Kelpie-i

Forget all the bells and whistles, this dog sounds like he needs to learn some discipline...pure and simple.

Sounds like a way of removing the 'problem' from the equation...usually the owner!!

Excellent!! Do you sleep with heating on? Sometimes this can dry the air and cause a pup to become thirsty. BTW, is that her in your sig? She's super cute!

Absolutely agree with the above.

NAO, you now state that he does it when playing, but your first post tells a different story

NAO, you post did sound as though it was serious aggression... If his behaviour is aimed at "controlling" your movements, then this has the potential to worsen as he gets older. No puppy or dog should be allowed to put teeth/mouth on you, not for play or any reason IMO. It would be foolish for any trainer/behaviourist to try and diagnose the behaviour over the internet and without seeing the puppy in action. Is there any chance you could get a private consult with the trainer? If not, look around for someone who can come out and see him in action.

This is not normal puppy behaviour and alarm bells should be sounding! Where did you get him from? Can I also ask has anything occurred to spark this behaviour off...ie. have you scolded, scared, smacked the puppy at all at any time? you rreally need to be honest here since any of these could be the reason. Biting from behind is a usually a sign of fear and lack of confidence (since the dog is not confident enough to come from the front angle). Get the help of a behaviourist, SOONER rather than later!

Some brands of dry food contain very high amounts of sodium which can make dogs more thirsty than normal. I know Advance is one of those foods and many supermarket brands as well. If she is on any one of these, then perhaps a change of diet to a food with a much lower sodium content may assist.

Some dogs won't take treats when they are 'loaded' so you will need other tactics/techniques. Brenda Aloff's Aggression in Dogs is an excellent book to help you understand the why/what and how.

My vet friends inform me that puppies are actually fully covered after the 2nd vaccination. The 3rd is given merely as a booster.

Oscar is so cute!! Just be aware of conflicting/differing techniques and information from both schools which may confuse you more than aid you.

Could she be slightly stressed?

Agree with Cosmolo's points. You, as owner and handler, must be seen as the leader which takes control of your pup's behaviour, not someone else. The pup will never view you as such if you have no input.

I wouldn't take a puppy anywhere where he might be involved in any 'rough and tumble' with a much larger dog or even a small one for that matter, small puppies are easily hurt and allowing any sort of rough play at this age is simply asking for trouble. There is absolutely no guarantee that the other dog will back off if the puppy protests, in fact a squealing puppy may even awaken prey drive in some dogs. A bad experience at this age could affect your puppy for life. Thank goodness for your reply Miranda....I almost choked on my pasta dinner when I read KK's recommendation.

It's scrutiny on both sides so she/he will also need to impress you!

Sorry Erny but reading this got me thinking about that bit in the movie "Best in Show" where the lady goes looking for a replacement bumble bee toy for her dog and she becomes absolutely neurotic when she cannot find one that is exactly the same.

He's not actually mine, he's a client's dog who purchased him from a breeder who assured him the dog was 'well behaved and fine' Fine for who I wonder? We are desensitising him very slowly to new things and have put together a leadership program for the owner to follow as well. Desensitisation in this case is a very progressive process and must be done without introducing too many new things at once or for too long a period as he shuts down. It's only early days yet so the poor dog and owner have a long way to go yet. It's good that you desexed him but this will not change his fear issues unfortunately. Taking on such a dog is a huge responsibility and requires lots of commitment on your part. I wish you all the luck with him and I am sure that with the right help, he will grow in confidence and you will start to enjoy him more.

I love anything athletic looking...call me an athletic dog junkie! Very noice!!

LoyalK9, we are currently rehabilitating a sheltie which sounds very similar to yours. This little guy was a potential show dog that didn't make it. No socialisation skills, no confidence (only with other shelties) and is fearful of everything. Very sad. Rehabilitation (to a degree) will be a very long road for this poor dog. I'm sure there are Vet Behaviourists and/or good trainers in your area that can help you with your dog. Ring around at some Vets. BTW, please don't allow your children to tease the dog...never!

LL, I prefer working line kelpies....you know, the kelpies that don't look like kelpies

LL, this is the sort of Lab I like the look of...this would be the working line.

LL, I'm no expert on Lab varieties as you've gathered but there seems to be 2 different "looks". One has the shorter legs and tends to be a little more "barrel" looking in the build - not by weight just by build. The other (the one I refer to) has longer legs and their heads are more box like or square in appearance. They look much more athletic in build. You know...the 'Marley and Me' variety. I was told these were the American type Labs and the other the British type. Please clarify if this is incorrect. Try telling that to my kelpie bitch

Yeah, like a sneaky love affair Imagine the scenario if I'd told my dogs...Buddy would file for divorce and never speak to me, Gabe would be the vindictive ex-boyfriend who would stalk me every day (he does that now anyway) and Lochie would be the emotional wreck...probably hit the bottle or something like that. Tasha...well she's my OH's so she would probably Hi-5 me! Seriously, it is exactly like you say Erny re the 'special' relationships. Agree....Group Hugs

Wow, thanks JulesP. For the record: This thread was not meant as a "lab bash". I was merely posting about a dog (who happens to be a Lab) who I grew quite fond of. I also grew very fond of a Rotti I worked with a few years ago and they are not my breed of choice either. As a trainer, I work with many problem dogs and Labs are not the only dogs who can be problematic. (Although each individual owner's perception of a 'problem' is very different ). I wish a had a dollar for every comment I heard about Kelpies....and I agree with all of them If I offended anybody, then I apologise profusely as my intention was to share a lovely story, not to bash any breed