[BenD]

I have a 15 week old chocolate lab. When I take her outside to play in our backyard she always finds some type of object (ex: old moldy fallen fruit, rocks she can choke on, etc) And once she has it in her mouth she doesn't let me get near her, she plays keep away with me, and won't listen to any commands. I don't chase her, I basically walk toward her as she darts back and forward trying to get away until I corner her or she gives up, but I know she hasn't learned anything.
I can't "do nothing" because I'm afraid she'll choke, and sometimes when I do do nothing she's perfectly happy to sit down and chew away and ignore me.
It's all so aggravating! I feel like a kid being teased by my older cousins again.

What is the best way to deal with this? I mean, what is there to do? This is my first dog so I'm lost and looking for help.
Thanks in advance,
-Ben

 

[Binkalette]

Try trading her the object she has for something tasty. Zoey used to do this too, she'd pick up leaves,sticks, seeds and crap off the ground outside and wouldn't let me have it.. Now, she sometimes picks up items she's not supposed to have and brings them to me in an attempt to trade for a treat! Funny girl

 

[FilleBelle]

Trading for a treat is a great idea.

Also, while she's still a pup, you could keep her on a leash in the yard and work on the command "leave it."

You CAN sort of do nothing, too. Instead of walking towards her, turn and walk back into the house. I can almost guarantee that, as soon as you're out of sight, you'll become much more interesting than whatever she has in her mouth.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

http://www.nerdbook.com/sophia/Movies/movie2.html?mov=10hi.mov&num=10

 

[FairyDogMother]

Trading for a treat is a great idea.

Also, while she's still a pup, you could keep her on a leash in the yard and work on the command "leave it."

You CAN sort of do nothing, too. Instead of walking towards her, turn and walk back into the house. I can almost guarantee that, as soon as you're out of sight, you'll become much more interesting than whatever she has in her mouth.

I think you pretty much summed up what I was going to say. The "Leave it" command has to be one of favorite commands as it can be used for so many different things. keeping her on the leash also gives you the ability to take what ever it is away from her. I would use a 25ft long line to allow her to still wander but gives you control if she picks something up.

hope this helps!

 

[BenD]

Thanks everyone! I've taught her to fetch, drop it, sit, lay down, and stay, so I think Leave it will defiantly be the next command to work on. The video helped a lot too!
Could I ask one more question?
When she is excited, like when a new person comes over, she gets so caught up in the moment that she doesn't listen to any commands (similar to when she plays keep away) and she starts biting the visitor's hands, even though she knows not to bite our hands, and she won't sit. How can I calm her down and teach her how to greet people.
I can keep her on the leash for one thing, but that won't make her less excited. What should I do while approaching the new person? Also how to fix the biting of strangers or even biting in general.
I watched some of those videos on Sophia Yin's website that might help, but more advice is still very invited.
Thank you everyone! = )
-Ben

 

[FairyDogMother]

Thanks everyone! I've taught her to fetch, drop it, sit, lay down, and stay, so I think Leave it will defiantly be the next command to work on. The video helped a lot too!
Could I ask one more question?
When she is excited, like when a new person comes over, she gets so caught up in the moment that she doesn't listen to any commands (similar to when she plays keep away) and she starts biting the visitor's hands, even though she knows not to bite our hands, and she won't sit. How can I calm her down and teach her how to greet people.
I can keep her on the leash for one thing, but that won't make her less excited. What should I do while approaching the new person? Also how to fix the biting of strangers or even biting in general.
I watched some of those videos on Sophia Yin's website that might help, but more advice is still very invited.
Thank you everyone! = )
-Ben

Keeping her on a leash is key here. When she greats a person and starts to act crazy, give the leash a sharp tug(don't give her whip-lash or anything) tell her "AH AH" "Leave it" or which ever command you wish to use for this one.

When she starts to mouth the persons hand, ask them to bring their hands up and cross their chest and completely ignore her.

hope that helps!

 

[drea]

http://www.nerdbook.com/sophia/Movies/movie2.html?mov=10hi.mov&num=10

Thanks for the link CP. I like that she's showing how these techniques work with dogs that don't already know the commands.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

How can I calm her down and teach her how to greet people. I can keep her on the leash for one thing, but that won't make her less excited. What should I do while approaching the new person? Also how to fix the biting of strangers or even biting in general.

I do not advise leash correction when introducing a dog to a new person. This will teach the dog two things, 1) when the leash is off, I'm free to do as I please, and 2) new people = correction. So I would not follow this advise.

The answer to your question is...what behavior do you want? You need to teach this behavior. The behavior I want with my dog is for her to wait for my instruction while she calmly lays on a mat. This thread with help with teaching calm behavior: http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/2522-doggy-zen.html.

When I allow her to greet the guest I want her to sit politely, so teach a bomb proof sit.

Otherwise, and not before you've taught your dog these things, she should not be greeting guests without some form of control. I would employ a crate. If she's too excited, she does not get to greet the guest. I would invite new people over to practice the behaviors you are teaching her. If you see any behavior that you do not want your dog rehearsing, crate her and end the training session until you've done more to teach the behavior you want. Without the ability to give your dog some instruction, you are creating the worst possible training scenario, and this will only leave you frustrated. So teach, practice, teach, practice, have patience, and don't give up.