Restless Lab

[Mello-Yello]

Ok, here's one for the trainers.

Riley, my 6 month old yellow lab, has never taken to being petted...at all! He's 100% go all the time, and it takes a lot of persistance on my part to get him calmed down where he'll sit still.

As of late, he will lay his head on my knee and look up at me with those sweet puppy eyes (well, he's pushing 70 lbs., but he is still a puppy). If I reach down to pet him, he gets all wound up again.

I had a devil of a time breaking him of mouthing my hand when I'd try and pet him. Now he just follows my hand, wagging his entire rear-section frantically.

Is this something he'll outgrow? I don't want to break his go-get'em spirit, but I also don't need a 110 lb. wound-up spring around the house.

Any thoughts?

M-Y

[Chrome Bumper]

Doggy downers..........or wait 2 years, the dog loves ya.

[Lured In]

M-Y...I have good news and bad news. The good news is my pup was just like yours, so I fully understand. The bad news is she is 2 years old and still does it, only slightly less excitable. :grin:

For me, she will let you pet her for about 3 seconds and then goes to get her Kong Ball to play fetch. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] The flip side is she is a bird maniac. You gotta give a little to get a little.

You gotta love labs. [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img]

[skein]

My lab's only six, and I figure a couple more years and she'll settle down. At least that's what everybody tells me, "Wait a couple of years."

Don'tcha love labs! [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img]

Skein

[Hoosier Daddy]

"Restless lab"? Isn't that kind of redundant? :grin:

[Mello-Yello]

You know, the more I think about it...

My other Yellow Lab, Bailey...I got him back around 1980. He was the perfect dog. Learned quick, loved to please, fanatical fetcher, etc, etc. But the more I think about it, I recall wondering at what point he was going to "grow up". Seems I remember making statements later on like "those first two years were tough".

The deal with Riley is, one; he's incredibly head-strong. two; he mows anything over that happens to be in his way. three; He's yet to grow into his feet. He's still getting taller at 6 mos. and has yet to start packing on any significant mass. and four; he's incredibly head-strong.

I use an ecollar virtually every evening, just to remind him that he needs to do as I say regardless of whether or not I'm in arms reach. He's responded to this very well, though if he's doing something he really wants to do, he's often willing to take some volts to verify that I'm really serious.

He heels so tight to my right leg now that the other morning I thought he was going to blow my knee out. Again, 110% at everything.

I guess I'm just frustrated because he's so wound up all the time I'd just like to see him 'mello' out occasionally and let me pet him. Maybe in time...

Thanks!

M-Y

[fishinpoor]

mellow,this is very commen in a young dog,most of the time it fixes itself with age and training,as he advances and learns the rules must be followed he will start to mellow out,remember we are the trainers not the dog,don't give him what he wants until we get what we want,if done correctly it will not dampen his desire to retrieve,believe it or not labs actually respond better when the rules are well defined,example i have a 15 month old,that in the beginning was as you described,don't touch me,bouncing off the walls,go go go,as his training progressed he learned that if he didn't calm down he wouldn't get to retrieve,so with lots of time spent on basic obediance he learned what the rules were,now he is very well mannered,still high strung,but if he starts to get a little too exciteable a command of here,heel then he knows he's under command and we can get to work,the key to a lot of retrievers problems can be fixed with a good foundation and rock solid basic obediance,if you have any more questions feel free to e-mail me and i would be happy to answer them........ your absolutely correct ya gotta love labs.............they pay my bills ...............DAVE

[DriftR]

Mellow,
Keep at it. Work with your dog. I always tried to have a quiet time with my dog. I was the one who wanted the right place and time for my yellow to get excited. I worked with her constantly. She would get excited and run off right away and grab her chew toy and sit and chew and look at me from across the room. I actually worked with my dog and trained her completely without a shock collar. Never raised my hand to her. The main thing was that I always carried a small amount of "Cheerios". When I wanted her to calm down I trained her to sit very still then she would receive a "Cheerio." She finally came to realize that if she sat down and became quiet she got a reward. Believe me, before I had her fully trained using this method she just about chewed everything in site. I mean that dog of mine chewed the ends of chairs, tables, shoes but really loved to tear into any old(or new) work glove. Thank god for those big rubber bones. They lasted much longer than the nyla bones. They are great companions and the most loyal friend. I could never bring myself to ever do anything harsh to her. Man she loved the rump rub and belly scratch. One thing. No matter how much time I spent training her to stay still and quiet, if any member of the family touched or rattled car keys you just hope that the back door and screen door were open. If not she opened them. I got used to it and just bought a roll of screen material and became very good at rescreening screen doors. She has been gone for over a year now but I still think of her and always will. Treat them good and they will give it back to you beyond your expectations.

[Amahnee]

My question is how much time do you get to spend with her? Maybe I was spoiled. I got to keep my chocolate daughter with me 24/7 from the time I got her at 8 weeks. She has always been extremely mellow. She never chewed anything. Does everything that I ask from her the first time. An absolute dream and pleasure to share my life with. She is going on five. The same yesterday, today, and always. You guy's scare me with all this crazy lab talk. What will I do when she's gone? Bet you can't guess what her name is, starts with an "A". It means friend.

[BrotherWolf]

I have a 15 month old yellow lab and she probaly only weighs 55lbs when wet...she is my first waterdog AND mellow is somthing shes not shes like a poket rocket....it didnt take her long to figure out how to open the door on the kennel...if you dont put a clip in the latch she will be out faster than you can turn around I have never had a dog that chews like she does, the kids learned quick that if they left any toys in the yard they were as good as gone.... and she bounces so High I cant belive she hasnt cleared the 6ft kennel...I took her choker collar off thinking she might get it hung up on the chain link and hang herself. Will be taking her to st louis ponds on sunday for the picnic event held buy S.R.T.C

[ 03-05-2004, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: BrotherWolf ]

[steelheadslayer]

My lab is going on ten in a month or so and NO, she will not settle down or 'grow up.' She is all go and only sleeps when I'm fishing or sleeping myself. She lets me pet her but she just wants to run and get something to fetch. Ya gotta love good breeding. Best dog I've ever had in the blind and a real treat to hunt with.

[Quasimodo the fish killer]

my dog is kind of that way but only in the field or out side.

when I am hunting over him the most he will let ya do is give him a quick pat on the head when he makes a retrieve the rest of the time he will sit clear on the other side of the blind.

in the house or car though he is a big lap dog he crawls between my legs and sleeps at night untill I kick him off lol

my dog gets lots of attention and is in the house with me a lot he also goes to work with me. he mellowed out real well except for when he is outside or in the field all he wants to do is fetch.

your dog may grow out of it. I have learned that the more human interaction they have the mellower they seem to get. I dont know if yours is a house dog or not but I have noticed when I kennel mine for the day when I am gone fishing he is all hyped up when I come home but mellows after a while.

also I have a large yard so I try and run the crud out of him when I first let him out of the kennel that seems to help too.

Quasi

.

[Amahnee]

Good Lord why did I get her spayed!? :whazzup: