remind them to stay calm, only pet the dog when she is sitting and/or calm. Teach them to cross their arms and turn their back to the animal. Don’t let them flail their arms up by their face. I believe in always making dogs “work” for treats and/or food. This has helped me with training my Lab. It could be as simple as sitting, or advanced as following a scent trail across the yard.
Just my $0.02.

You do have to be top dog.

No they won’t listen when they’re excited to see you and caged up all day.

Dogs really don’t like having their back toes stepped on. Or having their mouth clamped shut and eyes covered or being held down.

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Dogs really don’t like having their back toes stepped on. Or having their mouth clamped shut and eyes covered or being held down.

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Please don’t step on their toes. It is very easy to hurt, break, or damage a dogs feet.

Obedience, Obedience, and then some Obedience training.

Worst thing about dog training is everybody’s got a better way, no matter how good a trainer they are.

Take the dog to somewhere like Animal Inn where they have been dealing with dogs and obedience for many years, gets hands on training because your gonna have a multitude of questions while your training.
90% of dog training is training the owner.

Maybe try the book, “Becoming your dogs best friend” by the Monks of New Skete, pretty good book on becoming Alpha to your dog and the whys and how’s of dog training.

FWIW imho if you think you need a shock collar, you shouldn’t be training dogs.

4 dogs, multiple obedience and field degree’s, and no shock collar needed.
Only as a last resort and only by a very skilled trainer.

Al…just another opinion..

I also agree that a shock collar is not the solution.

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I also agree that a shock collar is not the solution.

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I read a post-training study on police dogs at one point. It was on an equal number of dogs trained with shock collars and those without. The dogs trained with the shock collars showed an increased level of anxiety at the issuance of every command given.

They also showed an elevated fear response.

Not to say every single dog trained that way is going to, but it’s a good picture of why I really hate shock collars. The only time I’ve ever considered using one is in those situations where the dog’s a long way off and I needed a remote “Hey, I told you (not) to do something!” and even then it’s all about the beeper.

Im in the process of training a pup right now as well. He is only 4 months. To keep him from jumping we really worked on the sit command, not necessarily when he jumps but just in general. so now whenever he is really excited to see someone he will run and sit at their feet rather than jump.

For the mouthing issue I wrap is upper lips around the teeth and apply a little pressure like some people have explained above. He still does it when he plays every once and a while but he knows not to go to far.

I also say don’t use the collar to punish use it to train. I have one but I haven’t even turned it on yet. I just put it on him whenever we are going to go out and have fun and do some retrieving so he makes that connections later on in life.

Good Luck

The other command I like to teach at a young age is “enough”. This has worked well for me with mouthing. It is so natural for pups to do this. But, instead of trying to stop it completely, I manipulate the situation so that when we are rough-housing and rolling around, mouthing is okay, but when “enough” is commanded it needs to cease. This is an easy command to teach. It also works with my lab Boomer. He is incessantly bringing me stuff to through. I command “enough” and have added a crossing of the arms signal (like a “your safe” but not so obnoxious). When this occurs he knows to “get out of my face”. I then have taken the time to train the people in the neighborhood about this and other commands. It makes for a nice time and I don’t need a fence or to chain him up.

Get a dog bigger to put him in his place

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Get a dog bigger to put him in his place

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FWIW imho if you think you need a shock collar, you shouldn’t be training dogs.

4 dogs, multiple obedience and field degree’s, and no shock collar needed.

Only as a last resort and only by a very skilled trainer.

Al…just another opinion..

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and exactly what “Field Degrees” have you put on your dogs without the use of an E-collar?

and it is called an E-Collar, not a shock collar.

when you are teaching long distance handling, blinds, etc, you need a way to make a correction on a known command at a long distance, yelling just ain’t gonna cut it.

again, an E-collar is used to reinforce known commands, not teach commands.

again, an E-collar is used to reinforce known commands, not teach commands.

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But not necessarily the only way. Whistles and hand signals are still used with great success in training as well as in competition and the field. Shock collar vs. E-Collar…it’s like saying Crescent wrench v. Adjustable wrench…we all know what we mean.

Deertracker,

if you are planning on hunting this dog, you should look into joining a Retriever Training Club in your area, there will be plenty of people with many years experience to help you with your dog.

and training your own dog is much more satisfactory then paying someone else to do it.

here is one 30 minutes from you!
http://www.prairielakeshrc.net/

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again, an E-collar is used to reinforce known commands, not teach commands.

But not necessarily the only way. Whistles and hand signals are still used with great success in training as well as in competition and the field. Shock collar vs. E-Collar…it’s like saying Crescent wrench v. Adjustable wrench…we all know what we mean.

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we still teach whistle and hand signals. the e-collar is used to reinforce those known commands at a distance.

since when has an e-collar replaced that?

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The other command I like to teach at a young age is “enough”. This has worked well for me with mouthing. It is so natural for pups to do this. But, instead of trying to stop it completely, I manipulate the situation so that when we are rough-housing and rolling around, mouthing is okay, but when “enough” is commanded it needs to cease. This is an easy command to teach. It also works with my lab Boomer. He is incessantly bringing me stuff to through. I command “enough” and have added a crossing of the arms signal (like a “your safe” but not so obnoxious). When this occurs he knows to “get out of my face”. I then have taken the time to train the people in the neighborhood about this and other commands. It makes for a nice time and I don’t need a fence or to chain him up.

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I used the same command(enough) with both of my dogs. It works great and translates well to other situations, like barking when the doorbell rings!
I also agree that you should stay far away from an e-collar if you are not a professional. I have seen them turn more than one dog into a nervous, confused mess/ Also, make sure to praise your dog when they do follow commands. Negative reinforcement has its place in establishing dominance but positive reinforcement will go a lot further in establishing respect and obedience.

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FWIW imho if you think you need a shock collar, you shouldn’t be training dogs.

4 dogs, multiple obedience and field degree’s, and no shock collar needed.

Only as a last resort and only by a very skilled trainer.

Al…just another opinion..

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and exactly what “Field Degrees” have you put on your dogs without the use of an E-collar?

and it is called an E-Collar, not a shock collar.

when you are teaching long distance handling, blinds, etc, you need a way to make a correction on a known command at a long distance, yelling just ain’t gonna cut it.

again, an E-collar is used to reinforce known commands, not teach commands.

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CD and CDX degree’s, in fact the entire Springer club we belonged too did it also..with no shock collar, call it what it is, not some feel good term.

Other than last resort, laziness is what makes these so popular.

And to suggest one to a beginner is just plain stupid.

Al

Lots of info here and not much time to reply. She gets at least a couple mile walk, run everyday. Keep the info coming.
Thanks DT

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FWIW imho if you think you need a shock collar, you shouldn’t be training dogs.

4 dogs, multiple obedience and field degree’s, and no shock collar needed.
Only as a last resort and only by a very skilled trainer.

Al…just another opinion..

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and exactly what “Field Degrees” have you put on your dogs without the use of an E-collar?

and it is called an E-Collar, not a shock collar.

when you are teaching long distance handling, blinds, etc, you need a way to make a correction on a known command at a long distance, yelling just ain’t gonna cut it.

again, an E-collar is used to reinforce known commands, not teach commands.

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CD and CDX degree’s, in fact the entire Springer club we belonged too did it also..with no shock collar, call it what it is, not some feel good term.

Other than last resort, laziness is what makes these so popular.

And to suggest one to a beginner is just plain stupid.
Al

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hmmm…i guess that people who train their dogs to AKC/HRC Hunt Test Titles, and AKC Field Trial AFC/FC titles are lazy then…

oh, and a CD and CDX titles are OBEDIENCE titles… not “Field Titles”

I’m sure doubles and triples were done long before e-collars. Wolters’ older texts have some good strategies that don’t utilize e-collars.

Not a huge deal really. It doesn’t bother me that much that some people use them. I don’t and can’t imagine I ever will. Just my preference. I see it having the potential of doing more harm than good. But, I also don’t holler at my dog…so for what that’s worth.

As you can see, “E” Collars have some good and bad with them If you can weed through some anger, there is some good information in those responses.

Collars have two main uses and theories. One side says you provide light stimulation, give command, when dog follows command the stimulation goes away. Not highly recomended, but there are guys who do it, and some excellent dogs have come from these camps. Those who do it claim very fast learning and for a pro, time is money.

The other guys use them as a reinforcing tool to known commands. I think this is where the vast majority of collar users fall. It is in effect a check cord that can be used at 150 yards. But none of this really answers your question.

If it were my dog, I would go back to obedience training. The dog gets no attention until it sits (preferably at heel), and then it can be petted (reinforce) this behavior. 90% of my obedience training goes from sit, stay, come, heel. These commands are to me the most basic of information and something all other training works off of. I would not let the dog out of the kennel without a check cord and whatever you use to train (I use a choke chain).

Let the dog out, make it sit and heel as soon as it leaves the kennel. Reinforce the command as needed. Do not provide any positive reinforcement until the dog has performed the proper behavior (sitting). If the dog jumps, you have the check cord for immediate correction.

It sounds to me like your dog is craving attention after being alone for a long period of time. Sometimes when a dog does something like this, no reaction will do more then a strong negative reaction. Do not allow the dog to jump on you, and ignore the dog until it stops jumping and being crazy. When it does stop (and it will) praise the h ell out of it.

I am not a professional trainer, do not have numerous hunt titles under my belt, but this is very basic stuff you can try. Good luck

Rick Stawski actually trained my dog (he had 6 or 7 weeks with him in total) and he had an e-collar on him well before his he turned a year old. The comment about the collar being there to reinforce the command rather than punish the dog is 100% right on in my experience. Rick is awesome. I haven’t seen his DVD but I would bet it’s fantastic.