Newly adopted lab. Problems help advice needed.

[Jody]

Okay saw a picture for a free 4 year old female lab, not fixed but current on vaccinations, loving, house-trained, energetic, sweet. knows sit, stay, lay down, will walk off leash with you and stay in the yard. knows come and leave it. can play fetch. I went and got her. I so hope it is just anxiety, she did her business all in the crate, diahrea, got her outside and got her hosed off and cleaned the crate out, she jumped in my van and sprayed dog water everywhere, she has tried to hump Broady several times and is not taking the hint that she can be the boss, he's so submissive even to the kitten, he could care less. She seems to want to wak aroun the house and eat or drink anything she can get into. She knocked over 5 large pots of flowers and a stand. Outside thank goodness, but of course right after I drenched them in water, mud everywhere. oh goodness. Im making an appointment to get her fixed asap, but she still has diahrea, i did not switch her food as of yet. She is a ferocious eater, its her food so fast its ridiculous, she has lived with the same family and her mom for 4 years. Please pray for me, she is beautiful and she only weighs 40 pounds, she has a gorgeous, silky, short, shiny coat, appears healthy. The former owners lost their business and are working two jobs each, and she has been in her crate 12 hours per day straight and she is too energetic for that. She knows no boundaries, she justs plods over everything. I did spend and hour just doing training with her, and I think I can get it to work. She's kind of bossy, but im not letting her get by with being bossy to me. I make her sit and wait for any affection.

The food is another issue. i am at a loss as what to do about this. Her name is Kaneda, Like Cane da, means hunter in Irish.

 

[InsaneCdn]

you're re-homing a 4 year old lab, who's been spending 12 hours a day crated???
can you say... insanity?
not you. the dog. Literally. This dog has been going insane.

no advice, as all of our rescues were under a year old.
have you taken her to the vet for a full check-up?

 

[donna723]

Sounds like she needs LOTS of exercise! Has she been checked for worms? Could be stress to. And to slow her down when she's eating ... place an "obstacle" in the food bowl, something she will have to eat around and move to get to the food. It can be a ball, a toy, or even a washed rock. It works. Some pet stores sell bowls with a projection in the middle to slow them down when they're eating.

 

[Jody]

Lol, I am insane. I felt sorry for her stuck like that. But she is so starved for attention. I would take her to the dog park, but shes not spade, they said they were going to breed her but just never did. I have to have that done immediately. Called our local low cost shelter to make an appointment. Just waiting to hear back from them. Hope that also calms her down a little bit. Yeah, i will place a rock in her bowl big enough for her not to eat it. Will make an appointment for a check for her soon. Also how do you tell when a dog is in heat?

 

[InsaneCdn]

She needs attention more than she needs exercise.
take half her daily kibble... and make her earn it.
Teach her a new skill ... and add more, fast.
Like... teach her to sit nice, shake a paw, lie down with head on paws (we call that "sleep" some call it "rest"), pick up an object, bring you an object, put a treat on her nose and not touch it until you say so,... work up eventually to "put this in your toy bucket" to eventually "clean up your toys". (trust me, THAT trick is a real conversation starter when you have people over... you can get your DOG to do that? I can't get my KIDS to do that... )
You have to keep a lab's BRAIN going.

 

[DammitJanet]

Lord you're brave! Labs are great but they are even harder on the house than a pit bull...lol. Only difference is that you wont get chewed up furniture if she is bored.

If you havent changed her food then Im putting my bets on anxiety over the new move. Did the people tell you she was house broke? She may not have been. I have an extremely smart little dog who the people swore was house broken and she was when in her cage but once she came out of her cage she would go anywhere! She still does. I havent been able to break her yet. I think he is doing it because he simply has that power...like a toddler who will only go in their diapers. Its a power thing.

Now as far as my american bull/pit cross, I finally got her about 80% housebroken and she only has accidents if fed the wrong thing. We had one episode like you describe and I found out she had eaten 1 cookie that was left on the floor. It was a macadamian nut cookie and those are very bad for dogs. Could yours have eaten something bad when you didnt notice?

 

[InsaneCdn]

Oh right. The chewing thing. Go get a range of dog chew-toys, but make sure you get the absolutely most indestructible ones made. For example, Kong makes red ones and black ones... the black ones are for extreme chewers. For now... assume that's what your lab is. Every time she goes to chew something in appropriate, tell her NO! and hand her a chew-toy.

 

[Jody]

Okay but shes almost 5, I have seen a lot of labs and even had a yellow lab that were a lot more relaxed than this. I think she just hasnt had much attention. When I went to pick her up her mother was getting all the attention and she just went and laid down and didnt even try. She is very sweet, I have been making her sit and stay for every little thing. She is definately house trained. She goes right to the front door and dances. Brody wont bark for himself to go out, but he did for her, he was like mom get your shoes shes gotta go now. lol, sometimes i think my dog talks to me. 7She hasn't attempted to chew anything, she just seems all interested in drinking and eating 24/7. She's been to the vet recently and I know she didnt get into anything, I dont leave things down or around that might hurt a dog, or cat. Broady and I are always in the same room and he never gets into stuff. he knows his and mine and he just minds. There is a big difference between a lab and a retriever. well at least these two anyways.

 

[Hound dog]

Aww. She just needs LOTS of exercise.........and to learn she will continue to get all she wants at her new home and she will settle down. lol Poor girl.

Diarrhea? Can you contact previous owners to check last time they wormed her? Especially if she has not started new food.

Humping is normal. It will calm down but may not disappear. Maggie and Rufus hump each other once in a while. I've learned to ignore it. Neither seem to have an issue with who is boss......heck I'm not even sure who is "boss" with these two......but they still sometimes do it. Maggie started it because Rufus does it. lol

 

[Calamity Jane]

With the diarrhea and everything, and esp. her intense hunger, I'd get her checked for worms for sure.

 

[BusynMember]

1/take her to a vet, which you said you were going to do

2/Remember, that EVERY dog has accidents in the house and she is probably terrified. My two little buggers still sometimes have house accidents and they know better, but if we're gone too long, or they get sick, or they are nervous....(sniff, sniff...ew!!!).

3/She needs time to trust you and lots of exercise. Labs are great, loving dogs but you can't just walk them once a day and that does it. You're a good person for rescuing her. I am a dog fanatic. I think of myself as The Dog Lady!!!! If there weren't laws preventing us from rescuing twenty dogs, I may be a hoarder!!!

 

[InsaneCdn]

Jody... with your disability? there's still good ways to exercise that lab, and it does NOT involve the dog park (I'd never go to a dog park, seen too many irresponsible owners there, no end of problem dogs...)

She's a LAB. Which means she will likely LOVE to play fetch. Doggie balls are soft on the teeth, but so are ice cream pail lids (throw like a Frisbee). If you can throw at all, she'll run and run and run.

In a small back yard, you could also set up some basic dog agility equipment, especially the tunnels and scramble board (up and down)... takes lots of mental and physical energy.

But... labs don't need miles of walking. They want WORK. Make her THINK.

 

[Jody]

Oh I have this long hall, and I use it for fetch, the dogs run like nuts one at a time and bring back the toy, then we do it over and over again, Broady is good for about 10 laps and then he wants a break, but this Kaneda went like 40 to 50 and never seemed to tire, it was great fun though. Thats what I use on bad days, or bad outside rainy days. I just saw an ad on craigslist for a man whose taking down a ramp and the wood is free, so thinking I am going to go load as much of it as I can into my van and work on making a fence out of it. Looks like pretty useable wood. Hopefully I can find someone good with this. If not I'll work on it during the winter months, in a spare room and take it out in the spring. I am going to use hinges to conect it together and then steel poles to put it into the ground. that way I can take it with me. I saw a fence like this made on pinterest. Lord give me strength for a few days. I have a shed in the back that blocks off some of the yard, so I dont need that much.
Then she can run her little heart out.

 

[Jody]

I think I am insane for real. My baby is high energy. Had to take the dog crate outside last night again, but it wasnt nearly as bad. We go to the vet Saturday, and hopefully we can get that under control. She is a lover girl and got right up on the couch and laid with me, when she nudged me hard i folded my arms and turned away from her, giving her no attention and her behavior stopped greatly. I am feeding her out of my hand very slowly and shes working for her food. She gets that pretty good. She is absolutely beautiful, and her hair is like a very beautiful black horse. Shiny and short and soft. I have to put her in the crate to give my boy attention though, but that will get better with time. She loves toys.
I was outside this morning in the dark at about 6 am, playing with the dogs before I went to work at 830. I used to do this with Broady when he was little, I always got up an extra hour early to spend time with him.

 

[susiestar]

Labs sure can and will chew up the furniture. Be super sure to check ALL toys each day to make sure they are in good enough shape to safely be chewed. We had a half lab/half irish setter when I was a kid and she ate all of the toys for dogs, even the Kongs in black. Actually the kongs do NOT impress me at all as even the dachshund we rescued ate them (and yes, the black ones were what she ate). My mom's little dog can destroy a black kong in under an hour.

If there are farm and home stores like Tractor Supply around you, they are great sources for good quality dog food and for rawhides and things that are safe for the dog to eat if she chews them apart.

Labs are usually very high energy. Our lab/setter mix lived to be 17 years old. Our vet thought we faked the records but my aunt owned her momma and we know the exact day she was born. Most vets estimated her age as 12-14 yrs old the last year of her life. We had to have a fatty tumor removed and the vet had the students and other professors at the vet school guess her age. Not one got it right. She was killed by someone my gfgbro did something to, so we don't know how old she could have gotten. She finally started to stop acting like a puppy when she was about 14. Until then she romped and played just like she did as a puppy except she took longer naps when she napped.

Look into buying feeder toys for her. You put her food in the toy and she must work to get it out. She gets a few pieces at a time and has to keep working for her food. It will help keep her occupied and out of mischief. Labs LIKE to work for things, so making her work for her food is a way to keep her from going stir crazy on you.

It will take time for her to settle down and until then, at least she won't call you names, hit you or otherwise be mean to you! Enjoy the love she will give you.

You MUST make sure she gets LOTS of exercise. You likely could walk her a mile or two a day and she would still be ready to walk all the time. Enjoy her!

 

[Jody]

omg im wore out that's all I can say, I think I have bit off more than I can chew. but im going to try real hard she is so hyper and always surfing for food or water
she is a lover though, im going to try for her shes a sweet girl, its hard to type right now shes beating me up with her tail.

 

[Jody]

okay question I think shes in heat, my dog who is fixed is trying to hump her bad and is smelling her behind, sorry don't mean to be gross, but I noticed today that hes been telling her off when she has to keep being told things, he seems to be getting ready to assert himself as the boss. hope they don't start fighting.

 

[InsaneCdn]

, its hard to type right now shes beating me up with her tail.

Welcome to the world of Labs!