Crazy dog and small baby.....

[Holly2704]

So I am going to start this by saying I know I am an arsehole.

Me and my husband bought a dog shortly after finding out I was pregnant. I've wanted a dog for years and after moving to the country and leaving my job we decided it was finally a good time and thought the pup would be trained by the time our little bub arrived.....yes in hindsight this was stupid.

We got a red coloured labrador. Long story short he drives me absolutely insane. I have never met a crazier dog. He has no aggression in him but he doesn't realise his size and is very stubborn.

He graduated puppy training....would you believe it after pooing on the hall floor on graduation night....we are pretty sure it was a pity graduation as he did not improve at all over the 6 week corse.

He is never still, destroys everything we buy him, I can't even remember the number of beds he has got through. I constantly have torn up dog items all over the house. He runs around the house for the most part of the day throwing his toys in the air or at me or sits at my feet whining at me. He has to be locked away when people come over as he tries to become their new scarf. He jumps up guests constantly, has given multiple people nosebleeds and bites ears and nibbles in what he thinks is a playful manner, leaving guests drooly and scratched.

We now have a 10 week old baby. I am constantly on edge that he is going to hurt her. Not on purpose but because he is so crazy. I can't put her on the floor for tummy time etc and I'm finding it really frustrating. I've tried locking him out of the front room but he whines/howls the whole time and I feel super guilty. Plus he barks every time a person or large vehicle passes our house so wakes her up all the time.

He gets told off so much and it makes a really horrible atmosphere in our home.

He gets a long walk from my husband each day and we have quite a large garden for him to roam in. I don't know how to expel any more energy from him. I can't take him out with the baby as he pulls so bad on the lead and I can't have him off lead as he jumps up people and doesn't return once called if he finds something more interesting.

I am really at the end of my tether and am strongly considering adoption....hence the arsehole thing....but I really dont know what else to do....it isn't me to think like this, I am an animal lover and feel so awful even thinking it. My husband is strongly against giving him up and it's caused quite a few arguments, as has me moaning about the dog all the time.

Am i awful for considering adoption? What would you do??? Any suggestions are more than welcome.

bean
You get chocolate, black or yellow Labradors. My last three have ranged from so pale he’s almost white, to honey yellow (who was unsurprisingly called Honey 😀) and finally a red, called Rosie who really did look the same colour as a fox. All three of them fall under the ‘yellow’ class despite the wildly differing colour.

Bean red is the original yellow. When yellows first emerged they were darker than they generally are now (google Ben of Hyde) and pale was sought after and so selectively bred for and so became common. Now it's the other way about and reds are sought after.
Officially though reds are registered as yellow.
I love my ginger ninja though.

I think you should have thought about getting a dog better. You should feel awful if you feel your only choice is to give the dog away, as there's plenty of information online about the responsibilities of taking care of a dog. It is well known that dogs that are rehomed can get separation anxiety as a result. When all that has happened is because you can't manage your dog who is behaving like a dog. The only thing you can do is learn from it.
Don't give your dog to the RSPCA as they euthanise animals who don't get rehomed in a certain amount of time. Also don't sell your dog as it might be bought as bait for a dog fight.

Find a gundog trainer - a modern one who uses reward based methods. Get that dog working for you! Use the instincts he has to hunt and retrieve with you. Brain work will help more than physical exercise - although he probably needs more of that too. But simply trying to walk him quiet will not work, he will just get fitter...

Baby in sling. Training for dog. It’s quite possible, I did it with our spaniel.

If you give us an idea of area someone here may be able to recommend a suitable trainer.

Squeaky - that is certainly not true in my area.