i have a 2 yr lab german shrot hair mix?

Question

when my kids are playing rough and my dog jumps ups and nips my daughters in the arm and does'nt draw blood or anything like that but he also likes to tear up my couch and he loves to run away I NEED HELP

Answer 1

If the kids are playing rough, what do you expect the dog to do. You may want to teach the kids not to play so rough with the dog. Does the dog get walked every day for at least 1 hour? He is more than likely bored and needs to be exercised.

Answer 2

I had similar issues with our Weimaraner puppy - she liked to chew on furniture, jump all the time, and treat my 6 year-old as a litter mate. We tried to resolve the issue ourselves and were able to see progress in some areas, like the furniture chewing - we used that bitter spray that you can get at pet stores (it's not supposed to hurt your furniture), and a firm "NO" and that worked well. We also used aversion by making sure our pup had plenty of her own toys to chew so she wouldn't be enticed to use our table legs or shoes. With the jumping and nipping, it was a bit more complicated. We actually ended up having to take her to a trainer/behavioral specialist to get that resolved. Four days later, she came back a well behaved dog. It was wonderful, and surprisingly not too expensive.

As far as the running away, I guess you could look into an electronic fence/collar system or try putting your dog on a "run" (a long lead that's connected to a cable suspended b/t trees where they can run back and forth) when outside. We didn't have this issue with ours, so I can't really take from personal experience.

Has your dog been "fixed"? If not, that could be a factor in his behavior.

Hope I was able to help a bit. Good luck.

Answer 3

Well, I have a dog that also nips at me when I rough-house around with another person. He's a belgian malinous, but from what I've come to understand, he simply does not like to see me rough-housing, and he thinks I'm hurting someone or someone's hurting me. (Especially if you scream.) He has a tendancy to grab my wrist in his mouth and drag me toward another room - Not hard, but as though he's my father and trying to put me in time-out. We no longer rough house around him, because he worries too much. I recomend not letting your children rough-house around the dog. He's probably just trying to help - or he thinks he is. He thinks your kids are trying to hurt each other and he's trying to stop them from what they're doing.

Tearing things up - Sometimes an odorizer can help, something you spray on areas that your dog tries to chew, like the couch and coffee table. But the best bet for that is to make sure he has PLENTY to do. I.E. Buy a kong! Those things are GREAT!

Kong: It's a strong rubber ball that's hollowed out in the middle. You can put treats in there, or penut butter. This will keep your pets busy for hours - It can be bought at Petsmart and Wal-mart, I think.

Scatter Food: I once had a wolf-dog that dug a lot of holes in the back yard and got very bored very easy. So I began scattering her food around the yard, much like farmers do for chickens. This helps the dogs with their hunting instint, and will keep them busy for long periods of time when outside and keep them from digging and jumping the fence (Maybe).

For the running away, that will require obedience classes. If you don't wish to enroll your dog, or don't have the money, try these easy tips:

First, put your dog on a leash, stuff your pockets (Make sure he doesn't know!) with small treats, or pieces of hotdogs.

Second, take him outside. Make sure the leash is long: a 10 footer would be good, so he has plenty of room to walk away from you.

Third, Allow him to roam, but keep hold of the leash. After a few minutes, call his name. If he does not come, Take a treat in your hand and call his name again. If he still fails to come, Pull the leash in until he is back at your side, WHILE saying his name at the same time and a strong command like (COME.)

Fourth, when you have pulled him back to you, immediately give him the treat and say Good Boy! And prais him so he knows he did good. Do this several times a day, usually every few hours. Eventally, he will come accustomed to coming when you call, and you wont have to use the leash.

Fifth, when you think he's ready, take him into an enclosed area (Like the back yard) and repeat the steps without a leash. If it doesn't work, go back to the leash and train some more.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

This is a working breed. You have to make sure that it's needs are met so that it doesn't try to do things to entertain itself, as dogs will do.

1. supervise play and NO ROUGH play between dog and children should be allowed
2. house management might need to be thought thru to limit destructive boredom behavior
3. recall is a critical behavior - make sure that you don't "poison" the command by using it and then following it with punishment. The dog will quickly learn that that command "here", "come" isn't safe and that running away is more reinforcing then coming back to you.

You might want a private trainer to come out and help you get on the right foot.

SF/SPCA Library: http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_library/index_library.shtml
SF/SPCA referral:
http://www.sfspca.org/academy/referral.shtml

Animal Behavior Associates articles
http://www.animalbehaviorassociates.com/rmn_articles.htm

Education for Child Safety around Dogs
www.doggonesafe.com
http://www.kidsanddogs.org/

Good luck

Answer 5

Yes, you do. First things first, you MUST establish yourself as alpha to him. Undesired behavior will absolutely not be tolerated. Go to your local library, and get at least 6 books on dog training, go home and actually sit down and read them until you understand. Owning a pet is a lot of hard work, and you've definetly got your work cut out for you to get this dog under control.

If you feel as though you need a more hands on approach, contact a dog trainer or a behaviorial expert.

Persistance and consistance are the keys to training a dog.

Answer 6

Dogs are never too old for training, so get signed up for a basic skills training session. Your dog does not view you, or your children as "master" of the home, so your dog's nervous unspent energy is causing you problems.

Try a daily walk, or even a game of fetch from the sofa to wear down that energy. I watch the morning news with a cup of coffee while throwing a tennis ball to my dogs. They love it, and by the time the news is done, they are wiped out. They need that release, or they will find it by using your sofa for a chew toy.

For the running away, you are going to have to leash him for now. It will take some time, but he will learn that freedom comes with a price. Letting him have free roam of the yard for small doses of time when you are in the yard will show him that his best behavior wins him more yard.

As for the biting, that will only get worse. Try reminding your dog who is boss with some simple steps.
- One is that your dog should not sleep in your bed with any family member. They can see themselves as your equal, not as your pet. If the dog won't stay off the bed, consider a crate. It's not cruel, it estabilshes your dog a bed of his own.
- Don't feed your dog his food till he sits quietly. Lower the bowl to the ground, but do not let him raise his butt off the ground to eat till the bowl is on the floor. If he starts to lift his butt, you raise the bowl. His patience is you reminding him who controls his food.
- When letting your dog outside or inside your home, he must sit and wait for your command to move through the door. Once again, this reminds him who is boss.

You need to show your dog the same firm hand you use to protect and control your children. You have a dog mixed with two breeds that eagerly needs direction because that's their breed, hunting dogs who need a firm directional master. The more you control your dog, set him a good schedule, the better your dog will get. Your dog wants to please you, so give him some directions that he can please you while doing. Good Luck!

Answer 7

There's a lot of training advice you need here. I'd say you would best benefit from getting some obedience training with your dog. It will help your dog to be better manners and a trainer who specializes in behavioral issues can help you address some of your specific needs.

A dog the age of yours will likely need to be untrained for certain behaviors that it has taken on and were not addressed with proper training in the first couple of years. It will take time, patience and persistence to train your dog, but you will be very grateful you did.

Answer 8

A dog like that should NEVER be played rough with-it is never ok for their mouth to open and put any part of a person in it. He need obedience training with the family.

Answer 9

all this lab German breed need training from a young age

Answer 10

take him on a 45 min.walk every day and watch the dog whisperer.