I have a lab, sharpey mix who is 3 years old and most of the time a smart, fun dog, but she is sooooo easily excited whether it's person, animal, or bug that it has been so hard to even try and train her. When she was younger she got kicked out of puppy training class for being to disruptive to the other dogs; I guess she needs one on one training. Now is barking more and more. What do I do?
Just venting I guess from lack of sleep. :confused2:
That is a tough one, dogs are pretty hard to train. The key is to keep working with them over and over. Repetition is key in training dogs. They will really learn but you have to go over and over again.
I would have your vet check check her out. Two of my four dogs were acting very excitable, and it turned out that both of them (unrelated and not even the same breeds) had low thyroid hormone. They're both now on thyroid medication, and both of their behaviors have really improved. It may not be a thyroid condition, but there are medical conoditions that can cause behavior problems.
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
I have heard of more and more animals with thyroid problems lately as well, it is worth getting checked out. Labs are normally pretty active and it may just be that you have to work with her more than other breeds though.
I have found that almost every dog I've ever had, the training begins to pay you back at about 1.5 to 2 years. Assuming you or your spouse (or anyone else who interacts with the dog on a daily basis) is not the root cause.Originally Posted by countrystepper
I would be concerned that after 3 years things are getting worse instead of better. It seems to me that by 6 to 9 months depending on the intellect of the dog, your pet should start looking for direction and you'll find the dog will be looking at your face and eyes. If this doesn't happen you're going to have some challenges.
I got a puppy once from a friend. This dog's mom was the most obsessive compulsive dog I have ever seen. She was a lab that would not stop with the ball or stick; she would continually pick it up and drop it on you if you did not throw it. Did not matter if you threw it 1000 times and it was 97 degrees. She would not stop unless she was asleep and she did not sleep very much. After 9 months I was unable to get the puppy to acknowledge my presence. It was completely preoccupied with nothing in particular. Luckily I was able to find a great home for this dog. Its owner is completely enamored with its behavior which is exactly like its mothers... obsessive and compulsive.
I have found that when a dogs acts like an idiot to try to get your attention or approval, by jumping or barking or running around in circles...whatever, that's when you should ignore it. After the dog settles down and becomes calm. Then it gets your attention and affection. This should condition the dog to be confident and attentive to your demeanor rather than the reverse.
I'm assuming that you are aware of this and it's just not effective. I have seen many people who inadvertently encourage or allow a dog to misbehave especially when it's been alone for extended periods because of guilt.
Dogs are descendants of wolves or other wild canines which are social, pack dwelling animals. They instinctively see you as part of their pack and are looking for the hierarchy, trying to find out who is, or become the leader if it's not perfectly clear who is calling the shots.
If your dog knows who is looking out for the pack and it's sure you are the one, and you're still having problems, you're left with 2 options, get some help from a trainer or get another dog.
Keep in mind, although I have experience with Labradors, I am not familiar with this breed or mix of breeds. I have not seen the dog and without doing so I can't tell where any problems are and what behaviors need to be modified. I'm just trying to help as you are soliciting for same.
Best of luck
RB
I work in a household that has a dog like this. She is a Weimaraner and is about 10 years old. She barks at everything, has separation issues and just generally wants to be up your tush all the time. The only way we have been able to curb the barking is unfortunately a shock collar.
i have the same breed , his name is louie. and he is exactly the same way. i tried everything to stop him from doing this, but nothing worked. it would frustrate the heck out of me. its the sharpey in him. they are very sensitive to your emotions. i found him most calm when i was most calm. i started chiping some golf balls around my property and he would chase them and bring them back until he got tired and then he would just take off with the ball. i would chase him trying to get it back , and i never could. i was excited but in a fun way, he got excited in a playfull way. when i found a hole with about 30 of my best golf balls in it i left them there because he takes care of them. lol. i have 6 other dogs and they all have different attitudes, but they all get along because of my attitude and emotions. every once and awhile ill get upset and all of them mostly louie would get scared and take off in the other direction, and i would not even look upset but i felt upset and he felt it too. not sure this helps but i hope it does a little
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