Sharon wrote:
“I have a pure breed Black Labrador, now 5 months old Mimi. I also have a Black/collie/Lab/Retriever mix 2 years old very sweet and passive,Suzy. The puppy Lab (Mimi) is now as big as the 2 yr. old Suzy and has become dominant over Suzy to a point she will not even let Suzy play ball. Although Suzy loves her company at times running in the yard, she often crouches and looks very unhappy. I am home all day with both and try to train Mimi but she is very defiant even with love training. I am worried my Suzy is no longer happy and thinking maybe I should find a home for the new puppy although I do love her. But she is making life very annoying, and soon she is going to be huge and I worry she may harm Suzy with her defiance. How do I train Mimi to stop jumping on me, and to listen to commands when she is always excitied? It’s as though she does not want me to love Suzy even though I give them both much attention. Mimi is really becoming a problem as I see Suzy crouching more and more and less playful. Mimi will not let Suzy play with any toys and snatches them from her immediately. Please give me some advice. I want them both to be happy. When Suzy is in the house alone with me, I play with her and she seems happy that she can play with her toys. When Mimi is with her, she crouches. thanks for help you can give.”
Unless you are considering breeding, I would strongly recommend you get both dogs spayed if you can afford it. At the very least, think of having Mimi done – ask your vet how soon before she can have it done, but I am almost certain that if it is done at around six months it can stop a lot of the problems you describe. What it looks like you are experiencing is her female hormones starting to kick in. Intact bitches are especially prone to fighting with each other for the right to breed, and will sometimes fight to the death.
As far as training goes, I am surprised that Mimi is not more receptive. Hopefully, you have read my earlier posts about the importance of schedules (feeding, exercise etc..), as this can help you show her you are pack leader in a humane way. Make her work for every morsel of food and she should soon become more responsive to you.
The best way to deal with her jumping and excitement is to totally ignore her when she is doing it. Turn your back, do not speak, do not touch, do not even look at her. When she eventually gets the idea and quietens down, give her some attention and praise. Stick with it and she will come round. I know from experience that Labs are a little boisterous and never really grow up, but they can learn to be a little less “in your face”. If you struggle with the training, consider joining up with a group training class – they are a lot less expensive than one-to-one training and can be fun for both you and the dog. You can find classes by visiting the website of your local Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) – do a search for APDT and it will come up with the relevant site for your country. They usually run for around six weeks and can get you towards various levels of the canine good citizen award.
Here are a few direct links:
http://www.apdt.co.uk/ – UK
http://www.apdt.com.au/trainers/index.html – Australia/New Zealand
http://www.cappdt.ca/trainers.jsp - Canada
http://www.apdt.com/ – USA
Tags: dog aggression, dominance, dominant puppy
Hi Darren,
I think my lab just comes from a very large family of labs. Her parents are hudge dogs. My vet has looked her over and told me she was going to be hudge. Her feet alone show she will probably be very big. She’s not over weight.The vet said she will grow into her feet. LOL. She actually bruced one of my toes really bad because she keep stepping on it day after day always trying to be right next to me. If you saw her feet you would laugh. When she stands next to my Retriever mix, her head looks really big. But I think it may be possible she may stop growing soon or after I get her spaded. It is really cute when she knows she is doing something wrong. The way she wiggles her entire body and comes toward me with something in her mouth she knows is a No, no. I think she’s just an attention seeker. This past week I have noticed she has really calmed down. she no longer as hyper as she was except when we play outside. And she and Suzy have been playing together much better. She is now sharing the fetch of a toy. They both bring it back to me when I throw their toy duckie, each have a grip on the duckie. I would post a picture of her if I could.
My Lab is quite a lean dog and only weighs 65 pounds full grown – though I am sure if I gave in to every treat he asked for he would be much bigger. Dogs are normally heavier than bitches, but a healthy weight range is between 55 and 80 pounds depending on build, type and sex, so it looks like Mimi is going to be at the heavier end of the scale. A good test to make sure your Lab is about the right weight when fully grown is to feel her ribcage. If you can feel her ribs easily but not see their outline when looking at her from the side, you know she is about right
Thank you again…I have decided I am not going to give her up. I think she loves me too much and I her. Her favorit place is where ever I am. Both dogs have a large comfy bed in my bedroom which is where they start off, but when I wake up in the morning, each are snuggled on my bed beside me. The one thing she does, (and I can’t help but laugh) when I am on the computer not giving her attention, she will go in my dirty clothes hamper and bring out all my dirty clothes in the middle of the family room and wag her whole body looking happy when I walk in. Once I had company and we were talking in the kitchen and here comes Mimi with my dirty underwear in her mouth wagging her tail and just smiling at me. She doesn’t chew stuff up, she just displaces them. I quess she is just down right spoiled because I am home most the time. I know she it smart because she knows sit, laydown, stay, and she is house broken which Suzy actually trained her. Suzy would wake me up to tell me to let Mimi outside before Mimi was old enough to hold her urine. At 5 months Mimi is already 65 pounds, maybe more since last vet visit. It is such a joy talking to you I could go on. Thanks so much for your knowledge on Labradors. They are such wonderful doggies and so too are mixed breeds. Love them all. How much does your Labrador weigh full grown?
Glad to hear she is responding a little better for you. You may get her to be a little calmer by providing her with her own “quiet place” and getting her to spend some time there on her own (I don’t mean locking her up – just put a comfy bed or rug in a quiet corner and leave the room for a while). My Lab is nearly three and although he loves being with us and still has a giddy moment when it is time for walkies, he still likes to go to his quiet place in my study to chill out!
When Mimi gets a little older and her bones are starting to strengthen, you will be able to give her lots of exercise to tire her out – you will be surprised to see how much it calms them down with just one to two hours per day split over two or three walks.
Once the pecking order has been decided (it does not always have to be the first or older dog that is “in charge”), I am sure the two dogs will get along just fine.
As far as the police dog option goes, I can only comment on what happens in the UK where I live. Here, the dog lives with the handler (though they sleep in a separate kennel, not in the home), usually even after they retire from service and most handlers I know share a strong bond and affection with their dog. You may want to ask the question of your local police department to check if this is the same where you live before making a decision on Mimi’s future
Thank you so much for your reply. I think you are correct about the spraying of both dogs. Suzy is already fixed, but I am waiting for Mimi to become at least 6 months old before I can have her sprayed. Hopefully she will calm down then. The vet said she may calm down some but that labradors are usually full of energy until about 3 years of age, but spraying will help. I have noticed she is responding a bit better the past week or so, but still hyper. Although it is a happy hyper, like jumping happily when I am with her. The most important issue I was concerned about is if Suzy is happy with her new playmate and not saddened by the dominance of Mimi. I am wondering if they will work it out so both are happy after Mimi is fixed.
Because Mimi is so huge and a papered purbred, I have a possible opportunity to let her become a police dog with their training but not sure if I want to give her up. I will only give her up if I think she will become too much dog for me. And I wonder how much love she will get as a police dog. I don’t think she would be happy in a cage all night. Hopefully she will calm down once she is fixed. Do you know how police dogs are kept?