OP, your puppy (and a 1 year old is still a puppy) needs to spend a goodly chunk of her day in her crate. The crate is a nice safe place where she can chill and not get herself into trouble. A few hours in the crate in the morning and then another few hours in the afternoon is not cruel, it is like insisting your tired baby MUST take a nap. Hope that helps!

OP,

2 choices: either have the dog adopted by another family and suffer the familial fallout, or commit to training your dog now if you want to avoid years if resentment.

Note that training does not mean farming out to a center without doing anything at home! Training starts with you, in the home. It is hard work at first but soon your dog will obey you and respect boundaries, and you will thus find pleasure in his company.

Please educate yourself here:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/care.htm

And read "How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond":
http://www.amazon.com/How-Raise-Perfect-Dog-Puppyhood/dp/0307461300/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394212429&sr=1-1&keywords=cesar+millan

Buck up now.

Some of it is her age - she will be like a different dog soon but you need to GIVE IT TIME.

It won't take forever, but trust me, at 2, you will look back on the way she was at 1 and realize she is a totally different dog.

In the interim you need to get through it. The option you posed is really not a valid one. And in the future, please don't get anymore pets, but please be good to the one you already made a commitment to.

I wish my cat would run away

But seriously, you sound like you really don't like dogs (you let him sit too close to you than you'd like?). And if a lab is bored it will dig. Any dog will. Labs are SO obedient when properly trained (and they are eager to pleas so easy to train) but unless you are willing to take him on hike through the woods everyday or let him exhaust himself with stress at a dog park, you should put the dog up for adoption. I don't know how you pull a lie like that off on your 7 year old and DH, though--wow. If my spouse did something like that, I'd seriously consider divorce. It's so dishonest.

OP - She is still very much a puppy. And lab puppies are very challenging. The chewing and destructive behavior is completely normal for a puppy and especially for a lab puppy. She will grow out of the chewing phase. She will continue to dig in your yard if you allow it. With even the most basic training she will learn to behave.

First, she should be in crate when you are not supervising her. Don't give her the opportunity to be destructive. Provide plenty of toys that she is allowed to chew on. Make sure you are taking her for at least one long walk every single day. Playing at the dog park is not the same as going for a walk. Playing in the backyard is not the same as going for a walk.

You hate her because you are not providing the boundaries that a puppy needs to be a successful member of your household. This is not the puppy's fault. She is just being a puppy. She depends on you to keep her out of trouble. Keep her crated when you aren't watching her. Give her plenty of stimulation by taking her for long walks and playing with her in the yard. Do not leave her unsupervised in your back yard. Follow those guidelines for a few days and I'll bet you'll decide to keep her after all.

Keep in mind that labs have long puppyhoods. She will not fully mature until she is around three.

OP, I could be you-- except for two things-- my dog is 2 years old, and I only FANTASIZE about doing what you're considering really doing. Believe me, I totally understand where you're coming from, but you CAN'T do that to your husband and kid!

Talk to your family about the problem. Have someone else take over most of the dog duties, even if you need to hire someone (boy, do I wish I could). Get the dog more training. If you don't have a crate, get one!

The puppy phase is the most destructive and high energy. Since you are not a pet person, I would hire a trainer or go to obedience classes and be consistent about boundaries so she is not underfoot. I have had good luck training my puppy to not chew with that bitter no chew spray on woodwork and such. It will get better--the chewing/digging/destructive really mostly lasts for the first year (for labs, sometimes the first couple years) and then they get much more mellow. If you train her out of these bad habits now, she will be much easier to deal with as an adult.

I think puppies are overwhelming for a lot of first time dog owners, but once she chills out and stops being so needy, you might come to feel differently about her. Or not. But if your husband and kid love her to death, then I would think pretty hard about getting rid of her. Also, make sure your 7 year old and DH are on board with walking and training--your 7 year old is old enough to practice sit/stay/down with her after dinner, feed her, and depending on where you live, walk her around the block. I think it's important for kids to be involved in the care of animals and not just enjoy the cuteness and playing without any of the work

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we got our 1 yr old lab mix puppy about 6 months ago, and she is a neurotic mess. she chews/eats EVERYTHING, is digging up the yard and is constantly underfoot. she is home with me all day (yes, we go for walks, to the dog park, and i allow her to sit way too close for my comfort while at home), and i kinda hate her. dh and 7 year old dc, of course, LOVE her. would it be so terrible if i pretended she ran away and secretly gave her up for adoption?? the thought of dealing with this dog for another 10 years fills me with dread. sort of perpetrating this fraud on my family, what can i do? i am just not a pet person and am not enjoying having a dog.

Put the puppy up for adoption ASAP. It will not get better. A 7 year old can be told a white lie, allergies the usual. Please put the dog up for adoption while still a cute puppy.

That is a HORRIBLE thing to do to a child. I can't believe that you would advocate this. I'm not some crazy PETA animal lover, but OP made a commitment to a dog (whom the other 2 members of her family love) and there are solutions other than giving the dog away.

Anonymous wrote:NO. My mom did that with our dog and I have never forgiven her. Hire a trainer, get referrals for specialists from your vet, send her to doggy daycare, and if nothing works then work out a plan with your family for how to proceed or rehome the dog.

Absolutely - a trainer should help you resolve these issues. Get a trainer asap. Don't just dither around while the puppy gets older and less rehome-able by the day. You may not like the dog, but you can at least feel compassion for its well being, can't you?

Do you work at home? PP's suggestion of doggie daycare is a good one. You can also use baby gates to contain her to a certain area, like the kitchen.

Also, 1 is still a baby. Give her time; she'll mellow out.

Anonymous wrote:we got our 1 yr old lab mix puppy about 6 months ago, and she is a neurotic mess. she chews/eats EVERYTHING, is digging up the yard and is constantly underfoot. she is home with me all day (yes, we go for walks, to the dog park, and i allow her to sit way too close for my comfort while at home), and i kinda hate her. dh and 7 year old dc, of course, LOVE her. would it be so terrible if i pretended she ran away and secretly gave her up for adoption?? the thought of dealing with this dog for another 10 years fills me with dread. sort of perpetrating this fraud on my family, what can i do? i am just not a pet person and am not enjoying having a dog.

Put the puppy up for adoption ASAP. It will not get better. A 7 year old can be told a white lie, allergies the usual. Please put the dog up for adoption while still a cute puppy.

NO. My mom did that with our dog and I have never forgiven her. Hire a trainer, get referrals for specialists from your vet, send her to doggy daycare, and if nothing works then work out a plan with your family for how to proceed or rehome the dog.

Have you tried classes yet??

Get ready, OP. You're in for it.

we got our 1 yr old lab mix puppy about 6 months ago, and she is a neurotic mess. she chews/eats EVERYTHING, is digging up the yard and is constantly underfoot. she is home with me all day (yes, we go for walks, to the dog park, and i allow her to sit way too close for my comfort while at home), and i kinda hate her. dh and 7 year old dc, of course, LOVE her. would it be so terrible if i pretended she ran away and secretly gave her up for adoption?? the thought of dealing with this dog for another 10 years fills me with dread. sort of perpetrating this fraud on my family, what can i do? i am just not a pet person and am not enjoying having a dog.