Q: We have a beautiful, almost 2-year old, neutered male Labrador Retriever. He is gentle and sweet in every way except when he has grabbed something he knows he is not supposed to have. When we attempt to try to take it out of his mouth he growls and bares his teeth at us as though he wants to bite us. This is the only time he ever shows any aggression. We have four children and he is very affectionate with them but it scares us to think that they may someday try to take something out of his mouth and be bitten by him. He will not do this if he knows you are playing with him such as with a ball etc. It seems to be when he knows he has something forbidden and you want to take it from him. Please help, we want to stop this behavior as soon as possible. Thanks!
A: Never chase a dog. That teaches him to run away from you. When he has something you need to take from him, trade him for something better. That could be food (quite popular with Labradors) or a game with his own toy, such as at least 3 to 5 chances to fetch his ball.
I would spend time with this dog teaching him "Take It," "Hold It," and "Give." Since he already does this in an informal manner with his toys, you could even work on the words there, but I would also do it with a real doggy dumbbell, which is more comfortable for the dog and easier for you to handle (no soggy tennis ball!).
Start by having him sit, and gently slipping the dumbbell into his mouth as you say "Take It." Then immediately say "Hold It" and you gently support his chin so he doesn't drop it. Over a period of a couple of weeks, build the time in short daily sessions until he can do "Hold It" for about one minute. Time each practice, so you build the time progressively and don't accidentally add too much time at once. Give him your full attention and support, and praise him WHILE he holds it, not after he is done.
When you take the dumbbell out of his mouth each time, say "Give." He will be happy to give, since it wasn't his idea to hold it in the first place! Gradually remove your supporting hand. If he drops the dumbbell, tap him gently but abruptly under the chin with two fingers, saying "No--Hold it," and put it back into his mouth.
Don't rush this stage. If you ever do more than three corrections in one training session, you have clearly tried to go too fast. The best thing to do is support his mouth so he can't make a mistake. Don't be in a hurry to remove your supporting hand. Keep these training sessions short, just a little bit every day. It can be stressful otherwise, and the dog will actually learn faster from the short sessions. Stay in an upbeat mood yourself.
When he is steady holding the dumbbell for 1 minute while sitting, it's time for you to take about two steps backward as you have him stand up and walk to you with it in his mouth. He won't think he can walk and "Hold It" at the same time, so help him. This is a major stage of progress, but goes quickly.
The next stage is having him "Hold It" as he walks along at your side for 30 or 40 feet. That's usually quite easy. Now you're ready to incorporate "Hold it" into daily life. Remember, every "Hold It" ends with a "Give." During the process of this gentle training, your dog has learned to give over control of his mouth to you. It can make a huge difference at other times in handling the dog.
Besides never chasing the dog, don't allow anyone to play tug-of-war with him. A dog living with four children does not need to be thinking of people as opponents in any game, and tug-of-war creates that kind of thinking. Retrieving is the perfect game to play with a dog, because it gets him thinking of you cooperatively.
Spend 10 minutes a day, every day, giving him a daily rubdown that includes some time on his back while you work on him. This is another chance to get him used to you handling his mouth. The rubdown will feel very good to him, and also give him an incredible coat and healthy skin. You can use your hands, a rubber curry groomer, a hound glove, or a soft natural-bristle brush. This little bit of daily time is a wonderful investment in your dog's obedience and his ability to tolerate touch.
If he does not have extremely solid obedience training skills, take him to class for at least 4 months, faithfully attending every week and practicing every day. Teach the kids how to follow-through on the commands too--without harsh handling of course. Manhandling a big dog like this in training can teach him that he has to give in to you, but cause him to then look around for a weaker human to give in to him. And oops, you have four kids who could become those weaker human targets. So you don't want to use that kind of training.
Next time your dog gets something he is not supposed to have, pick up something he wants even more, and YOU play hard to get! Run from him, duck around corners, get him interested in persuading you to let him catch up to you and to swap for the item he has. This will work much better than cornering him for the item, will take the tension out of the situation, and will put you in a great mood too!