My lab-pit mix is out of control?
Posted: April 19th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Common Questions | Tags: Control, labpit | 15 Comments »He jumps on me, barks at me, growls at me, bites at my hands (not hard, but it’s the principal of the matter), jumps on the furniture, runs with things he’s not supposed to have. He won’t listen. Verbal commands just make him more excited, when he gets bored with corrections and treats bad behaviors are worse. He went through a six week course of intermediate obedience training at 7 months of age, but it didn’t really help. Walks are a nightmare, leaving him outside makes him literally eat the paneling of our home, deck, and gutters. The only things I’ve found that keeps him somewhat calm is going to the dog park (which we can’t do everyday) and the crate, but I can’t leave him in there all of the time.
I don’t want any alpha-roll, establishing your dominance bs. And I don’t want you to tell me to get a personal dog behaviorist. One has been tried and doesn’t work and the other is ridiculously expensive. I also don’t want to hear what a monster I am for keeping the poor baby in a crate, because the poor baby is a baby monster. Please, I’m at wits end. I don’t want criticism, I’d like help.
Well you have two choices.
You either provide this dog with enough exercise and structure (TRAINING) to meet his needs, or you re-home him.
There is no magic solution. Training takes time, energy and dedication.
So you have to make a decision, find a traditional dog training class, plan to spend a lot of time training the dog and providing enough exercise for him, or get him a new home.
That is it, those are the only two choices you have.
Well, hun. I don’t know what you do want to hear, then. Your problem is a training issue. When a dog fails to take to training it is always the owner’s fault unless the dog has some kind of neurological condition. Sometimes one trainer fails where another might succeed because each dog is different.
No one here can wave a magic wand and make your dog obey you. Training takes hard work and dedication. My answer may not be popular with you, but it is the truth.
My suggestion- try another trainer. It dosen’t have to be the most expensive one, but another trainer might get through to you and your dog in a way the first one diddn’t. At 7 months your dog was in a different developmental stage than he is today, so even if training worked the first time then bad behaviors crept in reinforcing training may help you.
Best of luck, but there aren’t any magic answers or shortcuts here. If you aren’t able or willing to put in the work required for what appears to be a very high energy breed then relinquishing him to a rescue where an owner can be found that can meet his needs might be best.
More exercise.A tired dog is a good dog.You have to find a way to manage walks and get him other types of stimulation.Try puzzle toys while he is in the house…the type that dispense treats or food…these help to tire the mind as well.Kongs with frozen peanut butter and kibble or frozen wet food or whatever else you come up with to keep him occupied.
Exercise is still the key.Especially with “pit bull” in the mix…they need tons of stimulation and if they don’t get it can be very destructive.
“The only things I’ve found that keeps him somewhat calm is going to the dog park”
You said it yourself, I am sure the major hindrance to his training is lack of exercise. Your dog is bored and acting out as a result. Labs and pits can both be high energy and should have at least an hour of running per day, plus walks. Just letting him outside won’t do it, get out there with him and throw a ball or frisbee around, chase him until he’s run ragged.
My pup is only 8 months but acts out the same way if he hasn’t had enough exercise. Usually when he does it’s a cue for me to run him around the block.
Lol…You’re funny!
You dont want to hear this, and this, and this…..so WTF do you want us to say?
I know…wave a magic wand and spin on your heels 3 times and your dog will be all trained and behaved!
You have to establish the rules of the house…he needs more exercise…DAILY…get a prong collar and a leash on his and correct him for unwanted behavior
Rosa, you know what they say…”your environment is a reflection of you and you are a reflection of your environment”.
No, you do not need a doggie behaviorist and all that BS, but, you have to admit that your dog is the way he is because YOU HAVE ALLOWED it to be.
Options are limited, crate when you cannot watch it AT ALL TIMES, leash and a prong attached to you when he is out of the crate til he learns better and a SUPER Bill Koehler OB course to train him.
That is it, look at my Avatar and see if I know what I am tallking about, then decide. Hope I helped!
Sounds like you have a typical rambunctious labmix on your hands.
He needs, exercise, exercise and more exercise. I’m thinking a dog like him needs at least an hour a day of hard exercise.
Does he retrieve? throwing a ball is easy for you, work for him.
And after he’s all tired out, something to keep him busy. I like stuffed kongs, or if those aren’t enough work for him, fill it with peanut butter and freeze it. They also make this thing called a tricky treat ball that you can fill with his food and he has to work to get it out by rolling it around. At least half an hours worth of time for you.
He also needs a change in routine. In my house it’s called boot camp.
First of all dogs that don’t listen don’t get priviledges. No furniture rights. He has his bed, that’s it. No couch, no bed nothing but floor and his bed. This isn’t cruel but it is about teaching him to respect you.
Make him work for everything. Food, treats, attention, going outside. From now on if he wants something he has to obey a command. Start with one he knows and work it up so he’s doing more for things. When he’s listening to you, he’s learning to respect you. Which is what he isn’t doing right now. Feed him by hand initially so he realizes you control the resources. Make him work for every mouthfull.
Keep a leash on him in the house and if he does something he shouldn’t (ie, get’s up on the couch) grab the leash and pull him off and show him his bed. Same thing if he grabs something he shouldn’t, simply grab his leash and trade him for his own toy.
As far as walks go, either get a halti, or a pinch collar (I feel for strong dogs such as labs and pits pinch collars are safer, as they are less likely to wring their neck). If he pulls on the leash, stop, turn and go the other way. Continue doing this until he looks at you like you are crazy. Then praise him for looking at you. You want him to defer to you at all times. Teach him to look at you and walk beside you by treating him when he looks at you and not moving when he’s pulling. Walks are going to be VERY tedious at the start. You may not even get to the end of the block. Trust me, it’s worth it when that little lightbulb in his head pops on and he figures out he’s supposed to stay with you and pulling won’t get him anywhere.
There is nothing wrong with signing up for more training classes. It’s important for you and your dog and basic training doesn’t stop when the class is over it needs to be practiced every day for at least ten minutes, even when the dog is older and seems to know everything. My dog is 8 now and was a complete and utter doggy disaster until about 2 and that was with 2 hours of excercise a day and daily training. We took obedience classes every week until he was about 3, and we continue to practice daily. He loves it and it has made all the difference in the world for my problem child.
For the record. Crate training is probably the best thing you can do for your dog, so bravo.
Turning him around is going to take a lot of work. But it’s worth it. He’s at an age where he’s testing his limits and trying to push you around (think teenager), but if you are firm, with time and maturity and lots of training, he’ll settle down.
Dear Rosa,
First spend time with your dog. It’s not so much as establishing dominance as it is training. You have an aggressive or hyper-active dog. I have a Belgian Malinois. He is aggressive in that he has shown aggression towards dogs and people. He is also hyper. He is constantly running around on my land. I have some acreage. He also chewed up the siding on my shed. That was fixed with buying him toys and not expensive ones but large chew bones and heavy duty rope toys. The cheaper the MATERIAL the faster he will eat it and find something else. Second build a relationship with your dog and train him into acceptable behavior. My gf is having the same problem you are. He listens to my commands but he doesnt do so well with her. You have to discipline your dog. Don’t always punish with a crate. Sometimes a firm and stern voice can do it. If necessary use spankings and elevate the force behind them. Light taps to start with. If that doesn’t work just roll up a newspaper and spank his bottom. Remember they may be animals but they do feel pain and if you assault too much that can promote the wrong behavior or confuse the animal and it may lead to the animal turning on you. Just work with the dog or take it to a professional trainer not PET SMART.
Take him to the vet and say goodbye.
He is dangerous and out of control.
Such dogs are illegal in the UK. some people reckon pit crosses are even worse than pure bred.
When ever he seems to get out of control put him in his crate for 5 mins or so then let him out and try again he should learn to realize bad behavior means crate time.when he snaps at your hands correct them i crab my puppy by the upper and lower jaw and hold it makes him bite hisself showing it hurts but you have a big dog so might not be possible so you could try my wife’s trick beat the crap out of it or slap on the nose.
Someone who doesn’t ‘believe’ in the ‘dominance bs’ is having severe problems in correcting minor issues that should have been cleared up months ago.
BIG SURPRISE!!
I have heard nothing that suggests the dog has gotten a sufficient correction. If the dog is ‘bored’ by them, do them right or up the ante. Either way, the word bored and correction should never be in the same sentence when describing a 7 month old pet…
Sounds to me like it is not the dog that needs to be trained but rather the owner. You do not want to hear what you really need to do. You want a magic wand to fix everything. You are a lazy owner and you are the one causing your pooch to misbehave. Go to the library and get a dog training manual if you don’t wanna pay for another trainer. My opinion is that the trainer was doing the best he/she could and you were not putting in the time and energy to follow up on what the trainer was trying to do. I suggest that you get the dog in the hands of someone who really cares and get yourself a stuffed animal to sit at your feet and look at you. You will have a perfectly behaved dog and you will not have to do a thing.
Neuter him.
Learn how to train him. Note the instruction is for you – you must learn to be consistent and fair, and let him know what the rules are. He needs structure. You wouldn’t let a child act like that, would you? biting? jumping?
And exercise him, for crying out loud! I’m sure you’re not walking him, since walks are a nightmare. Learn how to bring him on a leash walk – try the collar link below.
Let him learn he can earn your attention by doing a sit stay. There is so much you can do with this dog. Even a Petsmart dog training course would help at this point.
Finally, I don’t usually recommend this, but even watching some Cesar Millan videos will help you observe how dogs can change, but first people have to!
I had that problem with my English bull she literaly chew through a wall. If he is happy in the dog park with other dogs you may have a dog like mine. She is bored and wants company. Borrow a dog that she is friendly for a couple of days to see if it is that she needs company. Mine was horrible and I got a mutt to accompany her and she stopped her destructive behavior. If your dog is left alone for long periods they may also present that behavior. Mine got solve with a second dog. Neutering him also calms him down. he is bored for sure. The more you crate him for long times the more he will be destructive. If I was you would try the companion dog to see how he reacts. I would crate him at night. He just wants to play and probably gets extra exited when you take him out of the crate. Don’t despair. It seems imposible to solve but it is not.
By themselves, both Labs and Pits are great dogs: loyal, affectionate, athletic, intelligent people-pleasers. He needs exercise, exercise, exercise and more exercise. Obedience training is great, except people too often forget 1) it’s not a forever-fix: you need to keep at it on a regular basis for it to work, 2) it doesn’t replace strong leadership and daily mental and physical exercise. Both Labs and Pits aren’t very hard to train if you are clear about what you are asking for, consistent, and keep it fun. I am hoping he is neutered.
No, you can’t crate him all day and dogs that are left outside unattended are often stolen for bait dogs. That’s a horrible death, aside from the fact that confining a dog away from you doesn’t teach it anything helpful and usually worsens problem behaviors.
ALL dogs become destructive when they are bored and when they have pent-up energy that’s not being released they can even become aggressive, and that’s truly tragic and not their fault. You are not providing leadership for your dog and, like people, they quickly tune out constant nagging (no, no, no, no). I understand it’s very frustrating, but next time you’re tempted to say “no” to something he’s doing that you don’t want, instead tell him to do something you DO want that’s incompatible. If you have established yourself as a strong leader this is pretty easy. (And a GOOD behaviorist can teach you this very quickly). Strong leaders are calm, they follow through, and they don’t need outdated alpha rolls or harsh corrections. Use the NILF (Nothing in life is free) program.
Your dog is a baby monster because you made him that way. But you can also make him into a joy to live with because he desperately wants your attention and a leader he can trust. The great news is you don’t have to be mean or violent to do it, just be patient, calm and consistent. Here are some very basic things:
1) He must have daily vigorous exercise. Many owners of high-energy dogs use dog walkers and doggie daycare to help provide adequate exercise.
2) He needs mental stimulation. Every day spend some time working at what you both learned at obedience.
3) Chewing. Stuffed Kongs, bully sticks and MADE IN USA bones. Orbee toys. Good toys are not cheap.
Your dog is counting on you to be the owner he deserves. If you don’t do it, nobody else will. If you feel frustrated and at wits’ end, think how he feels! He’s showing you in every possible way he is frustrated and unhappy. You are not meeting his needs and it is making you both crazy.
There is no quick fix. But as the owner of four large dogs I can assure you the time and effort you put into them comes back hundredfold. And it’s entirely up to you to help your dog become the happy, well-adjusted, well-behaved dog he desperately wants to be.