Lab Puppy Agression Issue

[Kelkari]

I have a 4 month old male lab who has shown signs of agression. We have a young child in the house and are trying all we can to make this work and have called in a private trainer for consultations. On Tuesday he is getting neutered, though the vet says this will help when his testetrone kicks in and she knows we are doing all we can to give this puppy an awesome home. My question is that he gets "manic" and extremely biting while play and this typically coincides with him getting physically excited in a male dog sort of way. I don't know which is causing which or if maybe the neutering will actually calm him down or lessen these over the top episodes. We are walking him 2 miles a day (morning/evening) and working on basic obedenience as he is extremely bright. I really, really want to keep this boy and any insight you have into how to manage this manic episodes other than our "time out" method is appreciated and whether I should be hopeful that the neuter will help. Thanks for your input.

[Kelkari]

Reading other posts and replies it seems that his Playful mouthing is pretty typical. But his body language and food aggression have me concerned. Especially his manic episodes where he doesn't seem to smap out of it. He is also doing some wrapping of his front legs around my leg. I remain calm and say off using his collar I lower him. He waits til I release him now before he begins to eat but growls if u try to retake the food. Working on leAve it. Considering a cage muzzle so he can interact with the entire family without risk of a bite. It will give me insight into how he is with our little one. Will keep him on a lead too. Let me know any ideas u may have. Thanks so much!

[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi Kelkari,

Your puppy sounds like handful I have seen so many young labs that get excited when meeting people and jumping and licking or play-biting people's hands.

I am not so worry about him humping on your leg. Dogs do that, even after being neutered. You are doing the right thing to tell him "off" firmly. You can also remove yourself, instead of giving him time-out.

I am more concerned of his food aggression. You want to correct this behavior as soon as possible. The best way is to hand-feed him, or put his food in his bowl little by little, instead of giving him the whole meal at once. If you give him the whole meal, he would claim that is his. Instead, make him realize that all his food comes from YOU and he would not get it unless he takes it nicely and wait politely. I know it is time consuming but it is important for him to realize he doesn't need to, and in fact, shouldn't be protective of his foods, treats, toys, his favorite person, his favorite bed or anything at all. Food aggression is just one example of resource guarding aggressions and you really need to curve this behavior sooner.

Another good way to train him not to be protective is to teach him "Leave it" and "Drop it". Give him a toy and when he has the toy tell him to drop it by offering him a tiny treat. You can gradually make it more challenging by using something he sees more value to, such as lawhide or bone, but don't get there until you really feel comfortable with him, and/or you have confident he would give it to you. If you cannot get the object from him, that would teach him that he doesn't need to obey you if he doesn't want to and it back fires you

Let us know how his food aggression gets under control.

[KOPcaroline]

Hi Kelkari,

Congrats on the new pup - lets hope things settle down soon!

First off - these "manic" episodes, where puppy does not calm down at all but just builds and builds, can be pretty typical. I know a few dogs who either are like this, or used to be. When he gets like that, try ignoring him. Turn your back, fold your arms...that sort of thing. If he keeps at you for attention, give him your stern "no" or "off" and keep ignoring. He should pick up on not getting attention pretty quickly. If he's an absolute terror and not getting the point, try putting him in time out to calm down. Just a quiet, dark room by himself, and keep him there until he's calm. Obviously a room where he cant destroy things in his excited state is better :P I think if you just start removing any kind of attention when he gets worked up that he might understand its not fun.

The hand biting and mouthing is a common puppy problem, but it sounds like you've got a hang on it? Its pretty easy to train out of, just let us know if you need help with it.

As far as leg wrapping and humping, as MHN said its also a common behaviour - some dogs do it, other dont, and neutering may or may not bring a halt to it. Its usually just a sign of excitement, though it can develop into dominance behaviour in some cases. Either way - you're reacting in the correct way - immediately getting him down and telling him no. Keep this up and hopefully he'll stop doing this.

I really like MHN's advice for training out of food aggression, and I too think its SUPER important to get control of that as soon as possible. Hand feeding is a great way to accomplish this - and it helps make mealtime fun for both of you Great way to build trust.

I hope things sort out, dont hesitate to ask more questions or advice, and let us know how things go!

[Kelkari]

Thank you so much for your advice. I am also worried about the food (resource) aggression issues..I was feeding him by hand, a little at a time and he became possessive over the bowl. I removed the bowl and fed on the ground after he bit my hubby while in the process. When I described this to the trainer and she was bit by him when trying to interrupt him from eating, she suggested that he could have not had enough as a little being from a huge litter 12 I think and that we shouldn't concentrate on that right now. She advised me to move to the make him wait before he can eat. He will sit and wait until I say "okay" even with saliva dripping from his jowls. However, I have not tried to approach him after I release him, as his body seems too tense and I think it would not be smart. Not sure of where to go from next. We are working on the leave it with other things, substituting toys for kibble as he is sooo food driven.

Today at lunch we were in the backyard and he once again became manic like, so I told him "no" sternly and he raced off and came at me full force. I got him to stop before he full fledge collided with me, but then was attacked (don't mean this like an attack, more like a very overly excited, lips curled up, mouth open, nippy situation) and I tried the ignore, back turned, armed crossed and he contined to go through my clothing with his teeth. I did another firm no and off he went tearing around and another charge at me with teeth and head in a seemingly crazed state. At this point I did what the trainer told me, I calmly, firmly got ahold of his collar and led him back to his crate, placed him in there and told him "no bite."

I am walking him a mile in the morning, playing at lunch time with him in the yard (while practicing sit, stay, wait, leave it) and working on some obedience at night, with hubby walking him an additional mile. Our trainers puppy class doesn't start up until January and with all his issues, I felt it was best to wait for her. However, he does exhibit some fearful tendencies which I wish I could help him address. I know walking on the leash will help with the alpha issue and with his socialization, but I really want to do all I can to make this work.

Trainer and vet are concerned I think because of my young daughter. The neutering is happening tomorrow and I know that is likely to help us more in the future when he would have gotten a huge dose of testostorone, but again I want to do all I can to make this work.

He is already 35 lbs at 4 months and is going to be over 100 lbs. when fully grown, so I know it is vital that I gain control now. Please let me know your thoughts on the food issue and any other advice regarding how better to handle the manic episodes. I will try the timeout and try to think of this more as puppy antics than as agression.

Thanks for your support!

[Kelkari]

Thanks for your advice MaxHollyNoah.... I will definitely be working on the "Leave it" with much more diligence....(Another good way to train him not to be protective is to teach him "Leave it" and "Drop it". Give him a toy and when he has the toy tell him to drop it by offering him a tiny treat. You can gradually make it more challenging by using something he sees more value to, such as lawhide or bone, but don't get there until you really feel comfortable with him, and/or you have confident he would give it to you.)

[KOPcaroline]

Hey Kelkari,

I think if your pup goes into those manic states again, do what you did this time - put him away, and tell him no. Most dogs respond well to being ignored, but its obviously not working with your big boy! Everytime he gets overeager in play, put him up immediately, and leave him there until he's calm.

I used time outs with my own dog and they really helped. It prevents them working up even more and just staying excited.

I hope it helps, and you start to see results!

[Kelkari]

We are remaining consistent in our approaches and it seems to be paying off with Sullivan showing a more relaxed side. We actually can pet him now. That may seem like a small thing, but it is huge to me. He is still resource guarding the food and I am almost ready to remove the bowl again and hand feed him over the holidays. I did get him to "leave" his bowl for some hot dog I had, but it took quite a bit of encouragement to even entice him. Of course, once he had that his attention was all on me. LOL He does wait and drool up a storm until I release him to eat. Not sure if the hand feeding is a good idea, since I was doing that before the trainer. Just like everything, multiple tactics are taken and recommendations are made, but I KNOW I don't want to have a dog that growls and is food aggressive. The puppy is now over 40 lbs. and is placing paws on the counter....any suggestions. I am trying the cookie sheets to clatter and use a coin can when I see it happening. It helps some, but didn't know if you had any other ideas. Thanks for your continued help and support!

[KOPcaroline]

Hey again,

I really think using time outs, in conjunction with making lots of noise when you catch him (cooking sheets, coins - great idea!) and verbally reprimanding him is the best approach here.

Correcting him, then immediately putting him locked up/ tied up somewhere usually works well to train a dog out of most bad behaviours, no matter what age or how long theyve been doing the behaviour for. I really cant think of much else that you haven't tried already to suggest beyond that. I just takes patience and perserverance

I'm really happy to hear that you're already seeing progress, I hope it continues!

[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi Kelkari,

I am glad that Sullivan's food aggression is somewhat under control.

Regarding his counter surfing, the best way to correct this is to set up some kind of trick/trap so that he will be scared and learn not to do this again.

One example is to put a flat cardboard across the counter and put some cans or pot lids or something at the other edge so that when he put his paws on the front edge the cardboard will flip down along with the cans and stuff to scare him. It won't hurt him but make him startle.

One time my foster dog tried to get to some bacon fat in the cast iron pan and the pan fell on the floor with a big noise as he put his paws on the stove top. It was scary enough for him to learn the lesson

I didn't try this trick/trap with my own dogs since they were all already grown up when we adopted each of them. Instead, I taught him/her not to jump on the counter by doing this: I put some treats or pieces of meat at the edge of the counter and looked at my dog. Of course he tried to jump and take the treat from the counter. I caught the action right before he reached the treat and told him "No" and tapped the counter. When he stopped, I guided him to the other end of the kitchen and gave him the treat as I praised him a lot. I repeated this lesson a few times and each dog learned not to put paws on the counter or dining table. It is so nice to have dogs that won't touch foods unless they are offered even if the foods are within their reach. I think early training will really pay off

Good luck!