[heriman]

I have owned a dog before and recently we got a new one. He is now a 6 month year old lab. In the past two months, he started doing really bad things like knocking down things from tables, eating things he has been punished for eating before, biting a LOT, barking, growling and taking things and running with them. In short, he became a big nuisance. He lives in the backyard where he has a cage, so for all of these things that he's done, my parents decided to not let him out of there. Now he's constantly there except when I let him out. I know that he can become a great and obedient dog, but don't know how to train him.

All the things he does that he's not supposed to :

Knocking down things from tables
Jumping on people
Taking things and running with them
Barking, biting and growling
Not giving things back when said to do (he has done this before)
Intentionally doing things he has been told not to 5 mins before
Having phases where he doesn't listen at all, and having phases where he's an angel

That's all I can think of for now, if you have any advice I'd really appreciate it if you wrote to me
Sorry if there are any grammar mistakes, my first language isn't English.

 

[pandora]

Poor dog he is just a puppy he's trying out things , he has to learn and to learn you have to make mistakes first by locking him in a cage he will never learn because he will never experience life...

If I say to you het is verboden om op de gras te lopen did you understand that ? no and your dog doesn't speak any human language so you are telling him no, don't do that, that's naughty , but he doesn't understand those words any more than you understood mine.

he needs time and he needs lots of training before he will understand what it is you're telling him by locking him away in a cage all you are doing is preventing him from ever learning those lessons.

 

[heriman]

I completely agree with you. Unfortunately it's not my decision.

 

[LeoRose]

At only six months, he's still very young, and is starting to be a teenager. Instead of constantly telling him "no" instead teach him what you want him to do.

To address you problems in order:

Teach an incompatible behavior. He can't jump on people if he is sitting or lying down.

Teach him to trade something he has for something you have. Chasing him down to get something away from him is a game. Of course he's going to keep doing it.

Barking and growling are forms of communication, and the reasons for them depend on the context. My dogs sound like they are killing each other when they play, and my German Shepher simply likes to hear herself bark, I think.

He's mouthing and biting because he is getting his adult teeth in, and biting feels good. If he starts mouthing on humans or chewing on something he's not supposed to, give him something he cab chew on.

Trading for something will help with this, as well as the running off with things.

Well, maybe this time he will be able to get away with it... Consistency is the key for getting behaviors you want.

Sounds like a typical puppy to me.

If you want a really good, free source of instruction for what I mentioned, then the kikopup videos on YouTube are very good. Dog Training by Kikopup

 

[storyist]

You say "we" got a new dog and then: "Unfortunately it's not my decision." I suggest you begin lobbying your parents to rehome the dog or turn him over to a lab rescue group. Point out how keeping the dog confined the way they're doing is cruel, because it is; that they're getting no pleasure from the dog, that the caging is upsetting you, that the dog is just a problem and adds no pleasure or benefit to their lives or yours, etc. In the meantime, do as much to help this puppy as you can by doing some training in the yard as suggested. Help him learn to sit and receive a treat rather than jump on people and receive nothing (not punishment, nothing), help him learn to walk on a leash without pulling. Just those two things make a dog a much better candidate for a decent home. As for knocking things off tables, for Pete's sake, most of us would move stuff off the tables if a puppy was knocking them off and then pursue teaching him to leave things like that alone, same for eating things he shouldn't.

P.S. If they are actually leaving this puppy caged 24/7, an anonymous call to Animal Control is in order. It really is cruelty.