I am hoping someone can give me some help other than the inevitable 8 cent cure. We have a 18 month old female lab that has randomly become aggressive and snaps or bites at people. She started this earlier this summer and I was shocked. It has happened twice now and both times were unprovoked and towards kids. 50 random kids could pet and play with her without problems and 51 will get snapped at. Before I start digging the hole I was hoping someone here has experience or advice on this.

I've raised a lot of dogs from several hunting breeds and that journey always ends at the same place. You know you just can't have that with kids. Sorry man, it sucks!!

Sorry man. Its your choice. Hope for the very least you fix her so she doesn't pass that on. How long her days are, are your choice. I had to do it once....I cried like a baby.

The 8¢ cure is the only cure.

We had a red heeler that was a face biter. Snapped at one of the kids, and I wanted him gone that day. Wife was a softie for him, so I gave in. It happened again, and he put a scratch beneath another kids eye. He was gone in two days, to an old lady that had another old heeler and no kids. He was a good dog and super smart, super easy to train. But when that happens once, don't make the mistake of hoping it won't happen twice. It's not worth trying to train out of em because if it happens even one more time, it could be devastating. It was a snap the first time, the next time a kid could be missing an eyeball.

Lock her up when kids are around? I've never had my dog bite at a kid but I don't give them the chance. I think if I had a dog bite at a kid unprovoked I'd turn it into worm food though.

How is your dog snapping or biting people?

Is it while playing rough, while the kids are running or just randomly?

Are the kids rough housing with your kids?

Are they kids the dog has met before?

Are the kids it acts aggressively towards of another race or of a culture that eats different food?

Are the kids in your house or yard or out in public?

More details would help, so that I can determine how to non fatally change the behavior if possible.

Keith

No excuse for this dogs behavior, can't believe there is even a question.

Lots of mutts in tnis world , trade it for a good one

I had a lab in my younger days and she was a lot tougher to train than the other controversial breeds I have. Repetition, discipline and time is the cure whether one wants to hear it or not. Unfortunately training is a full time job and some dogs require more time then the owner can adequately provide. You can tell who puts the time into their pets and who don't, especially while out at the dog parks or in a pet store. Excuses are like opinions, everyone has one. There is no one training program that fits all.

She needs a "talk on a rusty bucket"....... There is a good chance it's fixable, I can't explain it to you very well by writing down what you need to do. Call me some night this week.

There is no one person walking this earth with more understanding of dogs and handling dogs than Loral I Delaney at Armstrong kennels in Anoka Minnesota. I would not hesitate to call her if I valued my dog. I have seen first hand what she knows and can do.

Osky

Vet should check thyroid levels

Sorry you are having this problem, sorry I can not help you. It is VERY important to socialize a pup from day one, or even before you bring the puppy home from the breeder. I always took my pups to the park and let kid, other people pick them up, play with them etc. Just go set on a bench and they will come.
Never let the puppy teeth on your hand. It was not part of the playing game. At 18 months I would not risk another bit.

It's genetic. There is no cure.
You can tightly monitor ALL interactions... until the dog goes too far and must be put down. Or put her down now.
Sucks big time, but in my experience that's just how it is.

At 18 months you're probably past any guarantee or return policy with the breeder.

I have had male Labs for a long time, only one female a long time ago. A couple of my males, when they reached around 1 year, growled when being disciplined. In both cases I grabbed them and flipped them over on their back, and bit them hard in the throat while growling myself. Hard enough that I spit out hair. Neither of those ever growled again while being disciplined.

A recent male, however, was just strange. It was to the point I believed there were underlying issues beyond standard training...in essence mentally ill. One evening as I was on my way home from work I got a call from my wife. To make a long story short, she had been nicely petting him in the kitchen when his hair went up and he began growling at her. She is disabled and backed off and he advanced while growling. No rhyme, reason, or cause for his behavior. Got home, kept him locked in the litchen, and took him for a one-way trip to the Vet the next morning.

The reason I tell that story is that I firmly believe there are dogs in this world that exhibit behaviors that cannot be trained out. Biting is a tough one to even try to deal with. There may be some underlying causes for your dog to be acting that way that are beyond her and beyond you to change.

Best of luck to you and your family in this.

Moosetrot

Had a fancy papered Lab the thing was nuts it went through 2 windows because someone knocked on the back door. Maybe breed to close but not right in the head just not safe to have around.

Wow ...Moosetrot...I’d hate to pee in your Cheerios.....

Once bite....twice shy.

Ah correction.....after the third bite.
sorry 160 user it's a tough choice for you to make.

My last bite took a week for my hand to gain it's grip back, and if it was not my dominate hand the Dr. said multiple veins would have been punctured by the canines.

My best friend during college was a Dalmatian named Pilot. When I came home he would get aggressive towards my family. He would be fine for weeks and then snap. The last time he cornered my Grandma during silage harvest. I’ll never forget it. Took me years to get over but it had to be done. I also had a English Setter that would become aggressive during training. Very rare for a setter! They are both in the same place. Sorry for your luck