[Marcial]

I have a 5 month old golden retriever (not pure breed). He's name is Frederico. He's a sweet dog but very energetic. During the day, my husband and I leave him loose in the garden from 8:00-14:00 until we come back from work. During this period he "literally" eats all the piping system, takes the clothes from the line, etc. We're trying to educate him, yelling at him and hitting his butt a little bit but it's definitely not working. He's doing the same mess over and over again even in front of us. I love him to death but my husband can't take it anymore and wants to give him away. What can I do? I need an advice!!

[labman]

There is just no good way to leave a 5 month old puppy by itself for 6-8 hours. One of the best solutions is leaving it in a crate, but it would need a mid day break. If neither of you can make it home, look for a neighbor or professional dog walker. Doggy daycare is another good solution. Yelling and hitting never is.

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

[RubyPitbull]

Marcial, please try labman's suggestions. But, if you can't find the time to give your puppy the proper training and socialization he needs, your husband's solution, although it will be heartbreaking for you, would be the best solution for the dog. Yelling and hitting is useless with a dog, not to mention a form of abuse. Dogs don't think the way we do. It is a me, me, me, mentality. If you have any experience with a two year old child, the thought process is something like that. They do not understand the difference between what we consider right and wrong behavior and will continue to test the things around them. I can guarantee that your puppy doesn't understand why you are upset, and all you are teaching him is to be fearful of you. If you are the only people he encounters day in and day out, over time it will teach him to be fearful of people, and he may grow into an adult dog who bites when he feels threatened. Right now, he is destructive because he is a puppy who needs to be actively engaged and challenged. Since there is no one there to play with him, he creates his own source of fun. He is not intentionally destroying your property to upset you. Leaving him alone all day long is not good for him. Dogs are highly social animals and need to constantly interact with other dogs and people for him to become a well balanced dog. That is how they learn what is acceptable behavior. If you don't socialize him, you will find that as he matures, he may become aggressive with other dogs as well as people. If you want to make another attempt at trying to keep your dog, speak with your vet about recommendations for a good trainer in your area. You may also have doggy daycares near you that provide proper corrective training for an additional fee. I would suggest that you make use of whatever outside sources you have available to you before it is too late.

[shygrneyzs]

If you do not follow Labman and Ruby's advice, your dog would be better off without either of you. A puppy is an energetic being who loves to explore and play and will find anything to entertain itself, when left alone. It is not the puppy's fault here. This is at the feet of the owner(s).

[Marcial]

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I really love my dog to death and will follow your advise. First of all, I will not leave him unsupervised anymore... I was totally clueless!

[pmabbey]

I have a 12 week old Golden-Lab and he's the same way, he loves being outside and :) making a mess. BUT when I'm not around him, he is fantastic in his crate! You should def. try it! He cried a lot in the beginning(the first 3 days) but now he'll go in there to play or nap when the door is left open. If you haven't started trying to crate train him, I highly recommend you do! He will learn quickly, my little guy did. And it will be a safe haven for your pup, like his own home. But make sure you have a way to get him a mid-day potty break! GOOD LUCK!:)

[Marcial]

Thanks pmabbey, I will definitely try to put him in a crate. He's a cutie! Very sweet but like I said before, he's very energetic making a mess and loves to eat everything he sees. There's another thing that I am trying to fix without success: When he's outside he likes to jump on me really hard and I try to say NO and calm him down but he gets really excited when he sees me and my husband but only outside and not when he's inside of the house.
My friend said that I should turn my back on him until he is down. Do you have the same problem?

[labman]

Consistently is very important in correcting jumping and other problems. Quickly correcting him every time he jumps on somebody is very important. Something bad has to happen each time. People are successful with a number of different things. One of the most gentle is to grab his front paws and hold him up. With the current trend away from negative methods, backwards works well. The traditional knee to the chest or step on his paws work well too. In each case apply ''Bad dog, its name off!'' in a firm, but not loud voice. Go ahead with it even if he is too quick to add a physical correction.

[Marcial]

Yeah. It's all about being consistent and like you said: quickly correcting him every time he jumps.. . I am trying to do that, thanks! Do you think that he will calm down a little bit with the time?

[emzeena]

You should try clicker training. Never hit your dog, as it doesn't understand. Buy a clicker and every time he does something good e.g. leaving the stuff alone you click and give him a treat. Obviously you need to condition him to the clicker first - which involves sitting him next to you for about an hour for a few days and constantly clicking and feeding straight away - also try putting a treat on the floor and just as the dog gets close to itclick before they eat it. Once they've realised the click means treat you can teach them anything with a clicker - if they like it a lot (which my dogs do as they get to stuff their faces haha) you can get them to do numerous tricks - I have even said to my dog before 'what can you do?' and they make something up and if you click for it they will keep doing it

[labman]

Think about say a 12 year old boy. Likely over the next few months it will only get worse. As with a teenage boy, a strict, but loving parent will go a long ways. And top down works much better with dogs. You don't have to give a good reason. Work on the obedience training and other forms of leadership. Unlike boys, it is good practice to neuter dogs and goes a long ways toward calming them down.

I have never tried clicker training, but it fits well with the current trend toward positive methods. I have heard a lot of good things about it. If you want to try it, find a book.

[pmabbey]

Yeah, my little guy is a jumper. My obedience trainer recommends the turning the back thing as well, but my jumping problem is on the furniture. He's getting the hang of off but sometimes I'm just am not consistent, which like labman said is the key. I have read all of labmans sticky and it is super helpful! Make sure you check that out! Also, I don't agree w/ the clicker training as the other person said, you can get the same results with treats and praise as long as you are again consistent. My vet said to try it without the clicker so that they don't get dependent on that sound in order to obey. Good Luck!:D

[emzeena]

Just in reaction in your thoughts on a clicker (as I have been training dogs for over 10yrs) your dog doesn't depend on it if it is used correctly - u can use a clicker to teach your dogs words its like a classical conditioning that if you click and say the word "touch" for example when a dog touches your hand it will learn the word not the click :-)

[Marcial]

You're right about correcting the behaviour before it gets worse... I just hope that Fredie will become less energetic... This is a great website. Thanks everyone for your help!

[Marcial]

I have another question:
My dog (frederico- 5 month old golden retriever) seems to be very healthy and like I said before hiperactive. My vet advise me to castrate him. I don't want do to it but I would like to know your opinion about this...

[RubyPitbull]

I am an advocate of spaying and neutering all pets. We don't need any more accidental breedings or intentional breedings for the purpose to make money off pups. There are millions of animals in shelters that are euthanized every year for lack of homes.

That being said, neutering usually helps in calming down a hyper dog, minimizes aggression, and you won't have to worry about him developing testicular cancer as he ages. You also won't have to worry about his trying to dig his way out of your yard, jumping a fence and destroying more property when he matures and gets a whiff of a female in heat nearby. He will do whatever it takes to get to the female. The hormone surge of intact males and females can make them very difficult to manage at times.

Please follow your vets advice.

[labman]

Perhaps because castrate has such a negative connotation, in America we usually use neuter when we mean to castrate males. That is exactly what I meant in my last post, when I said ''it is good practice to neuter dogs and goes a long ways toward calming them down.'' Do it as soon as the vet is ready to.

[Marcial]

Ok. I am still not happy about it but I will do it.