I'm very close to rehoming our puppy. :(

MurphytheLabrador

Hi,

Thanks for your replies everyone, I really appreciate it all.

I've joined another forum and tried to PM a couple of people there who are also dog trainers. I don't use facebook, not that great with things like that.

We will look into training classes, but I can see how it will probably go, he will be fine there but a nightmare at home again. I will try watch some dog training programmes, and see if I can pick anything up. I just feel like we have tried everything we have seen but nothing helps, he's driving me mad sometimes, all the biting that he is doing.

He is on burns kibble and he isn't neutered. He has been checked at the vets (which he was very overexcited about), the vet said neutering was unlikely to change his personality but apart from that, gave him the all clear,

Rochelle

MurphytheLabrador

I hope nobody thinks I would just happily get rid of him, I really don't want that to have to happen, but he can be a huge handful sometimes, it's neverending and disheartening that he doesn't improve in the slightest. That's why I'm trying to join forums and ask around and try find out if there is something we could be doing.

Rochelle

~Chameleon~

When you say you went to classes run at the vets I wonder if you mean puppy parties which are meant as a socialisation tool with some basic puppy training thrown in? These are not the same as proper training classes which you should certainly be attending at this stage.

A lot of good advice on this thread from some very knowledgeable dog owners but please, please, please ignore the advice given by the idiot above condoning kicking the poor dog in the chest :mad:

MurphytheLabrador

Would never do anything like that!

Yes, it was just puppy classes. The higher level that he went to included more on training, things about recall and mouthing etc, just the basics.

I've started looking into training classes.

krlyr

8-9 months is often when a second sort of puppy-hood kicks in and they can forget their manners. Add to that the fact he's not neutered, and his hormones will be playing havoc. Neutering may not change his personality in a huge way but it may stop those hormones interfering - which can help with things like the recall. However, as a large breed male with lots more growing and maturing to do, especially in a breed prone to joint problems, I would not be neutering until he was at least a year, if not closer to 18 months, because those hormones also play a role in the physical development of a dog's body.

Puppies are hard work. I grew up with dogs, thought myself to be pretty dog-savvy, but my puppy brought me to tears on many occasions! It can seem overwhelming so try looking at each issue as a smaller, more managable thing. Implement management techniques to get a result right now, and then train for a longer-term behaviour.

E.g. recall. Management technique - buy a longline (and a harness if you walk him on a collar - it'll spread out any jolts if he runs to the end of the line). Voila, he physically cannot run off, but still gets some freedom. Search for tennis courts, enclosed parks and so on that you can give him some total freedom in, and also use as training tools to wean him off the longline.
Long-term training, these videos and articles may be of some help
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjd99MlmqqI&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV5qsH5tjYA&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL9Rk-8KF9I&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRg3FgmpjnE&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDdSUxi8X-o&feature=plcp

You may also want to work on training the need to pay more attention to you in general, which will help build a bond and get your dog automatically checking in with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJSGda3b3wA&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POM8wwnRSk4&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POM8wwnRSk4&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDdSUxi8X-o&feature=plcp

http://www.petfriendlyworld.com/chatforum/showthread.php?t=6640
http://www.apdt.co.uk/documents/RECALL.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/reliable_recall.pdf
http://www.clickerdogs.com/perfectrecall.htm
http://www.clickerdogs.com/listofreinforcers.htm
http://www.clickerdogs.com/distractionsforyourrecall.htm
http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm
http://www.cleverdogcompany.com/tl_files/factsheets/Training%20a%20whistle%20recall.pdf
http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/teaching-come/
http://www.dog-secrets.co.uk/how-do-i-stop-my-dog-chasing/

If you're struggling on your own, many trainers now offer recall workshops where they'll spend a day teaching you methods on getting that recall back up to scratch.

Barking, it can often help to teach the dog to speak on command - because you can use that to teach quiet on command too. Or, if you look on the Kikopup Youtube channel I linked above and type "barking" in to her video search, you'll see a whole series she did on stopping barking in various situations.

Mouthing is a puppy thing that you need to teach him not to do. Again, Kikopup and pamelamarxsen have videos for this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77--cCHPyU&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk7Truce2OM&feature=plcp

Another one on the pamelamarxsen channel that may help is her "Go Wild & Freeze". Similar to teaching a dog to bark so that you can teach it to be quiet, you teach a dog to 'go wild' so that you can teach the opposite, freeze. May help when the dog gets overexcited with the kids, if it's been taught the difference between getting excited and immediately chilling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzM0nvlQPsY&feature=plcp

An APDT trainer or APBC behaviourist may be worth considering if you are finding it overwhelming on your own
http://www.apdt.co.uk
http://www.apbc.org.uk

The benefit of the two organisations is that they follow a code of conduct to use modern, kind methods - no choke chains, shock collars, physical punishment or manipulation and so on

scaredy_cat

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

When you say you went to classes run at the vets I wonder if you mean puppy parties which are meant as a socialisation tool with some basic puppy training thrown in? These are not the same as proper training classes which you should certainly be attending at this stage.

A lot of good advice on this thread from some very knowledgeable dog owners but please, please, please ignore the advice given by the idiot above condoning kicking the poor dog in the chest :mad:

the poster actually said 'knee in the chest' not kick, this is how misquoting can inflame things. The poster also reiterated that it's not done with force.

MurphytheLabrador

Thank you.

I know he is still young and the breeder mentioned that he was probably at a "teenage stage" right now, but he has acted like this since he was a really young puppy, it never got any better. I would say it is worse now though which may well be to do with his age.

I have found a training class near us, but it's really expensive. Seems to get the best reviews but it is a lot of money and I'm not feeling very confident it is going to help. Do you think it is definitely worth doing?

MurphytheLabrador

He is actually quite good at not mouthing at us as such... when he was a puppy, he mouthed a lot, but we would hand him a toy and just walk away from him. It's more biting and nipping at us now and it is very sore. I know he is a dog, but I suppose because I have never had a puppy before, it just seems a bit wrong to me and I hate seeing him nipping at the girls (kids) - he was supposed to be a family pet that we could enjoy.

Rochelle

bethie

Murphythelabrador - I've PMed you about trainers.

: )

Person_one

MurphytheLabrador wrote: »

I hope nobody thinks I would just happily get rid of him, I really don't want that to have to happen, but he can be a huge handful sometimes, it's neverending and disheartening that he doesn't improve in the slightest. That's why I'm trying to join forums and ask around and try find out if there is something we could be doing.

Rochelle

I completely sympathise with how disheartened you feel, but if you rehome him, you completely lose any sort of control or say over what happens to him. You have absolutely no idea what kind of fate you could be letting him in for, and I know you love him so the idea of anything bad happening to him will be awful.

Even if you do everything in your power to put him in the best home you can find there is nothing you can do to stop them ignoring him, or hurting him, or letting him escape and end up in the pound, or having him put down, or rehoming him again to someone you'll never even meet.

It is hard, it is a slog, but can I be completely blunt and possibly a tad mean here? Your attitude towards him needs to change first and foremost. He really isn't doing any of this to annoy you or for the sake of being bad. Please don't put human motivations onto him, he's doing it because those are his instincts and he hasn't been shown how to behave properly. Dogs want to please us, they want to live harmoniously with their family, they aren't like human children who do sometimes want to deliberately hurt your feelings!

With training classes, you can't start out with a defeatist attitude either! The dog behaves well at the classes because the trainer, and the techniques the trainer shows you, are easy for him to understand and follow. The training classes are to train YOU, not him! Its not a matter of an hour a week training and carry on as normal the rest of the time, you have to make the techniques you learn part of everyday life and carry it on forever, training never stops it just becomes routine rather than new.

I really do hope you can sort this out, I can tell you don't want to give up on Murphy.