Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

Maybe you can help . We adopted a dog from N.Shore and was abput 6 weeks old. He cute but I feel like he is out of control.

This is a lab terrier mix 9 months old who digs holes in my back yard to china,
the holes are so big you can fall in.

Eats my carpet and my walls, shoes and
anything he can get his paws on .
and and the best one is if you let him in the front of the house he will run away and you have to chase him up and down the block (not to mention I am 8 1/2 months pg)

I have been looking for a trainer in queens but I am not having any luck !!

My husband and I are constently arguing over the dog, please any advise will help !!!!
My husband keeps saying hes puppy and he will out grow this ??? is this true do you think he (buster the puppy) knows what he is doing??? or am I fighting the never ending battle!!!!

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

How old is he?

He may grow out of it, but terriers by nature are diggers, as it is one of the functions they were bred for. What kind of terrier is he...did they tell you that?

The chewing can be prevented by apraying bitter apple, cayanne pepper mixed with water, or curry mixed with water onto the surface of whatever it is they are chewing. Also, your dog, if he is a puppy, may be teething, so I'd recommend going to your local pet supply store and getting a Kong toy or some other type of durable chew toy that can help his new teeth come in.

The running away from the front of the house can be solved. Just remember that dogs are trained through signals and through repetition. Each day at least once a day, bring your dog out onto your front porch/steps, on his leash. When you get to the end of the steps, make him sit. Just keep doing that over & over until he sits on his own automatically when he reched the end of the porch/steps. Once he has this behaviour down, you can then bring him a little further down onto your lawn, wtc etc until he sits ON HIS OWN when he gets to the desired limit. Do not pull on his leash to get him to sit, as this will not translate well to him being off-leash.

Also, maybe speak with your vet to see if they know any qualified trainers in your area. Ask the techs & receptionists as well as the vet.

Good luck!

Message edited 8/5/2006 10:36:49 AM.

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

Thank you for your help !
They didnt say what kind of terrier Buster is .(I guess the digging one )
If you think of any other tips please let me know I need all the advise I can get Buster is a hand full but I know he is a good hearted dog that needs some training

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

I would probably look into getting a trainer, its not a bad idea. In regards to the chewing, is he home alone all day when he does this:? He may just be bored, my rotty did this all the time and once I gave her plenty of toys of her own to play with she never destroyed our stuff anymore. I also cage my guys when I am not home, I have another rotty who is 8 months and Im dealing with the same stuff you are. I cage them during the day when noone is home so he isnt a danger to himself and my stuff.
Now about his running away, do you have a fence in your front? If not, never let him go in the front unleashed. I also had a problem with this, mine would let themselves out so I now have my door handle reversed.
He's still a baby, so his behavior could be coming from that but i think a trainer would be well worth it. Im actually looking for one myself.

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

The digging and the chewing are probably due to boredom. As another poster said, buy him a ton of chew toys, stuffed animals and give him some bones or chew hooves. That should help with the chewing.
The digging is going to be hard to stop. Our dog was a digger when we got her and I used to stand outside and watch her then yell at her when she started digging. Just a sharp "NO" and I would give her something else to do. She seems to have stopped now.
The running away is the thing I would worry about most. You could buy a long lead and take him out front on it, when he gets near the end of your property - tell him "NO" and give a little tug on the lead to get his attention. You are going to have to do this every day for a while.
Honestly, being that you are almost 9 months pregnant - you really want to look into a trainer, you are going to have to get him used to a baby being in the house also.
There is a company called BarkBusters that do the training in your home for a flat rate and if you have any problems I believe they come back to resolve them.
Good luck to you - give him time, he will end up being a wonderful dog

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

I dont know too many helpful things, I have a puppy myself, but I 100% agree you should do some training. It will only help.

check out a petco or Petsmart, they both offer training as well.

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

I'm sot sure what to do about the digging, but as for the chewing, he will stop in time.

My dog would chew everything when he was a puppy too. Well, not everything, just MY stuff. None of the sprays worked for us. Just after alot of No's and Bad Boy's, he eventually stopped.

Unfortunately it's just what puppys do.

Re: Help !! My lab is a nightmare !!

Posted by Gertyrae

The digging and the chewing are probably due to boredom. As another poster said, buy him a ton of chew toys, stuffed animals and give him some bones or chew hooves. That should help with the chewing.
The digging is going to be hard to stop. Our dog was a digger when we got her and I used to stand outside and watch her then yell at her when she started digging. Just a sharp "NO" and I would give her something else to do. She seems to have stopped now.
The running away is the thing I would worry about most. You could buy a long lead and take him out front on it, when he gets near the end of your property - tell him "NO" and give a little tug on the lead to get his attention. You are going to have to do this every day for a while.
Honestly, being that you are almost 9 months pregnant - you really want to look into a trainer, you are going to have to get him used to a baby being in the house also.
There is a company called BarkBusters that do the training in your home for a flat rate and if you have any problems I believe they come back to resolve them.
Good luck to you - give him time, he will end up being a wonderful dog