surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA
Dec 11, 2003, 3:09 AM
Post #2 of 7
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Re: [HeatherLC] Agressive 6 Month Black Labrador
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Hello ...
Missed your posting ... sorry if this response is a little late ...
Aggression is rare in a well-bred Labrador. Unfortunately, badly bred Labradors can exhibit aggression but even so ... I would hesitate before labling a dog aggressive without more ...
You describe the dog as ... " ... He attacts, jumps up on me, and on guests when they vistit, bits my hand, and jumps up and grabs onto my neck with his teeth and trys to hump ..."
Question: What do you mean by "attack"? ... An attacking dog is a ferocious sight, accompanied by obvioius snarling and showing of teeth ...
Question: Has your dog actually "bitten" you, a family member or a guest, as in - with intent biting hard enough to break skin and cause a wound?
If you answer "yes" to either question ... then you may have an aggressive dog ... and it's hard in a forum of this nature to deal with "real" aggression or unstable temperament in dogs. Suggest you seek advice and counsel from experienced dog people or trainers where you live.
However, if your answers are "No" ... and what you really mean is that your Lab jumps at you and holds you with his mouth ... without deliberately breaking skin ... then your Lab may be exhibiting dominent tendencies ... or is not sufficiently trained or disciplined ...
Assuming that it is not "aggrression" ...
A six month old male dog is quite like a male teenager, and will try to push the limits and see how far it can go in establishing who is the leader of the pack ... This is quite natural ... The solution is for you to exhibit "responsible" leadership and to show the dog that you are the leader and not the other way around.
Using " ... lemon juice, ... pepper, finger pressing down on his tounge, lightly bitiing him back ..." or neutering the dog ... may not quite give you the results you are hoping for.
I do believe that best way of establishing responsible leadership and maintaining reasonable control over the dog, is to do the following:
(a) Commence training the dog using proper and effective techniques. I do find (generally) praise & reward techniques to be more rewarding than punishment & restraint methods. Regular training sessions with the dog (a) teaches the dog (and the owner) good dsicipline ... (b) enhances communication between dog & owner (during training sessions, the owner learns to observe & understand the dog better) ... (c) enhances bonding between dog & owner. And most important, establishes quite clearly and effectively - who is leader in an environment of teaching & learning.
(b) Learn to exercise "consistency" in everything you do with the dog, be it in training or in just day to day living with the dog ... If a situation is a "NO" then it is always a "NO" ... not a maybe or just once is okay.
A dog's basic and instinctive behaviour is not always or naturally condusive to household living ... If you wish for a well-behaved dog - you will need to invest time and effort in (a) aquiring an understanding of training methods and dog behaviour ... (b) applying that knowledge to teach your dog what is required of him ... I would say we owe it to all our dogs ... 
So ... start with getting a good training manual and reading (there is much more to properly training a dog than first meets the eye, and requires more input than can be given in this forum) ... If you get stuck on any specific issue ... do come back and I am sure forum members will do what they can to assist ...
Cheers
(This post was edited by surchinmy on Dec 11, 2003, 3:16 AM)
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