Normal Lab behaviour... or bad owners?

[LittleMilla]

Our darling boy is 10mo and seems to have entered a really destructive phase. This has only really just started and we're beginning to question whether we're just not stimulating him enough or if it's all normal?

I know he's only just entering his teenage years but would appreciate some advice on what's perceived to be normal. And also what people do for mental games...he'll play hide and seek for HOURS. Which is fine if not a tad dull

You will need lots of chewy things for him as his adult teeth will be bedding in. You could feed him using a ball that you put his food in. One of our dogs was seriously peed off by this as he had to work to get his dinner. Training on walks will help to calm him down and give him focus. It's a shift in focus from having a pet dog to keeping a dog who needs a job. A job can be finding food, finding things, extracting peanut butter out of a Kong... Sitting and waiting.... Also, ho hum, keep him away from things you value. One of our dogs ripped up the fitted carpet in a rented house then was sick on it. I have lost no end of shoes and underwear. I've had chewing lite!

Exactly how destructive? Chewing up a few slippers/shoes or shredding the whole sofa? Labs are chewers and need sufficient stimulation for sure.

Is he left alone for long periods or is this happening when you're home?

Our lab tried chewing on shoes and socks (right in front of us!) when she was about that age. That we handled with discipline since it was done right under our noses. When we were gone she'd get in and dump the kitchen trash all over the house but never chewed anything up. We finally had to set the can in the laundry room when we were gone! We put it down to boredom. We bought her a Kong and a treat ball. We'd put a small biscuit in the kong or fill the treat ball with kibble and she'd only get them when we were gone. Seemed to keep her occupied.

He shredded a new joules dog bed. Regularly eats the rug in his room, done a few door mats. And all toys get nibbled. I've got two small boys tho and he's pretty good with their toys so he's not THAT bad.

Our lab chewed everything from ripping apart a sofa seat cushion to digging up and destroying carpets. Any soft or rope toy was destroyed in minutes. Any dog bed was destroyed. vet bed was chewed and he had to go to vets due to a huge vetbed furball. Stag bars were gone within a couple of days. Shoes were not safe, he ate a brand new pair of ds's football boots out the box.

He's two next month and it all suddenly just stopped about 5 months ago. Bought him a soft duck toy a couple of months ago and he loves it and its still in one piece! Think his teeth must have settled in or he grew out of it.

Our lab Newfie cross is exactly the same, she is now 14 months and anything in the dog room is fair game, shoes, socks, power cables, door mats, rugs, recycling, the list is endless. She is also a complete garden terrorist and has utterly trashed it to the point that we can't let her anywhere near to grass or borders now as she will have a mud bath. In spite of all of the above she is a gorgeous, loving, very very hairy and mostly well behaved pooch, just had her spayed so I'm hoping her destructive phase will stop soon!

Thanks Wings, makes me feel better.

Out of interest, how much exercise do you give your lab? And if/when did you get him neutered?

Not sure how dog-PC this training method is but I cured our lab from chewing shoes many years ago by setting up a dog booby trap... Some old, light pots and pans left on the table and tied with a short length of fishing line to a pair of shoes the dog had been eyeing. Left the room for a few minutes, almighty crash, dog never looked at a shoe again!

Ours was neutered at around 10.5 months, I would have preferred to wait a little longer but his friskiness was getting a bit uncontrollable with my ds and friends dc.

Exercise wise he gets about 1/2 hour in morning and an hour at night midweek and probably 2 - 2 1/2 hours total at weekend, mostly off-lead and (if we can find someone) running with other dogs. At weekends he goes wherever we go, so if visiting parents he comes too.

We live out in the country so our Lab got oodles of exercise and running about the property. But even lots of exercise won't cure boredom.

I'm assuming all this damage happens when you aren't around? Is he crate trained? If he's getting bored or anxious when you're gone you may want to crate him, at least until he gets through this stage. Done properly, crating can give a dog a safe space and make them feel less stressed. And if they regard the crate as their own 'den' they are much less likely to destroy it.

Sounds pretty normal to me. My lab has only recently stopped destroying her bed & I can leave her lying around the house without fear of carnage (15 months old). However, cuddly toys and teatowels will get chewed no question if available. I spend a bloody fortune on bones/hide chews as she gets through kongs in seconds and all other chews last a matter of minutes. She is not exercised a huge amount. Half an hour in the morning and between 1-2 hrs later on, but she is quite happy to replace that with following us doing the garden/being played with by the kids/bit of training if needs be. I don't think it is so much exercise they need as company tbh.