I have a question about dog training, and I need someone who is very experienced to answer me. I have a Great Dane/Lab mix who is nearly 8 months old and she seems untrainable at times. Duchess is very sweet but she jumps a lot, and I'm not exactly sure how to go along making her stop. I tell her no but it seems to have no effect. When I try to teach her commands I can rarely keep her attention long enough to even tell her what it means. She doesn't know how to sit or lay down or anything, just to 'come'.
Also, we usually keep bones for her to chew on, and then usually she doesn't have any problems with chewing things, but she gets bored easily and when we don't have bones she likes to chew up (not necessarily eat) things. My mom gets very mad at her when I'm not home (I go to my dad's about two to three times a week) and usually just puts her in her kennel. I don't think that's right for a dog to be in a kennel for punishment, but it's either that or we have to get rid of her.
My mom has very little patience and every time she needs to go to the bathroom she'll wake my mom up, and then sometimes even then she'll still go on the floor. My mom gets really angry at her and usually pops her for it (which I don't think is correct either). We feed her at the same time every day and we give her water at the same time.
I suggested obedience school because the organization we adopted her from gave us a 25% discount but my mom is very set on not letting her go because it's too expensive for us. I honestly don't know what to do and it's causing a lot of problems for us. Please help me.
Old Fashioned Dog Training
Recommended Answer:This is how I taught my dog(I have a black lab)
Potty training: I kept her on a leash and put her outside about every hour in the first month, then every 2 hours the second month. In the second month she understood where to poop and urinate!! I praised her each and every time she did her business outside, by telling her "good dog".
Sitting and going down: I took her on a leash and gently pushed her hind to the floor telling her sit. I had to do that several times, but she did understand pretty fast what it meant. Going down("down")I pushed her between her shoulders until she lay on the floor. She did understand that one pretty fast too.
Walking by my side: I called it heel: I again had her on the leash and pushed her to my side until she was lined up straight with me and told her the word heel.
After my dog understood those commands I trained her by doing this procedure every other day or so, until she did it without any flaw. Then I trained her not to jump for food: I had a nice bone, told her to sit, and put the bone on the coffee table(she was sitting right in front of it). Whenever she wanted to snap up the bone I told her "no" and grabbed the bone. It was a harder one, because labs are very greedy, but she got the picture--she could not have the food until I told her so. After that she got food in a dog bowl and I made her sit down and told her "stay" while putting the food down. If she wanted to get up to go to the food I told her "no" "stay". That way she learned that she had to wait until I told her something. I did let her wait a couple of minutes and then told her "ok". It is a little time consuming to train the dogs like that, but it is well worth it.
Not jumping on people: When someone knocked on my door she usually went into a barking fit and tried to jump up on whoever came. I did put her on the leash and told her "down". She did go down. I did not let her jump up to greet the visitor her way. Excessive barking was discouraged by jerking the leash and telling her "no bark".
Understandably this approach takes time and there is a regular upkeep of thes training to do. However, it does pay off, because in the long run do you have a better behaving dog. Good luck
Which One of These Four Dog Training Mistakes are You Making?
- So you rescued/adopted a dog that you now cant control/train. Contact the place you got her from and ask for help. Tell them whats happening and ask if someone there can help you with training for her. Reputable places will help you, without a second thought or question.
- there are these remote trainers that you could purchase at any pet store. Every time she does something you don't want her to do, you press a button and she will stop. I don't own one but I was thinking about getting one, before finally purchasing a bark collar for my 3 year old Pug. The remote trainer will correct everything from barking, jumping, biting, and ect. I put my pug in obedience classes and it was a waste of money.
- If you can't afford an obedience class - then check to see if there is a dog 4-H club in your area you can join. You can get free advice from the leaders and other members, and you can use your current dog as your project animal. They will help you train the dog, and you will learn all about dog care and training.
The skills you learn in 4-H will last you a lifetime. You'll become best friends with your dog and make other dog owning friends, too.
In most communities it is free to be a member of a 4-H club and to attend the meetings, and show at the county fair in the summer.
You need help with your dog, and this would be a great way to have some fun and get the help you need.
