Hello folks,

I've always had a dog, but have always had the good fortune of having them
from puppies on - making the task of training a lot easier.

In anticipation of our upcoming marriage, I recently started moving in with
my fiancé. She has a black lab mix - his name is Otis and he's about 10 /
11 months old. Size-wise, he appears to be fully grown. She got him from
the local animal shelter when he was a wee puppy, kept him in the house with
her until he started chewing everything up, then had a dog lot built for him
where's he's been living ever since (I would imagine for at least the last 6
/ 7 months). Regarding the dog lot, I've got to say that it's the largest
lot I've ever seen for one animal... don't have the dimensions but it's at
least 60'x30'.

Now, not to disparage my fiancé - truth is she really hasn't paid a lot of
attention to Otis since he got transferred to the lot. She's busy with work
and the fact that he lives in the lot, where he's more likely to get muddy,
hasn't helped things out. He really never got walked or had a lot of daily
loving, outside of his daily feedings.

I'm trying to change that. The guy is dying for attention and I'm trying to
walk him and pay as much attention to him as I can. As I understand it,
labs are hyper by nature - is this correct? Otis is by far the most hyper
dog I've ever seen and I don't know if it is due to the fact that he is
still a puppy, that he's a lab and that's just the way they are, that he
hasn't had a lot of attention - or a combination of all the above.

The two biggest problems I'm having with him a

a) Jumping - I'm not talking about just a friendly jump here folks. When
Otis jumps, he JUMPS on you like an attack dog... I've nearly been knocked
down a time or two... now, I don't think he does it out of malice, as he
loves to lick you while he's doing it... but it's still a nuisance. I've
heard that if you grab their front legs as they jump & hold them out that
will break them from jumping. Is that true? What else can I do to break
him from jumping all the time?

b) Chewing - This dog chews EVERYTHING... his dog house... your hands...
we're on our third collar... the leash... you name it. I try to keep him
stocked in chewy toys but he'll pretty much chew on anything he can get his
snout around.... is this something he will outgrow? I had considered taking
him to the vet, but Otis shows no signs of discomfort (e.g., teeth hurting
or whatever), so I think it's just a behavioral issue. What can I do about
this?

Given the facts above, what else can I do to help Otis become a more calm
and controllable dog? Just give it time & a lot of attention?

Thanks a bunch!

Will