IncrediJack

Hi, I had great fun/success with the box trick. I think it works best when your dog is learning clicker (early stages) but not for one of the very first exercises. Dog has to understand what the click means first. Touch is a great one to start off with. Then I moved to a mat and then a box. You may find the same exercise but with a mat instead of a box is much easier. Good Luck.

We went on holidays over Easter break and left our 18 month GR with the in-laws on a farm, which he loves and has stayed at many occasions previously. Ever since we have been back, he refuses to walk further than the end of the block. He won't even walk to the beach, which is so strange. He just lays down. He is still active running and playing in the backyard and is doing great in obedience training. There doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong with him . . . What gives?

So cute!

"IF YOU ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO MAKE SURE A COMMAND IS OBEYED_ DON"T GIVE IT!!" I have never heard that before, but I will try that this week. An average walk for him is about forty-five minutes and most days he gets a 20-minute swim added in there too, longer on the weekends. Plus training and weekend excursions (we take him everywhere with us).

Yes! He absolutely knows "Drop it," has no problems with the command when we're playing a regular game of fetch.

Thanks, persephone. I walk him everyday with a bag of treats for training. He's great. Walks next to me, doesn't pull when he sees other dogs. He does have a lot of stimulation, bones to chew, toys . . . Not all of his destruction is intentionally disobedient, but a lot of it is. He runs off with our stuff, because he likes the chase. It's just a big game to him. Except we don't chase him, because we know we can't catch him. So he starts destroying whatever it is he has taken (shoes, books, toys . . .). I call him, tell him to drop it. He ignores me. I try to lure him back with treats or toys of his own. That doesn't work. If I advance towards him, he grabs whatever he stole and runs.

My 10-month old GR has been very passive dominant lately. If I give a command (and he KNOWS what I'm asking for), he looks at me like, "Make me." He thinks everything in the backyard is his to chew. The moment one of my kids leaves a ball or a toy unattended, he runs off with it and destroys it. If the same toy was inside, he wouldn't touch it. One day, I took his crate outside (which he uses sometimes in the house without any problems). He dragged it to the centre of the yard and started chewing it. His obedience is on-going. Sometimes he's very impressive obeying his commands. Lately, however . . . Power Struggle! Does anyone have any advice on how I should deal with this?

We feed our GR (nine months now) Royal Canin Maxi Junior, which was recommended by the breeder (and raw chicken necks). I was buying it from dogfood.com.au, which was such a good price. But now they have replaced it with Science Diet. So irritating! We gave our first GR, Supercoat Puppy, and he ended up with painful calcium deposits in his joints from too much calcium. Large breed pups shouldn't have all that extra calcium. Good luck with your new pup!

Chicken killing and knocking over a child don't sound like reason enough to me to have him euthanised. As far as keeping him when you have the baby . . . You know him best and it seems like you are having doubts. I wouldn't take any risks with my kids. Perhaps talk to the rescue home where you got him from?

At least they're good looking.

I've said it before and been flamed for it.. adolescent gundogs can be incredibly destructive.. if bored and under stimulated. Who told you GRs were mellow? They might be when fully mature but he's not the first demon child GR I've heard of. Where did you get him from? They can be demons but they shouldn't be constantly hyper. Do you still train him formally eg. at a dog training club? You may think you're giving him enough stimulation. He appears to be telling you otherwise. Obedience training at this stage is as much, if not more important than as a baby puppy IMO. Sounds like you need better boredom busters. I think you should also consider building a safe secure run. Ultimately, if you are unable to meet his needs and he to fit into your family, you may wish to discuss it with his breeder(?) but you're now at the stage with him that I consider the most trying in puppy raising. In the interim, if you don't want him ruining stuff, you have to keep him from accessing it. Jack is our second Golden. Our last one was very mellow and had a great temperment, always tried to please. I got Jack from a reputable breeder. He's a pedigree from a champion bloodline. I do still train him formally. We are just in between classes at the moment. I feel your pain! I have a 2.5yr old GR bitch called Karma and she's a world class digger! I sectioned off part of the yard, built fences, laid crusherdust and had it compacted down. Two days later she had dug thru the crusherdust and was tunneling underground like some possessed beast. So ordered in road base.. compacted that down.. less than a week later.. she had dug thru this and dug up a water pipe! Thanks for that Karma!!! After almost 24 hrs of No water, plumber has been and fixed said Pipe. So this time i go out and buy rolls of dog wire.. i lay this in dog yard, then cover this with 3 inches of compacted road base. she STILL gets thru the wire! The dog yard looks like a nuclear bomb site! She has dug up (and out) the computerised watering system i had installed shortly before she arrived I think 3 times now. Lawn man loves me Im one of his best cunstomers! Most people only have a watering system installed once! I have actually found her BELOW ground level several times she has dug so deep! I live in fear the ground above will cave in and smother her! At least i now know EXACTLY where my sewerage pipes are! yep she dug them up as well.. it was beyond gross.. the muck was overflowing.. and she was thrilled with her achievement "look what I did today mum!!". I would have the dog yard concreted but its hotter than the fires of hell here in summer and the dogs would blister their feet (I live in Broken Hill), also I don't think concreting over sewerage and water pipes is the best idea. She is walked, played with, has a wading pool and a yardful of toys, is never without the company of other dogs etc.. she jsut loves to dig. Apart from her digging obsession she is no longer destructive. She is just very intelligent and very determined to dig! But I live in hope that one day in the distant future she will outgrow her digging fetish! Oh Karma!

If you are anything like me, we have kongs, treat balls, he is walked at the beach and river & park, trained, has another dog for company and still he destroys. Yes, I hate thinking of Jack as an accurate depiction of my dog-parenting style. Truly, it's not me. It's him.

I've said it before and been flamed for it.. adolescent gundogs can be incredibly destructive.. if bored and under stimulated. Who told you GRs were mellow? They might be when fully mature but he's not the first demon child GR I've heard of. Where did you get him from? They can be demons but they shouldn't be constantly hyper. Do you still train him formally eg. at a dog training club? You may think you're giving him enough stimulation. He appears to be telling you otherwise. Obedience training at this stage is as much, if not more important than as a baby puppy IMO. Sounds like you need better boredom busters. I think you should also consider building a safe secure run. Ultimately, if you are unable to meet his needs and he to fit into your family, you may wish to discuss it with his breeder(?) but you're now at the stage with him that I consider the most trying in puppy raising. In the interim, if you don't want him ruining stuff, you have to keep him from accessing it. Jack is our second Golden. Our last one was very mellow and had a great temperment, always tried to please. I got Jack from a reputable breeder. He's a pedigree from a champion bloodline. I do still train him formally. We are just in between classes at the moment.

OMG, that couch!

incredijack, you have a jack russell terrier? where do you live - suburban, rural - if the dog is always 'on' maybe you need to take the dog back to the breeder and get a dog more suited to your family's energy levels? with young children and super puppy, you must be exhausted He's a Golden Retriever. I thought they were supposed to be mellow?! We live semi-rurally on a house block (not acreage) but can walk to the beack and the creek. He has a good life, and he better learn some self control!

Kaos! What a cool name! We call ours Wacky Jack, and he definitely lives up to the name.

Your dog would have to need surgery within the first couple of years in his life to make insurance worthwhile. My last dog didn't need any major medical attention until he was seven. Surgery cost over $2,000, but we would have already spent double that on insurance by that time. Most dogs don't need any major surgery until later in life- if at all. Of course, something could happen to a younger dog, or an older dog could need multiple surgeries . . . But (and definitely if you have the savings to cover a medical expense), it's not likely to save you money in the long run.

Thanks, Warley. I feel like I do do a lot of these things. He has so many toys and gets so much attention. We do recall exercises. The trees are gone, so they're not a problem anymore, and we are in the process of putting up more fencing. I've thought of the sandpit but am reluctant about having sand constantly dragged in the house. I pack away as much as I can, but it's the kids' backyard too. I am sure that not letting him run around with the family perpetuates the problem, but having him off the lead always ends in tears. I will give him another chance this afternoon, though. I think a walk in the morning would do a world of good but not going to happen. My kids are too young to leave alone, and there's no way I'd get them to walk with me before they've had their milk and wake-up time. Perhaps I will try a morning training session or game of fetch instead.

All the trees in the backyard, countless numbers of matchbox cars, toys, balls, books, three bikes, a trampoline, a swing, a barbecue cover, wagon, scooter, two chairs, shoes, THE HOT WATER HEATER, a pigeon, and his own crate. The BBQ cover and the wires on the hot water heater, I sprinkled with chili powder. This did not deter him. Most of this destruction happens in the backyard, where I put him for an hour each morning, while I get the kids ready for school (or for a few minutes while I'm hanging laundry). If I'm going to be gone for a few hours, I lock him in the laundry room with his crate. And he always settles down. Last week, I put the crate outside for him when it was raining, and he dragged it into the middle of the yard and started chewing it! The kids have no bikes left! He takes any opportunity to destroy them, waits until you turn your back for a second and then goes for it. I have to keep him on a lead when the family is outside playing together. I walk him. I train him. He's been to puppy preschool, obedience one. I buy him bones and Kongs, which he digs massive craters to bury! He is constantly in trouble and is costing us a fortune! Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Sorry about this multiple posting. Is there anyway to delete it?

He's part of the family, and four weeks is a long time. So yes, you should take him, even though he is going to drive you NUTS! Just make sure you pack a couple extra bottles of wine to help you relax ;)

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Just out of curiousity your friend didn't send their dog to a training centre that is also boarding kennels on the Eastern side of Brisbane did they. Sounds very similar to where I (naively) sent one of my dogs. Their mantra was also 'if the dog doesn't do as its told just yank harder'. I've since stopped correction for all but the most hideous of puppy offences to the point where it is VERY rare that my dogs get corrected and as a result have a dog that is working with me, not against me. Big thumbs up to you for working through your problems in that way - I've learned that leadership is just that, leadership, not domination. Hi Reddii-- It was a boarding kennel on the Gold Coast, unfortunately a rather popular one. I've even seen the brochure at my vet's. This is the first time I have ever come across yank-harder training. Am wondering of it is more wide spread than I thought?

Crikey! What a hard lesson she's learned about shortcut methods to an obedient dog. Did she say what triggered the attack? For the first two weeks, she had the best most obedient dog. But by week 3, the dog started being defiant. My friend took her back to the trainer, and the trainer told her she wasn't tugging the chain hard enough. So on their next walk, her dog tugged at the lead. My friend pulled the choke chain harder, and the dog turned around and bit her leg. I can't believe this guy gets paid for this kind of advice. A very sad lesson.

A few weeks ago, I posted a topic about a friend who had sent her dog to a farm stay for a week-long training. The dog came back aces, absolutely obedient, perfect. Meanwhile I was battling with my own puppy problems. She seemed to get such the easy way out, but I opted not to enroll my boy. I didn't like the idea of the choke chains used for basic commands and yanked until the dog yelped. Anyway, I just got a call from her. She had to put her dog down. It attacked her! And at the RSPCA mauled another dog! So glad I didn't go that route. I find the choke chains pulled until the puppy yelps quite aggressive. It just goes to show that using aggression to solve aggressive behavior does not work! On my front, I led my own doggie boot camp, using positive reinforcement and fun. I trained throughout the day and have seen much improvement in my naughty puppy. Thanks to everyone for their advice. To deal with the digging, I put him back in the crate when I'm gone. To deal with the barking at dinnertime, I have started feeding him earlier (an hour or so before we eat) and take him on a walk before our dinner. And recall, recall, recall. "Come" is the best trick in the books!

VIP, that's where we go, and I love it! I have been very unlucky, though. For the past six weeks of puppy school, four of them have been rained out!!!