Overecited puppy!

[Freedom]

Karen gave you a lot of good ideas.

The daycare should help with this.

And I agree, get him into obedience classes. Group classes, not a one on one trainer. He needs to be in with the 'distractions' of other humans and other dogs. Most places charge the class fee 'per dog,' so the entire family can attend at no extra cost. Everyone age 8 and up should attend all the classes, then each of you do all the homework and practices during the week. A dog doesn't learn much in one hour; the humans learn how to read their dog's behavior, and how to train. By taking class together, all of you learn the same hand signals and voice commands, to provide consistency. By doing the homework and practices all week, the dog learns to follow the lead of each of you.

Being part Lab, keep in mind: Labs tend to mature slowly, they have 'puppy brain' a lot longer than many other breeds - often up to age 2 years. Another reason the doggie daycare and other doggie social times will be a great thing for him.

Oh, and when you prepare the frozen cloth, you can even put in a few pieces of kibble, spaced out, or some small treats, as well.

Let us know how things progress!

[Jessika]

Obedience class, pronto. And not the ones at petco or petsmart. A legit trainer who is experienced with your breed and issues is a must. This NEEDS to get under control. The more you let him push you around the more of a nightmare he will become as he gets older. Please take it from me... I see this in the clinic a lot. Owners can't get control of their puppies... then the dogs come back for their adult visit and they are so used to getting their way at home it's almost a nightmare to handle them... they're borderline aggressive, we have to muzzle them, takes 3 people just to restrain the dog because it has never been taught boundaries...

Obedience class, ASAP.

Daycare is not an appropriate avenue for teaching behaviors... it will only teach him how to interact with other dogs, not how to interact with you. Though, it WILL help wear him out so he is easier to work with at home.