Looking for good home for Black Lab

[JJ]

I am looking for a good home for my dad's black Lab. Great family friendly dog. This dog has one of the best personalities of any dogs I have been around. He was raised and trained for hunting, but unfourunetally is gun shy. My dad bought Mack at 4 months and trained as a hunting dog. Mack is now a year old. But from day one he was afraid of the long guns. We are not sure what happened to him before my dad got him but he just responds poorly to being around long guns.

Mack is great around kids and is extremely well behaved. He has been through 2 obedience courses basic and advanced. He is house trained, and also kennel trained (i.e. he sleeps in a crate during the day and at night in the house.) Mack loves to play, retrieve, and especially loves swimming and jumping off docks. He has spent a lot of time in the boat with my dad and is well behaved. He is also great around other dogs. We are seeking a good home, hopefully with kids. Mack has been neutered, is up to date on all vaccinations. We will also include a metal crate big enough for him.

Mack is dearly loved by my parents and by my wife and I as well. This is a big loss to our family, and we hate to have to do this, but it would be unfair to Mack for my dad to get another dog to take hunting and leave Mack home. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions. or PM me here.

[ttousi]

Moved here from firearms section...........good luck finding a home

[mmcnx2]

I don't have a home for him but did want to suggest there are trianers out there that might be able to resolve the gun shy issue. If that is his only trouble you might want to consider spending the $500 or so and seeing if professional trainer can get him on track.

I have a good friend hat tried to force fetch a dog for 6 months with no success, one week with a pro and the dog was a champ.

Sometimes a guy that has dealt with the problem 50 times can have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Just a though, I know it would be really hard to get rid of a dog after a year and I'd try anything to work out an issue.

[lenny7]

I don't have a home for him but did want to suggest there are trianers out there that might be able to resolve the gun shy issue. If that is his only trouble you might want to consider spending the $500 or so and seeing if professional trainer can get him on track.

I agree, try this first. If you tell us what part of the state you're in I'm sure you'll get a recommendation for a trainer to call. I've used Cannon River Kennels near Cannon Falls and have nothing but great things to say about them. It wouldn't cost anything to call them and discuss the problem and get their thoughts. It definitely be cheaper and easier than getting a new dog.

[JJ]

Thanks for the input guys, but we have discussed the problem with multiple trainers, and tried multiple techniques. I won't waste anyone's time listing them, but we have tried at least 5 different trainer reccomended techniques to no avail. Most all techniques are based on breaking sound sensitivity. We have taken himout to a trap range and done his drills and he is fine, untill he see's the guns. For quite a while he was afraid of my dad if he was holding a large stick, that passed, but when the guns come out of the safe for cleaning ect.. the dog locates himself on the other end of the house. Its not the sound, its the gun itself.

As an example, one trainer suggested placing a gun in front of his food and water forcing him to reach over to eat or drink. The dog would not eat for 3 days, and he's a chow hound. If we did not think all avenue's had been exhausted, we would not be looking for a new home for him. To boot, every trainer we have talked to has told us it would be upwards of $1000 to attempt to break this, with no better than a 50% chance of recovery.

[bensdad]

Dokken's, down in Northfield, is top-notch.

[farmerj]

sounds like the dog was beat with a stick when a pup....

All you can do is show him it's not something that will harm him. I'd suggest getting a couple toy shotguns (something that LOOKS REAL) in the kids area at a toy store and just lay em around the house, set em up around a couch or table...

see what happens. Cripes, they are dirt cheap compared to $1000 or getting rid of the dog. Don't put it around the kennels or food dishes.... Just move em around the house in random locations.

[JJ]

farmerj, been there done that one.

[farmerj]

farmerj, been there done that one.

They still laying around the house?

[Bump]

If no one on the forum can take him craigslist has a free section for pets. I believe how it works is that you can't sell a pet but can ask for a rehoming fee, which neither of those seem to matter as it seems you more interested in finding a good home which is great.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/pet/


Good luck.

[JJ]

I figure if 8 months of toy guns laying around made no difference, 10 more years will probably not make much of a diff. With the time, effort, and cash already invested my dad has reached the point that it is better to move on with his life. Like I said there have been plenty of things tried with no success. This is not the first dog we've worked with, nor will it be the last. This discussion could rage for hours, but the reality is its not worth it to my dad. If someone would like to try it for themselves, far be it from me to stop them.

[cobb]

I wish I had the room to try, I would like to work him with my current black lab Koda to see if that could help. Koda is a rescue, he was a gift to a girl from her boyfriend as a pretty black puppy and grew into a big black dog. Nobody wanted him, he was dropped off at the Humane Society, that is where I found him, papers and all. The Humane Society told me I had to run a figure 8 on him, a rope around his neck and muzzle because he was very hard to control. He was basically afraid of his shadow, fast moment near him and he flinched big time.

As you can see in the pictures below, he is very hard to control.

Koda is my second rescue, my first was Pete, another black lab that was going to be disposed of because nobody wanted him. The difference between Koda and Pete, Pete had a better nose, but Koda is more business when is come to pheasants.

I should mention that within a few weeks of getting Koda, I took him to a professional trainer, he told me that the dog had been suppressed and may never be any good for hunting. Wanna bet!

Just want to point out to others that Mack is still basically a puppy and a new environment and master may be all that is needed. Not that your dad did anything wrong at all, but a totally different environment, new master and a different technique from a new best friend might make a difference.

I wish you the best in finding a good home for Mack, hopefully someone here will be interested.

[SAM]

Sounds like a marvelous animal. I am curious though as to why you think Mack has to go ? Everyone in the family loves him dearly. I think Mack would love to stay and just be a pet and companion. I don't believe that animals ( especially pets ) are something we just dispose of because they don't perform a specific task for us. Get another dog from a facility that has already started training and keep Mack as well. Sounds like he'd be more than happy to live out his years just being near the people that love him.

[beenji]

Sounds like a marvelous animal. I am curious though as to why you think Mack has to go ? Everyone in the family loves him dearly. I think Mack would love to stay and just be a pet and companion. I don't believe that animals ( especially pets ) are something we just dispose of because they don't perform a specific task for us. Get another dog from a facility that has already started training and keep Mack as well. Sounds like he'd be more than happy to live out his years just being near the people that love him.

I agree.

[cobb]

But this is not our situation or our decision.

JJH and family are doing what they feel is necessary and maybe best. For those of you that think different, well then take Mack. If there is a reason that you cannot, or will not, then don't question others and what they feel they need to do.

I have had several second hand pets and have been extremely happy with most of them. Our house dog, a Jack Russel that was given up at a very young age and has been with us going on 7 years. Koda, I got him at the age of a year 1 1/2 years of age, he will be 5 in the spring. The house tom cat, now going on 12 years old, we got as a kitten from the Blue Earth Humane Society. So maybe the original owners should have kept them, some may think so. Me, I am very thankful that they gave them up, I would not have change a single thing about how we acquired our second hand pets, what a deal we got.