[kwohlenb]

I have an 8 month old lab who never jumps on guests or visitors inside the house and never jumps on us but when she is outside if we are greeted by a neighbor or someone we know she always tries to jump. This behavior seems to be getting better over time as she gets older but it still happens.
The worst is when we go for our runs and someone is passing by on the sidewalk she always tries to say hello to that person by sort of lunging, or walking sideways and turning her head when we pass which obviously makes running a little difficult because then I trip over her. It takes a lot of people off-guard and strangers get scared thinking she may bite but she is just friendly and wants to say hello to EVERYONE. I particularly notice this behavior at night (I dont know if its because her senses are heightened therefore her reactions to situations are heightened) I want to find a way to correct this behavior, we've been successful with clicker training so I had some ideas for how to correct it by just brining that along and yummy treats and just distracting her as people go by but I'm not really sure if thats a long term solution. I am interested in anyone else has had this problem and if its just a "puppy thing" that passes OR if it isnt how you corrected the behavior.

 

[eklind51]

8 months old is too young to be running with your lab. her joints/growth plates are not fully developed...its recommended you wait to jog/run with her until she is 18-24 months old. you could be doing serious damage to her joints.

 

[kwohlenb]

Well I jog and Trevi walks haha. My jogging is basically a bouncing walk and we don't go very far only a mile loop. So I would say her joints are very healthy and that didnt really answer my question.

 

[imported_BigBrownDog]

Well I jog and Trevi walks haha. My jogging is basically a bouncing walk and we don't go very far only a mile loop. So I would say her joints are very healthy and that didnt really answer my question.

Her joints will be healthy right up until the moment when she tears or ruptures something. Seriously, people make remarks like that because they are trying to help you. I doubt very much you would enjoy a several thousand dollar vet bill due to you not knowing that young dogs joints need TLC for quite a while. Running with a puppy (which you are clearly doing if an action on her part can make you trip over her) is bad for the puppy.

Anyway - you should take her to an obedience class where you could learn how to teach her to heel. Many on here use pinch collars, harnesses or head leaders (Halti or Gentle Leader) to gain better control over their dogs while you are working on training her.

 

[kwohlenb]

I know and thanks for the help, I realized after re-reading that might have read sort of rude but I didnt mean that in any way. But I am still a little confused....there seems to be a lot of conflicting evidence on this topic, when is it safe on joints to start running/jogging and how much exercise is too much exercise based on age???
This is Trevi's weekly exercise in a nutshell:
1. Doggie daycare 2-3 times per week where she runs and plays all day long
2. Games of fetch in a big field where she LOVES to run and fetch the ball and can't get enough of it 2-3 times per week.
3. Daily walks and sometimes a slow jog which might be once per week if that especially now with the weather being cold.
I asked our vet about this subject who recommends plenty of exercise and says we are doing the right amount for her age.
So I am just confused should I limit her activity because her joints and everyting are still developing??? I certainly don't want to hurt her and I don't want her to pull something and do anything that would cause her future pain. I just feel like there is a lot of conflicting information on this subject...when/how much activity is safe for a lab and when can you jog/run. I read another article that said at 5 months its safe, but Trevi is almost 9 months and two people have said its not safe. I appreciate any and all opinions on this because maybe some people will say 5 months and other people will say 2 years old. Maybe its just one of those things that all owners are different and all vets and animal professionals publish what they think is right and it all ends up being different.
Also I know my original post was about how to get her to stop lunging during walks and I have trained successfully on my own so far so I put myself in doggie mindset and came up with a good plan to get her to stop and this is how in case anyone else is experiencing this:
I brought along my trusty clicker and treats in my pocket and Trevi has "Watch Me" down to a tee (so you should teach your dog this trick first) and all I have to say when someone is walking by is "Watch me" click and treat. These past few walks I didnt even bring treats and I just say watch me and she is so focused on me she doesnt even realize another person is walking by me. It worked very very well!

 

[Trickster]

I just copied this from an old post of mine, but here is why you should not force exercise a puppy:

As you may or may not be aware, dogs have growth plates, which are the soft 'ends' of the major developmental bones. These bones solidify to mature bones at different rates as the dog grows. When they mature depends both on the breed of dog and the individual. For Labs, that may be anywhere from 12-18 months. For giant breeds it can be even longer. Until the soft growth plates solidify into mature bone, the actual bone cartilage itself is quite weak. Therefore, forcing a puppy to uptake continuous, unnatural movement through activities such as jogging can potentially damage the growth plates. For a dog with a genetic disposition to a particular joint disease, early damage of the growth plates could accelerate and potentially worsen the condition.

 

[Dani]

Running on her pace is fine. You are forcing her to run at YOUR pace, which can cause damage. No jogging until 2.

As for your lunging, wanting to greet people, what are you doing to correct the issue? IE, what do you do when she lunges?