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marleysmum
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Location: uk
Joined: Apr 2012
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12-07-2012, 10:56 AM

Calling all fellow adolesent male labrador owners! -Advice needed!

Marley is sending me round the bend! he is 11 months old and thinks hes the bees nees! he did his GDCS puppy foundation and now about to sit the bronze next week, he is absolutly brill at all that sort of stuff its his behaviour around dogs thats bothering me, when theres a new dog come to class hes distracted, barking, anxious and eager to go greet them, when he greets dogs he is friendly just over the top with his love and affection! out on walks he goes off lead and recall is great and the dogs he sees there he will use doggy manners when approaching like laying down until i say he can go greet etc it just seems that he can deal with it all off lead but when he has to be on lead and under control he gets in a tis about it and hates the fact he carnt do his own thing. There is a new young bitch that came to class which sent Marley loopy, he wanted to love her too much! and because he carnt he is getting frustrated and hept up at class and wont do what he should be doing, he is being quite head strong at the moment and would love to have his own agenda but he carnt lol! So the main reason for my thread is to hear from other people that may have any advice for me and also abit of info about castration - whether it is actually a solution to a problem?

Thanks in advance guys
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TabithaJ
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12-07-2012, 06:29 PM
He sounds pretty fab to me, frankly

Many dogs - mine included - get very tense and frustrated when on the lead, as they're not free to engage with other dogs as they would like to. My Labrador goes *beserk* and has temper tantrums when we're doing an on lead walk and he gets close to another dog Off lead, he's a total softy!

Ideally the class instructor should be helping you.

Meanwhile, assuming your Lab is typical of the breed and is food motivated, try the 'watch me' command, using a high value treat a a reward. If you are not familiar with this command and would like more info, let me know. I use it with my Lab and find it pretty helpful, though it takes practice.

And to reiterate, for a young male Lab, Marley sounds amazingly well behaved off lead!

Re castration: this won't necessarily help with the excitement aspect; my Lab is neutered and still goes mad with excitement when on lead!

However, of course if your dog starts chasing every female dog in sight, and trying to hump them, then you could consider neutering.
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sarah1983
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13-07-2012, 12:15 AM
My adolescent Lab can also be OTT on leash, especially when first meeting a dog. We're using a combination of distraction, watch me and only allowing him to greet other dogs when he's calm and it's working well.
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marleysmum
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13-07-2012, 09:40 AM
thanks for the replys, i dont seem to get alot of help from the trainer in class i just get them all staring at me as so to make me feel that this behaviour is not normal at all!
Iv taught him a "whats this" which helps in alot of situations but sometimes it doesnt work at all! ill try changing that command to "watch me". He looks like hes bad to other ppl because hes lunging and leaping, barking(which is very loud!) and generally bigging himself up but once of lead hes a gentleman, if ppl bring their dog to Marley so he can say hello then hes ok and settles down but if the dog is female then its awkward!
Im glad im not the only one and you have reassured me that he is generally "normal" i will try the distraction and waiting until he calms down before hes aloud to greet other dogs, Marley is my first labrador and im finding it to be alot of fun and games!
Hes also started a new thing of barking and growling at me to play with him when he brings toys as if to demand i play with him but its not always the right time to play, the other day he did it when i was on the phone! hes in the play stance and wagging his tail but sounds quite scary to ppl who see it when they visit, i dont play with him when he does it and i put the toy away and eventually he gets bored and stops, i play with him once hes calm to try reward the calm behaviour am i doing it right?
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runningrabbit
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13-07-2012, 12:33 PM
I'd try a tasty stuffed kong in class, with either peanut butter or soft cheese spread, and a harder treat stuck further in. Can't bark and lick a kong at the same time.
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Jenny
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13-07-2012, 02:26 PM
It sounds like you are doing a brilliant job
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marleysmum
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13-07-2012, 03:10 PM
Thanks and the kong idea sounds like a brill idea ill give it a try in my next class, knowing Marley he will prob find away to chew a kong and bark at the same time lol!
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