Labrador playbites everyone/jumps up at people

[spurs12345]

Have a very worrying situation which I hope you can help me with. My Labrador playbites not only me and my husband but the kids as well. Kids dont like it and push him away which makes him jump up and do it more to them. Have tried to limit the interaction between them. Also when kids are playing in the garden our dog will come up from behind them and jump up and push them down. Have taken him to dog classes but nothing seems to work. Also he jumps up on people when we are walking him anyway. If he sees another dog though he will bark aggressively.

TBH, having now discussed this with DH (a wildlife observer over many years in Africa and here) and with both of us having owned dogs all our lives from puppies, we think these debates about dominance theory are just resentment of a label. DH definitely thinks that there is a 'pecking order' with both wild and domestic dogs. I've got less experience with wild animals, so cannot comment. The general annoyance about dominance theory is that it encourages people to fight fire with fire. The best way to address it is through behaviour mod techniques, whatever the cause. We don't try to dominate our dogs, we simply use techniques to alter the behaviour without holding them down/roaring at them.

What motivates them will always be subject to speculation. It is simply an academic argument. As with humans, changing their behaviour by bullying simply shows them that it works.

Through experience, we believe that dogs don't like changes in their family group, there can be little other explanation that some kind of 'pecking order' understanding on their part. We've been very careful to keep their treatment and routine exactly the same.