DH wants to rehome puppy!

[Totallyfloaty35]

We have had our Lab for 6wks and my goodness is he hard work.He eats/chews everything in sight,pees and poos everywhere,even in the crate.He also barks/howls non stop when left alone even for a second.The neighbours have complained and the kids are exhausted from lack of sleep.
He was sleeping in his crate in our room and was great he slept from 11-7.But he is huge and really heavy to carry upstairs(we sleep in attic so its 3 flights) also we needed the crate downstairs for his daytime control.But he howls when we leave him in the kitchen with the Chihuahuas.
DH has had enough and wants him gone.Yesterday the pup jumped at our 3yr old and caught her face with his paw,she now has a slash mark from eye to chin and looks like she has been knifed it was an accident but it was the last straw for DH,i had to send him to the pub to calm down
Any tips would be a great help,i have booked pup in for a claw clipping and have been trying to get hold of a behavourist but she still has not got back to me.I have never had a pup that acted like this before.

Is this the first time you've had a lab? Because TBH it all sounds like pretty normal lab behaviour to me! Our second lab has just turned 8 months and is still hyperactive and chewy. Labs don't fully mature until around 2 years old, they stay puppish quite a long time, and they don't know their own size and strength sometimes. The problem is, it will only get worse as he gets bigger - ours is now 26kg and things she's still tiny, so will try to sit on your knee

Although saying that, labs are also very easily trained, and after 6 weeks of toilet training I would have expected him to be dry in the house by now (fouling in his crate is especially strange - is it too big for him?). But without knowing more about the techniques you've tried for toilet training it's difficult to give more advice. The jumping up can be trained out of him, but puppies will be puppies, and he's bound to jump up every now and again when he gets excited.

You don't say how old he is, but I think you're very much still in the difficult phase. I'm not one of these people who love puppies, I can't wait for them to grow up! Up until around 6 months old I always wonder what kind of monster I'd brought into the house! It does get better, but you need to have plenty of patience. Because lab puppies are so big, they really do need 100% of your attention, and I guess the question is, can you manage to do this when you also have a young child to look after? If not, as upsetting as it is, it may be best to let him go to another home before he gets too attached to you all

SOunds like normal puppy behaviour. Were you really prepared for this? Have you got him in classes? Are you training him consistently?

It is our first Lab,we have 2 chihuahuas and used to have a Shar-pei we have also had a Boxer.We have been taking him out every hour,after playtimes,wake up times etc.He will go outside on command but if left alone in the kitchen for 5mins will wee or poo by the door,even if he has just come in from going to the toilet.He is much less nippy and will sit mostly instead of jumping all over you.I can handle most of his behaviour apart from the non stop barking.DH goes away a lot so i tend to train all the dogs we have had.He is booked in for clicker training from next month.
I dont know if he has got too attached to always having someone around as we have to watch him constantly for toilet training or to make sure he doesnt eat the house,but he really goes crazy when left alone.I have been filling his Kong and shutting him in his crate for 20mins at a time to get him used to it and give him something to do so he doesnt notice he is alone.His Kong is great but it doesnt keep his attention for longer than 20mins or so at the most.

He is 14wks btw,and i have always had dogs and kids so never been a prob before,i think Labs are just monster pups,nice adults but all the pups i have met are loons

Bet you're glad you didn't get a Newfie after all! You would have had all this in a puppy twice the size.

Yes, sounds like normal lab puppy behaviour to me. Labs are notorious for having long puppyhoods (anything up to 2 years), as do all alrge dogs, but even after that time he will still be a big, energetic dog who will need much more work than your Chis. Chihuahuas were bred to sit on your lap and look pretty: labs were bred to run for hours across rough ground retrieving game.

I think you need to think quite seriously about whether you have the time,energy and commitment to put all the work into him that will be needed. When he reaches 6 months old he'll be near adult weight (over 20kg) but still a bouncy puppy. That's the hard part, even before puberty kicks in and he decides all his previous training is pretty pointless.

If you don't think you and your family can meet the challenge them IMO it is better to rehome him now. If he is developing separation anxiety that will only worsen and be harder to cure, and 6 month old labs with problems are much harder to rehome than 14 week old pups.

I don't think there's any point telling you anything but the truth here - do think very carefully about how much you are able to do for him.

Good luck.

Labs are very owner-oriented dogs and will hate being away from you, especially at night when it's dark and lonely and everyone you love has disappeared upstairs! Our have both slept in our bedroom from day one and as a result learnt to settle very quickly. I realise that's not always practical, especially if you've got three flights of stairs to negotiate at toilet time, but he obviously settled better being upstairs with you, so I'd probably continue with this for an easy life (and some sleep!). Once he knows he's not going to be left alone at night, you might find he's more accepting of being left for short periods during the day. Kongs do only tend to have a limited attention span (freezing the contents can make it last a bit longer, and will also help his teething), so if you can give him a couple of choices it's better. But ideallu you want him to sleep when you leave. Have you tried leaving a light and a radio on in the kicthen when you leave, so he doesn't feel so alone?

With regards to the howling, what do you do when he's doing this? Do you return to the room, speak to him, shush him, scold him? Dogs crave attention and even negative attention is better than nothing, so it's best to just ignore him. If he howls when you leave, don't give in and go back to him, just give a stern 'no' from wherever you are. And when you go back into the room, don't make eye contact, and don't acknowledge him straight away. Even better, if you can open the door and walk into the garden, wait for him to follow you outside and then acknowledge he's there.

With the peeing and pooing in the house - do you always make him go in exactly the same spot in the garden? If not, he may be associating his rewards with the act of going to the toilet, rather than the place. He might thinks you're so happy when he does a poo, he'll do one right in the kitchen for you too! And then he'll be confused about being shouted at when he's been such a good boy going to the toilet. Also, if he's always going in the same place, make sure to clean it with biological washing powder or a special pet odour spray, otherwise the smell will keep drawing him back.

Just an afterthought really, but do you think he's learnt to see his crate as a bad place? It's supposed to be his den, so if he's only getting put into it when he's going to be left alone, the crate training won't work. As much of a hassle as it is, bringing his crate into the main living area (open, to use as his bed) whenever you're in there may help him to accept it, as he'll know he doesn't just get put in there when it's alone time.

"even before puberty kicks in and he decides all his previous training is pretty pointless"

Lol, that's soooo true

I am going to be hated but ...

You OH was the one who wanted the lab in the first place and you also mentioned that you had issues with your Chi to sort out. I really feel that you have just taken on too much. Your puppy is behaving how a normal puppy would behave if it has not been trained and given the huge amount of time it needs. Lab puppies are the easiet dogs to train if given time.

It does sound as if unless you can change your training methods and commitment maybe rehoming is the answer. I say this with a heavy heart as a dog is not a disposable object that can just be got rid of when things get hard. I imagine that you will return to the breeder?

If you do decide to keep the pup all his problems can be easily sorted.

First get two crates one for upstairs one for downstairs.

The puppy needs to be taken out every half hour for the next few days, he is confused and is not sure where he can poo and wee.

Do this religiously he will be toilet trained however after this you will still have to take him out hourly for a long time.

He has to learn to be left so in the day leave him for a second in a room on his own and shut the door. Then go back into the room. DO this several times a day. Second day leave him for a few minutes and go back into the room before he starts to make a fuss. If he does make a fuss then you have left him too long and so go back a step. Very important that you ignore him when you come back into the room and if you leave him for any length of time when you first come back to him.

Weeing and pooing in his cage is sign of very high anxiety and a very stressed dog. Do not tell him off just ignore this for a few days. As he gets used to being left on his own and realises that he should be weeing outside this will stop. If not we can work on it as he becomes less stressed.

What food are you giving him and how often are you feeding him?

He needs time one to one with you and your DH and must notbe left to join the pack with your other dogs.

This will take a lot of time but is foolproof in teaching him how to behave.

Re the excessive chewing again sign of a stressed dog give him things he can chew and keep everything else out of his reach. As he becomes more relaxed this will stop.

Where did you get him from? Will the breeder take him back if you can no longer keep him?

When he cries in his crate, what are you doing? Do you eventually go down to him or do you just leave him until he is quiet? Have you tried shuttin him in with the other dogs but not in his crate? What happens then?

His behaviour does sound like standard puppy behaviour, although the toileting in his crate is unusual, hence why I ask where you got him from, although it could be the crate is too big.

I'm no advocate of rehoming dogs unless absolutely necessary for the dog's sake but I agree with Bella and Minimu that it will indeed be easier to return to the breeder/place in rescue a little mite who is only doing what puppies do than a screwed up 6 month old dog. I also agree that this is what you should do if you try, try, try but genuinely can't train your pup.

BUT... I also think that you and your DH owe it to the puppy to do all you can and not give up yet. The owners are the "superior species" (or so people tell me), you chose to take on a Lab pup, you knew that pups pee on floors and jump up at people...now you have as far as I see it a moral duty to work through it and care for him, not just dispose of him within a few weeks.

I respect the fact that you have training classes booked and so on, but I'm frankly disgusted with your DH. It's rare to have a large breed puppy and a small child interacting without some minor accident, no matter how much you try to avoid it. FFS your child isn't scarred for life, this 14 week old puppy didn't attack her and yet your DH wants to get rid of the poor animal. He beggars belief, he really does.

I guess you know my advice - have your husband's bags packed ready for when he walks through the door.

I'd rehome if your H needs to leave the house to calm down. I couldn't cope with a H like that and a puppy. What was he going to do if he didn't leave the house? Give the pup to a family with 2 dedicated owners who understand animals and won't throw pathetic tantrums

Aw DH,likes his little rants,but he never shouted at the dog or even blamed it.He just jumped up and down in the other room while moaning about "bloody dogs, i cant stand it anymore,it needs sending back"But in fairness he had not slept for last 3 nights.I being female cope better.
I dont want togive up on my dog,he is lovely a lot of the time.
I dont go to pup if he is crying i wait for him to go quiet then praise him.If left out of the crate in kitchen with the other dogs, he barks, pees, jumps on them etc.
He did seem to get the house training for a few days and doesnt seem to go inside unless left alone at which point his bladder becomes a tap.
We dont tell him off when we catch him in the act of going, apart from a distraction noise before rushing him outside and telling him be clean,then he gets a treat and praise.
We used to have a very bouncey Boxer,DH adored her but she was not a barky dog(although she howled the first 2 nights we had her) i think its the barking thats getting to everyone including the neighbours.

I am interested to know why you have to carry him upstairs? Why can't he walk?

Oh a Basil Fawlty tantrum rather than aggression then . I'd say keep at it in that case. Things always calm down if you're consistent. We raised a litter of staffies and they had me up at 430 every sodding morning, because it was summer and daylight I could never get back to sleep. It was hell, but cute hell. One of my friends took a pup and he kept up the 430 thing for a month, then just started sleeping through. They're like hairy newborns, really.

Labs aren't generally very barky dogs at all, but I do remember from your earlier thread that your Chis barked a lot in the night. I also seem to remember your Chis weren't housetrained either?

A behaviourist (even one as good as Minimu ) won't be able to come in and turn a 14 week old lab pup into a quiet, well-behaved dog. That takes months of work by the owner.

tbh, and not meaning to sound harsh, if you couldn't manage to train your Chis then how will you manage to do it with the lab?

Yes exactly,my DH is Basil Fawlty(pup is called Basil though )He wont shout at the pup as its counter productive.
Dh gets up in the night with pup and Toddler as i have to drive and may fall asleep at wheel if i get too little sleep so its harder on him.
Fab, larger breed dogs should not climb stairs or over exercise as it can damage the developing bones.
Thanks for the helpful info everyone,especially yours minimu.
He is fed 3 times a day, 7am/1pm/6pm.The 6pm feed i put in his Kong.He eats Eukanuba( as well as the sofa,kitchen cupboards,plant pots,newspapers and computer cables).

My chis bark about 5mins a day.They do bark at other dogs when on the lead but we have been working on it and they are much better.When out my Lab doesnt bark at all,he barks inside.The Chis do howl at about 1am ,4 nights a wk but so do quite a lot of other dogs in the area and no-one knows for sure why,it may be the Foxes in the garden.
You are correct my Chis were a right pain to house train,they were fine when we had a catflap but not when it went.We also worked on that a lot and they rarely do it in the house now.

A lot of what you say points to a very confused and stressy pup.

The bladder like a tap, and the frantic jumping and separation anxiety all, to me, indicate stress and confusion. It sounds as though he is is just not getting consistent, clear instructions from you, nor has he managed to build up any confidence yet.

And with a tiny 12 week old lab, separation is a real issue. Go with a few seconds at a time, and make no big deal of it - either when you leave or when you come back; as minimu says, build it up minute by minute and if there is any anxiety go back a step or two.

It will be very hard for him if treatment for him and the other dogs is in any way different? Especially if house training is different for him and the Chis? Are the Chis also crated at night?

Labs are bloody hard work as pups - loud, bouncy, big and accident prone - but consistency, understanding, kindness and patience will reap huge rewards when they finally grow up. They are rock solid, loving, dependable dogs.

Bella and Minimu both speak a lot of sense.

If you search for my thread a couple of days ago (sorry I cant do links), some of these lovely ladies had some very good tips to help deal with my chewy lab.

Tbh, with all the barking and weeing on the floor it sounds as if he stressed. Bella recommended me a DAP collar, maybe it could help in this instance too.

Generally, labs are really easy to train. I have been doing mine myself (for various reasons) but maybe formal classes is the way to go for you.

6 weeks is not a long time for a puppy to become settled and trained, I think if you give him more time with proper training and lots of love things will improve.

Woohoo,maybe i moaned to quick,pup has only had 1 accident so far today and that was due to teenager not noticing he needed to go.Also he has just voluntarily went into his crate to play with his kong,only breaking off to slobber all over dh

Great news Totally!

Re the DAP collars and diffusers, never used one myself but by coincidence I've just been reading on a rescue forum of success with them. One lady used it with her new rescue dog, with instan success and no need to buy more when the first ran out, another lady is seeing success with her foster lurcher having used DAP. Might be worth asking your vet and giving it a go?

Thanks Vallhala,will give it a try.

Those DAP collars are magic,Bas has been like a different puppy and he only got it yesterday morning!!
He has happily stayed in the kitchen asleep while i have gone in and out.I have also been feeding him in his crate and he has voluntarily gone into his crate looking for food and then had a snooze.
He is still loopy of course and charges up and down like a mad thing but we are all feeling the love again and next week we have some one to one training booked with the behaviourist/clicker lady.

oh good