my lab's got an attitude... please help!

[BIGINNER]

YA....  AND BABIES...   

[Happy Gilmore]

thanks guys, great info! i dont think its because he hurts because a small group of people he knows can pet him with no growling. he is intact though, and with his bloodlines, looks, size, drive, and hunting ability i was not wanting to get him snipped but i will try some of those other ideas with attention and crating first. i do agree that if it continues/gets worse he'll need to be fixed.

Having a set of nuts,has NOTHING to do with drive or hunting ability.

As said above- Nutts have nothing to do with it.

Again, take him to the vet. There are a variety of ailments which can lead to what you are describing. Don't speculate, don't guess, don't beat him, yell at him, shock collar him or try being the alpha and get into a wrestling match with him and get your face bit.

Just take him to the vet and tell the vet his history and what changes in his attitude you've noticed lately.

If the vet says he's fine then, you can talk about verbal beatings, physical corrections, collar correcting, alpha rolling, hanging from his ankles, hitting with a whiffle ball bat or any other correction you want to explore or think is handy.

[quadrafire]

Great post Ballistic

To the OP you are close spokane, you may want to start with the vet visit, but it does sound more behavioural . Look into diamondsintheruff.com they are in spokane

[Happy Gilmore]

Great post Ballistic

way too Dog Whisperer for me.....

[wildweeds]

Last thing a person would want to do is breed something that is ill tempered just because it feels like it can be if it wants to ,if nothing physical is wrong with the dog,it's a frame of mind thing,bucking the nuts off more than likely wont fix the issue either.A freind of mine has a very nice setter,he became possesive of his wife and turned into the wifes dog(she's with him 24 hours a day,and is a wingnut herself) they bucked the dogs nuts off and NOTHING changed,the dog is still pissy towards him,I told them the nutting wouldn't fix anything and the vet told them the same thing.The problem wasn't chemical it was mental.


  I had a springer that would growl and come after you if you walked by while he was eating,I wasn't going to stand for that so.....................I BEAT him on the ARSE with my belt,three weeks worth of political re education and he was as good as gold till the day he died,The tune up also crossed over into other areas too.I'd start the whippings out with "I'm getting the belt",if he was misbehavin all I had to do was say " getting the belt" and he'd straighten right up.

thanks guys, great info! i dont think its because he hurts because a small group of people he knows can pet him with no growling. he is intact though, and with his bloodlines, looks, size, drive, and hunting ability i was not wanting to get him snipped but i will try some of those other ideas with attention and crating first. i do agree that if it continues/gets worse he'll need to be fixed.

Having a set of nuts,has NOTHING to do with drive or hunting ability.

BUT DOES HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH AWESOME PUPS

[BallisticsNut]

I am a firm believer you dont need to beat dog to get him to listen.  You just have to let him know your the boss and take a role as an alpha male.  You can imitate the role of an alpha male dog by grabbing the hind quarters of the dog firmly as if he was getting bit by another alpha male dog and at the same time, clearly let him know your in charge.  ie in a firm deep voice get his attention and correct his behavior, do not punish his behavior.  This is leadership. 

Whipping a dog with a belt only gets a dog to respect you out of fear.  Not respect from leadership.   He would rather run from you then listen to you when he know he has done something wrong.  Show a dog who is the leader and he will follow you to his death, let the dog lead and you will have nothing but trouble.  Remember, dogs are like teenagers when they are about 18 months-30 months old.  This is when they will test you, over and over especially if you have a dominant male dog.  After that testing faze is over, you rarely have any behavior issues as long as you lead and not follow. 

Also consider consistancy.  When you are in the room, your in control, not the wife, not the kids, not the nieghbor, not your friends.  If the dog senses anything different, he will choose who he feels wears the pants in the family and follow/protect them.  Hense the term "wife's dog". 

 

[seth30]

Im sorry but my dogs will get a a@# whooping if they ever show aggression to me.  I give a command, then its firm, and if they still dont listen they are crated. If any dog shows agression to me for undue reason its days are numbered. 

[Happy Gilmore]

I suggest anyone interested in dog aggression issues read this entire thread. I know Rob (RWB)(the original poster) and have met Pete, the guy who specializes in aggressive dog issues. Rob put on a bite suit to deal with this dog. Pete trains protection dogs as well.

You can't diagnose these problems via description or anything else. Had Rob followed advice given like it was here he would have been attacked. People didn't know the severity of his problem he was trying to deal with. He also described allowing the dog to run the house without defined corrections. Rob had to learn how to SAFELY cope with his dog or, put the dog down.

Robs dog is now very compliant and friendly. He also placed at the National Chesapeake Field Trial Specialty. It was a thrill for me to compete against him and then shoot the fliers in the last series to decide the winners.

http://www.retrievertraining.net/forums/showthread.php?t=59155&highlight=chesapeake

[mjbskwim]

You have to keep a dominant position over your dog.As they get older they will try to challenge you to see if you are still the man.Especially if they are intact.

There shouldn't be a wrestling match.Shouldn't be any face biting,but you can't EVER be afraid of getting bit by your own dog.
If you want to keep the dog
If your dog gets into it with another dog,do you rush in or just yell?
I hope you wouldn't be afraid of getting bit and would jump in the middle to get your dog.
Yes I have done this with mine and plenty of other peoples dogs,without ever getting bitten. (that part wasn't just for the OP)

Anyway.You just have to make the dog lay then start rolling him over to his back,rubbing his belly. Dominating your dog doesn't need to be mean,just has to be you in a dominant position over the dog.
(ie: you holding him down somewhat,your arm around his neck not letting him move,anything making him your prisoner till you are done,not when he is done)

There are plenty of other ways to make sure he knows who's boss.At the very extreme,you hand feed the dog.Then he knows for sure that he is alive because of you.
Don't let him sit in front of you or on your foot.He's in charge here.
Make him walk in the house after you,walk behind you a little bit ,don't greet him when you first get home (really is a big deal,makes you his friend not the boss),give him a treat then take it from him,lets him know it's still yours if you want it,cause your the big dog.

Mastiffs,rots,pits and such,all big breeds need to feel your power.When you pet them do it rough house like.Pull them too you,push them to the ground and lay on them.Then the know you are way more powerful than they are.
Did this with two friends dogs.The dogs obeyed me better than the owners.

You should rub your dog down every once in a while too.As stated,he may have a tender spot that he doesn't want touched.You have to touch your dog all over,just like the vet does,to see if he's tender
But if he lets some pet him and not others,doesn't sound like the case.

Now I ain't Bob Barker or anything,but there is PLENTY of professional breeders out there,and plenty of Labs and other hunting dogs at the pound.
Guarantee you,a lot of the dogs from even on here end up in the pounds,because the people didn't realize you need to exercise a hunting dog or they destroy your shoes

If half the guys who get dogs and want to breed them would just fix them,they wouldn't have near as many problems with the dogs and we wouldn't need to kill as many at the pounds.

Good luck with your dog.

[GWP]

"and plenty of other peoples dogs,without ever getting bitten."  Maybe. Just sayin'.

[sakoshooter]

im not an expert in anyway. but short answer is if he does it again whip his a$$ 

And do it immediately so he knows why he's getting his a$$ whipped. They need to learn early on to never, ever get ornery. When the 'real' time comes for the dog to get ornery, they'll know.

[FC]

"and plenty of other peoples dogs,without ever getting bitten."  Maybe. Just sayin'.

Being as I've done the same thing and never been bitten for it I wouldn't call BS on that one, do you just stand there and watch your dog get torn up? Win, lose or draw both dogs are taking some damage, best to get them separated as quickly as you can.

[ashersdad]

You have to keep a dominant position over your dog.As they get older they will try to challenge you to see if you are still the man.Especially if they are intact.

There shouldn't be a wrestling match.Shouldn't be any face biting,but you can't EVER be afraid of getting bit by your own dog.
If you want to keep the dog
If your dog gets into it with another dog,do you rush in or just yell?
I hope you wouldn't be afraid of getting bit and would jump in the middle to get your dog.
Yes I have done this with mine and plenty of other peoples dogs,without ever getting bitten. (that part wasn't just for the OP)

Anyway.You just have to make the dog lay then start rolling him over to his back,rubbing his belly. Dominating your dog doesn't need to be mean,just has to be you in a dominant position over the dog.
(ie: you holding him down somewhat,your arm around his neck not letting him move,anything making him your prisoner till you are done,not when he is done)

There are plenty of other ways to make sure he knows who's boss.At the very extreme,you hand feed the dog.Then he knows for sure that he is alive because of you.
Don't let him sit in front of you or on your foot.He's in charge here.
Make him walk in the house after you,walk behind you a little bit ,don't greet him when you first get home (really is a big deal,makes you his friend not the boss),give him a treat then take it from him,lets him know it's still yours if you want it,cause your the big dog.

Mastiffs,rots,pits and such,all big breeds need to feel your power.When you pet them do it rough house like.Pull them too you,push them to the ground and lay on them.Then the know you are way more powerful than they are.
Did this with two friends dogs.The dogs obeyed me better than the owners.

You should rub your dog down every once in a while too.As stated,he may have a tender spot that he doesn't want touched.You have to touch your dog all over,just like the vet does,to see if he's tender
But if he lets some pet him and not others,doesn't sound like the case.

Now I ain't Bob Barker or anything,but there is PLENTY of professional breeders out there,and plenty of Labs and other hunting dogs at the pound.
Guarantee you,a lot of the dogs from even on here end up in the pounds,because the people didn't realize you need to exercise a hunting dog or they destroy your shoes

If half the guys who get dogs and want to breed them would just fix them,they wouldn't have near as many problems with the dogs and we wouldn't need to kill as many at the pounds.

Good luck with your dog.

very well put...great post

[halflife65]

I tried all that stuff with my wife and she just kicked me in the nuts...totally backfired.

[high country]

I tried all that stuff with my wife and she just kicked me in the nuts...totally backfired.

refer to above posts.......get that wife neutered!