Teenage Labrador

[HonoraryScouser]

I could really do with some advice and perspective.

We have an 11 month old Labrador who is absolutely gorgeous but such hard work. Obviously we expected this and I don't think we could be putting in more effort if we tried. We both had dogs growing up but he is our first as a couple, and to say that it's been hard work would be an understatement. Rewarding, but hard work. And we love him completely, that isn't the issue.

Pros:

• Extremely friendly and loving with both humans and dogs
• Crate trained
• Able to be left (in his crate)
• Good recall when no distractions
• Settles well when he's completely knackered

Cons:

• Lies down and won't move whenever there's a dog on the same side of the street
• Pulls on the lead unless you take lots of treats and chicken; sometimes completely ignores us
• Doesn't usually settle in cafes etc
• Gets frustrated in the evening - he walks around panting and whines/barks to go into the garden only to cause havoc, or counter surfs
• Swipes any loose items lying around and constantly steals things

We've done professional training. He gets 3 walks a day. Plenty of mental stimulation and enrichment. Lots of sleep. He isn't neutered, but only because we've been told he's too young. We hire dog fields twice a week and he has a really nice life.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is really, but I just feel like our whole lives revolve around the dog (obviously we expect that in some ways, but it just feels exhausting, like we have a toddler!) and I just long for the day when he can have 2-3 good walks and just... Settle. Just be there and not have to be constantly monitored and worn out.

Will this happen? Or do I just need to chill out?

Thanks for all the advice. I do admit that some of it seems a bit rude and dismissive of the fact that he's literally 11 months and still has a lot of growing up to do. If anything, I think we walk him a bit too much. I won't be walking 8 miles a day with an 11 month old dog (based on the advice of our vet, breeder and trainer) but I appreciate the feedback.

At eleven months, even with the 5 minute rule, that would be two x 55 minutes a day. A pavement walk with a long line walk just wouldn't cut it for any of the labs I've owned.

Even my current five month old is getting a varied walk off lead including a swim most days, granted not for as long, but enough to engage their brain as well as their body.

As for a super fit dog, a couple of hours a day isn't going to be too much for a working breed, a correctly exercised dog is easier to train and settle. We aren't talking about running in canicross or joring for hours on end.

You've had my advice based off experience dealing with dogs being rehomed for the exact issues you describe - but ultimately, as you say, it's your dog.

It's not rude or dismissive - although, of course, you are entitled to feel that way. But, at eleven months, I do think your issues are not related to his age but rather lack of training and stimulation. I have to say, my youngest was a massive twat at 11 months - but even he knew how to settle. And my four month old puppy knows how to settle and how to recall - and that's down to training. Dogs are smart (smarter than most humans), so please don't dismiss his behaviour as age related.

You need to really wear him out on his biggest walk. Get a ball launcher and keep him running around for at least 45 minutes. Let him swim in streams and encourage tearing about like a lunatic. They have so much energy at this age and if you don't use it up, they will make their own fun. Which is very rarely our idea of fun.

He'll start to chill around 2 years old, they are pretty slow to mature. My friend and I took our labs out for the day a lot at that age. They'd be going nuts, running around, finding things, chasing balls for 8 hours +. Get them home around 8ish, sleep like the dead for a couple hours then be up wanting to go back out. Fuckers.

Ball launchers should be banned - not encouraged 🫣

They are so so bad for the joints, especially in dogs who are still developing.

It won’t be too much but you do need to be careful not to raise a dog who finds it impossible to settle because it’s “only” had 90 minutes instead of two hours, or because it’s had to skip the second walk because you’re sick or there’s been an emergency.

Well I've never had a dog that wouldn't settle or wasn't capable of having a day off in over forty years of ownership and training multiple dogs, so I think I've managed okay so far.
Dogs are surprisingly adaptable given the right training and exercise in the first place.

I do agree with ball launchers being bad for them, too much high impact on the joints. A retrieving dummy would be far better to use, it also engages their brain having to wait and retrieve, they are bred to do it and usually love it.

THIS

A ball launcher sends the ball further, the dog runs faster, stops and turns from a higher speed, and people wonder why cruciate ligaments tear. They’re a terrible idea for any dog, but especially for a large breed pup that’s still growing, and labradors are so very prone to joint problems anyway you really should be protecting their joints, not straining them to the limit.

My friend’s lab used to play with the ball launcher every day. The dog was already on pain relief for shoulder lameness when I met them two years ago, she has elbow dysplasia, her hocks are awful. I think they’ve now stopped letting her upstairs, and jumping on and off the bed, another thing that’s especially dangerous for large breed puppies, the impact on the front end just builds up trouble for later years. This dog is only 7 and crippled.

They are adaptable if their basic needs are met - I would just always caution against relying on a certain amount of physical exercise to tire them out - I much prefer doing different amounts each day, and also varying walk times so that they don’t end up restless at 2pm when their walk should have been at 1.55 🫣

Dogs do need to learn to settle. Even with a young active dog, there are times when everyone needs downtime. It’s easy to fall into responding to their pestering because we feel somehow it’s our responsibility to keep them entertained.

I’ve learned from having dogs that it’s okay to ignore them sometimes. If you’re sure they’ve had sufficient exercise, games, fuss, toileting, and you want peace then teach them to settle and ignore them.

@HonoraryScouser- appreciate it’s a really hard time and you’re getting lots of advice. But please do us all a favour. Don’t take him into coffee shops etc when he can’t settle.

Many teenage dogs are awful, including mine! Your lab sounds similar to my spaniel on many points of your ‘cons’ list. We are at 16 months now and lead walking is only just starting to improve, despite being incredible consistent from day 1. I think with a lot of things they will improve with a bit of maturity, but also alongside consistent training. And it can feel like you are getting absolutely nowhere then they will surprise you one day and it makes you realise that all the hard work you’re putting in is actually worth it, even when you think it’s not sinking in!

I’ve said this a few times on here before but one of the best things I ever did with my spaniel was teach him to settle in the house. Otherwise they will never learn and just be switched on all the time. I am sure there’s a few ways to do it so it might be worth searching, but we literally just did really over-exaggerated strokes and said ‘settle’ repeatedly when he had a slightly chilled moment. I didn’t think it was working at all until one day after a few weeks of consistently doing it, I said the word and I could instantly see him readjust his body language. This is the way our gundog trainer told us to do it when mine was a puppy, but there might be a better method for an older dog.

Cafes etc are a completely different ball game. If your dog struggles with being highly aroused when out and about, it will make it difficult for them to settle in an environment like that. It’s something I’ve spoken to our trainer about recently and she said it’s a hell of a lot of hard work, and you have to go incredibly slowly. So literally drive somewhere and sit and watch from the car for a bit then leave, or walk into the cafe when it’s quiet and leave after a couple of minutes, then build it up slowly from there. It’s the next thing I’m going to start working hard on as it’s important to me to be able to take my boy out and about more.

You also have to consider the build up of arousal before you get to the cafe too. So if you’ve been in the car, then got out somewhere new and expected your dog to walk to heel, then step into a busy cafe environment with people and smells and noise, it is a lot. An example of this was recently we went out to a local town for a few hours - my dog doesn’t like the car much so he was already stressed from that, then we parked up and he was in an unfamiliar place, it was busy and he was pulling a lot which also raised his stress levels, then when we got to a coffee shop he was a nightmare because he was already so overstimulated. I hadn’t really thought about this until our trainer pointed it out to me, and now it’s so obvious. She said any dog would find that a lot of hard work. So taking it slowly really is key here.

We have an adolescent support thread on here which has been a life saver for me sometimes. Feel free to join!