Will walks make my dog calm down?

Question

I have a great big male chocolate labrodor who is six years old. He is not neutered because he is pure bred and also we dont want his personality changed. But the problem is he goes mental when we take him for walks and tears our arms out. I can walk him and keep him in check but its still painful. Will taking him for more walks teach him to be more calm and behave better or will it just result in sore arms?

i mean does he just get excited cuz walks r slightly rare. if it was a common occurence would he be calmer or will he always act this way?

dont say neuter him because my whole family is opposed to it. my brother acts like an idiot but we dont neuter him! and he is gonna have puppies fyi. but anyway thanx all i am gonna try and increase his walks and talk with family about obedience school. :-)

Answer 1

You need to take the pooch to some obedience classes.

Answer 2

If walks are a rare occurance how do you expect him to know how to do it properly? Neutering him would help by potentially calming him down, and being a pure bred is no reason to not have him altered. It doesn't sound like he gets enough exercise. Obedience school would help, but he probably just wants to have the opportunity to run around a bit. Labs are great swimmers, besides being a good exercise it's amazing how quickly it can tire them out. You should try taking him swimming somewhere if you have the opportunity. Otherwise talk w/ some trainers or take some obedience classes so you can learn how to teach him to walk properly.

Answer 3

I have a lab mix 1 year old male that has the energy from the lab. We did get him neutered and it didn't really calm him down that much anyway. I highly reccomend purchasing a gentle leader, it sounds dumb but it comes with a DVD on how to fit it properly and it doesn't hurt your dog it just saves your arm when your dog is on a leash. I also highly reccomend finding an area that it's safe for him to run and play without being on a leash. Try a tennis ball, labs LOVE to play ball, mine would do it all day long if I let him. Obedience probably wouldn't hurt at this point either! Good luck!

Answer 4

More walks will help, but he needs to be trained as well. He needs be taught to behave on a leash so he will not pull your arms out. Get him into a training program that includes you in the mix. Training a dog without training the owner is a waste of time.

Just because he is purebred is no good reason not to neuter him. If he is not active in a breeding program, there is no good reason not to. It can prevent prostate problems as well. You say you do not want a change in personality, but you obviously want him to calm down some. At his age, there will not be a major difference in his personality from neutering, but it may help.

Answer 5

You have a large breed dog that you only walk "rarely"?!?! And a lab, one of the most hyper breeds, at that?!?

You need to learn how to care for a large, active dog. Daily walks/runs (twice daily preferably), obedience training, gun dog trial training (that would prove that he's good breeding stock if he does well at it).

And yeah, neuter your damn dog. Sorry, I have to say it whether you want to hear it or not. I have a purebred dog too, from champion working lines. He's neutered because the world doesn't need any more coonhounds. Take a look on petfinder and you'll see that we don't need any more loony poorly-behaved chocolate labs either.

Answer 6

He needs to be trained to walk on a leash so he doesn't make it painful to go for walks. Petsmart has fairly priced obedience classes. And he is not to old for obedience classes. Do you have a dog park near by? They are a great place to let the dog off the leash so that they can run around and get some of that energy out. Labs love to go swimming, find a swimming hole for him, but be careful that you watch for ear infections.

Good Luck.

Answer 7

In answer to your question, yes and no. It will tire him out and a tired dog is a good dog. But it doesn't really address the problem, only the symptom. It seems that your problem is really that when he walks he is behaving inappropriately by pulling and perhaps becoming aggressive towards other dogs or attempting to chase animals, etc.

First, you really must neuter him. You don't want to change his personality, except when he walks, when apparently you DO want to change his personality. Neutering will help that. The testosterone caused by his being intact is PART of the problem. Makes him more aggressive and more interested in getting through the neighborhood to mark his territory and claim any "loose women" for his own. And by the way, neutering doesn't change his personality, it only smooths out the obnoxious parts. He'll be the same dog you love, but better.

Forgive me, but not wanting to neuter him because he is purebred is ridiculous. The only reason he needs those gonads is because he is a perfect specimen that can improve the breed, AND because you intend to launch a breeding program based on his genetic perfection, OR because you are into the sport of dog showing where being intact is important. If niether of those is the case, then he really doesn't need them. If you want to keep him intact so that you can breed him with some random breathing female, then you are a backyard breeder at best and at worst a puppy mill. And furtehrmore he is a sperm gun waiting to go off. If he can locate a female in heat, he will do whatever it takes to get to her and get her pregnant. And you won't be able to stop him and he'll even fight other males to get to her. Then you'll be responsible for yet another litter of unwanted puppies that someone in animal control will have to kill because you want an intact purebred male. It's bad for you, bad for your dog, unethical towards your puppies's new owners and generally not a good idea. The need to spay or neuter is critical. OK, off my soapbox.

The other part of the problem is that you don't have control of him. He doesn't get the concept of heel and you seem to be having trouble convincing him it is a good idea. This is a battle you MUST win for your safety and his. There are several solutions for that problem.

1. Use a Gentle Leader or Halti type head harness. This looks like a horse's bridle. The theory behind this contraption is that when you control the head, you control the dog. It is impossible for the dog to run away with you if his head is being pulled over his shoulder. There is a technique to using this, so get the salesperson to help you fit it and learn what to do with it.

2. If you don't want to try the Gentle Leader technique, you MUST teach him to heel. Try holding a piece of string cheese near his nose, being sure that he can't get any of it unless you GIVE it to him. Now hold the cheese near your leg and walk. He should walk with you, with his nose glued to your hand holding the cheese. Reward his good behavior with tiny bites of the cheese every so often. Remember start small. Practice in your home first, then in the fenced back yard, then work you way up to the sidewalk.

3. Play red light, green light. Arms and shoulder joints are relatively weak and easily injured when he suddenly yanks you off your feet and you both go flying down the street. Instead, put him on a leash that is long enough to wrap around your body. This will take advantage of your weight to help control him. (Not quite so necessary with a gentle leader). When the leash is slack, you can walk. As soon as he begins pulling, you plant your feet and stop. Do not move until the leash goes slack again. Be consistent and immediate with this. It would probably help to make a short sharp "EH!" sound wihich for most animals means "no no!" Do the EH! immedaitely at the exact moment he begins to pull, then make no other comment on it. Don't get involved with screaming at him or carrying on. That will only work him up further. All you want to do is give him a marker for the behavior that is causing the "red light" to hold him backl. For the rest of this technique it is important to let him work it out himself. Again, when you practice, start with short walks, then work up to around the block and eventually work your way up to your usual mad drags around the neighborhood, only by the time you are doing that, your dog will be so much better.

Good luck

Answer 8

try getting a collar that goes around the mouth not one of those ones which stop the dog from biting but a different one if u go into a pet shop and ask them for one that goes around the mouth with the straps but isn't the nuzzle kind they will know what ur talking about, the leash helps to control the dog and the more u take it for a walk to less excited it will be. also make sure the dog knows that ur in control not the dog

Answer 9

you need a trainer to help you. getting a dog neutered no matter what the breed, will not change the personality. I think you need a yard that is fenced in so the dog can run around instead of just walks.

Answer 10

You have to maintain control. When you get outside your door, if he is jumpy then you have to wait till he is calm before taking him out the yard.
Even if he is stronger than you, try to always keep him on your side, by holding the leash tight enough so that it is enough for him to walk well but not enough for him to be able to move far from you. If he gets out of line, just give the leash a quick tug and say no.
After awhile he will get the hang of it I hope. I trained my dog like that, though it worked for me I am not sure bout your dog.

Answer 11

Does a walk ,"clam", you down? Your dogs needs more training, walking on a leash. You must teach your dog, that you ARE in charge. Get a "gental lead leash", so your arms do not get pulled out. Next if you do not plan to breed you dog, get your dog fix! More health problems come up, when a pet is in "heat", other than going mad, because you want him to "mind his/her manners". Every dog, CAN be train to walk on a leash, start in your own backyard, and keep up the training, till YOU get right!