# Dog lovers & experts PLEASE help!!!



## that's*satyrical (Sep 7, 2011)

We have a male chocolate lab. When he was smaller he was a complete joy & so easy to train. But lately he is such a hyper spaz I don't know what to do with him. I can't get him to calm down no matter what I do. He literally will jump and run in circles constantly & you can barely hold his attention for more than a second. I have him trained to sit & lay down & he still will do it but as soon as he does instantly jumps back up & starts being hyper again. Any ideas to get him to chill the heck out??? He is 10 months old has been neutered & is up to date on all vaccinations. THANKS SO MUCH!!!


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## Ms. Research (Sep 7, 2011)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> We have a male chocolate lab. When he was smaller he was a complete joy & so easy to train. But lately he is such a hyper spaz I don't know what to do with him. I can't get him to calm down no matter what I do. He literally will jump and run in circles constantly & you can barely hold his attention for more than a second. I have him trained to sit & lay down & he still will do it but as soon as he does instantly jumps back up & starts being hyper again. Any ideas to get him to chill the heck out??? He is 10 months old has been neutered & is up to date on all vaccinations. THANKS SO MUCH!!!


Awww starting the teenage time in your dogs life.  Not an expert but an a Dog Lover.  Chocolate Labs, or any Labs are excellent dogs with a lot of energy.   He's got those teenage jitters, which I know so well.  He will calm down but this part of a dogs life is very frustrating.  All that energy, can't focus,  let's play attitude.  Right now you just need to be a bit more patient to get him focus.  My suggestion is take him out and teach him to retrieve.  He would love that, due to being a retriever, and that could help disspell some of that energy. 

This too shall pass.  Just a little more exercise and work at this time and he will turn out to be a rounded member of the family.  They are such a great breed.  

Would love to see a photo.  They are such handsome dogs. Good Luck with the pup!


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 7, 2011)

I could post a pic but I don't know how to put it on here. 

Thanks for the advice I will try playing fetch with him more often. He does like to play some fetch!!! I can get the kids to help  It is good to know this behavior is normal for his age.


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 7, 2011)

giving it a try....


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## Goatherd (Sep 7, 2011)

Labs are wonderful dogs.  Labs are high energy dogs.  Labs are intelligent dogs.  Labs are VERY slow to mature and settle down.  It is not uncommon for Labs to display puppy behavior up until they are 4 years old.  Then magically, sometimes sooner, they turn into wonderful dogs and you forget all the puppy behaviors that drove you nuts!

I volunteered at a no-kill animal shelter for more than 20 years.  Young Labs are one of the largest number of dogs surrendered for exactly what you describe.  Many people get Labs for their great reputation or having seen one that is "perfect," but older.  There is nothing wrong with these dogs other than their extremely high energy level and people's inability to deal with this.

They require lots of exercise and need things to keep them busy in order to expend this energy which can sometimes turn into destructive behavior.

If you remember this one simple phrase, you will solve your problem and be able to deal with your young dog...A tired Lab is a good Lab.


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Sep 7, 2011)

From MANY MANY years of having only labs or lab crosses... They turn into freaking lunatics right around 9-12 months old and require serious amounts of wearing out and interaction and such. Then around age 3-4 they turn into a normal dog again and stop eating your furniture.    We had one that was rescued at about 10mos old and literally ate, and I do mean ate and passed, the majority of 3 couches, 2 arm chairs, the knobs off of a dresser, numerous dish towels, countless lbs of trash, wrappers, plastic, fluff, string, buttons, pennies, a key, a cactus, shoes, 3 purses, the handle of a steak knife, I can't think what else.   

Oh she also one winter ate close to 5 gal of snow and gave herself internal hypothermia to the point that her whole body was cold to the touch and she was having trouble breathing.   


She's 7 now and miraculously is still alive and is a LOVELY dog.  Now.  Not then... She was not a good dog then. 



So not to scare you, but labs are idiots for most of their life and especially during those teenage years. His behavior is totally normal. Just wear him out so he doesn't have time to get into mischief.


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Sep 7, 2011)

We also had a fetch obsessed lab years ago and a great trick to wear her out was to sit at the top of the stairs with a book and toss a ball once for her to go get and bring to you. She'd run up the stairs and  drop the ball, it would roll down and she'd go get it.  Rinse and repeat for about an hour.   It was like the dog version of a hamster wheel.


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 7, 2011)

LMAO at these lab stories. Ok so I gotta be patient & try to make him get tired out every day....and in a few years I can enjoy him again like I did when he was smaller without being driven crazy. I can do that....lol and I will be sure to keep him away from the furniture til then. Luckily where I live snow is not a problem...

Thanks again,
 Jenn


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## freemotion (Sep 7, 2011)

Dogs will calm down much faster if you give them mental stimulation along with the physical.  So yes, games of fetch daily are important, but get that dog out and WALK him for 45-60 min per day.  Better yet, take along a neighbor with their dog and walk them both, and give them some off-leash play time if it can be done safely.  Or get to a dog park if you have one in your area.

I can't believe the difference in my younger dog when I take the neighbor's dog along for our walks.  The walk can even be shorter than usual and we come home and my dogs sleep for the rest of the day, very happy.

Oh, and swimming is GREAT if you have access to a pool, pond, lake, or the ocean.


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## fortheloveofgoats (Sep 7, 2011)

Your pup looks to be mixed with something, that could also be the problem. If it's a breed that is hyper, like husky, than you have a dog that will need to get rid of energy. Swimming, running, ball, all these are great ways to help them get energy out. One thing that helped our dog out was we got him a puppy. It was great, they played and made each other tired. lol Not saying that is the best thing to do, but it does help. Hope that it all works out!


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 7, 2011)

He is 1/2 chocolate lab & 1/2 australian shepherd. I don't believe aussies are known to be hyper at all....Physically & temperamentally I think he has more chocolate in him....


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## redtailgal (Sep 7, 2011)

x


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## goodhors (Sep 7, 2011)

With kids, you can have them take the dog (after a bit of TRAINING so dog understands the routine) out for 
exercise while kid rides their bicycle beside him.  It is an EXCELLENT way to get some milage on the dog, exercise the kid,
and both will be healthier for the exercise.  

All our dogs are trained to move beside the bicycle without getting 
IN THE WAY or pulling, stopping suddenly, so we can exercise them this way.  I do use the obedience choker collar, 
6ft leash wound up in my hand, so I would be able to stop them if a squirrel jumps out and runs.  They usually ignore things
while on leash, but sometimes get tempted badly, so leash length helps me stop bike to prevent bike going over.   We usually only use this for when
we go on vacation, method is extremely helpful for the bouncy dog who has been good in the car.  At home the dogs have a big yard to run in and
chase squirrels, help me do chores out in the fields, so they get lots of exercise.  We travel a lot on vacation, 
so dogs enjoy going for a jog while we ride the bikes, gets all our muscles stretched out and tired.

Our chosen breed, Bouviers, also have that non-stop period of mental growth and energy that has to be directed.  Getting 
the milage on them, so they can SETTLE DOWN and act like they have a brain takes some work.  Wonderful dogs, just
takes time for their adult nature to develop.  And even then they revert to puppy behaviour at times, bouncing and racing about
for no obvious reason.  I feel for you!


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 7, 2011)

well we let him off his doggie run this afternoon for 3 hours, 2 playing with my son & one playing with me & he was still hyper spaz but slowed down just a little bit....lol work in progress I guess. if only I could bottle his energy. We'd be rich!!! lol


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## fortheloveofgoats (Sep 7, 2011)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> He is 1/2 chocolate lab & 1/2 australian shepherd. I don't believe aussies are known to be hyper at all....Physically & temperamentally I think he has more chocolate in him....


I have a 1/2 aussie older dog, and it wasn't until he was older that he mellowed out. I did research before we got our pup, and it says that they are a breed that their minds have to stay busy or they go nuts. Ours did, he ripped out carpet, and the padding. Chewed up Christmas tree lights. Now he stays by our side, we can leave him in the house for more than a couple of mins.


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## carolinagirl (Sep 8, 2011)

Teach him to run on a treadmill!  Once they are trained to this, most dogs LOVE it!  You can burn off some serious doggie energy that way.


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## goodhors (Sep 8, 2011)

I missed the post on pup being half Aussie.  That is a dog breed that NEEDS a job, LOVES to work, or they do indeed get into trouble or go nuts.  
If you can't focus the energy outward in work, they will CREATE things to keep themselves busy, which may include wrecking things like rugs
or furniture, digging holes, escaping the yard.  Herding breeds are chosen because they can make "judgement calls" in situations, so their reasoning, 
deduction from past experiences, lets them learn from the past.  They learn fast, good or bad.  They are usually VERY smart.  One of the reasons 
Border Collies make such poor pets for most people is they just NEED a job that will wear them out, STOP that thinking and looking for work!  Few 
city/suburb folks have enough work for the BUSY Border Collie, so the dog gets into trouble or spends his time locked up to prevent doing damage.

You might check out local dog folks to find Agility groups and Flyball competitions, even the Frisbee catching stuff, which all are extremely busy things to 
keep the smart dogs thinking and working, so they are less likely to create trouble.  I bet your children would also enjoy doing these things with 
your dog, lots of physical activity.  Local 4-H might have dog training or be able to connect you with folks doing these activities.  Can be a fun 
family activity, kids competing the dog, going to meets.  Often give out fun prizes like dog food and you get your picture in the paper!

I would go easy at this point on any jumping activities, not doing LOTS of miles on a leash with the bike, since the puppy is still growing.  Slow and steady jog
beside the bike is better than dog galloping fast for a distance.  Less impact on dog with slow, but he still gets the benefit of going.  Takes longer 
to reach maturity in the larger or heavier (lab side) breeds, so bones, cartilage and ligaments are still soft and could be damaged with too 
much physical work, especially jumping while young.  You have to protect the dog from himself, he will jump until he hurts himself while he is having fun.


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## that's*satyrical (Sep 8, 2011)

Do you think he could be trained to be a guard dog for the goats? How could I go about doing that if it's possible?


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## fortheloveofgoats (Sep 8, 2011)

I doubt it, he might be more into herding them than anything. Although, my aussie mix loves to hang out with the goats, but he will chase them when they run. It's too much of instinct for him to run after them.


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## DRPepper (Sep 19, 2011)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> He is 1/2 chocolate lab & 1/2 australian shepherd. I don't believe aussies are known to be hyper at all....Physically & temperamentally I think he has more chocolate in him....


really, aussies aren't hyper? tell that to my mother in law's 10 month old aussie, lol. Both Aussies and Labs are extremely high energy dogs. They are also both breeds that were bred to work physically and mentally demanding "jobs". Like others have said, you're just in that "doggie teenager stage". It might seem like a long time, but in a couple of years he should mellow out. 

We have a German Shepherd. She was a nightmare from 6 months - 18 months old. She's a little over 2 years now and is better, but has her "crazy dog" moments. 

Maybe take an obedience class? It'll give your dog something to work at. Plus, when you tell your dog "sit", he should sit until you release him. He shouldn't just touch his butt to the ground for a half a second then get up. You could work on this by telling him sit and making him hold for a moment before rewarding him.


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## Tab003 (Oct 21, 2011)

I agree w/ redtailgal. I would get a Kong( they provide hours of fun) I put small milkbones in ours and they love it.  I also give ours the tight twisted raw hide among other various toys, but I think exercise and plenty of it will help.


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## DKRabbitry (Oct 21, 2011)

LOL oh this is great fun.  I love it when other people get hyper dogs.  Makes me feel better.  Our house is full of 3 german shepherds and a boxer   The most spaztic of the bunch is 9 years old (still waiting for that more mature mentality to come....).  Pretty sad when my 1 year old shepherd is 110 times calmer than my 9 year old shepherd.

What I have learned is that while physical excersize is tiring to a point, mental excersize will knock a dog out!  Example... when my old boy was a young dog, he always had a toy.  Loves his toys.  Any kind of toy.  So, I could play fetch with him for an hour, and he would be happy, and would have ran for an hour, but running is all it was and he would still be coming back for more.  So, I started dog training classes and we started teaching the dog to think.  Instead of just running after the ball for an hour, we started to hide the ball. Once he found it we would play run around and hide it a little harder. A half hour of him having to think, and use his nose and actually FIND the ball wore him out so much faster than just chasing it.


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## Tashi (Nov 8, 2011)

I've got a 18 month choccie called Wispa (I didn't name him!!) 

When we got him at about 9 months he was a total spaz - and he wouldn't drink either, so we fed him on ice cubes that he loved  we had to leave him in a dog proof conservitory the whole time!

But just recently (and after a spell at kennels when we were on holiday which seemed to do him so much good!!) he's settled down, stop chasing us/the alpacas/the ducks/our chicken (He still bugs are 13 year old choccie lab but getting him to stop is just that bit too much to ask!!) and is an angel. So just time I think  Also, we've got Wizz on a haltie that stops him pulling and calms him down - might be an idea??

Good luck and try not to strangle him!!


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## Queen Mum (Nov 8, 2011)

We have a BEAUTIFUL Rhodesian Ridgeback.  He was left in an apartment while his owner went to work and like one of the other people here mentioned he ate the sofa, two loveseats, the walls, the sconces, all the molding in the place.  The renter got evicted and turned him over to my landlady.  He chewed on his kennel till he broke all his teeth.     He has NEVER really lost All of his energy but now he is virtually toothless.  So he barks instead.

He's quite old now, but is JUST A LOVE.   He's sweet and gentle and wonderfully loyal.  I have taken over his care and I love that dog.  He is hyper and fun and a marvelous dog.   He is worth every single minute spent going for his walks.  

Patience is the word for a dog like that, but they give back every minute of it in satisfaction.  And this old fella warns me the minute something is wrong in the barn.


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