Lab indoor training

Does he rip things up while you are in the house, or only when you leave him alone? dogs need companionship, if you are leaving him in the house alone, he will rip things up to get your attention as dogs do not like to be left alone. he is still quite young & is still considered to be a puppy, i know a lot of people dont like using dog cages, but it really does help, but only for a few hours a day, you cant leave the dog in a cage for longer than that. muzzles are good for destructive chewing & still allow the dog to drink & pant, but again, you cant leave a muzzle on a dog for more than a few hours. labs are very active & need plenty of excercise, if he is being kept indoors all day, then he wont appreciate that & he will let you know by being destructive, chewing things, barking. An outdoor kennel is prob your best option, this allows him freedom to run around, but then again, if you dont have a garden, or if you think someone may try to steal him then thats not an option either. A professional dog trainer will be able to help you more, but any dog does not like to be left indoors all day, they are very sociable & need attention & excercise. All above you can buy on ebay fairly cheap. Hope you get things sorted.

Labs are very "mouthy" - they constantly need something to chew - try looking at "kongs" - very sturdy toys that they can not destroy! If I were you, I would give him a large variety of chew toys - teach him to fetch outside & run him ragged (they have tons of energy) and maybe look at a crate for when you leave him alone. They are the sweetest dogs, but their puppy years last until they're about 3 years old. All I can say is chew toys, chew toys, and more chew toys!

You first need to realize that your Lab is still a puppy! Larger dogs don't mature as fast as smaller ones. If he is going to be in the house, make sure he has LOTS of toys. As someone else stated, Labs are mouthy...they are retrievers so they need to have something in their mouth. I suggest you go to the thrift shop and get him stuffed toys. When he starts to chew up your stuff, you stop him by telling him "NO" and giving him one of his own toys to chew.

If you are going to be gone, make sure you have him confined in an area large enough that if he has to eliminate he doesn't have to step in it or lay in it. It's out of respect for the dog besides the point that in nature animals won't lie in their own waste. Until he is trained, don't leave him alone with the total run of the house. If you are going to be gone for a long period of time, exercise him by playing with him (wear him out!!!). He'll gladly go into his rest area for a long nap.

Neighbors of mine have a HUGE chocolate lab--Moose is over 30 inches tall and weighs about 110 pounds, and it isn't fat! He is a very loveable dog and is still very "mouthy" but the neighbors combated the problem by getting him lots of toys.

I don't really recommend a muzzle. It's kind of a negative type of training. Another suggestion that comes from professional trainers is to have a soda can with a few pebbles or pennies in it. Tape the top so the stuff inside doesn't fall out. Have it handy when he starts doing something wrong and then shake it hard at him and sharply tell him "NO!"

Another part of the destruction could be from boredom. Labs are active dogs and need exercise. Is he getting enough exercise? Is there someplace close by that you can take him to swim and run? I think you'll find that he will settle down a lot with regular exercise.

The biggest thing is to remember that at a year old he's still a little kid. He needs schooling like any child, and he also needs a lot of understanding. When I had Rottweillers I made sure that they had a huge laundry basket full of toys so that they had something to play with. If they chose to tear up their toys I wouldn't correct them, I'd just collect the remains and go to the thrift shop and get them a new toy.

Rocky, my Mom's Rottie got had a cushion from a chase lounge that a neighbor had given us for the dogs to lay on. I heard him growling and snarling one morning so I looked outside to see what was going on. That dog had the 7 foot pad in his mouth and was shaking the daylights out of it. Stuffing was flying like snow, and he was having a wonderful time. (I wish I had a video camera at that time) After he finished "killing the intruder" he happily laid down and took a nap. I lost Rocky about 9 months after my Mom died, and I miss him terribly...but he is remembered with tons of love. He was a "mouthy" dog but giving him plenty of toys and leg bone from cows kept him happy.

maybe keep him in the garage when you are not home. make the place comfortable with his blankets and toys and food and water. and when you are at home, monitor him. buy him some rawhide chewing bones to keep him busy, and give him treats when he doesnt tear up the place. my late dogs stopped chewing on my stuff when i bought them some rawhide bones or pig hoofs. they are like doggie pacifiers.

Big dogs don't really do well inside, they need a lot of exercise and have a lot of energy to burn!

But now that you have him and love him, do you have a fenced yard? If so, think about getting a dog door so he can run outside during the times you're gone. Get some bully sticks (bestbullysticks.com is where I buy them for my dogs), they last a long time and are all natural and are great for chewing!

Walk/run him a LOT! Labs were meant to be hunting dogs, retrievers of birds and game, so it's no wonder he's ripping things up. It's like locking you in a very small room with nothing do, you'd go nuts without reading material or a tv or something.

Work with him--he's not tearing things up to be mean, he's doing it because he's frustrated and has too much energy! Hope this helps a little.

I got a book called 'The Perfect Dog' when I got my dog, it teaches how to train them with simple techniques, I was amazed at easy it was to train my Malamute, and they are stubborn dogs! Smart but stubborn.
In that book, it's not only for puppies, the woman author says it'll work on any age dog, and I believe her. I just looked on amazon for it and none of the authors name's sounds familiar, but there were lots of books. I suggest a training book, you'd be surprised how easy they make it. When I first read that book, I thought, Oh this is too easy, it's not going to work, but I was wrong, happily so.

Just having chew toys around is not enough, you have to show him. When he chews on something he's not supposed to, you firmly and sternly tell him NO, but give him one of the chew toys. You're giving him an alternative. Young dogs have a powerful need to chew, just saying NO isn't going to do it, he needs something else, he has to be allowed to chew, you show him what's OK to chew. Dogs need to be shown what it is exactly what we want from them.
Also, exercise is a major factor with dogs acting out. A well-exercised dog is a happy dog. It is recommended at least 30-45 minutes at a vigorous pace. I say more depending on the dog, but I'm just quoting what the 'expert' say.