[goldenmommyx4]

Hi, I have an almost 17month old golden boy. He is a great dog but there are somethings about him I have not been able to work out. He is the 4th golden we have had the first 3 being wonderful puppies and dogs. But this one is a piece of work...he is so different from the others.

He is very dominant and because of this he thinks he's the all mighty king!! He does what ever we tell him not to. he eats everything, he will eat the entire roll of toliet paper off the roll, we try to keep the doors shut(he will go through the garbage bins in the washrooms too) and with two little kids its hard to keep doors shut. He barks at you if you do do what he wants, and he will jump too. "look at me, look at me, pay attention to me" He will take food right off your plate, counter, hands...

He is just horrible to walk, I have bought all kinds if collars and harnesses and they dont work, I am a runner and he runs with me on the trails off leash (the vet told me I could run with him at his age...he has such a high enery level he needs it) and he is amazing, listens so much better off leash and comes when I call him. He needs at least 2+ hours of walking/running a day. We have not gotten that as the BC weather is been so horrible. I always hear Cesars saying.."a tired dog is a good dog".

Another thing he does, is eat his own poo. He is not near as bad as before, it seems now he just has a taste. I have tried EVERYTHING and even gotten powder from the vet. He doesnt stop...gross when you have little kids that he likes to lick. Any suggestions?? I try and clean up after him but I can be outside with him all the time. I have never had a dog do this.

He is large and powerful and I really want him to listen to us. He can be such a sweetheart but I need to break the dominant behaviour. I took him to a dog behaviourist and she wanted to keep him for 14day to work with him, at a very high cost that I couldnt afford. I know he has the potenical to be great, just need to get him there. I am thinking about trying clicker training with him as he is food modivated.

Any suggestions would be greatly apprieciated. Thanks.

 

[OutWest]

I would suggest you get a trainer to come to the house and work with your entire family, kids included. It sounds like he is not aggressive, just strong-willed and naughty. You need to establish who's boss, and he needs manners training. But a good trainer would be helpful because you don't want to get overly dominant with a GR. There are some GRs who might respond to that type of training, but most won't. IMO you don't need to send him away for two weeks.

There are some really experienced GR owners and trainers on her and I'm sure they'll have good suggestions for you. I haven't worked with a difficult GR (although my puppy has just entered adolescence and would qualify!).

Good luck!

 

[Megora]

ETA - I just noticed your dog is 17 months old instead of 7 months old which is what I initially saw. In that case, careful exercise is fine. I still would consider getting back into obedience classes. I do believe that with a little cleanup training, he should be settling down within the next year. The obedience classes will help get you through.

He is very dominant and because of this he thinks he's the all mighty king!! He does what ever we tell him not to.

Okay this right here is a big thingy to me.

I see nothing in your comment that screams "dominant" to me. If anything, it sounds like he is an untrained puppy. They come untrained. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it means a lot of headache and chewed up household goods before your puppy earns the right to be running around the house unwatched. They don't come home trained and mellow like 5 year old dogs (which I think a lot of us get used to and take for granted when we've had dogs before).

He is just horrible to walk, I have bought all kinds if collars and harnesses and they dont work,

Collars don't train dogs. People train dogs. You need to get into obedience classes with him, with a good instructor, and really work every single day to train that dog and turn him into a dog you can live with. It does NOT happen overnight. It does NOT happen when you put a magic collar on them.

I am a runner and he runs with me on the trails off leash (the vet told me I could run with him at his age...he has such a high enery level he needs it) and he is amazing, listens so much better off leash and comes when I call him. He needs at least 2+ hours of walking/running a day. We have not gotten that as the BC weather is been so horrible. I always hear Cesars saying.."a tired dog is a good dog".

- too much exercise too soon could turn into veterinary bills. I have a friend who spent $7000 on a knee surgery for her dog after she tried to turn her dog into her marathon partner. That was an adult dog with fully grown and mature bones. You are running 2 hours with a puppy whose joints and muscles might not be mature enough to handle that much shock.

- Your dog needs to learn to behave without being tired out. Because there will be plenty of days when you are not going to be able to go out and exhaust him. He has to learn to settle until you are ready to go out with him.

Another thing he does, is eat his own poo. He is not near as bad as before, it seems now he just has a taste. I have tried EVERYTHING and even gotten powder from the vet. He doesnt stop...gross when you have little kids that he likes to lick. Any suggestions?? I try and clean up after him but I can be outside with him all the time. I have never had a dog do this.

Don't take him outside unless you are going out there with him on leash.

Besides that, there are "lost pet/found pet" facebook groups out there which I think every dog owner should sign up for. There are lots of dogs who get out of their yards and vanish. All the time. That even when the owner is home. That's even with a fence up around the yard.

He is large and powerful and I really want him to listen to us. He can be such a sweetheart but I need to break the dominant behaviour. I took him to a dog behaviourist and she wanted to keep him for 14day to work with him, at a very high cost that I couldnt afford. I know he has the potenical to be great, just need to get him there.

Our instructor last night had an opinion on dogs being sent away to be trained. I think paraphrasing:

(1) you can't control what happens to your dog in this other person's home, how your dog is being treated, etc,

(2) when your dog comes home, it will return to the same old/same old if you still don't know how to train your dog. They regress very quickly.

I am thinking about trying clicker training with him as he is food modivated.

If you attend classes for a few months which teach clicker training, this might be a good idea. There is more to the method than just clicking and treating.

 

[solinvictus]

Your post made me think of an article from Flying Dog Press
Flying Dog Press - Suzanne Clothier - Leadership Basics

Some dogs need more limits, resources controled and consistency than others. IMO, your pup doesn't see you being the leader and feels he needs to step in that spot.
It isn't really a dominance issue but more about him needing solid rules, limits and positive attention.

As Kate said getting into a good manners class, or an obedience class will help you learn to be consistent. The daily homework training will help to mentally tire him out some and can be done even in horrible weather.

This pup just needs a lot more guidance than your other goldens needed.

 

[Muddypaws]

I agree with Megora, you have a very high energy dog not really dominant. He needs training and exercise but he also needs to be mentally stimulate, training, training, training, I bet he is smart and will learn quickly.

Is he crate trained? Unwanted behaviors get a time out.

As for the poop eating, my MIL's Golden ate her poo and the only thing that worked was spinach. Add a tablespoon of canned spinach to his meals and see if it works. It was an easy fix and worked right away with Scully.

 

[goldenmommyx4]

Thanks for your responses.

He is unlike any we have had before and I got him a month after losing my heart dog and from the same breeder, I guess thinking that he would turn out similiar than my last. The only thing they had in common was the bad walking, which seems like alot of Goldens are pullers. Only 1 out of our 4 walked nice.
I should have worded my sentence better with the running, we take long walks but I only run about 45 with him and I am not by any means fast, he is off leash and triples me in the pace. He is part cheetah. I know that I have a puppy that has no manners, he listens to my husband very well, just not so much to me.
We live is a small town and there are a few dog classes here, I wouldnt go back to the one I went to as she is a rehibilator whom she said worked with Cesar. I know there is another weekend class that is called some thing like bad dogs gone good...I will check them out.
Sam was always kennel trained but he has not been in the kennel in months, he doesnt ever wreck the house while we leave him alone, he is pretty good about that. He only really eats toliet paper and the kids stuffys (and we keep those doors shut). He has never gotten into anything else he has his own chew toys.
He doesnt get out for walks everyday, I take him to trails where he can run free and get his energy out. I am not worried about him taking off cause he never lets me out of his sight. We were away over the holidays and he stayed at a kennel and he was amazing, he listened so well and they took the dogs to the beach and let them run and Sam had a great time and he was very well behaved. Just like kids, they behave better when they are not around their parents...lol

I will look into some classes. I know this is not lack of experience as we have always had this breed, he is just more of a handful than the rest.

 

[goldenmommyx4]

As for the poop eating, my MIL's Golden ate her poo and the only thing that worked was spinach. Add a tablespoon of canned spinach to his meals and see if it works. It was an easy fix and worked right away with Scully.[/QUOTE]


Thanks I will try this.