Training a Black Lab

Question
Hello.  We own an almost 6 month old black lab mix puppy and we have had her since she was about 5 weeks old.  As she gets older, she becomes increasingly destructive.  I can no longer even leave a plate of cookies towards the back of the sink or she will jump up and grab them.  She has destroyed countless shoes, sneakers, my best sandels, tonight, even an expensive silk blouse she pulled out of the laundry and ripped to shreds.  She is also facinated by water, which was cute when she was a pup and loved going in the pool, but NOW I cannot even set my sprinklers to go off or she runs thru them until she is soaking wet then flies through the house covered with mud!  HELP!!!  She is a very SWEET dog and my daughter LOVES her, but I cannot live like this!  I cannot afford professional training and I work full time.  Advise?  PLEASE!!!!  Thank you!!

Answer
Hi Debra!! There is one mistake you did when she was a puppy, you shouldn't have let her run through the sprinklers because they have to learn from the beginning since they will adapt and realize that this is allowed and this is not allowed right from the start. Right now it's ok since she is 6 months you can teach her easily still and it won't be so tough. The first thing you should do is prove to the lab that you're it's master and they way to do this is by being tough and saying "NO!" whenever it does something you don't like and continuouslly repeat this process even when it's trained so it will learn and not think it's a one time thing. As for the tearing all your things apart issue you must always say "NO!" as I told you above as well as smack her with a newspaper across her mouth whenever she does this. Since you may not have the time ask your daughter or whoever stays with the lab when you're out. Also make sure that it's getting enough excercise because some labs tend to bite when they don't spend all of their energy! If you can't take care of the dog properly I suggest finding an owner who can give it full-time because Labradors are one of the sweetest dogs and most lovable and they need to be shown lots of love but anyways keep me updated on how the things go!