Frustrated with HYPER AND DESTRUCTIVE dog

I to tell you this but Labs mature at a much slower rate than other dogs.  Puppyhood usually ends around 2 yrs old.

The first thing is obedience training.  Second is more exercise.  Third thing is that this dog needs a job-something fun to do but work.  You need to find out what motivates this dog.

Obedience training will teach YOU how to relate to your dog in a way that HE can understand, and will get his mind working.  Part of obedience is the NILIF method (Nothing in life is free) google NILIF and you'll come up on better explanations than I can give.

Exercise, your dog needs to exercise until he is tired, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, and you are exhausted.  Running, playing fetch, chasing the frisbee.  Keep your dog tired.  I can't emphasize this enough:  A tired dog is a good dog.  Walking on lead will do nothing to tire this guy out.  He needs to run, to play, and run some more before he even starts to think about getting tired.

Now onto a job:  Chasing frisbees is a job, tracking, solving food cubes.  All of those can give your dog a mental workout.  If there's a body of water that your dog can swim in, that's something else...teach him to retrieve in the water.

If you didn't know that labs were that hyper, you didn't think this through.  Please get this dog into obedience training asap.

A 5 month old Lab that's hyper and destructive? Never heard of it! [sm=rofl.gif] I agree with Xerxes 100%... although I'm tempted to reorder his advice with exercise at the top of the list. A Lab is a very high energy breed who needs real exercise (full out running, not just wandering around the backyard or taking a walk) every day, especially when he's that young... and if you think he's a handful now wait until he's a year old and his exercise needs are even higher.

What a sad story.  I wish I could help, but I only came here to learn....

You are not alone.  Everyone who owns high energy or working breeds suffers through things like this on the way to having an awesome dog!
You've gotten great advice.  Just hang in there, and go to classes - even mental exercise helps tire puppies out. []

one of the easiest ways to really tire out a dog is fetch-train game. Luckily labs tend to be really into retrieving. So get your dog's toy, ask for a simple obedience behavior, something he knows (sit! hand-touch! spin!) and toss the toy. Get a throwing aid (chuck it, etc.) for extra distance so the pup has to run further. Works the mind and the body. Do several short sessions per day.  Also lay in a store of good things for the pup to chew on, he NEEDS to chew. Big raw beef knuckle bones are excellent for this purpose.

Xerxes is absolutley correct!
Have you ever been in a resteraunt and seen a family who's kids were just plain out of control, running around the resteraunt, screaming, and acting up? Well that is exactly what age your puppy currently is at.
"A tired dog is a good dog"
he needs a good exercise BEFORE he is put into his kennel, not after you get home from work as all his energy has been built up overnight while the house was sleeping.
We would all like to help out with the potty issue as well but it will be easier if you tell us what steps you have already taken to teach him.
As for the chewing, what toys/treats have you supplied for him to use? Dogs use chewing as a relaxation method, similiar to the way a baby uses a pacifier so it is crucial for them to have positive chewing toys.
Cant wait to see some pics, I miss puppy breath, ha ha!

Hello,
 
Thank you all for your responses.  He has a lot of chew toys that he uses, but he still has these moments where he just goes crazy.  They are not all the time though.  I love my dog and want him to be as happy as possible.  That is why I posted on this site--I am used to small dogs, and I did do my research and know that Labs are a hyper breed.  I was looking for additional information from owners.  Thank you for your responses again.  I am going to tire him out with the fetching and the running; he knows how to fetch and we do play with a ball together.  I just have to do it for a longer period of time.
 
As far as the potty training issue--he knows he has to go outside, but we cannot trust him inside the house yet.  He knows that when we say Go and point to the grass he has to go.  And he does.  He just cannot be left to his own devices yet, and I was wondering how and when to get him over that hump, or what do I have to do to get him there.
 
This is in no way a sad story--he is a happy puppy that gets a lot of love.  We just want to understand his needs better for him to be even happier, and for us to be happier too, knowing he is going to be ok and we leave the house.

Everything that's been said here is true.  Exercise is really important, but I think obedience work is even more so.
 
Take 15 minutes or so several times a day, and make him sit, stay, come, heel, etc.  Teach him some tricks - use training treats so it's fun for him (he's a lab, I'm sure he likes treats!).  You'll be amazed how concentrating will wear him out, but it will also give you better control over him.  If he has a reliable sit and down (and of course "come"), you'll always have control of him.
 
If you work on obedience, then go play fetch, he'll be ready to come in and take a nap.
 
I'd also say, even though walks aren't going to tire him out, they're very important.  It gives him a chance to see the world, and learn to walk nicely with you.  My labs are always ready for a snooze after a walk.
 
Hang in there, it'll get better with time and a little work.
 
 
 
 

All of this is wonderful advice.  )  Dweezil went through a horrible stage, but, after I started walking her every single day, and playing tug, and fetch -- she is more often very content with just lying down with her nylabone and drifting off to sleep.  I would not depend on the toys, though he of course needs them -- but it's so much easier once you learn what does calm him down without the toys, so that you don't have to spend tons of money on new ones when he chews them through.  (My dog is 20lbs -- I can't imagine buying chew toys for a big doggie!)

Don't expect him to be trustworthy loose in the house unsupervised until he is at least one year old, maybe two. Five months is way too early to expect him to be trustworthy. And crazed puppy frenzies are totally normal. Watch and laugh, they will pass.

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

Don't expect him to be trustworthy loose in the house unsupervised until he is at least one year old, maybe two. Five months is way too early to expect him to be trustworthy. And crazed puppy frenzies are totally normal. Watch and laugh, they will pass.

Yup, that's why we get more puppies --- we start missing the "zoomies". []

He also eats the cat food and digs out all of the litter of the cat's litter box.

When you get to the stage when you can leave him alone, he'll probably still munch at it... and it's bad for dogs' liver (cat food at least [8D]). I have a cat and a dog too, and I'd suggest setting up an old table or some other piece of furniture on which your cat can jump on to and eat. Or, you can designate a cat-only area (a cat sanctuary), and block it by baby gates. Your cat will be able to jump over there, do its business and eat in piece. That's the setup that I have right now, and it works!

He also eats the cat food and digs out all of the litter of the cat's litter box.

I was at my friend's house the other day. When we walked in the door, there was something on the floor, and she started yelling for the only loose dog in the house---- Spar is 10 years old, protection trained, and has been loose in the house for years. He's a perfect gentleman.

Guess what? He knocked down the baby gate. There was kitty litter on his lips.

It happens, when you leave dogs loose. I'd suggest a cat door, in the laundry room (or some room the dog doesn't go into), or a baby gate.