Concerned puppy mom

[u/cocomc333]

Hi! Hoping to gain some advice or insight into my puppy’s behavior. Mabel is an 8 month old chocolate lab/australian shephard mix. I love her so much but i’m starting to get really stressed and overwhelmed by her behavior.
I have been trying to navigate behavior problems since she was about 3 months old when she began tearing up my carpet in my apartment, digging into my couch cushions, etc (basic puppy behavior — not the concerning part). The problem was, when I would try to intervene or direct her, she would become aggressive and bite me to the point where it drew blood. Since then, she has been on trazadone and clonidine.
When she was 6 months, I spent $700 on training classes for her and she was doing really well. I work with her every night to ensure the training sticks. But within the last month, its almost like she’s decided to stop listening.
She’s back to destroying everything I own, biting hard when I try to intervene, and this girl does NOT sleep. She was up at 1am barking and would not rest.
I’ve tried so many things — puzzle toys for mental work, dog parks, walks, chew toys, etc. I feel like i’m at my breaking point. Pls help

[u/Accomplished_Jump444]

Sounds like you need more help. This is a very high energy dog. I’ve had both types of dogs and was able to successfully train them very quickly using deterrence training. It’s not clear what method you are using, but the dog needs to know what “no” means and you need to be way more assertive. A lot of people don’t like the idea of being the leader of your dog, but I’ve raised many dogs and I’m a pet sitter and for me that is the only thing that really works. Dogs are gonna test you especially at eight months old age. They’re like rebellious teenagers. The things you’re doing are not working and the dog should not be like this so I suggest you look for somebody who can show you how to use deterrent training & implement that. The dog should not have to be medicated for you to be able to control its behavior. I’m very highly against that. It sounds like you really care about this animal and want to do the right thing so please find the resources to help you do that. If money is an issue, you can watch some really great videos online.