My Golden Retriever is almost 4 months old, and it's time for some obedience training. We're still struggling with housebreaking her. She's crate trained, and we'll take her outside immediately after we let her out of the crate, about 15 minutes after she eats and about every 30 minutes. She almost always goes potty when we take her outside, but she still frequently potty's in the house. She'll even potty by the door sometimes. I think she knows she's supposed to go outside, she just doesn't know how to tell us.
She's also grabbing food out of the kids' hands and off the table. This morning my son got up to get a drink of water and in seconds she devoured all of his pancakes. I set her up, taking a sandwich and slathering it with Tapatio hot sauce. She drooled and rubbed her nose all over the floor for a few minutes, but she devoured the entire thing. So much for that!
She also bolts when she's outside. She'll see the kids playing across the street, or she'll see a rabbit, and off she goes. She doesn't respond to calling her name.
She also jumps all over people and is starting to pee all over people when they come to the door. It's getting out of hand!
Anyhow, we know she needs some training. We've bought several books, but they all say to do things different ways, and we haven't a clue how to train this ball of energy! We've come across some local places that are like doggy boarding schools - you send them away for several days to a couple of weeks, and they train them. There are also trainers that will come to your house. Then there are the PetSmart/Petco stores that have group classes. Does anyone have any advice on what we should do? I want her to grow up to be a good, behaved dog, and we need to start working on it before she's developed permanent bad habits.
I am an obedience instructor. Let me start off by saying that I NEVER NEVER EVER recommend "board and train" facilities. Obedience class is for owners!! Obedience training is an excellent bonding experience - one you don't want to miss out on.
I also don't recommend Petsmart training. Why? Because 90% of the time, the only experience the instructor has is Petsmart's own training program - which is woefully inadequate. There are exceptions and perhaps you'll be one of the lucky ones.
I'll address a few of your "right-now" issues, since they're not really things that would be addressed in an obedience class.
House-training - The easiest way to house-train is to remember that the dog needs to be watched CONSTANTLY. If you're busy or distracted, the dog should be in a crate. If the dog is out of her crate, it's important that you are watching her. You can tether her to you with a leash to make it easier - you want to avoid the dog being able to "sneak off". Dogs learn very very quickly when absolute attention is combined with a crate. If your dog isn't getting it, re-evaluate and make sure you are absolutely paying attention.
Snatching food. Dogs are dogs. The easiest way to avoid the problem is to keep food put away so she can't get to it. My dogs are quite well trained. i still don't expect to come back into a room and still find a sandwich I left at eye level. If you are watching the dog, she's not going to have a chance to snatch food off the table anyway (right? see house-training above!!) While she's young, train the children not to walk with food in their hands. Train the dog to lay on a rug away from the table or crate the dog during meals. Make it a rule that the dog is never fed from the table. If you want to feed left-overs (which I don't recommend, but i recognize that humans are humans as well as dogs being dogs), put the food into the dog's bowl. She will learn that her bowl is the source of her food instead of the counter or table being an item of great interest.
Jumping all over people - Again, keep it simple. Don't allow the dog to greet people at the door. Your guests will thank you. The peeing can be reduced by not exciting the dog. Greeting should be low-key....just a quick "hey pup" and then on to humans socializing with humans. If the dog is calm, THEN she gets some attention, not while she's excited.
Bolting out the door - One more time, KISS. If the dog is not trustworthy off a leash, the dog should not be off leash. I don't know any 4 month old puppy who has a reliable recall. The dog should be wearing a leash attached to your hand before a door is ever opened. The dog should be on a leash at all times when outdoors, unless you are in a fenced area. Every time you allow the dog to bolt, you are reinforcing the idea that she can and in the end, your job will be that much harder or the dog will be dead. Seriously! My dogs are never off leash unless they are in their yard. EVER! I lost a dog because I was young, foolish and vain. I was walking a dog who had completed a high level of competitive obedience and was 100% reliable ( I thought) off leash and he bolted accross a street after something...a squirrel or rabbit. He didn't make it across the street and I lost a companion of 10 years because I was stupid.
On to finding a good class
See anyone with a well-mannered dog? Ask them if they went somewhere. Breed clubs can assist you in finding a good class. If you are interested in competitive obedience, the trainer should have titled a dog - an actual title, not a CGC or TDI. For companion obedience, check with local shelters or your vet for recommendations. Membership in an organization such as APDT is not an indicator of a quality trainer.
Questions to ask an instructor:
What method(s) do you use? The correct answer here is whatever works for the dog. Training is simply showing a dog what to do, praising when they do it and correcting when they do not. Trainers who insist on a particular collar to the exclusion of all others should be avoided. Head halters are a management tool and do nothing to communicate with and train a dog. Not saying you should never use one - I do on one of my dogs on occasion where management is necessary because she is extremely large, deceptively powerful, just plain not trustworthy and I've reached the limits of change with her. Pinch collars may be indicated after evaluation and are an excellent choice for fine-tuning behavior for competition but shouldn't be the first choice for a novice handler and green dog. Buckle collars are great for holding tags and looking pretty. You want a trainer who uses training collars(aka "choke chains"), but that is not adverse to exploring other methods. I'm not a big fan of treats for required behavior. Tricks-sure. Training - no.
Class size. More than 10 dogs is too many. Class size should also take into account the size of the facility. 5 dogs can be too many in a small room.
Class length should be around an hour and be fairly flexible. I generally arrive 15 minutes before a class, generally run 15 minutes over and then stay an addtional 15-45 minutes after. 8-10 weeks is usually adequate.
What's the trainer's policy on dogs that need something more? You should be happy with the dog's level of competence when you graduate.
What are circumstances for expulsion? I don't expel for aggression on the part of a dog, but I do segregate. I do expel owners immediately for striking a dog - no quibbling, no excusing, no refunds.
Does the trainer show-off the skills of their own dog? Do they even own a dog? Does the dog adequately represent the skill of the trainer?
An instructor is there to teach you, not your dog. I never recommend board and train facilities, unless (and even then it's a maybe) you're into protection, hunting, etc. I very seldom recommend private lessons (although it's much better $$ for me!) and when I do, it's almost always due to aggression. The private lessons last only until the handler is confident enough to handle a group class safely.
Don't be thin-skinned when evaluating a trainer. Some of the best I've met aren't exactly people-people. They are dog-people though and they genuinely want to help a dog. Soooo... abrupt is OK. A no-BS is expected. Belittling, screaming behavior is not. A nicey-nice, shrinking violet isn't what most owners need either. Balance, balance, balance. You want someone who can tell you what you need to know and show you how to accomplish it
First of all, PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE never take her outside unleashed again. She WILL bolt, and she WILL chase a rabbit, because that's what puppies do. It's the absolute surest way for her to get badly injured, or lost or killed.
The best bet is either a trainer that will come to your house, or one of the group classes, because they will train you to train her, and that's the only way it will really work. Ask your vet for references, ar call the trainers and ask them for references from satisfied customers.
