Almost 1 year ago we adopted this sweet little guy.
He was a loveable, cuddly, energetic pup.
And now, he has turned into this. (Jake at 11 months)
He is still sweet and loveable, but his energy level has gone through the roof. I know what it is like to have a puppy lab, but I think he may have been dropped on his head one too many times as a baby. Or, he has a mental illness. Either way, I think we need to get him drugged.
He will go ballistic a couple of times each day and when you let him outside, that is when the split personality really comes out.
Jumping, growling, barking, trying to attack your legs.... We keep spray bottles around to discipline him, but I am sick of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde stuff.
The positive is that he has never messed with Miss A. She can climb on him, scold him, chase him, pull his tail, kiss and love on him, and just be a wild toddler around him and he has never once been aggressive toward her.
So tell me - do you sedate your dog? Should I try to get him on film acting nutzo?
16 Additional Thoughts:
Most dogs are in the wild crazy puppy phase until they are two. We run our dogs (make them play fetch until they about die) every night for about 30 minutes and it helps keep the energy level down. I've never thought of sedating them. The good news is, once the older dog hit two, he calmed down tremendously. Good luck!!
We have terriers so they flip out from time to time. They have crates so when they get over stimulated they have a "safe place" also my mom keeps a squirt bottle handy and they respond well to being sprayed with water. They "snap" out of it.
My mom had a guy come to the house to work with our old dane Bella on obedience issues... let me know if you want his info. I know he was expensive but my mom said he was great.
Also - doggy daycare. When Elle was a wild puppy (although admittedly she was never very wild), doggie daycare was the only thing that tired her out and allowed me a moment's peace.
A tired dog is a happy dog!
I would not sedate him. I don't think drugs would help. What he probably really needs is some SERIOUS exercise. Try to find someone, either you, your husband or a dog walker to not walk with him, but run with him. I know there are dog walkers around here who specialize in running with hyper young pups, because everyone knows that an exercised dog is a much better disciplined dog. To drug a 1 year old lab puppy would be the equivalent of drugging a toddler, they are hyper and crazy because that's what a young dog or young child is, drugging them isn't fair to them or to you. You got your dog for their personality right? Exercise the hyper out of him and I bet he'll be a much better dog.
Has he been fixed? If not, do it, unless you're wanting to breed him. But there are so many puppies already...anyway, we have 2 huskies who are both girls. They tend to go crazy too when we've been gone all day and haven't given them enough attention. Luckily, it isn't too out of control. My parents have 2 labs and yes, they do sedate them at times. And they use the Thunder Jacket on their yellow lab, but thats more for anxiety. Maybe take Jake to a Doggie Daycare a couple days a week to wear him out :)
this seems liek typical behavior for a lab, to me, as they tend to loose their puppy brains late. have you tried running him? this breed often needs a massive time commitment for exercising. the running might be cheaper than the meds, though if he is being a turkey it might be worth it to ask the vet. my husband is BEGGING me for a lab an I really want one but they're very high maintenance for the fist couple years and i'm tired just thinking about it, lol. we all know women do the most work when it's a baby animal! i said i might compromise and get one that is 2 or 3, lol.
We give our dog Prozac to deal with separation anxiety (he was a rescue) but with behavior like this, I'd turn to behavior modification first. Have you considered taking him to doggie daycare twice week so he can run all of his energy out? We LOVE using that tool to help our dog get his wiggles out. Everything I've read (and I've done a LOT of reading trying to deal with our pup) says behavior like what you are describing might be a combo of energy + insecurity, and that good training and obedience classes might help. We also use a "bark box" that emits a high frequency noise our dog hates but we can't hear when he barks, but it has a manual button and after we've told him to "stop" once and he doesn't listen, we hit the button- it has been working pretty well! Good luck.
We give our dog Prozac to deal with separation anxiety (he was a rescue) but with behavior like this, I'd turn to behavior modification first. Have you considered taking him to doggie daycare twice week so he can run all of his energy out? We LOVE using that tool to help our dog get his wiggles out. Everything I've read (and I've done a LOT of reading trying to deal with our pup) says behavior like what you are describing might be a combo of energy + insecurity, and that good training and obedience classes might help. We also use a "bark box" that emits a high frequency noise our dog hates but we can't hear when he barks, but it has a manual button and after we've told him to "stop" once and he doesn't listen, we hit the button- it has been working pretty well! Good luck.
Doing a little blog hopping and noticed yours! I adopted a boxer in June who was on a prescription anxiety medication to keep him calm and keep him from going BIZURK! It really helped him especially as he transitioned from his foster home to ours. We spent quite a bit of time working with him on trust and basic obdience and we were eventually able to get him off of it. I think that fact that he's copmletely out of the puppy stage really helped too though!
Hope that helps!
Doing a little blog hopping and noticed yours! I adopted a boxer in June who was on a prescription anxiety medication to keep him calm and keep him from going BIZURK! It really helped him especially as he transitioned from his foster home to ours. We spent quite a bit of time working with him on trust and basic obdience and we were eventually able to get him off of it. I think that fact that he's copmletely out of the puppy stage really helped too though!
Hope that helps!
I have just as crazy of a 4 year old lab - cute as can be with our daughter and we love him dearly but he can be wild too! They just need more opportunity to release the energy through exercise - is there a dog park or doggy camp he could go to occasionally?! Good luck!
Preppy Pup has SEVERE separation anxiety when I leave, so she's on 20mg of prozac (it's called something else in dog form, but our vet writes the Rx for people meds since it's on most of those discount generic programs). It has done wonders for her... she still has plenty of energy and isn't lethargic at all, it just helps her tone everything down a little.
what if your or Mr R took him for a long walk every day - it just might be good for all involved?
Get him on film! I wish I had video of Ollie when she was a puppy, but I have been catching Mabel all of the time and when I need to laugh I go back and watch and seriously, I laugh until I cry! :)
We have two Labs and they are full of energy. Regular exercise worked best for them. Our choc Lab gets into all kinds of trouble if we don't walk her. Best of luck!
Exercise girl. Seriously. Everyday at work, people get drugs for their pets when in reality the problem is they aren't being used to their potential. Let him run and run and run. Do you have a fenced in yard? Throw a tennis ball for a while. Or take him on a nice long walk a couple of times a day.
If my pups don't get enough outside time, they tear stuff up and piss me off. Seriously, it should call him down.
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