Need advise on a dog training problem

[ACoyle]

We have two Labs. We think the world of them. They will ve 5 in February. They were crated when we were away from the house till last july 4. Letting them out of the crates all the time, solved a lot of problems with hyper activeness (Breed trait). All was well till the last tow months or so.



They have what looks like separation anxiety. They will shred thingx , recysling, papers, anything they can get their paws and motths on. We got most of it out of their way and now they have moved on to the kitchen pantry. Packaged anything, cookies, sugar, dips, whatever.



In frustration, I put a screw in the accordian door last Friday. Well, they ripped the accordian open and continued on.



The door, I can fix, with a wood door and stop pantry access. I a m more concerned that they will shred or eat something that will hurt them than the rest of it.



Has anyone out there successfully solved this problem? For labs, they are very well behaved, when we are home. They get walked daily and run agility classees weekly. Their diet is the bes, most balanced diet that we can get for them. We would rather not cage them again, as we feel guilty about it. We both work. If that is what we have to do the, so be it.



Thank You

AC

 

[CSnyder]

UGH... I feel your frustration! I also have a 1 year old black lab who is a very loveable dog but he shreds everything up also.

 

[hintonJ]

ACoyle, I train and compete with labs at a high amateur level for field trials, and do numerous demos and Cabelas and other outdoor stores throughout the year, so I have had a bit of experience with labs. I currently own 4, and 3 are in the house full time. Ages run 8 months - 7 years.



When they are not supervised, they are all in a crate. Reason? If I can't monitor everything that they may ingest, I have no idea where to start if a health problem pops up. A kitchen pantry is full of poisons to any dog, raisins, chocolate, electrical cords, etc, all will kill a dog. Also, any plastic-type packaging they go through can easily cause intestinal blockage and high amount of $ for corrective surgery, easily the cost of that new billet transmission or set of twin turbos you've been looking at.



To solve the hyperactivity component, a structured life is what the dogs thrive off of. Take them out, one by one, and teach obedience or a controlled game of fetch until you can have both out in a controlled manner. They will also be much better pets for it. I hope this helps, feel free to PM if you have any more questions, I'd be glad to help.

 

[KevinSmith]

Try giving them somthing to chew on. Not rawhide but cow bone. This cured my dogs problem.

 

[daytripper63]

I have had 2 labs for 19 years now and they along with our latest two are house dogs for the most part, they sleep in our room everynight and they can be busy at times. I lost one 3 years ago and the other 1. 5 yrs ago and have since replaced both of them, I try to excercise them daily, but more than a walk, (they have too much energy) I take them for a bike run everynight for 3-8 miles. I do not leash my dogs but I did train them using a shock collar and now even with other dogs or people around my dog always stays by my side. I must say Labs are smart and learn very quik, my black Lab got zapped twice in one evening and after that she was great for about a month then I just used the audible tone from the collar to warn her and now it is very rare for me to even use the collar.



P. S. The Black Lab mix I got a few years ago was a VERY busy dog and the nightly Rides were beneficial to both of us, the dog is awsome and I lost 45 lbs

 

[RobertP]

i would try giving them something to do during the day. also more exersize at night may help with there anxiety during the day. my older husky used to get into everything. now that i run him more and really get him exhausted he is much better during the day. he still has his moments where i come home and he has destroyed a roll of TP or gotten something off the table but nothing huge. when he was a puppy he ate a hole in the middle of my wall. i feel your pain.





not steal your thread, but i am also having a slight new puppy issue. my new little husky, she is 3 months old is the worst when it comes to potty training. my male was a breeze to potty train she has been terrible. she spots in the house. almost like she is marking territory. i cant seems to break her of that.

 

[kowaliga]

Neutering will slow them down. I used to leave my two ( neutered ) at home ( with food/water) outside & alone while away for a week. . they'd be in the same place I'd left them when I returned.

 

[ACoyle]

OK - More info



1) Both dogs are male and neutered.

2) We give them bovine femurs to chew and monitor to make sure that they don't get too small. We also keep them fresh.

3) They get walked (2 -3 miles) close to daily. I leave for work early and the wife leaves late. I get home earlier. They are usually alone about 8 hours.

4) The town has leash laws and we are frequently visited by some less than desirables (Kids hanging out). The wife walks the dogs and likes to keep them close.

5) They run pretty hard in agility class when we go there.



We do reckognize the benefit of more excercise, we are just unable to do it. We also researched labs and found that they cannot proces high protien dog food. The more portien, the more hyper. We are feeding California Natural which is 21%. That is the percentage that the breeder recommended.

 

[RobertP]

one thing you can do is go back to putting them in their crates for a few days, just kinda to let them know that you are still the alpha of the house. it looks like to me that they have become used to being out and no one there to tell them no. its worth a shot just for a few days to see if that will change things back to the way they were.

every once and a while my male husky will get into something and i cant punish him when i get home hours later because he is not gonna know why. so now recently with my puppy in the crate he has been getting into things a little more maybe once or twice a week. so i put him in the crate one day when i took the puppy with me to my fathers house to play with his dogs. that put an end to the mischief for about two weeks.

 

[bighammer]

I would take Robert's crating idea a step further... . Separate them a bit. Crate one for a few hours while you're home, and crate the other for a while after, to give them more time one on one with you. If they are always together, they bond to each other and can sort of egg each other on to push further than they should. By controlling when they are together, and when they are sepated from each other, you establish the alpha dog control and respect.

Crate one and leave one loose while gone. At least ou might see if one is more destructive than the other.

Hopefuly somebody has some better ideas. I'm not a dog pro or anything, it's just stuff I read about Rotts after getting brother and sister littermates.

Oh yea, and I'm staying in the Holiday Inn Expess tonight. LOL :-laf (Cleveland, OH)

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

"Kennel up" is what we do. The wife and I have a kennel business (Boarding)and have some experience wth dog behavior. Experts we are not.



We do have 2 Labs in the house all the time. The chocolate is the more hyper one, but also is younger in age. The Black lab is the one that will tear things up once in a while, and it is always when we are gone, Shopping or out for dinner. It appears to be a seperation anxiety. He gets mad at us for leaving and that is his way of telling us ( so we believe).



We are very close to the dogs, as they are the same as kids to us. They are not into eating anything they are not supposed to, he will just tear up his bed (shredding it) or move the outdoor carpet we have in the entrance room.



When this occurs, he goes in the kennel for a day or so, if we have room in there. Personally, I believe its as if he believe HE rules the house and is taking out his frustration on us.



My suggestion is to have them kennel up when you are not home.

 

[ACoyle]

We are coming around to the crating idea (slowly). Today's shredding was cous cous - Swis Miss - Mixed with a can of Oysters. BTW - Ever see a metal can of oysters after it has been opened by a 90# Lab that can crush an 18" retriever stick in hus mouth? Not a pretty sight.



I really think that Bighammer might be on to something. I believe that a flavor of that is the answer. HintonJ is right, If I don't know what they ate, I have no hope of knowing what to do inthe event of a problem.



Part of the issue is that they have been together since they were 7 months old and now they are 5 years. They even runb in step. When we go to agility sometimes they take off and do jumps together. If one goes out and the other is not behind, they come back in and find out why. tHE BOND BETWEEN THEM IS INCREDIBLE. I have been around dogs all my life and I am amazed at the communicaqtion between them. Far as I know, I am still the Alpha. If I become angary and do not speak to them (disconnect) after they misbehave, they get crazed. My wife feeds them and is important to them, but, they both take notice of me.



Lots of gtear stories there. Anyway, It seems that Liam, black , male lab, is the ring leader. He is and always has been out thief and the "brains" bahind the operation. Bear, 90# Chocolate, male. Is the enforcer. Such brute stringth, Ihave not seen before. Gentle with us to a fault. They each have their "trouble areas" in the house. I can tell from where the destruction is done, who dis it. I know that Liam starts it and Bear follows Liam's lead. Maybe crating and not letting them see eachother could be an idea. I will keep Y'all posted it you are interested.



AC

 

[ACoyle]

I entered the post above, evidently, while Git-er-done was entering.



Anyway, you have described the behavior, exactly.



I am sure that we are being punished for going to work. Really, I would like to be home, maybe they need paper routes. Oops - hard to get paid for sherdded papers.



AC

 

[daytripper63]

When it is raining or too cold out or just dont have the time to do the nightly run, I put my dog on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes at around 3. 5 to 4 mph

 

[MAleshire]

Daytripper has a good point. Lots of exercise with Labs is critical to help prevent many problem behaviors. Two main things to remember with Labs is supervison and confinement. If you cannot be there to supervise them, then they need to be confined to a kennel or crate. This is for their safety and the protection of your house. Using a crate shouldn't be done for more than 4 hours at a time. So, for long lengths of time a larger confined space is needed. Even if that means confinement to a given area of the house or garage that has been cleared of anything you don't want destroyed. A bored Lab will create their own entertainment. Good Luck!!

 

[Erik@LCD]

I have a 10 year old Boxer that can't be trusted alone, and a 5 year old that has been an angel since day 1. They are both crated when we aren't home. The old guy likes it, makes him comfortable. The girl doesn't appreciate it, but she is tolerant. Its the safest thing for them IMO.

 

[2Rowdy]

I may sound like a wus but what do you guys do in cold climate for exercise. I have a pit bull that is a very good dog but after a few days of not much exercise he just bubbling over with energy. He is an inside dog also. We have a10x10 room in our house where he stays when we are at work or asleep. I hate the cold and don't want to be out in 40 degree weather with the wind blowing 20-30 mph.

 

[Erik@LCD]

get another dog! Seriously, two dogs are soooo much easier than one. They wear each other out, and the younger ones help keep the older ones healthy.

 

[ACoyle]

Erik@TVP - I know that you are answering 2Rowdy, but, tongue in cheek, Have you seen a large jar of Cous Cous after two labs have played tug of war till they crack it then yhey play chase while it acts like a kind of obscene salt spreader?



Or maybe a 5 pound bag of sugar that has exploded?



I love having two. They make me laugh daily, good thing.



AC

 

[Erik@LCD]

Haha, similar! How about a full bag of flour, scattered across the living room and two dogs who can't open their mouths because they are cemented shut with the flour?

Or a bar of soap, left unattended, that resulted in a fire-hose like spout from the not-so-pleasant end of the dog...

I got a ton of them!