Advice/help/ideas

yolanda

Well was a lovely day down here and washed some clothes which didnt stay clean for long as out them on the line and they were all taken down by our beloved (not when i looked out at the line and saw the clothes on the ground) dog. Raging!
Does anyone have any ideas how to stop them taking washing down? Wasnt really a prob last summer as he was just a pup but he's 7 months old now and 25kgs and continues to grow!
Had a habit of jumping up on people and after months of teaching, I'v finally got to the stage where he doesnt. Though when he hasnt had his walk that day I wouldnt trust him not to jump up on strangers as he's too excitable.

Any ideas?

Also was strongly looking into getting him neutered. Husband not madly keen but I feel it may calm him down a bit and I wont have to be worried about potential bitches wandering around. My question is, is 7 months too young to get him neutered and should I wait until he's a bit older?

Shanao

What breed of dog is it, you should wait until they are fully grown before getting them neutered but it'll depend on the breed on when they will be fully grown. I would neuter him if you have no intention of breeding him, it will eliminate the chance of him chasing after bitches in heat.

There is a way to train them out of taking down washing but it takes a lot of time and patience.

One way is to blow up some balloons and tie them to the bottom of the clothes so when the dog jumps up to bite them, he'll pop the balloons and give himself a fright. Eventually he'll learn to leave them alone.
Another way is to stand just inside a window with a metal pot and a spoon, with the window open, and everytime the dog goes to grab the clothes, bang on the pot, but dont let him see you doing it so he doesn't know where the sound is coming from.

The dog needs to associate these things with the clothes rather than you and learn to leave them alone

yolanda

Well there ideas that I havent heard before. Balloons sound good as I don't think I could stand all day looking out the window.
He's a golden retirever and the vet said he won't stop growing until he's a year and a half which isnt until next Jan?? Thought the 9 months to a year would have done it.

Shanao

You can get them neutered from around 6 months onwards, the only thing is that some studies show that neutering before a dog is fully grown can lead to some dogs being leggier than intact dogs. Because the growing bones and joints down properly fuse, which may lead to orthopedic problems down the line. Retrievers usually aren't fully grown until 15-16 months depending on their weight and height; a big retriever would need the full 16 months, smaller retrievers, esp females usually finish growing at 15 months.

In saying that though, I have a four month old pup who i will have to neuter at six months due to us also having an intact female. I dont want to do it, wanted to leave him until he was fully grown, but I'm not taking the chance of him impregnating her.

The balloons worked on a dog i was training a couple of years back, but didn't on another so had to use the pot and spoon method. Depends on the dog, some of them get all excited by the sounds of the balloon popping. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.:D