Training a dog??? And some general questions

[Cornbread]

Most of the time I'll keep my mouth shut, but I can't resist. I have a 2 1/2 year old Cheasapeak Bay Retriever. He is the 3rd one that I have owned, or been around (Parents had some). 2 cents. If you get a retriever, they need to be worked consistantly. This may be play, but they need something to do. They will be less hyper, less destructive, and happy. Use a crate to potty train with. There are tons of books on this. Realize that dogs, deep down are pack animals. They need someone to be the boss. They don't need "Oh goodness thats a bad doggy" crap.

As others have mentioned CONSISTANTCY. Dogs are no diffferent than kids. If you are flexible with your standards, they will test you. I never hesitate when Colby does something stupid, to take him and throw him on his back lay on him and stare him in the face until he submits.

And on the breeds, I think labs are great dogs, easy going, friendly. But there are plenty of other breeds out there. I like Border Collies too. Good Luck

 

[sandcruiser]

We've got a Lab/Boxer crossed with a Pit/Rott. None of the drandparents were purebred, but mostly the above-mentioned breeds. She's awesome. Smart, strong, fast, great retreiver, quiet, friendly. But not a great guard dog.
Her sister is just the opposite- mean, overweight, GREAT guard, lousy to play with.
Training and time spent with them is the big difference- the sister lives across the street and is left alone all day to guard the house. Ours is with us most of the time, was crate trained and has been exposed to a lot of friendly people and other dogs from early on.
We used "How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks" to train her. It worked well for us- the key is positive reinforcement. The only negative reinforcement that she got was being ignored. In two years she has had a grand total of 3 indoor accidents (the crate works very well) and has nibbled one shoe only. She started digging for a while, but teaching her to dig on command at the right place (beach) fixed that problem in about a week.
I don't think that there is only one right way to train a puppy, but I do think it is very important that you plan ahead and pick the way you are going to do it otherwise you send mixed signals and dogs aren't good at processing mixed signals.
Best of luck!

 

[FJ40_owner]

Hey everyone,
After many recent posts about dogs and x-mas cards, I have started to think about getting a dog once again. The picture that swayed me was Concrete's yellow Lab.
I have only owned one other dog, a Cocker Spaniel that was in the family since I was about 4 or 5, he died in 1998. So needless to say I have been without a dog for a long time now. Also the Cocker Spaniel was not trained well at all. He had a weak bladder so letting him roam the house was out of the question because no matter how much you walked him, he still had accidents on the floor. If he was let off his leash outside, more than likely he would run away, and not listen to calls to get him back. So at times it was a huge hassle having a basically untrained dog, but I still miss Kermit R.I.P.
So what I would like to know is where do I turn for skills on training a dog, as I am clueless in that field. I have no clue what even the first thing to do with respect to training a dog would be. I know for a fact that if I do get another dog I want to be sure that it is well trained so that I never have the hassles like I did with the Cocker Spaniel.
Also, what are the pos and neg of yellow Labs? Are there any other breeds that fellow mudders like? What about a Cocker Spaniel again?


Thanks,
Zack

Many Cockers are inbred so be careful there and many of the good ones do not like children. They become cranky and nip.

JB

 

[BOUNDER]

Also, what are the pos and neg of yellow Labs? Are there any other breeds that fellow mudders like? What about a Cocker Spaniel again?


Thanks,
Zack

Labs rock but since you asked specifically about a "yellow" lab and a Cocker - you should be getting a poodle or something like that. Put your LL Bean catalog down and at least fake you know what field & stream dogs are - try sporting breeds.

 

[BOUNDER]

Most of the time I'll keep my mouth shut, but I can't resist. I have a 2 1/2 year old Cheasapeak Bay Retriever. He is the 3rd one that I have owned, or been around (Parents had some). 2 cents. If you get a retriever, they need to be worked consistantly. This may be play, but they need something to do. They will be less hyper, less destructive, and happy. Use a crate to potty train with. There are tons of books on this. Realize that dogs, deep down are pack animals. They need someone to be the boss. They don't need "Oh goodness thats a bad doggy" crap.

As others have mentioned CONSISTANTCY. Dogs are no diffferent than kids. If you are flexible with your standards, they will test you. I never hesitate when Colby does something stupid, to take him and throw him on his back lay on him and stare him in the face until he submits.

And on the breeds, I think labs are great dogs, easy going, friendly. But there are plenty of other breeds out there. I like Border Collies too. Good Luck

I love the Cheasapeaks and would have one if we still lived up North - too hot here in South Florida. I do have a choc lab I rescued as a pup - 4 years old now - fully trained by my parental instinct - off leash walks in public and never leaves her yard - we also walk quite a bit and you don't need to be quite so dramatic with the "throw down & submit" - you can dominate vocally and posture. When all else faills, a swat on the behind gets her attention as will food My .02