Would You Take This Dog?

[Martha_2sons]

A friend of a friend is looking for someone to take their 9 year old yellow lab for 5 months while they go to Florida. We have been thinking about getting a dog and so this seems like it could be a good trial run to find out what it's like. He's spending the day with us right now.

His good points:
-He doesn't bark at all.
- He has over all been very gentle with my two sons (almost 7yrs and 3.5 years).
- He's very laid back in the house, content to sit or lay.

My Concerns:
- This evening, following some "family wrestle time" he was trying to hump my older son. I think he was riled up by the rambunctious play but it's still not okay for him to jump up.
- He is very ill mannered on a leash, even with his owners, and he's big so he pulls hard.
- Again, even with his owners, he does not respond well to calls of "come" and sometimes runs. (Today my son let him out by mistake soon after he arrived and my husband had to retrieve him from the neighbors across the street.)

This is a dog with a lot of energy who needs a chance to run and we're prepared to do that with him but we have to be able to walk him on a leash or bring him to an open field where he can just run and run (but come back when needed). Right now he lives far from a road and so he's not in much danger but we live close to the road and have no fenced area.

Do you think it's possible to make some quick changes in these behaviors if we enlist professional help? My husband and I both grew up with dogs but haven't had dogs as adults yet.

Thanks for any advice/ suggestions!

[greenmagick]

As long as his owners are ok with it, yes, I do think you can make some quick changes.

When walking on a leash, as soon as he starts pulling, stop walking or turn around and walk the other way. Give him treats at your hip to reinforce a good position.

Comes - if he already doesnt respond to come, use a different word. Lots of treats and make it really fun. Start with NO distractions, gradaully adding them in. Never call for being in trouble or something negative. Also, most of the time, after calling him, release him back to whatever he was already doing.

Jumping - dont reward jumping with attention....totally ignore. When 4 feet are on the floor, praise and treat

[Ola_]

Certainly if you don't have a fenced yard I wouldn't let him out unleashed - no matter how far the road is. No matter what training you do with him, and especially if he is not your dog. Can you use a long line to let him explore and play more? These are usually around 20' long with a clip at the end. Are there any fenced in tennis courts or baseball diamonds in your area?

For the pulling, try a head halter (halti or gentle leader) or a prong. His owners would have to be ok with this but I personally believe the prong is more effective and kinder to the dog. With these collars you can't let him have too much leash slack or he could hurt himself (i.e. if he lunges to the end of a 6' leash). There are also no-pull harnesses you can try. With any of these devices you don't get an instant solution, but rather an opening that lets you reward the behaviour you want, you know?

[greenmagick]

oops....didnt read the op right... I would not let this dog run off lead accept in a fenced in area. It takes a ton of time to build up to a reliable recall in those situations.

[Kristine233]

Originally Posted by Ola_

For the pulling, try a head halter (halti or gentle leader) or a prong. His owners would have to be ok with this but I personally believe the prong is more effective and kinder to the dog.

Ditto this. The prong is the only thing that has worked with my dogs. I've tried haltis and other gentle leaders with no effect. Labs are super high energy dogs and need lots of exercise. There is a very popular Labrador retriever message board that would probably be of lots of help with training ideas for this dog. You could find it easily with google I'm sure.

[Martha_2sons]

Thanks so much for the replies and suggestions! Not sure what decision we're making still...