foster hyper lab

Question
I am fostering a hyper Lab and am trying to calm it down a bit. It is a one year old Lab. Problems I am facing is jumping which included scratching and nipping when excited. My arms are full of black and blues. I have tried in good ways to stop her by ignoring her and turning around when she does this. I have tried pushing her away but it looks like it is more of a game for her when I do this and she seems to do it more...Lately it seems to occur more especially when I get her out of the crate for our fours walks a day to go potty. I am afraid nobody will want her if she does this to people or kids coming to look at her.

Also, she nips and scratches when I try to attach the leash to her collar. I have been giving a treat while I do this, but the moment I fade the treat she goes back to nipping and scratching... she is one smart gal, going in the crate only if I toss her a piece of hot dog, if it is kibble or anything else she will categorically refuse...any help is appreciated, thank you for your time!

Answer
Hi Mindy.  How much exercise is this dog getting?  It sounds like walks just aren't doing it for her.  A human can't possibly keep up a pace necessary to tire out an active lab of this age.  Does she get playtime with other dogs?  Does she get out to chase a ball or take a swim?  Is day care an option a couple times a week?  This dog needs more exercise. If she isn't getting 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise twice a day, she needs more.  At the end of each exercise session, she should be panting, tired and wanting to lie down.

Is she getting any mental stimulation through training or working for her food by means of a food dispensing toy?  Have her work for her food either through a Kong or other type of puzzle toy, as seen on this page:  www.petexpertise.com/barbgadola.  You can also teach her to find her food by just tossing it on the ground or yard.  Get a handful of kibble and toss it, saying "find it".  Help her as necessary so that she focuses her attention on the ground and sniffing to find the pieces of her food.  You can also hide her food bowl in the house so she has to search to locate it.  "Find it" will soon come to mean that she has to use her nose to find something good.  This can be a great exercise to tire her out.

Training is very important with a high energy dog.  Clicker training is a great way to learn to communicate with the dog.  She'll learn that her behavior can make good things happen and you'll be able to teach her skills important for her new home.  Petsmart offers these types of classes at a reasonable price.  

Implement a "work to earn" program as described here:  http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm  The dog will learn that in order to get the good things in life, she has to learn to be calm, polite and "say please".  

Keep using treats as rewards for good behavior, but not as bribes to get her to do things.  For crate work, plant treats there when she's not looking.  Allow her to discover them on her own and the crate becomes a place where good things appear.  If you see her go in her crate on her own, toss a treat in after her.  Once she's in there, only open the crate door when she's calm.  Barking and pawing at the crate door make you go away.  A calm dog sitting or lying down makes the crate door open.  Be consistent with this!

If she's crazy when you get the leash out, put it away until she's calm.  Nipping makes the walk NOT happen.  Practice this when she's already tired out from exercise, not after she's been cooped up in the crate for hours.  

Teach her to wait for things - food, leash, going out the door, attention.  Start by asking for just a couple of seconds of calm, then gradually increase the wait time so that she learns self control.  

Jumping up on you makes you go away entirely.  Disappear out the nearest door if she jumps and nips you.  Try and redirect that energy when she tends to jump by throwing a ball, tossing a toy or scattering some kibble on the ground for her to find.  Give her something else to do rather than jump.  You are correct that by pushing her away you are reinforcing the jumping behavior.  Any attention to the jumping will be rewarding to the dog.  Better to have a consequence (you going away).  

Please let me know if you have questions or need clarification on anything I mentioned.  Good luck.  Fostering can be hard work, but training will definitely help with this dog if you're willing to commit to working at it.