legacy22

I have a 1 yr. old choc lab female and was wondering if and when she'll settle down. She is purebred (her grandfather was the no.1 pheasant dog in the US) but she is so wild and flys around every time I let her in the house. I have a 2 yr. old and she is too wild to play with him. I was wondering if anyone had any tips to calm her down?

Jumpshootin

My Labs usually settled down by the time they were 5 years old or so. LOL. They tend to be pups for a long time.
I see you are from up in Bessemer, so you can start by taking her in the woods alot and run her ragged on grouse. Exercise her alot and use up that energy. Also, if you haven't done so already work with her every day on obedience or some type of training. Then don't allow that type of behavior from her in the house.
Often just paying attention to a dog will settle them down after a while.

TURKEY FAN

Cant be...............my lab is number 1 in the U.S!!!
Well one tip is to get her plenty of excersice, walks, play and that kinda stuff before she comes in..........she has not been burnt out yet, that is why she is so excited..........but dont you just love that? My choc lab will do that occasionally when he is well rested, and i cant help but wrestle with him, even though i shouldnt.

johnch

I agree run the dog till its pooped every day . I have a 4 1/2 year old black male that still is a puppy at heart. Once your dog understands that kids are to be played with they will be atached at the hip . My lab needs a good mile walk (I walk the mile he goes 2) to settle down or he is a pest the whole night.

Doc E

Labs stay "puppies" for about 10 years

As far as calming down and behaving in the house, it's called OBEDIENCE.

legacy22

She is obediant, for me anyway. Around others, she's a crazy girl. I know she's young and I have to be patient and wear her out. She's starting to come around a bit. Thanks for the advice all.

mathewsconquest2

My black started to calm down around 3 years old. Running her before she plays with the kids is a good idea. Obedience is good for misbehavior (jumping up etc.) but be careful not to beat a dogs enthusiasm down with over obedience. You can always pull the rope in but it is very difficult to push a rope out when it comes to enthusiasm.

-Mathewsconquest2

USMC PMI

I have a 2 year old male that is very calm, for a lab ha ha. I run him in the woods every day quite a bit, that helps. We also give him jobs to do in the house, fetch the paper, bring my shoes (w/out eating them), we have taught him many tricks, labs are very intelligent and need something to keep their mind busy or they become restless. We taught him to bark if someone comes up the drive, that is his main job that he takes to hart. He will stand and watch out the window for hours just waiting for a chance to do his job. Good luck.

deerhuntress56

My black lab calmed down a bit at the 2 year old mark. She had to go thru some serious obedience training that started at 7 months. She got too rough to handle when outdoors. She did great and learned very fast. They just take lots of patience! Unlike kids, at least we can put them in a kennel til they calm down.

djy

obedience, a good repertoire, keeping her busy and lot's of love. I have a 6 1/2 yr old female chocolate that is hyper. when company comes over she's swinging the tail, doing the back and forth worm moves, faint whiny noises, lots of energy. she calms down after while.
I was out for a walk when she was a couple months old and I saw this guy walking his yellow. he would throw the retrieving dummy and the dog would come back and shake his tail and make noises like he wanted to go...throw it...throw it...come on! I'll get it.
I asked him how old he was and he said his dog was 12.

I think we're in it for the long run.