Six month old lab puppy - please tell me it will get better?

[ILoveaSunflower]

And will I get my life back?

We brought him home at 9 weeks and from day one have been consistent with training, crate trained and lots of enrichment. He has stuffed kongs, slow feeders, licky mats.

We recently started gundog training with him and he's been doing really well.

But my god...I'm on my knees and regret getting him most days.

He just doesn't know how to settle despite trying to teach him every day. I can't relax at any time as have to have eyes on him 24/7 and am constantly on edge waiting for the next thing to be stolen or chewed.

He constantly steals things like shoes, hats, pens anything that he can reach. He counter surfs despite everything being put back out of his reach.

I find it hard to play with him as he quickly gets over excited and starts biting and jumping on me.

He tries to steal our food at mealtimes but barks of he's shut out for us to eat so it's really stressful. We have stairgates everywhere.

I know he's only young it's making me so down and tired. I feel like I did so much research before we got him and have put a lot into training and enrichment for him that I don't know why I'm struggling.

My previous dog was a JRT that we had from 4 years old so we bypassed the puppy stage. We had 12 wonderful years together and I'm still grieving for her even though it's been over a year although I know it's not fair to compare the two.

Please tell me it gets easier? I should add there's no question of rehoming.

It does get easier, with lots of time, patience and really consistent training! My Lab is 3 now and he is honestly perfect, we’ve put a ridiculous amount of time into his training but it has really paid off and he is just amazing now, hang in there!

photo or is not happening

@ILoveaSunflower It does get easier! I totally understand about feeling the need to be constantly vigilant: it is very tiring, but it isn't (or shouldn't be) forever.

I've got a cocker and I was seriously up for giving her away for months and months – but she's 18 months now and a superstar. Not perfect but literally a world away from where we were a year ago. I know that seems a long time away but it does get better.

Have you talked to your gundog trainer about settling? And when you say he doesn't settle, what does he do instead? And how are you working on it with him?

There is a super, very supportive community of us on the adolescent dog chat on here, and on the puppy thread too – come and find us if you want to whinge in peace with no judgement and with people who will try in good conscious to help from afar. We're a mix of mostly gundog owners, by chance, and there are a couple of Labs within our coven x

I sympathise I have a border collie who is now 6 years old, still full of energy and a pain, but we love him. I remember saying he would calm down at 6 months, then 1 year old, now given up, he rules our house big time.

Labradors are so worth the end result. But they do make tricky puppies. But the dogs they end up as are utterly wonderful. They love to learn, they love affection, and all your research will be proved right in the end.

You can ignore the barking (don’t look, don’t shout, don’t engage so there is no reward at all and you don’t let him out til he’s stopped so the barking never gets a positive result on that occasion) or put down a licky mat with peanut butter and make sure he can’t see you eat and hopefully that will keep him quiet. If he knows “sit”, it’s good to do an instruction rather than a No as you can reward him with “good”.

But age and consistency do the most. He’ll grow into a wonderful dog and you sound like you’re doing all the right things. If you can trust your family to be as consistent as you, have a night off perhaps, and realise how you miss him.

At 6 months he is going through the teenage stage,he will be pushing the boundaries with you ,probably still teething and needing to chew a lot so I'd keep everything out of reach and limit the freedom around the house. I have 2 lab brothers ,both are working gundogs,they were probably the easiest dogs to train as I kept it simple and easy for myself and them ,regular, consistent exercise, I didn't use lots of toys,no tug play or getting them all excited and jumping around,everything has to be quiet and calm in training,training sessions should not be more than 10 mins at a time or they get bored.Use a good collar and lead ,not a harness as it encourages them to pull.At mealtimes put him in his crate and don't offer tidbits,give him a chew or butchers bone as his treat.Be consistent ,firm but fair and this time will pass,he's only a pup yet.

I'd say you have another 18 months or so before you can really expect him to calm down. It does get better but I'm afraid there's the teenage stage to get through before it does!

Labs are crazy until they’re about 2. My boy is 12 now and I still remember the puppy stage!

I promise it will get better, he will settle. He’s still so very young. They are incredible dogs, and you’re doing everything right. It’s almost like having a baby and a toddler again, but this stage will pass.

It will get easier if you keep going with the training and keep focused. But it sounds like he's not getting enough exercise. If he's actively seeking out sensory things rather than flopped over knackered, he needs another walk. He probably needs more walking than you are capable of doing so pay a dogwalker service to do a big morning walk and you do a big afternoon one, or vice versa.

My parents lab didn't chill out till he was over 4 years old. He was absolutely stone mad

It will get worse before it gets better. You still have adolescence to get through; the chewing and stealing will lessen but he will be more boisterous. In some ways it gets easier at home, because you establish a better routine, but they do have more energy from 6 months to 2 years and that needs to be burnt off.

In agreement with @MarketValveForks ; a bit more exercise. Brain training is all well and good, but large breeds also need physical work to build their muscles, provided it is gentle, not leaping around. Either one slightly longer walk or more frequent short walks. Lead walking is a lot gentler on the joints than rushing around off the lead, but it should tire him out so he'll be less hyper.

It's 8:53am and my 6/7 month old Cocker/Lab cross has eaten my shoelaces, a sanitary pad, a toilet roll tube, and his own harness light. It's one of those mornings when I'd cheerfully sell him for kebabs. Walking him this morning he nearly pulled me over three times on the icy ground. He wouldn't go out for a poo first thing and he is refusing his breakfast. I have a really busy week ahead of me, all of my clothes smell of treatos, my house is a wreck, and I'm dreading trying to get him in the car for daycare.

But first thing this morning he was so pleased I was awake that his whole body wiggled and he insisted we spend 20 minutes just sitting in one of his beds with his favourite stuffies and a horrible cow's hoof resting on my lap so I could hold it for him to chew. He drives me absolutely stark raving mad and brings me more joy than I ever could have imagined.

Tl/dr: yes, normal. Dogs vary by breed, working lines, personality, upbringing, genetic heritage, etc. etc. and the variation within normal is wider than many posters here will allow - training doesn't 'take' as fast for some dogs than others I think, especially settling. We have lunatics, you and I, but they will come good x

(I sincerely hope, or he's going to be curry)

Some great advice here, mostly that in a short while this will all be a distant memory. The dog needs to ‘work’ so gundog training sounds great. Otherwise, what’s his routine OP? Can you get a dogwalker for an occasional break? The only good puppy is a tired puppy…

Excellent post @Bupster the last paragraph nails it.

Far too many "a dog is a dog is a dog" posts here in general. Our dogs are as individual as we are and it's important to understand your own dog's disposition. Some of them are funny buggers and need special owners😉

We brought him home at 9 weeks and from day one have been consistent with training, crate trained and lots of enrichment. He has stuffed kongs, slow feeders, licky mats.

I think all your problems come back to this. You have a food obsessed breed…and your first action was to give him food.

All the things you describe come back to one simple fact; he’s never been taught to settle without food being a part of it. You need to stop the kings and licky matts and slow feeders. Give him toys without food in. Train him commands. Take him to new places. He sounds bored and over-fed. All the above things you’ve describe, involve food. Food = energy.

Yes it will… but… not for another 6 months sorry! It’s worth it in the end though I promise.

I don't have a lab but do have a big energetic ' working ' breed .
He's a few months off 3 and just recently I feel like he's become an absolute pleasure to have , genuinely , but it has taken this long . Hang in there x

My older lab was at her worst at about 6 months and gradually improved from then, although even at 3.5 still has a penchant for thieving on occasion.

My younger one is a complete angel in comparison.

Both labs, both girls, related but completely different.

Our lab girl is 2 in December and she’s just hitting the perfect stage, it really does get easier.
You mention a lot of mental stimulation but don’t mention much physical exercise. Is he getting plenty of off lead exercise?
During the first 18 months if our girl didn’t get an off lead blast every day to get rid of some energy she would struggle to settle and look for mischief, and be a pain to walk on the lead. If his recall isn’t good enough for off lead in open spaces yet could you take him to a secure dog park?
She’s literally just been able to walk on the lead without towing me around in the past couple of months, that took a lot of hard work.
They are so worth it once you hit 2 though, she is honestly an angel dog.

Lots of good advice. I can't comment a lot on the training as we lucked out with an utterly chilled lab in the first instance and worked with a trainer consistently as he is also her day care so she has a lot of repetitive and consistent reminders. She does get a lengthy walk off lead daily - at least 45 - 60 mins as her recall is mostly good. She's 2 now and we started long walks earlier than the guidance allowed for but driven by her rather than chucking balls endlessly and forcing exercise on her?

I have seen quite a few people talk about the impact of diet on your dog and whether some food sends them a bit hyper in the way sugar and children is not a good mix. The numbers of parents who complain about their kids behaviour straight after feeding them highly processed food blows my mind. So it might be worth considering and seeing if other dogs on MN have had any issues?

Ours went through a seriously fussy phase and completely refused dry kibble food. We switched her to Butternut and never looked back. There's also less poo, never diarrhoea despite typical lab ability to eat all kinds of [literal] sh*te when out and about.

Otherwise it's just about firm consistent boundaries and if you have kids, not letting them take the p*ss. It was harder to train the kids to not mess about with the dog doing stuff they shouldn't, than it was to train the dog. And even now, a lot of the time when she is in trouble it's been induced by someone deciding it's a good idea to throw a ball indoors.

I've had Labs for more than three decades and the first year or so can be horrific. My latest is nearly three and is only now coming out of what seems to be unending adolescence. When they mature they are the best. As PPs have said, food can send them hyper - very high protein is often the culprit.

Yes it gets better. Be consistent, don't give up when they have the adolescent phase when they've forgotten everything. Keep the consistency - the whole family. They are often at their worst when tired, they need brain tired too....so brain games like finding things, or sniffing....

It does sound like having a newborn

Harder than a baby! That’s how I found it. She calmed down by about 3 years but still at 9 gets over excited when she sees another dog, people come in the house, fireworks go off etc.
She used to chew up shoes, always mine for some reason. She chewed our wooden bedside cabinets. She ate bits out of the wall for some unknown reason.
She adores food. She learned not to jump up at the table or kitchen sides. She now would never take food out of your hand.
It definitely gets better, stick with it. They are just the bestest dogs and live so unconditionally!

I have a 6 month Lab too at the moment. He is crazy a lot of the time (as we speak he’s running around the house with a water bottle in his mouth) but he does settle when physically tired. I give him an off lead walk every morning which helps settle him a bit. He has a second walk late afternoon.

Agree your pup shouldn’t be given food to settle them every time. Just something they can chew like a Yak chew or smoked bone from Amazon. We do sometimes give ours something edible but not always.

Basically though, they do eventually calm down. I had a Lab before and he calmed down at about the age of 2 or 3. The puppy/adolescent stage is the hardest so hang in there!