Chocolate Lab Puppies…DON’T TRUST THEM!

Welcome!  I’m so glad you decided to stop by to visit.  I’ve been training dogs my entire life, but have been training dogs professionally since the late 90’s.  In that time I’ve met many dogs both “Naughty” and “Nice”, but I thought I’d kick off my blog with a tale from a Naughty Dog. It was early in my training days and at that time I was holding group style classes.  I wasn’t yet offering private lessons so I relied on owners telling me about how their dogs behaved at their homes. Charlie–Charlie was a young chocolate lab that was full of energy (imagine that, a lab full of energy!).  He was on the large size for a lab, weighing in at over 60 lbs at just over 5 months old and his owners had never owned a dog before.  This was their first class with him (FYI, when you are getting a dog that will be that big and rambunctious…START EARLIER).  They were dedicated owners attending each class and slowly they began the process of “taming” Charlie.  If I’d have met them now I’d recommend private lessons to get them on the fast track and then group classes afterwards. Charlie was smart and after their first class they asked if I felt Charlie was mature enough to be left loose in the house when they went to work.  They were gushing at how much Charlie had changed since starting classes.  My immediate answer was “NO!”  I recommended he stay crated for his safety until he was at least a year old and then start trial periods of being left out.  Them being new dog owners and me not having the insight to tell them a horrifying story of disaster (lesson LEARNED), they opted to give Charlie a try being loose. Instead of him being loose in the house though, they thought they’d start out with him being loose just in the bathroom.  They set Charlie up with his bed, a toy and his water and left for their work day.  And that’s when Charlie also got to work on his task that day…. When the owners got home that evening they found Charlie in the middle of their living room.  Charlie had chewed through their EXPENSIVE rug and had started working on the wood floor.  While they were gone Charlie took it upon himself to let himself out of the bathroom.  Charlie wanted to be an overachiever though and was a bit unconventional.  So instead of letting himself out through the door, Charlie chewed his way through the bathroom WALL!  He ripped through drywall, through the insulation, thankfully through no wires and then popped out the other side!!!!  He also decided to use the house as a restroom, but given the other destruction that occurred, this was a minor infraction! During our next class, the owners sheepishly told me about Charlie’s adventure.  After his escapades, I’m not sure if Charlie ever did get to roam free while they were gone.  I can’t blame them if he didn’t, because I certainly wouldn’t!  And so the new owners learned, DON’T TRUST A RAMBUNCTIOUS LAB PUPPY loose in the house! And I learned, always back your “I wouldn’t do that’s” with a story of why not!