# Crazy lab/weimaraner



## Mupton (Apr 7, 2010)

Hi! I hope this works this is my first post. 

I adopted a Black Lab/Weim mix from a shelter about two months ago. He is (best guess of the shelters) a one year old. 

He wasnt potty trained and didnt have any manners. 

He is getting better he knows how to sit, shake, lay down, stay and doesnt have accidents often. 

Few things I need advice with since this is my first young dog.

1)He bites! sometimes pretty hard. If you have something in your hand that he wants he will jump and bite at you or if you are trying to pet his head he will bite. 

His body language doesnt seem to say "im mad" or "im scared". I have tried yelping, shaking a bottle of marbles, and just ignoring it but it doesnt seem to get better.

Ive read about bite inhibition but for puppies. Is it to late for that method? Any advice would help!!

2) He pulls like crazy even after a lot of excersise. I walk him (if you can call it that) to the dog park EVERYDAY and let him romp for atleast a hour then walk him home.

I have tried head halters and special front hooked harnesses but they give him little sores so I had to stop. Any tips? 


3) How can I make myself a better pack leader? Spicific examples. 


4)Worst of all... He PEES on people. He will be walking around and then stop at your leg (or someone elses) and pee on it! How can I get him to stop this?

Sorry so this is so long


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Have you thought about some training classes? A basic good manners class would be ideal especially as this is your first dog. There are so many techniques/things to do/not to do/to being a good leader....eight weeks of classes is only the beginning.

Peeing on people is Social Marking. It's the dogs attempt to get closer to that person and should not be confused with the human perspective (piss on him/her).


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## Nil (Oct 25, 2007)

Hey there! Sounds like he's really giving you a run for your money! I thought of some tips that /might/ help. 

1. Overall control: I would practice NILIF religiously. He gets nothing until he does something (sit, lay down, etc.) Also, I would treat him like a brand new puppy. Whenever he is in the house he has a leash on and the end of the leash is on me. I can watch him 24/7 and he learns that I am in charge. This would help eliminate peeing in house (cause I am near him watching him) and help teach him that I am allowing him outside time and in turn he needs to listen to me. If I couldn't watch him, I would crate him. 

2. Exercise: I would continue walking him but maybe not dog park. They can be dangerous and it sounds like you do not have the most well mannered dog wandering around. Have you tried doing the "opposite direction" tactic? Dog and you are walking. Dog pulls. You quickly turn around and walk the opposite direction which gives him a little jerk and a moment of "Wha-?!". This teaches him that pulling does not get him where he wants. I did this with my dog and it ended up turning into a "game" where I would deliberately try to find a moment where she wasn't paying attention. Now, she is a little ahead of me but always has one eye on me. (Which is good because she is paying attention to me!) She has learned she can not trust me on walks! 

There are other forms of exercise too. Have you thought of weight pulling, biking, swimming, rally, obedience, dock diving, frisbee, agility? Agility jumps are easy to make out of PVC. I can help you find weight pull/sledding harnesses for about 20-60 bucks. These sorts of exercises are great because it gives the dog a job so he is both mentally stimulated and physically stimulated. Plus you can compete! Being a labxweim cross he will need a job at some point.

Flirt poles are great. Take a pole (PVC, wood) put a rope around the stick, hang the rest of the rope off and tie a toy on the end. It basically becomes a toy on a string and you can move it, make it jump, etc. This really gets dogs going and tires them out. 

Peeing: Peeing on people is just a matter of watching him and not allowing him free access to people. Either he's on a leash, a drag leash, or crated. The more he doesn't do it the more he'll forget about it. Then slowly reintroduce people and only allow him to walk pass someone. Then closer. Then walking pass someone, quick stop, and continue. Never allowing him to stop and pee on someone, just get used to having people around and being calm. This will be even more helpful with clicker training!

Biting: Not sure if I can be too much help. Is it aggressive biting, or more mouthing? Labs, if so not mistaken, are supposed to be soft mouthed dogs. So you can definitely teach him to have a soft mouth. Perhaps taking his food in a bowl and feeding him each piece yourself. Allowing him food only if he reaches gently. Hopefully more people have some other ideas!

Sorry for such a long post!


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

This is an adolescent lab mix who's never been taught manners. A good positive training class will help you a LOT and will give you in person guidance when he's being a bit over the top and you are not sure what to do.

For the biting, land alligators are usually just excited dogs with no impulse control. Not unusual and not aggressive, just unmannered. Doing doggy zen, teaching him to play tug with rules and NOT EVER rewarding the jump and grab (no attention period, game is over when the rules are broken) will go a long way. Labs are notorious for being land alligators as young dogs, retriever mouth or not...lol. This will take time and practice. Just make sure you do not allow anyone else to treat him with anything but a "flat hand" offering and don't allow kids to treat him until he has this under control.

Walking loose leash is also in many cases an impulse control issue..I want to go THERE! NOW! There's a (dog, human, tree, ball, lake, puddle) there and I need to see it NOW!
Google "silky leash" training or check for vids on Youtube for some great ideas on how to train and reward a loose leash..no corrections necessary. Doing "penalty yards" works well as a training tactic too. Say the dog wants to get to go see a firehydrant down the street (pee central), you start with him on a leash and if he pulls you back up away from the desired object several feet, ask for sit. Get the sit, move forward towards the object, he pulls, reverse again, ask for a sit. His reward is to move toward what he wants but he MUST walk nicely in order to get there. Now of course, this is TRAINING and needs to be done AS training, not as his regular walk routine at first. During the walks to and from the park or going somewhere you should still be using the no pull harness to manage the pulling, eventually getting to the point in the training of the "penalty yards" that you can 'take it on the road'. Be patient. Work on it hard. Do NOT get frustrated with the dog...

THe peeing on people...good advice given there. Watch like a hawk, distract him from it, manage it and train a good leave it command.

Being a leader:
Treat your dog with respect and try to learn to READ him through education.
Provide good food and mental exercise and stimulation.
Reward ALL good behaviour. 
Manage, prevent all bad behaviour while you figure out what you would like him to do instead and then TEACH it to him through training.
Be consistent and fair in all dealings with your dog.
Institute NILIF 
Don't buy into pack leader mumbo jumbo...dogs do what works, you decide what you want him to "do", teach him well and then pay him for it and so it 'works' for him and he does it. Win win situation.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Cracker said:


> This is an adolescent lab mix who's never been taught manners.


Oy vey! This is pretty close to standard behavior for such a dog, and it's easy and hard to fix.

It's easy in the sense that he's most likely a good, smart dog who only craves attention. I guarantee you can use that craving for attention. It's hard in the sense that everything is broken and it will require patience, time, and absolute consistency to make better. Do all the things mentioned above, but understand that you can never let anything slide. Not. One. Single. Thing. Not. Ever.


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## MacGruber (Feb 23, 2010)

Is he neutered?


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## kerplunk105 (Mar 5, 2008)

I hope you are able to get his unwanted behavior under control. My Weim/Labbie is a great puppy...endless energy, but thats why we got her


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## Mupton (Apr 7, 2010)

Yes he is nutered. 

At the dog park he is always really good with other people (other then the incident where he peed on someone). He wont jump or bite them just to me and my boyfriend. I would hate to stop going because they have an amazing agility course that our dog is getting very good at. 

Am also trying clicker training for the last few weeks. 

I think Im going to try the turning when he is pulling suggestion. Sounds like it could work! 

I think the main problem (like you said) is probably the impulse control.

Im looking into puppy classes also. Thank you!


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## Nil (Oct 25, 2007)

Just a warning, the back and forth method really doesn't get you anywhere fast so don't be on a time crunch when doing this. To get to the park about a mile away took us near 2 hours one day. There was no yelling, no talking, just this redirecting in a calm manner. Try not to get frustrated!

Every time the dog pulls you have to turn around until he redirects attention on the new direction. Believe me, you get some weird looks but hopefully you'll see some progress in a couple weeks. 

As long as he behaves around other dogs then I suppose the dog park is fine. Especially if they have an agility course, lucky! However, if his recall isn't down then I would limit these excursions, or maybe go when there are only 1-2 dogs there. Recall is so important in a dog park. Should a fight break out between any of the dogs, you call your dog and that's the end of that. Your dog won't get caught up in the raucous, innocent or not.

I'm not sure how well his recall is, but there are some fun games you can do with your boyfriend to help teach him too.


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