Lab is people aggressive

[pjtomo]

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[kninebirddog]

If you can get the National Geographic channel watch lots of episodes of the dog whisperer

You need to identify the points when you need to correct/redirect the dog BEFORE it gets worse and someone does get bit.

With out being there and seeing what he is doing it will be hard for anyone to fully give you what you need to do

but I will say there are lots of little signs the dog is doing and getting away with before the aggressive moves begins. It should be completely unacceptable behavior for the dog to display.

[kerplunk105]

Do you have any decent trainers near you? I would def seek a professionals help before something happens. Its very unusual for a Labrador to have aggression issues like that.

[Sharon]

A disaster is just around the corner. When you take the dog for a walk or have company over, muzzle the dog until you get this problem dealt with. A bite on a child's face requires plastic surgery etc. etc. and even then a scar can be permanent. Your dog is a liability right now.


Just so you don't think you're the only one who's had to deal with this problem, I had a GSP that behaved the same as your lab. ( poor breeding, before I knew the value of sound breeding).. I put her down - NOT saying that's what you should do. Everyone has to work these things out for themselves.

[R-Heaton]

That's an interesting problem. I can say that in the world of pointing dogs throughout the last 20 years that is the one issue that "they/we as a whole" have done a decent job in doing,,, that is getting rid of the aggressive dogs. I personally think its the one behavior that shouldn't be tolerated and really have no place for. From pro's that I have talked to on this subject,,,, Yea they say it can be curbed or even fixed,,,, but its all ways there,, just a matter of time.

[kerplunk105]

Interesting point to bring up. I love that about my dogs. They dont have an aggressive bone in there bodies. I went to a field dog expo on Saturday and didnt even have to worry much about Leena being off the leash since all the dogs were so friendly.

To the OP, as I mentioned in my post, I think you def need to seek a professionals help.

[gar-dog]

I went to a field dog expo on Saturday and didnt even have to worry much about Leena being off the leash since........

I don't want to redirect the thread. i didn't get a chance to go to the expo at the Setter Club. How was it? Maybe you should start a thread. hint hint

[megschristina]

Hate to sound bad, but muzzle it or put it down. A child should never be percieved as a threat by a dog of any breed IMO, and if a dog lunges at a child, it is of unstable temperment.

[pjtomo]

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[Kiki's Mom]

Pat....Perhaps your term People Aggressive is being mis applied. If I'm reading things right your pup is getting over excited and in doing so tends to use his mouth as a means of communication??? He is not biting to harm but is instead getting overly stimulated to the point of forgetting that he is playing with his humans instead of another dog??? My own Brittany pup Beans does this and to the folks who aren't familiar with "dog language" it would appear that she is "people aggressive". SHE IS NOT!!!
Neither will I tolerate the behavior. Anytime she does this she gets a sharp reminder from me to keep her teeth in her mouth and we immediately re route the direction of play!!

Until this puppy of yours grows up and mellows out ( which in some lines of Labs may take a LONG time :roll: ) he will need to be re-routed anytime the play time gets too rough before he goes too far. Make some rules....NO rough housing with this puppy. Play only appropriate games with him and keep the control in your court. No tug games (whch you shouldn't do witha retriever any way) rolling and rough housing with him etc.... If he is on the verge of getting overly excited with something re route the activity to something else and regain the calm....even if it means crate time.

He will learn. He is just a puppy

[pjtomo]

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[Sharon]

[quote="pjtomo"He lunged at a young girl who was playing with him and my 10 year old daughter and he has growled at other people who have tried to pet him. I don't trust him at all around new people. Just tonight my 15 year old son had a friend over who started playing on the floor with Bart and then the dog made an aggressive move (he bit at his face but didn't actually bite the boy).

Pat[/quote]


Now the dog is "just excited and overly stimulated"? The facts have definately been modified.

[BigShooter]

Now the dog is "just excited and overly stimulated"? The facts have definately been modified.

This is an open forum and sometimes people, especially newbies don't phrase their questions exactly the way they want to or the way they should, to get the help they need. I used to ask newbies questions to find out if they had their facts straight or really understood the issue they were asking about. Some people take offense at being asked clarifying questions so I mostly stopped doing it but none to infrequently we have posters that take a while to explain the whole situation.

As long as the growling doesn't happen just before the lunging they can be two separate issues as Kiki's mom suggested. I do not tolerate growling and would be on that issue like ugly on an ape.

P.S. I do have one question, do you use an electronic bark collar on the dog?

[megschristina]

Wow! Kill him? Really? Does Cesar say that? Sorry but I guess my post came across like I was raising Cujo. Let me try this again.

First and foremost, I have absolute control of my dog. Bart is a little bit people aggressive at times when he gets excited during play. He is still a pup and I am looking for advice on how to curb this behavior. He is NOT a red zone dog. He can go to the dog park with no issues because again I have complete control of him. I am alpha and he knows it. A thousand people can walk by him as well as a thousand dogs and I can make him sit and stay and he will. He doesn't snarl and tear after people. Heck, the other day he ran off and I found him an hour later riding around in a golf cart with four kids! One other time he ran off and I found him with a bunch of kids who were using him as a "horsey". I would say that he is far from being put down.

He doesn't barge towards the door when someone knocks because I have addressed that as well. I watch The Dog Whisperer all the time and he is nowhere near the cases that Cesar deals with. All of you that know how to deal with dogs would see that he is a wonderful dog that cares about his family and we love him very much. KIlling him is not an option.

I am simply looking to see if anyone has had an issue with their lab getting overly excited and acting a bit aggressive when kids play with him.

Sorry if my original post came across wrong.

Thanks,
Pat

I don't watch Ceasar, I don't have any use for him, or his message, and definately not the "alpha roll". All I am saying, is there would never be a place in my yard for a child aggressive dog. I feel that strongly about a dog lunging, growling and snapping at children. children are not a threat. Especially to a big dog. If your dog is overly excited, that is different. But I am not familiar with "a bit aggressive", it either is or is not, IMO.

[R-Heaton]

Sharon,, I'm with ya that's the way I read it.

Sorry Pat for the killing advice,,, gotta becareful the way you word things,,, we're pretty trigger happy around here.

[Sharon]

Sharon,, I'm with ya that's the way I read it.

Sorry Pat for the killing advice,,, gotta becareful the way you word things,,, we're pretty trigger happy around here.

Folks like you Rich and most others on here are not trigger happy. You go many an extra mile before you consider putting a dog down. jmo

[pjtomo]

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[kerplunk105]

If you trust him about the kids, then whats the issue? Dont rationalize his behavior if you are trying to get advice about what to do...

[Setter]

It’s seems like a dog who is a little bit aggressive is kinda like being a little bit pregnant.

The dog has aggression or either it doesn't. Maybe it’s not people, but territory/possession or some other trigger. But IMO growling and biting at the face of a kid = aggression. And when it comes to aggression it’s either management or isolation if one wants to keep an aggressive dog.

No need to get defensive, that's not going to help either.

[pjtomo]

If you trust him about the kids, then whats the issue? Dont rationalize his behavior if you are trying to get advice about what to do...

I trust him around MY kids. You know what...forget it, I'll try a different forum. Thanks.

[cheezehead]

i had aggression problems with my female lab and springer when my son started crawling and walking. they were 5 and 4yrs old at the time. talked to several dog behaviorists, and tried some professional training. no go, both dogs were still dominant and aggressive(growling when he came around them) to my son. i was really lucky that a couple of hunting buddies without kids who took them in. i now have a male britt, and couldn't be happier.