Help! My Lab is trying to kill me..

[v3rax]

Not by trying to bite and eat me, kill me, or "push me in front of a bus" type kill me, but death by mental breakdown. She is literally driving me insane.

I have only posted on here a few times and some of you may remember me posting about my new Chocolate Lab that showed up at my door a few months ago. My dad is kokopup, (Well, not him, but his dog). He lives next door with his lab/golden mix named koko and my Lab Lucy can literally smell when koko is outside because she begins to howl and bark to go outside.

The fact that Lucy and KoKo play is not the problem, the problem is that I can't open my door without Lucy taking off in a full sprint to get over to my dad's house everytime I take her outside, if I don't have her on her leash.

I usually take her for a walk on our trails around our houses 3 or 4 times a day. I throw her rope to her for 20 minutes twice a day and she has plenty of chew toys and gets well feed. However, she acts as if we never feed her and as though she can't get enough exercise. No matter what I do she is bouncing off the walls. if she were a child I am sure she would be on some kind of ADHD meds.

When we first got her a few months ago I had already been in the habit of walking KoKo and our other dog Desi the Chihuahua every morning without any problems. As soon as I added Lucy to the equation things went down hill fast. All Lucy wanted to do was attack KoKo and Desi and play. Before Lucy, Desi would just follow me and KoKo and was happy as a Lark. Once Lucy started coming, Desi quit wanting to go. As a matter of fact, desi stays in my son's room 23 hours a day because as soon as we let him out, Lucy pounces on him like a Lion.

I have tried everything I know to make Lucy play nice and not be so rough, but she treats Desi like he is another Lab. Now Desi does not want to leave the house at all.

So.... my morning walk was cut down to just KoKo and Lucy...but again, all Lucy wanted to do was jump around like a kangaroo and keep attacking KoKo. After having my arm nearly pulled out of the socket a few times I had to stop taking Lucy with KoKo. Now, I just take Lucy alone....and even then she wants to walk 100 MPH.

Sometimes I will just open the door, walk out into the front yard with her, off the leash, so she can do her business but nearly everytime I do this she will look at me, look towards my dad's house. then at me again...I will tell her "Don't even think about it......" and before I can get it out of my mouth off she goes, 100 MPH over to my dads to see KoKo.

KoKo has had some health issues and can't get around like she used to and when Lucy plays she plays hard...so, I end up having to take Lucy home or hand on to her by the leash, but then she just whines and barks.

Inside the house she roans freely, however, although I have bought her every type of chew toy or bone there is, she still chews on anything she can find. I walked into the room she was in the other day and she had torn my 30 year old Bible to shreds as it lay on the floor right next to TWO chew bones.

I have tried teaching her, being patent, using rewards, etc... but it is like this dog is possessed by some dead speed freak. She literally will not stay still for two seconds.

I take her for multiple walks, I play with her, I feed her well, I treat her well, I give her plenty of toys, yet she still acts like a wild hyena/kangaroo/mexican jumping bean.

I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown with this dog. She is beautiful and I know she is still a puppy (1 years old) but come on!!!

I am trapped in some type of doggy tornado or rollercoaster ride and it never lets up for a second. I am averaging 4 hours of sleep a night because once she does FINALLY fall asleep it only last for 3 or 4 hours then she is either jumping on me to wake up or whining outside my door or from her crate.

Do they make ridilin for dogs? I am lost as to what to do with her. If I were a younger man without a family and a job and lived on 20 acres of "fenced in" land it might not be so crazy, but she is literally attached to my hip. I can't go to the bathroom or anywhere else without her being 6 inches behind me.

I have read that Labs need a lot of exercise and are very active and Lucy should be the poster child for a Labrador brochure, but how much longer is this going to last? How do I keep her from bolting over to my dads everytime the door is open? How do I keep her from attacking Desi evertime my son opens his door? (He doesn't attack her in a mean, I want to hurt you way) he just wants to play with this little Chihuahua and Desi doesn't want any of it.

I don't want to get rid of her but I seriously can't take much more of this. I have 3 kids, all grown now, so I went through the terrible 2's and everything else a parent goes through with their children, but I feel like I am going through all of that again but with a demon possessed, speed eating, canine marathon runner.

Help!!

[lvpets2002]

Well I feel your pain in a way.. I had a chocolate lab once.. And she was a nightmare with digging, chewing everything up & had bad medical problems.. At one time she was on 8 pills a day just to control her medical problems & even pills to calm her.. She was that bad.. Well she passed on about 3 yrs ago.. Then Heck about 1 yr ago a yellow male lab was dumped at my house by some people that got foreclosed on.. Well I took him in & he is much better than the other one was.. He has no medical problems & guards the house good.. He does not chew or nothing.. He just has a digging problem that I can deal with very well.. My point is Labs seems to be so different.. I would say put a fence in between your house & your dads maybe.. Ask the Vet if their is relaxer drug that can be sprayed or by pill for your lab..

[pomtzu]

This isn't funny - so why am I laughing?? Guess I just have a picture in my mind of all the goings-on!

Have you considered any behavior modification training, or checked with your vet to see if there is something to give her to settle her down? I don't necessarily believe in medicating dogs because they are hyper, but maybe something mild till she hopefully outgrows her spazzy ways.

My brother recently added a new dog to his pack. He has a lab and greyhound mix, and added a pug. Of course the lab thought the pug was just a new toy. My brother said on several occasions he found the big lug carrying around little pug by his hind leg - like she had a chicken leg in her mouth. Pug didn't mind one bit, but my brother put a quick end to it before the little guy got hurt. She still plays rough tho.

Hope you can find a working solution to your problem. I remember your original story of how she became part of your family. Looks like she's carrying her thanks to the extreme!!!

[Karen]

Read "Marley and Me' - at least you'll feel better. Will she "fetch?" Is there a fenced in area that you might be able to play fetch with her for a while every day? That's low effort for the human, but tiring for the pooch.

When will her puppyhood end? Umm, age 3-6? Yes, years, sorry. Any neighborhood kids that could take her for a run every day or so?

[happylabs]

I feel badly for you and also for your dog. His behavior is most likely due to overbreeding.

We had a chocolate Lab, Maggie, who was an excellent Lab. This was back in the mid 80's. She was actually Dog of the Day. http://dogoftheday.com/archive/1999/June/06.html

Anyway, she came from careful breeding and was not hyper at all.

You should talk to your vet to see if medication may help. Hopefully as he grows a bit older he will calm down.

Casey was a pretty active pup but she calmed down when she turned about 2 years old.

Good luck.

[Dee M]

I definitely feel for you. It must seem like the lab has taken over your life. We had a similar problem when my daughter brought home a baby kitten. I could not believe that adding one tiny kitten could turn a home upside down. My big, black lab thought that kitten was a nice furry ball that fit right inside her mouth! Lots and lots of training was the way we got some peace. Stay, sit, and no were heard all day long. The training will also keep the dog mentally challenged, which should help, and give her some one on one time with you.

I agree with Karen that you should definitely read Marley and Me because it is about a very hyper lab that almost destroys a marraige and a few houses along the way. It will make you laugh and commisurate. (Just don't read the last chapter. That will make you cry.)

Good luck and keep us posted.

[DriftyAlison0]

We have 2 chocolate labs at school. One is more calmer then the other. You may need to have some training done with her.

[v3rax]

Thanks for the replies freinds. I am looking into obedience training and going to the vet to see about some type of medication... I used to be a teacher....heck, if I still were, I could have just taken some of my students' ridilin to give her...

[Bonny]

You can try obedience now but sometimes the dogs are still to much like wild puppies. Do read the book Marley & Me it will help you keep your sanity. Lucy sounds just like Marley. My grandpuppy (a black lab) is 5 years old & is still hyper & nervous. I use to take him & my other two dogs on 5 mile walks over hills, through streams & woods. He would actually settle down after that. I was wore out though. Another thing are you near a place where your dog can swim in a river or creek. They love the water & fetching things. That would wear her down some. Marley's owner ended up using meds to calm Marley down but mainly during thunder storms. Marley would ripe the house apart & was afraid of thunderstorms. I would not let Lucy play with the older dog she could hurt it. The labs are so big & playful they don't know they are being to rough when they roughhouse with an older dog. Another thing is there a dog part near you? That is a good place to take your dog for exercise. The dogs can run together there & play & jump around in a fenced in area. They all wear each other out while there.