hey everyone. i own a beautiful labby girl Jess. shes gotta a few problems.
1. Too much lovin:
30kg of labrador running out full speed straight into you. shes a big bundle of flubber and fur and man, is she heavy! everytime i go outside im greeted with a blow to my stomach. she does it to everyone. shes as big as be on 2 legs so i usally i get knocked backwards or fall or something. its like she hasnt seen me in years even though i went out 3 min ago. iv tred pushing her back and spraying her with water (shes too much of a water loving dog) but nothign works ! can someone help??
2. Yank and pull walking style:
yank,pull,cough,yank,pull,cough. iv tryed harnesses, chockers ( i really dont like using them, but it doesnt help anyway) and anything else. shes just uncontrollable. she knows what shes doing wrong but she just doesnt listen. shes sits when shes told to and listens on comand but shes just wont walk properly. she pulls liek crazy and coughs uncontrobley. she needs daily exercise but im always dreading it knowing thats its going to be another tug-o-war match.
3.Bath time:
since jess has been a pup we have tryed to bath her regulary but she has an awful fear of hoeses. she will do anything to escape which usally means me or anyoen else helping out in the dirt. shes really strong and fast and we cant control her. weve tryed bribes (treat style) but nothiugn will work. shes a huge dog so we cant wash her inside the house. we dont have a dogwash near bye and calling the mobil soggie wash could be kinda expensive.
4.Doggie day pals:
everytime me and jess go on a doggie tug-o-war walk and we see anothe dog (or person in that matter) jess bolts over to them (which leaves me once again face down in the dirt or with scraped knees on the foot path and no dog) and goes crazy. she plays with them first but by teh time i get there she gets all protective over me and attacks the other dogs. if we approch another dog slowely, shes ok. Jess has been with other dogs since she was a pup and she lives with a little staffy pup and shes fine. i need help !
5. Food Problem:
every time some one is eating some sort of food or even holding a rock or soemthing, jess go wild. shess does everything she can to get the object out of there hands witch usally means that persons clothesa are now muddy or ripped. labradors love food a little too much and shes liek an addict.
6. Tennis Balls:
our dog has a mayjor problem with tennis balls. you cant sit outside without reciving a dirt covered, slobber infested ball on you lap or splotched onto your best pants. evenwhen my mums doing the laundry, jess drops the ball into the basket which means everything the ball has touched needs to be washed again. iv tryed takign teh ball away but all it leaves is a distressed searching howling lab.
7. hey jess, come back... i SAID COME BACK!!
if jess get away on walks she usally keeps running. shes athletic and fast and theres no way i can cath up to her or anyone else for that fact. iv tryed to cath her but she runs even faster. iv tryed calling to her and rarely that works. iv sat down and even lied down on the foot path. i need help !!
im 13 so i cant hire a special dog trainer or anything like that. i think Jess feels like shes an alpha or something. jess always protects charlie (her pack member haha) and controls other dogs. shes a born leader and im not sure if im able to force that outta her.
i really need help !!!
Did you read my forum post in dog behaviour? I have lots of the same problems. Sometimes it seems impossible to achieve anything with your dog. I know that since i've had Koda he's learnt alot and is overall a good dog but on a scale of 1 to 100 he is realistically only 50% of the way there.
He constantly runs off and refuses to let me get more than a couple of meters close to him! He likes to greet visitors with a big sloppy kiss (right on the lips if he can jump that high). He sometimes shows aggresion towards other dogs, even ones he knows. And he still doesn't always respond to command. But I just try to focus on the positive. Today he ran off after a bird at the footy oval but after 10 mins of me yelling and screaming (not quite) he came back... at least he did in the end lol!
There is only three things you can do: try, try and try again!
Its hard and frustrating but if you get your problems sorted then it will seem like nothing at all compared to what you get in return 
As for the yanking on the lead. This may take a while but try it. Every time your dog puls one way stop or walk the other way. It will soon sink in that pulling gets bad results. I personally use a check chain, they've worked wonders for all the dogs i've had!
Good luck 
You will need to carry yummy treats around for a while to bribe her (cut back on her dinner instead). Always tell her when she is being a good girl and reward her with attention. At the moment she is prob getting more attention when she is being naughty so it reinforces the naughtiness.
1. Turn your back and cross your arms whenever she greets you in a bad way (eg jumping) even walk away. She wants your attention so dont give it to her. As soon as she sits give her a treat and lots of attention.
2. (Sporn harness or halti are good for labs) otherwise if she pulls stop - dont keep walking, or change direction if you can't stop. She doesn't really know better. Also when you are walking regularly call her name and when she stops pulling and walks alongside you give her a treat - that way she knows what is the right way to walk.
3. Have you tried washing her in the shower - you can get in with her in your bathers and it is a bit less scary for her. Also you can buy dog shampoo that doesnt need water.
4. Dogs aren't really as social as us - and Jess already has a friend to play with at home. Plus sometimes a dog gets a bit stressed if there is too much contact so limit her time with other dogs. Teach her to sit and look at you first when she sees another dog (use a treat) so she is a bit calmer by the time you walk over. If she gets too excited walk away and dont let her visit.
5. Teach her the "back" command by walking into her and saying "back" and treating her when she does it. I know labs are really food crazy. Dont let her near you if you are eating. If she backs up and sits away from you and is good you can give her a treat, but never from your food.
6. Never leave a ball with a ball crazy dog. The ball should be a special treat that you own and that she has to be good for. Tully is never allowed the ball unless I give it to her and play with her. When I have finished playing ball with her it goes away. Then she behaves really well so she can have the ball.
7. Always carry treats with you to bribe her back. You need to find a way to get her attention. I whistle to Deska and Tully - they hear it better than my voice. On "its me or the dog" they used a whistle around the neck to get the attention of some very energetic dogs - you can pick them up at the $2 shops. As soon as she looks at you try running - dogs love chasing and she will think it is a fun game to come back to you. And reward her when she comes back. Always make coming back to you fun - dont ever tell her off or just clamp on the lead when she comes back (except in emergencies) otherwise she will always run away.
Remember - Labs love to play and they learn really quickly. You need to show her what is the right thing to do (not just tell her no) and do it in a fun way. Once she is being consistent you can start phasing out the treats. Labs are good followers so dont worry. Plus remember they often take a little longer than other dogs to grow up.
Deska and Tully's mum
PS - GOOD LUCK
) she would just get another 100. anyway, other than that, thanks for the replys, im still looking for more advice so dont be shy !!) does anyother dogs suffer ball-crazy?? usally jess will become destructive if she doesnt have a item of fun. im not sure how its gonna be when were not home (at school, parents work etc) because charlie came these holidays so iv been with them 24/7. anyway, im getting stuck here. thatnks go the advice !!!-Charlie and jesses mummy
My wife and I had the same problem with oscar pulling when walking....... He is 35 kg of power and could take any size bloke for a walk......
We tried everything from choke chains , harness and many ways of using them.... Until we got a BLACKDOG Head halter it was like a gift from god .... it has made walking Oscar fun and enjoyable and most of all safe.......
http://www.blackdog.net.au/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
With the jumping up thing..... Oscar does it to me and I don't mind so much but I worrie about him doing it to small children and my Mum ..... I know you can discourage them from doing it by getting yourself a plastic bottle with some rocks in it , and shake the bottle once loudly when your dog is about to pounce just to give her a little fright ......
eventually she won't bother jumping up at you because of the loud noise she hears when doing it...... But with any trainnig methods consistancy and rewards are key......
Cheers Oscar Von Boxer's Dad
below is the website
www.dogtamers.com.au it is great
Hi Wolfie
Sounds pretty much like Spike - big, hairy, food-oriented (blonde) labrador.
I had the bad habit from young of letting Spike walk in front of me, happily sniffing and peeing where he wanted, when we went walking with a leash.
And there are still 2 houses in the street, where he really tugs at the leash, when the other dogs stick their noses under the gate.
Spike used to live inside with us, but when Harry moved in, Harry wasn't potty trained, and would wee and poo everywhere inside. So we figured that now there were two, they could keep each other company outside.
We didn't reckon on the possums, who would tease them each night.
And Harry doesn't like loud noises like fireworks, sirens, so he barks, and then Spike joined in.
When the neighbours complained about the barking, we got BarkBusters in.
It was my fault for not being tough enough with Spike. Letting him walk in front made him think he was the pack leader. And that he had to defend our house by barking at everyone who went past. Plus he thought he was being rejected, by being asked to sleep outside. (He has a great dog house and lovely bed!)
The BarkBusters lady (from Manly) was very good at getting us to say "Bah" (to get his attention), and getting Spike to walk besides me, reinforcing me as the pack leader.
I'm not as good as I should be - I still usually let him walk in front, but when I tell him its time to walk besides me, he does. So he knows who's boss. But still barks at possums and passersby, a bit too much.
So I would have a go with BarkBusters. Others have used them with success too.
Agree - when a chubby labrador wants to go in one direction quickly, it's a real force of nature.
cheers!
hi from benny,
have you heard of a product called gental leader? its a head collar. they also make a great harness that you dont have to wear on your head. it goes around your body just like a normal harness. the difference is that you attach the lead to the chest of the dog.
when he runs ahead it turns him around. he stops pulling and looks around at you. every time he goes ahead it stops him and turns him around. so in the end he just stops running ahead. its worked wonders with me and skippa and we recomend them . they are not expensive either. look em up.
cheers from benjimin.
http://www.uggbootsladens.com/
