9 month Black Labrador

9 month Black Labrador

I'm regrettably looking to rehome my gorgeous pup Pepper. Through absolutely no fault of hers, I've taken on more than I can handle with her and it's affecting my daughter and I and our life at home and also the quality of life for Pepper. She isn't getting all the attention she needs and deserves.

Pepper is a 9 month old black Labrador with an amazing nature. She's eager to learn, like any typical lab if you have treats, she's in.
Unfortunately she has a lot more energy and high arousal levels than I'm used to, which is proving far above my skill set to manage and my daughter gets the brunt of that excitement which is taking a big toll.

There is zero aggression from Pepper whatsoever, but due to her big size, even if it's coming out of love and excitement, it's far too intense and causing problems.

I have put in ALOT of time, effort, money, and training in to Pepper but it's become pretty apparent I'm out of my depth with her, she really needs someone who has more time and consistency in their approach to redirect her. I know with the right approach and the right training she will make the most incredible family member as she is so loving and beautiful and happy, and she is so eager to learn.
She needs a lot more stimulation and opportunity to get that arousal and energy out, more than I'm providing her, and she needs that training on how to be calm and what behaviours are expected of her.
I'm falling short on this and I'm only getting busier which is meaning even less time and effort is able to go in to Pepper.

We've done puppy school and while she is in love with every dog she meets, she does still need practice on appropriate social behaviour and to learn to read and respect other dogs cues better. She does well with confident adult dogs of a similar or bigger size to her, if corrected from them she does calm down and follow the rules of play. However a smaller dog or a dog who isn't as confident in showing their boundaries then she will just keep being pushy and annoy them, so she needs some help in this area so she has better manners when playing with other dogs.

Those manners are the same with people, she's so excited to meet and play with guests or anybody who looks at her, she gets too aroused. She'll need help with bringing that arousal down and learning how to ask for attention in a more polite way.
She jumps up and paws for attention and is too pushy. The zero engagement silent approach does works best when she jumps and she'll eventually stop and sit for a pet instead. But this isn't the easiest solution when she's jumping on guests and children as not everyone is comfortable or able to simply stand there and ignore her and wait for the calm.
So she isn't getting a consistent boundary presented with this and the jumping is an ongoing issue I'm trying to resolve.

She knows sit, down, touch, shake. Drop she seems to do well when its a toy and you're playing fetch but drop it doesn't always work when its an item she shouldn't have. Leave it is a work in progress too, if you say it before she's picked it up or tried to nibble on something then she'll listen, but she is in that teenage phase of pushing boundaries and this will need more work and consitency.
Little training sessions for drop and leave it are needed to really drill in what those commands mean so then in real lofe scenarios she'll listen.
She needs more work on stay and wait as well, she just can't quite stay calm long enough for those ones.

She knows "go toilet" and will pee if you give her that command. She's fully toilet trained outside however she always has open access to outside so she has free roam to take herself out there to go, she's never had a closed door to contend with so I'm unsure on what that set up would look like for her.

She's crate trained and sleeps all night in her crate with no issues and if the crate door is open through the day she will sometimes pop herself in there for a nap, but she does still need to be popped in there with the door closed for some forced down time during the day as she struggles to switch off that energy and actually deciding to have a nap on her own accord is a bit of a rarity. However once in the crate she's out like a light and snores her head off.

She is still just a puppy and has a long way to go before being settled and well adjusted, so she would need a home with someone prepared to put in that work with her. If she has more opportunity to direct her energy and excitement in a positive way then her training will be much easier. The time and effort into doing that just needs to be there for her. I'm just not hitting the mark on it for her and I'm inadvertently setting her up for failure. All the issues I have with her are my own fault, she needs a lot more than I'm giving her.

She is most excitable around children and due to her size and weight, she can be quite scary and intense for them so she'd need full supervision around kids and that training being put in to help her learn how to be calm around them. She has big claws and is a solid girl so even though it's all love and happiness from her, she can do some damage accidentally and that can be scary for wee kids.

She doesn't bark at all, only time she's barked has been towards the cat out of excitement and frustration that the cat won't play with her. She needs help with not chasing cats and learning they don't want to play with her. She has no malice or aggression towards them though, it's all just play.
She has shown no signs of aggression towards anyone or any thing. She's only growled a couple of times and it's been at night outside when she's been a bit spooked by neighbours making noise.

Its actually quite strange that she doesn't bark or anything but she just doesn't, if she hears the door bell or sees someone enter the house it's just pure love and excitement.

She was a little dinosaur when she was younger and was biting absolutely everything and everyone but I put in a lot of focus on this and she now only has a slight nibble of hands if she's too excited but will stop when told off. Which I accidentally taught her "ah" instead of "no" so she doesn't respond to the word no, but responds to the sound "ah". I'm sure this could be transitioned into no, I'd just started making the ah noise instinctively and then that's what stuck and is now what she understands.

Her lead walking is absolute beginner, she pulls like a freight train and would need the training to get her to walk relaxed. She does well on a long line though and I used that to help with recall training. Her recall is amazing if theres no distractions or if she's burnt off all her energy and excitement. If she's excited or there's distractions then that recall is 50/50 so she'd still need the basics of recall enforced before you could trust her to listen.

She has a recessed vulva (extra skin around that area) that caused her grief when she was smaller but now she's gotten bigger there's been no issue. The vet said she may need a wee nip and tuck down there at the same time as getting her spayed but as it has improved that may not actually be needed anymore. She's had her first heat so is now ready to be spayed so that will be assessed when she's booked in for that.
She's up to date with flea and worm treatments and up to date with vaccinations and is also microchipped.

If she's rehomed I would either have her spayed and the vulva recession sorted out (if it's still needed) or I would pay the vet and have her booked in for it and she'd just need to be taken in to get it done.

She is on black hawk biscuits, pro plan probiotic sachets, salmon oil and Greek yoghurt. Last vet check she was a little too chunky so the quantity has come down and I've removed the wet food for now. She has carrots as snacks throughout the day as they're low calories and helps her Labrador endless stomach think she's full without her putting on more weight.
She has a cupboard full of snacks and treats also but just isn't given them as often so as to manage her weight better.

I've never rehomed a dog before and this feels really awful to do. I'm a firm believer in dogs are for life and you commit to what you sign up for. But unfortunately I've found myself in a position where I just can't handle it and I'm not able to give Pepper what she deserves.
She absolutely deserves to have more training and time put in so she can become her best self because she is the most amazing wee soul. I'm just not able to provide that for her and it's become too stressful for us.

I would only want the absolute best home for her where she will be trained with positive training methods and where she will thrive. She is a ball of energy and love and is just the happiest dog ever. She deserves to have all that love poured back in to her and to also have that consistent training and structure so shes well rounded and adjusted to the world and all its expectations.

I would ask for a small adoption fee just to make sure that commitment is there and to make sure that financial ability is there for her.

She'd come with her crate, bedding, toys, harness, collar, lead and long line, food and treats, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, medical wipes (for her vulva when it needed cleaning but they're also great for any scrapes or for cleaning her ears) ear drops to keep ear mites away, food bowls, slow feeder, lick mat etc. She'd come with absolutely everything she has. Even happy to pass on the baby gate that is up in the lounge as she still has limited access to the house and is supervised in bedrooms etc as she still finds my daughters toys and our shoes a little too interesting. She'd come fully equipped with absolutely everything needed.

I know I've listed off a lot of "issues" but they are things that would be easily corrected with the right training and focus and I just wanted to be very honest about what you'd be signing up for if you took her on because I want someone who is seriously committed to making her a part of the family and giving her the best possible home and life.

If you're interested in meeting up to talk about Pepper or to meet her then we can arrange something.
I think she'd do well with another dog in the house to learn from and it would certainly help with keeping her busy and burning energy so she'd be more receptive to training. But she would need supervision and direction with adjusting to that dynamic and would need to someone who is very confident in merging dogs together in the home.

If you'd like to know more or to meet Pepper then flick me a message. I absolutely love Pepper and I feel so guilty for not being able to handle her and give her the best life and I'm insanely nervous about handing her over to someone else, I would need to find the right person for her and to feel really comfortable with the decision. She definitely won't be going to just anyone.