Aggression

**Temka** · 10-04-2011, 04:54 PM

My puppy is generally sweet, but has these moments of aggression that are pretty scary. He is about 6.5 months, English lab. Every now and than he starts barking, running around the room in a cricle than jumps up to bite you. Sometime he just goes on fits of barking at you and jumping as if he will lunge at you, but doesnt.

I am training him, and he can be the best dog in the world. How do I get him to calm down. Stop lunging, biting and barking?

**deidra** · 10-04-2011, 05:06 PM

That's not aggression it is bad manners. bentley was the same way so i started just keeping a leash on him. Everytime he would go to bark i would givea little correction with a command. mine was usually quit but he also knows no bark. Also if you have little kids over tell them they are not allowed to run with the dog near by. it just gets him more crazy and just so over whelmed he doesn't know what to do excpet go crazy. if he gets to wild you can just xrate him for awhile till he calms down. Don't make the crate a bad thing though. just put him in the crate like you are going to bed or leaving.

**BigBrownDog** · 10-04-2011, 05:43 PM

Great answer Deidra!

To the OP - this sounds to me like a bored, underexercised adolescent dog. How much hard exercise is he getting? Long rounds of fetch or off leash running daily (in a safe environment if he does not have a solid recall) may make him behave much better.

**Tanya** · 10-04-2011, 06:12 PM

I agree - great answer Deidra!

no easy answer on that one, stick to lots of good physical activity and training. when he gets into those fits ignore him and stay calm. but more importantly - try to monitor and see WHEN they occur and if there are signs beforehand - so that you can catch him BEFORE he is full throttle and either go outside and exercise or start training.

**Spike's Mom** · 10-05-2011, 02:02 PM

Doesn't even have to be a run type of thing. Spike has never been a high exertion type of dog but either a long walk or day at daycare did him good. Beware tho - the more exercise he gets the more his stamina will build up so that hour walk that worked last month might need to be upped

**TotalEclipse** · 10-06-2011, 10:30 AM

I also have a 4 mth old choc-lab named "Hank", that has a "Jekyl and Hyde" type characteristics. I had labs all my life, but this is the worst behaved pup ever. I can't get him to swim or fetch ball, maybe 3 or 4 throws that's it, he has a short attention span. I know he needs to be disenergized, but can't trust him off-leash, he feasts on rocks , mud, sand. We walk him for 3 one hour walks a day, but that doesn't fizz him, he's like the energizer rabbit. I know lab pups are a handful for I had 4 labs before Hank all well trained with good manners. Is there something wrong with the chocolate ones?

**Tanya** · 10-06-2011, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by TotalEclipse

I also have a 4 mth old choc-lab named "Hank", that has a "Jekyl and Hyde" type characteristics. I had labs all my life, but this is the worst behaved pup ever. I can't get him to swim or fetch ball, maybe 3 or 4 throws that's it, he has a short attention span. I know he needs to be disenergized, but can't trust him off-leash, he feasts on rocks , mud, sand. We walk him for 3 one hour walks a day, but that doesn't fizz him, he's like the energizer rabbit. I know lab pups are a handful for I had 4 labs before Hank all well trained with good manners. Is there something wrong with the chocolate ones?

Color does NOT impact personality or intelligence. the breeding and parentage does.

It is quite normal for a 4mt old puppy to not want to fetch non-stop, they generally DO have a short attention span - i would say your puppy is very normal.

If he is never offleash that is likely why he is such a handful. Do you not have a fenced yard, baseball park, dog park, friend's yard you can use to let him run around?

How much training do you do with him?

**BigBrownDog** · 10-06-2011, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by TotalEclipse

I also have a 4 mth old choc-lab named "Hank", that has a "Jekyl and Hyde" type characteristics. I had labs all my life, but this is the worst behaved pup ever. I can't get him to swim or fetch ball, maybe 3 or 4 throws that's it, he has a short attention span. I know he needs to be disenergized, but can't trust him off-leash, he feasts on rocks , mud, sand. We walk him for 3 one hour walks a day, but that doesn't fizz him, he's like the energizer rabbit. I know lab pups are a handful for I had 4 labs before Hank all well trained with good manners. Is there something wrong with the chocolate ones?

Did you use a breeder who selects for temperament and who knew that you were not looking for a high energy dog? How much time are you investing in working this puppy mentally and training him? I don't think walks that long are appropriate for a 4 month old dog, but you can tire him out just as effectively with mental exercise.

There are badly bred chocolate Labs out there - and yellow and black too. Color is not a behavioral detemining factor - but breeding is.

**morla** · 10-08-2011, 02:55 PM

When he jumps and tries to bit, say very sturnly uh uh. It he listens give him a treat. Keep doing that and sooner or later he will get the idea.

**SharonaZamboni** · 10-09-2011, 12:28 AM

Bean also started having fits of craziness around that age. Almost always, it was right after a poop. It was like he felt so good, he wanted to run crazy, but couldn't because of the leash! At first, I had to grab his collar and settle him ( something I learned in puppy kindergarten), but his craziness eventually lessened, and now he doesn't act up. I think it's something to nip in the bud, before it becomes a habit. I was being too soft on my little baby, and he was taking advantage!