Nine month old lab - advice please

[Helpplease88]

Thought we were finally turning a corner and he was "calming down" and so were we.
Destructive, mouthing , jumping up, pulling on lead (when not trying to eat it).
and hideous humping. Most difficult of all is his apparent inability to settle. I spend the day reacting to his behaviour which is perhaps where we are going wrong. His needs/behaviours dominate the day. I dread waking up sometimes.
He deserves better. Please advise.

He's still a very young dog, currently testing the boundaries. Training a dog from puppy can takes a minimum of 18 months.
Are you doing any formal training classes with him? (KC good citizen dog scheme is great)
This should help burn some energy and get you 2 working together.

I have a Lab myself and well remember the first crazy years!! It does get better but it takes a lot of time, patience, effort & consistent training.

Find yourself a good trainer and stick with them, it will be invaluable honestly.

Use mental stimulation as well as exercise, and find ways to allow him to use his natural instincts to tire him out. Let him run, let him sniff, let him chase, teach him to simply walk beside you (trainer will help with this). The stronger the bond you have with the dog, reinforced by training together etc, the easier it gets.

Someone told me when I got my Lab that Labrador’s are 4 before they get a brain and I laughed but honestly they’re not far wrong. They are incredibly clever so if you don’t give them a job to do they will find one themselves, and they are a breed that requires a lot of physical exercise too so make sure you’re meeting those needs alongside training.

You have to teach them how to settle, a trainer can help with that too x

Can you find a trainer who is used to working breeds - not a furbaby type trainer? We have labs and I spent a lot of time (and patience) in their first year training and teaching loose lead walking. Don't over-exercise them as firstly it's not good for them when they get older but also it just makes them superfit! Definitely yes to mental stimulation - hunting, etc and more formal retrieval with dummies rather than chucking a tennis ball and then teaching them to settle.

Very grateful for the time and effort these responses have taken. Feel less a failure and alone.
Really want to give this boy a good life.x

He's approaching Teenager years in dog terms, can be harder than early puppy as you think you are getting somewhere and then it feels like you are back at square one without the cuteness to compensate.
Strict boundaries and training will work in the end and once hes's older after checking with your vet it might be a good idea to get the nuts off - made a huge difference with our dog

Every labrador owner will have had the same thoughts and moments (months) when they feel like you do OP.

Bad news is that I think 9 months + for a few months is the worst age for behaviour. Good news is that it will pass!

Agree with getting a good gun dog trainer on board.

The trainer can help with settle , impulse control and ideas to help mentally tire out your lab.

The trouble with young labs is that their brain capacity is short and when they get tired they turn into zoomie humpy crazies.

If they dont get enough mental stimulation they also turn into zoomie humpy crazies.

I would not rush to get him castrated yet. It wont make a lot of difference to his behaviour and can have long term issues if done to early.

I find that when labs stop chewing and biting when their teeth come in they transfer the behaviour to humping. Keep things they can hump out of their way, cushions etc.

Give your dog a nice walk, food etc and then encourage quiet chill out time. Get into the habit of this. The walks may be short and the quiet intervals may be short but it is a habit that your dog will recognise and both will become longer and it will get easier.

Keep up the training, dont expect too much new learning in this time period but carry on reinforcing what they do know. Keep the environments calm.

This too will pass

You are not letting your dog down they are being a twatador and will soon become a loving loyal labrador. Hang on in there

Yep, he's a teenager and full of hormones.

Stuff kongs and hollow bones with some of his food allowance (soaked in hot water if it's dry food) and freeze - they will help with settling.

Get a good trainer to help you with lead walking and other behaviours. There's a good page on fb - I believe it's called puppy training and advice. Remember he's still a puppy even though he's a big dog. It will pass but you do need to work on training.

I have a 7month old girl and she's just starting to push the boundaries. What I do know, is that she is incredibly intelligent. I've trained over six different breeds in my lifetime from pups and she is something else. She lives using her nose, so I took her for a mantrailing session recently with a trainer. There were 3 of us in the group and she had to find

1. a stranger hiding in a built up area
2. one of the dogs in the group hiding in the built up area
3. the other dog in the group hiding in the dark (it was dark for all 3 actually). She was AMAZING. I knew she could find a ball, but to do all of this, first time ever and not put a foot wrong, I was blown away. I also have a Newfoundland. She's amazing in the water, but I have been trying to teach her the difference between her 'monkey' and 'elephant' toys for years now. Nothing. Zilch. Little Lab can retrieve about 6 things now on command. Downside is she has enough energy to power a whole Duracell factory 🤣🐾 sorry can't be more help with his humping, but good luck!

Agree with PP above re Kongs and I also use marrowbones like they are going out of fashion. I have about 8 on rotation. I stuff with their own food, mix it up a bit with some wet food, freeze. Shove a full packet of mixed frozen veg in microwave for 10 mins, purée and stuff them. I wash them all and reuse and they last forever.

I found 8-18 months the worst stage!

2 decent walks a day. We found treats helped with behaviour at first but eventually the ball became his thing.

We used a gentle leader for walking. Plenty of off lead, lots of games. Hiding ball/treats. Teaching to wait..

At home, kongs, antlers, snuffle mat, puzzle trays. Exercises to get him thinking. Plus a couple of training sessions a day.

A gun dog trainer or behaviouralist to help keep on track.

Our dog is 4 now and pretty decent but a lab is a shock to system. Everyone says what great pets they are but no one mentions how hard it is to get there.

I remember those days! Mine was a dick at times. Can only echo the others, lots of stimulation, two walks a day, plenty of chances to sniff when out. Toys.
Then they must become the bestest dogs!

Taking this on board. Thanks for your advice. Looking at gundog trainers though think he may need general training first! Currently curled up on sofa (no cushions as have been destroyed) and the cuddliest of boys but half an hour ago was leaping round my head to grab something! I realise I am half of the problem if not more.

“ Everyone says what great pets they are but no one mentions how hard it is to get there.”

This!

Hang on in, it does get better and the family pet you’ve been looking for will emerge.

I have spent hours (months) working with DS’s rehomed lab that they got at 18months old. It’s still a work in progress.

having him castrated at 22 months helped calm him somewhat, it stopped him being overly interested in every dog he met and running up to other dogs off lead, but now he’s entered the terrible twos and seems to have gone backwards. The woods are completely off limits now as the overwhelming scent of the squirrels at the moment sees him dart off into the trees never to be seen again.

on another note, he’s the kindest most lovable and good natured animal I have ever met and lives happily in a house with several cats that he cuddles.

@Helpplease88 I am a dog trainer. If you live within an hour of Winchester, I will give you some time for free to show you some things that will help you overcome this.

I see you offer this all the time. Its so kind x

My 6 month Lab gets restless at certain times of the day. I started off training him now he has trained me. To keep him content & relatively easy he requires an off lead walk in the morning with lots of sniffing opportunities. That tires him out enough to nap for an hour when we get home which is good for both of our moods.

Mid morning he requires something chewy like a chew bone. In the afternoon he enjoys a kong with some of his dinner in it but it takes him a while to get it all out. Then he gets restless in the afternoon so wants another walk or lots of play activities.

The good thing about Labs I find is that they sleep a lot in between their mad moments. I haven’t had to tackle the mounting yet so that will be challenging no doubt. I’m planning to get him neutered at a year old.

I’ve had a Lab before so I know they can be tough in adolescence but you’re doing fine, don’t worry. Believe it not he will improve with age & be the loveliest dog but young Labs are hard work.

Thank you. I see loads of people having issues with dogs that are relatively easy to solve. Don't get me wrong, some will be more problematic, but, on the basis of there being more people, higher dog ownership per capita, and more people with their own issues transmitting them to their dogs, I like to try to help where I can.