i need some dog training tips..

[oonighttrain]

as you mauy know, i have a yellow lab.. he is almost 4 years old now and has become slightly unruly.. he ate a $20 bill of the counter yesterday and got the cover of the new snowest today.. he is just a slight pain in the azz..

when he was young i signed him up to a life long trainer that i stopped taking him to because i got lazy..

so, today, i got looking around the net and got a bit of enthusiasm so, when i got home, i put the collar on him and worked with him on the leash in the backyard for about 15 minutes.. i was actually a bit amazed.. he did some of the things hes actually supposed to do. he sat when i stopped walking, layed when i said down..

whats the key to a well behaved dog? is it just routine obedience training or what? and, being that he is 4, will it be a problem for me to expect to get him to change?

 

[CatWoman]

You need to watch the Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan .....or even buy his books. That guy rules (and I don't even own a dog right now)!! Just about every dog can be a good, well behaved dog. Most of the time the problem is the owners.

You said he did well when you worked with him. If you are being lax with him all of the rest of the time (no doesn't always mean no, etc.), then of course he's going to misbehave. It is good to walk your dog, or work with him....even if they have a yard to be in, it doesn't mean they are working off excess energy. That excess energy then turns into troublesome behavior.

 

[Yellow Sno]

Enforce your commands, otherwise he will take them as requests and will do it if he feels like it. Simple training sessions like you did in the yard say twice a week will do wonders as well. Exercise him more....a tired dog is a good dog.

And 4 years old is not too old by any means

 

[Mod-R]

If it's chewing problems get some training stuff called 'Bitter Apple' at the pet
store. It comes in a spray and furniture polish. You're suposed to put it on the stuff you don't want them to chew on, what works better is to get the spray get something they just chewed up spray it, let them smell it then put some on a cotton ball and rub it on their nose and tounge. Then spray the stuff you don't want them to get into or chew. A few times putting it on their
tounge/nose they'll get it. Got this tip from a breeder of nefoundlands after I had a dog that went through hundreds of dollars of shoes/boots, trained him
and turned out to be one of the best dogs ever. I miss that ol' dog

 

[Bubba700]

I can relate, I have a 2 yr old chessie that gets alittle unruly at times. With mine she always gets that way when we don't get her out and work her. Try to take even 15 min a day working with him and it would do wonders. Labs love to please so when he does what he is told let him know and he will start be alot more obedient for you.

 

[oonighttrain]

this whole thing started about a week ago.. my wife got all pizzed at me because when i wake up in the a.m., i take him out to go pee.. then, we go inside, i feed him, take a shower, get dressed and then take him back out to poop..

well, since last week, when i take him out th e2nd time, he just stands there and doesnt want to go poop.. i go back upstairs, tell the wife, he didnt go.. well, she then proceeds to yell at him, make him go outside and raise her voice until he goes... she says he doesnt view me as a master, he views me as a pal.. shes probably right but.. wtf... lol..... hes my bud!!!

 

[H2SNOW]

as you mauy know, i have a yellow lab.. he is almost 4 years old now and has become slightly unruly.. he ate a $20 bill of the counter yesterday
will it be a problem for me to expect to get change?

you could just rename him ..."Dollar"

like Richie Rich

 

[switchback]

Here's an off the wall suggestion, try keeping the peanut butter off of your nutz and he might mellow out a little

How you feelin' 'bout January kimosame? The Nytro will be done fri night.

 

[Blisteringsnorider]

All else fails..........go with the shock collar

 

[Himark]

Dogs are ONLY as smart as there owners! He ate a twenty and chit it out...sounds like sledding to me.


Honestly if he is under 4 just keep working with him. He will grow up at some point and be your best friend.

 

[Bagger]

Consistancy. And remember that in his world it's all about pecking order. If he's your bud, that's cool. But YOUR the boss. He'll be happier when you act like the boss.

Also, as he ages, he changes just like we do. Some mornings he might not have to take a crap when you want him to.

I've had good luck with dog doors. Then train the dog to crap in the same part of the yard. They are happy, I'm happy. Even the cat uses the dog door and goes outside now. Good Luck ! Bagger

 

[MACH]

eating $20 bucks isn't bad. If he craps out a 10 a 5 and 5 ones then you might have a problem.

 

[augerin]

My Springer doesn't listen to my wife or kids because they are not consistant with him. With me he listens because he knows I will back up what I say with praise or a scolding depending on what he does. Funny thing is, the stuff I let him get away with sometimes, he takes advantage of. One finger lightly on the nose with a "no" is all the scolding he needs.

 

[Superjag]

The key to the command obedience is going to be repetition and consistency. Try and work with him every day if you can, even if it's just for a half-hour or so. It sounds as though he already knows the basics regarding heel-sit-stay type commands, he's probably just a bit rusty. Do the yard work frequently. Regularly walk him through heeling and sitting and staying or anything else you want him to be able to do. My guess (based upon your intial post) is that he'll get right back up to speed on this more quickly than you expect. Again, the key, is to do it often until you are comfortable with his level of performance. It's more work for you then for him in terms of making the time to do it on a regular basis.

Regarding the chewing/eating, you may find that some of that diminishes if he is getting regular opportunities to work with you on his other stuff. My guess is a fair amount of that is just boredom and the natural urge to chew on stuff. Do you have a fair number of things he can chew on without getting into trouble? Things you can play tug with, etc.? If not, get some. You may find that just playing with him regularly helps alleviate some of this. (Again, the hard part here is finding time for you to do this stuff). Also, from time to time bring home a new chew toy or rope or some other crap. Most dogs get excited about that kind of sh*t. Its like Christmas for them.

If the unwanted chewing continues, you may have to go to a negative reinforcement training approach, where he gets affirmatively punished for his unwanted behavior. Sometimes its as simple as showing them what they've done wrong and banishing them to the yard or ignoring them for a period of time. Some dogs require a bit more agressive techinique, such as the conditioning (i.e. shock) collar that somebody had mentioned. My guess is that he already knows what he is doing is wrong (does he get all sheepish and slink away when you show him the chewed-up Snowest?), but needs either just an outlet for that energy, or requires actual negative consequences to confirm that this behavior is not ok.

Sorry so long. Just my .02. PM me if you have any more questions. I do have some experience doing this dog-training stuff, even if it was way back when I was a younger man.

 

[MtnCrazy]

Read the book "Game Dog" by Richard A. Wolters, it's a book specifically about training labs. Usually you start from an early age, but it does cover older dogs as well. Exercise him as much as possible, he will be a lot commer at home and stop eating things. I'm speaking from experience here, we have a lab that just turned 4. He ate my $350 dollar pair of sunglasses the tv remote...the list goes on Buy one of these and throw the things until his azz is draggin on the ground and you'll have not issues at home.

http://www.dogtoys.com/coolkong1.html

 

[rickyrick013]

if he ate your snowest mag i would shoot the damn thing...

 

[Fosgate]

The key to the command obedience is going to be repetition and consistency. Try and work with him every day if you can, even if it's just for a half-hour or so. It sounds as though he already knows the basics regarding heel-sit-stay type commands, he's probably just a bit rusty. Do the yard work frequently. Regularly walk him through heeling and sitting and staying or anything else you want him to be able to do. My guess (based upon your intial post) is that he'll get right back up to speed on this more quickly than you expect. Again, the key, is to do it often until you are comfortable with his level of performance. It's more work for you then for him in terms of making the time to do it on a regular basis.

Regarding the chewing/eating, you may find that some of that diminishes if he is getting regular opportunities to work with you on his other stuff. My guess is a fair amount of that is just boredom and the natural urge to chew on stuff. Do you have a fair number of things he can chew on without getting into trouble? Things you can play tug with, etc.? If not, get some. You may find that just playing with him regularly helps alleviate some of this. (Again, the hard part here is finding time for you to do this stuff). Also, from time to time bring home a new chew toy or rope or some other crap. Most dogs get excited about that kind of sh*t. Its like Christmas for them.

If the unwanted chewing continues, you may have to go to a negative reinforcement training approach, where he gets affirmatively punished for his unwanted behavior. Sometimes its as simple as showing them what they've done wrong and banishing them to the yard or ignoring them for a period of time. Some dogs require a bit more agressive techinique, such as the conditioning (i.e. shock) collar that somebody had mentioned. My guess is that he already knows what he is doing is wrong (does he get all sheepish and slink away when you show him the chewed-up Snowest?), but needs either just an outlet for that energy, or requires actual negative consequences to confirm that this behavior is not ok.

Sorry so long. Just my .02. PM me if you have any more questions. I do have some experience doing this dog-training stuff, even if it was way back when I was a younger man.

Take note, if you use him for hunting do not play tug or allow them to chew on chew toys. This leads to problems in the field with them not wanting to give the bird back or "chomping" on the bird.

You say he's your pal, he will still be your pal but spend time with him and play with him but occasionally show him who's dominant by pinning him and don't let him up until you say so.

 

[khaddon2110]

Take note, if you use him for hunting do not play tug or allow them to chew on chew toys. This leads to problems in the field with them not wanting to give the bird back or "chomping" on the bird.

You say he's your pal, he will still be your pal but spend time with him and play with him but occasionally show him who's dominant by pinning him and don't let him up until you say so.

2 excellent points that will pay off.

I have trained both my labs the same way. from the very early puppy stages, I would hold their right ear sometimes actually pinching it between finger nails. By no means drawing blood or anything, but enough to cause discomfort. This is a great way to teach a dog to hold position, stay, retreive, and pretty much any command you want repeated. It also works for negative reinforcement.

Now that my labs are older, I rarely even have to touch the ear, and when I do, just a brush with a finger does the trick.

Dogs are the greatest friend and Labs top my list, but there is always an Alfa, and it's best if he knows it's you.

 

[John]

Good info here.

The $20 cracked me up! We used to have a lab that my wife took to work when she bartended way back when. They taught him that if he took a bill (he wasn't picky on what denomination it was) to the bar he would get a jerkey. At that time they were $1. It was pretty funny for awhile because he would go hustle people for jerkey cash. Got not so funny when he accosted a guy on the way to the cig machine...took his hand full of bills and ran up to the bar.

 

[SnowSnob]

Dogs are pack animals just like wolves and live by who's dominant, he's probably starting to think he's the Alpha in your house.
It's amazing how smart they can be and what they know they can get away with.
If they do something wrong YOU HAVE TO SCOLD THEM.
My wife has a little ankle bitter and I've done everything to that dog besides killing it and it still mis behaves, it's getting better but not very quickly.
We also have a lab and I don't really need to do much with her, she learns BUT when we leave her alone in the house she always has to sleep on the couch or our bed....we can tell by all the damn black hair left behind. I beat her ***, throw her in the kennel for awhile....she still keeps doing it and she's a horrible liar. She smiles when she's in trouble and the bigger the smile the more she knows she's in for it.

He might be your buddy but you don't want him thinking he's in charge.
If he does something wrong, smack his azz, that's how they learn...dogs nor kids give a chet about time outs or something along those lines....a little pain goes a long ways.

A shock collar will make the worst dog act right. My dad has a yellow lab and she is a ALPHA female. When she won't mind alls he has to do is put that collar on, not ever shocking her and she is a totally different dog...she knows what that collar is about.

Good luck