Rescue Lab destroys all!

My wife and I just rescued a black lab (puppy?). He is about 1year old. His name is Steve.

He is the sweetest most loving dog I have ever met. He is well behaved and listens to commands. He knows his name rather well.

However, there are two issues:

1st) He is fine when we are home and does not chew on anything except his toys. When we leave, he will destroy ANYTHING he can reach. Apparently he can reach really far.

I think he has seperation anxiety. I have conflicting info that I should or should not crate him. Those that say I should usually say it is easier for him to "protect" the crate then to worry about protecting the entire house.

2nd) He likes to play "keep away" when we are outside. Usually, we play in the backyard (partially fenced). We play fetch with various toys. We also play "tug" (I know some people think this is bad).

After a while, he will retrieve his toy and bring it to about 5 feet away from us. He will not bring it the entire way. When you reach for the toy, he grabs it and runs off with it. When he does this, he will not listen anymore. He will not come, stay, sit, or go into the house. Sometimes this standoff lasts for 30 minutes or so. When he does finally come, we praise him and give him treats. I have no idea why he does this.

Both of these things are borderline make or break issues. He makes me want to pull my hair out!

BTW, we have baby gates and leave him in the kitchen and tv room while we are at work. We were leaving him in the spare bedroom (there is no furniture in there right now) and he was a spazz in there as well. He just didn't have anything to destroy in the bedroom.

Any ideas on these issues?

Thanks!

Rob R.

Sounds more like a Meth Lab.

Boredom and loneliness is my opinion.

We have to crate our whippet when we're out for similar behaviors, even though the lab/pb cross is fine and left to her devices. We did try a small bedroom for a few weeks and he managed to field strip the door from the floor to his height.

He doesn't whine or try to escape the crate - he's totally mellow in there. Mind you both dogs are fed in their crates so they're not associated with punishment. They're also not banished to their crates for bad behavior.

Works for us, but ymmv.

Separation anxiety: Don't make a big deal out of leaving or returning to the house. If you make a big show of leaving, he'll get the impression that it's a big deal and may freak out about you being gone.

Destruction: Labs are working dogs. Play with him LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS, and make a point of showing him what is okay to chew on (which translates into puppy language as "tear into itty bitty pieces") and what is NOT. Our lab acts like a puppy, and doesn't generally sleep well unless we've worn him out during the day.

Be patient, he's a pup. Keep working with him, and I'd bet dollars to donuts you'll have a real good dog in a year or so.

wvumtnbkr wrote: 2nd) He likes to play "keep away" when we are outside. Usually, we play in the backyard (partially fenced). We play fetch with various toys. We also play "tug" (I know some people think this is bad). After a while, he will retrieve his toy and bring it to about 5 feet away from us. He will not bring it the entire way. When you reach for the toy, he grabs it and runs off with it. When he does this, he will not listen anymore. He will not come, stay, sit, or go into the house. Sometimes this standoff lasts for 30 minutes or so. When he does finally come, we praise him and give him treats. I have no idea why he does this.

He isn't playing fetch with you. He is playing "Keep the toy away".

Try having a 2nd toy in your hand. When he gets 5 feet away, show him the 2nd and say "Give" and put your hand out. It might take a while but praise him when he makes progress and PAY ZERO ATTENTION when he does not. He is trying to get you to chase him but he likes all the negative attention too... so ignore him until he comes looking for you. Then take the toy and throw the other one.

what akamcfly said, many very intelligent dogs get bored when you leave them alone, and sometimes they also have separation anxiety, which also leads to them tearing things up out of frustration. crate training is highly recommended since it keeps even well behaved dogs from getting themselves in trouble. if he feels safe in the crate, then he is less likely to get excited and tear stuff up.

JohnInKansas wrote: Separation anxiety: Don't make a big deal out of leaving or returning to the house. If you make a big show of leaving, he'll get the impression that it's a big deal and may freak out about you being gone. Destruction: Labs are working dogs. Play with him LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS, and make a point of showing him what is okay to chew on (which translates into puppy language as "tear into itty bitty pieces") and what is NOT. Our lab acts like a puppy, and doesn't generally sleep well unless we've worn him out during the day. Be patient, he's a pup. Keep working with him, and I'd bet dollars to donuts you'll have a real good dog in a year or so.

This is the way I am thinking as well. However, the 2nd issue makes this a problem. When he decides to play keep away, there is nothing I have found that works. I call him in my sweetest voice, I offer treats, I ignore him, I run into the house, nothing... He justs lays down in the yard. Then if you get close, he is off like a bolt of lightning. There is no catching him. I tried....

....That was a poor decision.

My dog used to do the same thing with the "keep away." You have to have another toy (ball, stick, whatever) to distract them with. ALWAYS give praise when they come to you with it!

Now, he's under the impression that every time I go to come back inside that there's a treat waiting for him, that cheeky tit!

Woody wrote: Sounds more like a Meth Lab.

Berkley! Now i gotta buy a Lab so I can call him that!

I see there was some posts while I was writing.

He does play fetch really well. He even brings the toys back. He drops them at your feet when you tell him to drop it.

Then after some time he doesn't. You can almost see his behavior change. I know when it is about to happen and usually take him in the house at that point. If I don't see it coming, it is very frustrating.

We have tried using 2 seperate toys. He doesn't care about either of them at that point. He will leave the toys were they lie sometimes. He just doesn't want ME to catch him or get close enough to catch him.

As of right now, we have to leave his harness and leash on him. This way we can grab the leash and get him inside (if you are quick). I know that getting him in the house this way is not ideal. However, sometimes I don't have time to wait him out.

If you can imagine the toy as a bird you just shot, you can see that your dog would be a real issue for a hunter! I am guessing that trainers know of this desire and how to get rid of it. Does Gun Dog magazine have a website? Might be worth a look.

As for anxiety, crate training is the only way to go. They must think of their crate as a safe, secure place and they will grow to like it. I had my pit/lab in the crate for a few months when he was new to us, and it calmed him right down. He eventually moved into the dog room with our other dog and was happy. The room is full of toys that they are allowed to destroy and they have some room to play and sleep.

I found taking some 'puppy' classes taught 'me' a lot with handling my old dog. No dog, or owner, is too old for a good puppy class.

I don't usually bother trying to take the toy from mine when he does that. I just chase him. He's always faster, but its good exercise for both of us, and I can deal with putting in some time dashing around after him if it means he has a little fun and it wears him out enough to sleep later than 4am.

It isn't the best training method, but it works for me.

My blue heeler mix likes to play "Keep Away" too. I either get a bribe or ignore her. Mostly, she won't tear up anything we ignore.

Crate train. That's all I can say. I would leave my dogs out all day except I have one that wants to pee on everything and one of the other ones want to shred paper and chew on pens.

Your dog is young enough to start doing it now for it to be affective.

Plain and simple, crate training has worked VERY well for us...My husky is in his crate every day when we go to work - about 6 or 7 hours at a stretch. Most of the time, when I come home to let him out, hes asleep...meaning, he has no anxiety about being in there. To reinforce that this is a good place to go, he gets one of several tough toys (nylabone or kong etc) with a dab of peanut butter inside. Rotating the toys every day or 3 keeps it exciting. Never make the crate a bad place, where he is punished or scolded. Also, along the same lined, his name should never be yelled or said in anger - he should associate his name with reward and kindness.

Bonus, hard nylon toys (nylabone etc) become very coarse as he chews them up - essentially becoming a toothbrush. Hes practically tartar free. The Vet is amazed, asks what product we use, because she normally charges people a hundred bucks or so every 6 mos for a plaque treatment for their large breeds.

For the keep away game, as mentioned, the 2 toy approach works well, and a treat and massive praise every time he comes in the back door is the name of the game. It WILL take time, but it will get good results. Its also worth it to go outside, play toss and retrieve the toy 2 or 3 times, the go right back inside, followed by the treat and praise act...its enough that he knows what game hes playing, but not enough times that it turns into keep away, and he will begin to learn that the game doesnt have to turn into keep away, and will still be fun.

A more simple fix tho might be to keep a handfull of treats in your pocket as you play. Every time he returns the toy to you, he gets a treat. Pretty soon, he will just always want to come get his treat.

a lot of people may disagre with me, but I've owned dogs all my life, I love my dogs, they are like my children, etc etc. However, I have crated my dogs, especially when they were puppies. Our last dog we rescued at around 10 months of age and tried leaving her out (we have another dog who we no longer need to crate) and she was destructive. a few short weeks of crating cured her nearly completely of her destructive tendencies.

Also, for the outside behavior I would strongly recommend a remote control shock collar. It sounds terrible but your dog's behavior could get it killed if it gets loose somewhere near a road. I've never had to shock a dog more than twice. From then on, once they hear the warning buzz/beep they are 100% trainable.

I have read lots of books and even known a few people that only use positive reinforcements to train their dogs. Those techniques have worked for some of our dogs, but for others we have had to resort to more corporal forms of training and have had great success with them. I hate to hurt my dogs but I justify a couple quick harmless jolts on the shock collar because I believe that properly training a dog to come on command could save the dogs life if it gets loose in public.

Of course, all training should involve lots of treats and petting and love when your dog "gets it right."

And, as stated, the more you exercise your dog, the better behaved he/she will be when chilling at the house. A great side effect is that long walks with your dog will make you happier and healthier as well.

Give it some time. Labs calm down after a while, usually after ten or twelve years. Our lab is about 14 years old, but until the last few years he was balls out all day, every day.

You could power your house off the energy a lab can generate.

DIY Crate Training:

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html

We tried crate training our lab-mutt. Pretty sure he had seperation anxiety, and as we were home #3 in 18 months, that makes sense. It didn't work. First we started with a hand-me-down wooden crate we got from my inlaws. First day, I get home and the dog meets me at the door with a bloody mouth. Chewed his way out.

OK, so, metal crate. First day, the dog meets me at the door with a bloody head. Pushed up on the top of the crate so hard with his head that the snap together clasps unlocked and the let the door open.

So, zip tie the metal crate together. Good news - dog didn't get out. Bad news - I'm glad he didn't bleed to death with how bad he tore up the top of his head trying.

At that point, I said "berkeley the crate" and learned to deal with him in other ways.

This mostly was punishment (stern voice, sometimes a spanking) for bad behavior and huge reward (uber-excited playing) for good behavior. Giving him tasks helped a lot. Putting a treat inside an empty peanut butter jar was always a hit. Kongs are good.

The other thing that was huge was installing a doggy door. He no longer felt trapped. That one thing was probably the best thing I ever did for dog ownership. He could go outside and wear himself out chasing squirels, and as a bonus could also now go to the bathroom without waking me up.

It was trying in the beginning, but now, 12 years later, I wouldn't trade it. Best damn dog ever. The only sucky part now is he's slowing down so much that we know he won't be around forever. :(

I am officially not going on any other forums ever again.

Anything I need help with I am coming on this site.

Thank you all very much! I will update as progress occurs (or I kill him.) <-- that is a joke!

Thanks again!

Rob R.

A doggie door is a no go. Our 2 cats would get out. They are way too wussified to go outside and survive.

Thanks,

Rob

wvumtnbkr wrote: A doggie door is a no go. Our 2 cats would get out. They are way too wussified to go outside and survive.

Sounds like a win-win. :)

Good friends have a rescue hound, same age, same sort of behaviour. The crate worked like a charm for them - Poppy loves it and goes happily into it when asked. Her blanky and toys are in there with her, she will often go in and lie down if we are watching a movie.