My dog won't respect me at all! Help please?

Question

UGH! Alright, I have a lab puppy that's almost 5 months old. She's driving us crazy! We understood what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to get a puppy but this is crazy. I read all the books and advice and watching all the shows about dogs and how to raise a puppy right - and I've done exactly what they've said. She still won't respect/listen to me! Last night, I caught her curled up on the nice couch that she's not allowd to be on (she knows this, she has her own couch in the back room she's allowed on). I Told her know and tried to get her down but she wouldn't budge. And When I did she'd show her teeth and snarl at me! This wasn't supposed to happen! She's house trained well but we're also having problems with chewing. She's chewed up two of our mats for the front of the garage door, chewed the end of a bookcase, AND I just found a huge hole she's been digging in the backyard. She eats things like grass, lizards, sticks, shells, and sand.

Can someone please help?!

Sorry for the grammar typos... *no, etc.

My family's seen practically every episode of the dog whisperer by the way.
Thanks for the advice so far.
We're kind of short on money so I'm not sure if we can afford obiedience training? I know there are free ones but they're really hard to find.

We actually do have some anti-chewing taste spray thing that we'd spray on things she would chew on, and she actually liked it!!!!

As far as the rocks idea goes, that won't work because she'll eat the rocks. Or at least chew on them for awhile (I know it's really dangerous for dogs to eat rocks). We walk her daily. We play with her daily (more than once). We put her in a crate at night so she doesn't ruin the house. Oh, and every time anyone in our family leaves the house, she whines and cries and won't stop! It's annoying, loud and earpiercing! We've tried to correct that as well, doesn't work. Our arms have been covered in scratches and some cause by teeth since we got her at 9 weeks, and she even cause a gash so bad my dad had to

get stiches. Yeah, this is alot. We do need those obedience classes. On the bright side, she's super sweet when she wants to be and she gets along well with other dogs! (although she's been bitten twice, but those dog's were mean).
I'm done now.

Answer 1

I put my dog through level one obedience - $70 for six weeks, not too bad, I thought, and it's helped me loads with getting my dog and I on the same page. Find a trainer in your area - maybe the breeder you bought the puppy from can recommend one - that offers a puppy class as well as obedience for adolescent to adult dogs, to make life easier for you as well as the puppy. In the meantime, I suggest implementing "nothing in life is free." She wants food? She has to sit. She wants to go outside? She has to wait until you open the door and go outside, then call her. She has to drop the ball and sit before you throw it. She will learn to "ask" before she gets on the couch or anything.

Maybe when you have more time on weekends, take her to a dog park to get her really worn out - a short hike may work too, but be careful as she's just a puppy. You don't want to overwork her, but you do want to try to wear her out.

As to the digging, you could create a "digging pit" - a sandbox-type thing where you hide her toys. When she realizes that there are awesome things hidden in this spot AND you are happy when she digs there, she will be thrilled.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

We have a 6 year old lab, the best dog I have ever known. But he did not start out that way! We got him at 9 weeks and he was fun, but at about the same age, he got very naughty. He chewed the legs of my dining room table, he would bite onto our arms if we tried to pet him, he was crazy!

What we discovered is that he needed a bit more time and energy release. Labs are a high energy breed and very intelligent to boot. When bored, they can be very destructive. One walk in the evening is not enough. Do you leave your dog in the house or outside alone all day when you are at work?? They have hours to forget their manners and decide to do what they want, by the time you are back in the picture, they are just thrilled to not be alone. An early walk, some ball chasing, and fun in the morning, then attention when you get home could help a bit with the boredom. As for the couch. I was told when we got our dog that if we wanted him to stay off the furniture, make sure it was all furniture. If we allowed him on the couch, he would not understand the boundary of no bed, not that couch, etc. I guess it was an all or none type thing we were told to teach. He gets on all the couches not, sucks when he is shedding, but cute nonetheless.

The trainers at Pet Smart are great, you really should talk to them and ask your questions, I think for about $60 you get a couple of hours of one on one. Labs are awesome dogs, breaks my heart when I see ads for them between 4 and 6 months of age....if the owners would have stuck it out a bit longer, they would have had an amazing family member. Good luck to you!

Answer 3

I feel your pain. Labs are notoriously bad chewers and unfortunately do not grow up quickly. Once they hit about 2 or 3 they mellow out.

RESPECT:
Getting a dog to respect you is crucial. There have been whole books written on it, so I can't explain it all here. Crucial elements include teaching obedience (sit, down, stay), teaching your dog to walk without pulling, and less obvious things such as:
-You should always eat before your dog eats. This is ingrained in their nature: the pack leader eats first.
-YOU decide when the dog gets petted or loved on. If they come to you and you pet them, this means they're in charge.
You might have seen it already but definitely watch the dog whisperer on Discovery Channel. Caesar Milan definitely knows how to get respect.

CHEWING:
My dog Bonnie ate at least seven remote controls the first year of her life, so I feel your pain. I would suggest buying some bad-tasting anti-chew spray from your local pet store. Put it on things the dog normally chews on. This got to be so effective with Bonnie that if she was doing something else bad (not coming, lying on the couch, etc.) that if we just showed her the spray bottle, she would immediately stop and behave herself.

DIGGING:
Your dog probably needs more exercise. You can try putting rocks on the hole so she won't go back to the same spot at least. Also try to catch her in the act and tell her no (once you have her respect.)

Good luck and hang in there.

Answer 4

I'm sorry to hear your difficulty. Training any dog is much like raising a child. It's all about repetition and being firm. They have to realize you are the master and what you say goes. If you are having issues with aggression towards you, I would highly recommend a muzzle until you start getting respect. Just keep correcting her and be patient...it will take time seeing as she is 5 months old already. Keeping her on a leash outdoors away from anything that may cause her to get in trouble would help. Also keeping her on a concrete slab where she cannot dig with stop the urge to dig and that will eventually stop. With the couch, just keep repeating down and taking her off the couch. Good luck!

Answer 5

As an owner of three Labradors, she sounds like a normal young Labrador, minus the snarling. You need to get that under control ASAP. Start that by stripping her of couch privileges. You say she has her own couch? unfortunately, dogs do not generalize, so a couch is a couch to her. I would remove 'her' couch and get a her a dog bed for on the floor.

If you want to join one of the best Lab forums on the web, try:

http://www.justlabradors.com

Over 3000 Lab owners -- a fantastic resource.

Good luck and hang in there.

Answer 6

first off i would put your dog in obediance training, that way she will know who is boss. i know its hard to raise a uptite puppy. i was told not to touch my puppy when he gets out of hand get a squirt bottle put cold water in it and when you see your puppy get into something squirt the dog and say in a firm voice no. do you have a crate? maybe you could put your puppy in a crate with some toys for a time out for you.

Answer 7

You need to get involved in obedience classes.

The dog isn't the issue, it's your lack of understanding how to train the dog. Yes, you're read and seen things, but you still don't understand.

Look for local obedience clubs, or ask your vet to refer you somewhere.

Answer 8

The first thing you need to accept is that you are the problem, not the dog. And I mean nothing ill spirited with that. You need to find a qualified professional to help you. Good luck!

Answer 9

Obedience class. The best thing you can do with/for your dog next to spay/neuter. She is testing to see who is alpha - and apparently she is.

Take her to obedience class. The books/etc. are good - up to a point - but nothing beats a good obedience class.

Answer 10

obedience classes asap! the puppy has to learn who is boss, a muzzle is not a good idea, it will restrict them from panting and that is how a dog cools itself, because they can't sweat. you also need to crate train him.