we planned for years

skylight1987

we planned for years.
we did all or research.
we read all the books.
we choose or breeder carefully.
but 18 months down the line nothing could have prepared us for our golden retriever.
he chews .
he pulls constantly on his lead and god help you if he sees another dog.
he knocks visitors down when they call, racing up and down the hall with excitment.
he drinks sea water then gets the runs on the beach.
he sheds and sheds and sheds his hair is everywhere ,even though we groom him daily , hoovering twice a day.
he will fetch but wants you to chase him to retrieve.
we love him, he is part of the family but i will never bring a large breed into my life again.

Cherry Blossom

Other than the shedding (which comes with the breed and sorry, but will only get worse as the dog gets older)- all of this is completely manageable,

What training have you done with this dog?
What are you feeding him?
How much exercise does he get?
Is he neutered?
Has he been properly socialised?
How much time does he spend alone every day?

Sorry - it's not really clear what your question is so I just took the question to be - What are the reasons for all this?

TooManyDogs

Ahhh I hate when that happens. You should have given him the research books

Seriously though, he sounds like a perfectly normal, healthy dog. Enjoy him

tazwaz

He's behaving like a typical dog :-)
I had a springer who nearly got me knocked down sooo many times by dragging me across the road so he could meet the other dogs, drank so much water while swimming that he had the runs for the nite, wouldn't come out of the water till he was good and ready, was brilliant at counter surfing (still have no idea how he managed to get on the counter tops), he felt it was his job to welcome in visitors..I could go on and on but still he was he was precious to me :-)
we brought him to dog training classes and it made a massive difference so maybe try that?

Vince32

Agree with AJ on all his points, when you wake up, book him into a dog training programme ( most are 6 weeks, some longer)
Big breeds need 2, 30 minute walks a day as minimum more if you can, if he can't be trusted off leash, then don't let him off leash ( until trained, and then it's not 100% )

Groom your dog every day, light brushing will remove most of the shed fur then you can just vacuum it up, there are grooming tools available at most pet stores.

If you have no choice to leave him alone buy some kong toys and put some peanut butter and a biscuit in it. That will keep it "amused" for hours. heres a vid.

http://youtu.be/G5K_1w5fcAs <- chewing when your away
http://youtu.be/vIdeT5S9u4Y <- leash training
http://youtu.be/9YL3idB4QTc <- Jumping on guests
http://youtu.be/aBCe90hHFLo <- Playing fetch

As for drinking sea water, this is something the dog will have to figure out on its own, you can help by having a long retractable leash and gently tugging your dog away from the water when it starts drinking.

Everything about training a dog takes serious commitment and the ability to follow through, but thankfully your dog wants to please you so it wont be too difficult, just start small, don't get mad and reward / praise lavishly when the dog does good.

other than that, you dog is typical and not bad dog or a good dog, its a dog thats what they do unless you train them not too.

Honestly get into training asap, in a class or group and you will notice a huge difference in just a few days to weeks.

On leash training, one hair pulling exercise you can try is, when the dog starts pulling, stop walking, say "this way" and move in the opposite direction, rinse and repeat. This method is so frustrating I found myself getting angry at my dog, now though 5 weeks later she can both heel on a short leash and run on ahead on a long leash, and she knows the difference. Nearly drove me to drink lol, but we did it as a team.

If your not having fun and playing, training will be increasingly difficult, but if you are the dog will just want to "play" your game, and when it wins, praise it, treat it and get really excited. It will come. Give it 3 weeks and tell me I was wrong :P

Good luck with your GR they are magnificent animals

Vince32

double post

tk123

skylight1987 wrote: »

but i will never bring a large breed into my life again.

Ah but all sizes of dogs need to be trained at the end of the day. I think a lot of what you're experiencing which is normal btw just goes unchecked with smaller breeds! My dog is no angel but he's better behaved than a LOT of dogs we meet because I've put time in training him. I'm always delighted with myself when I see a little dog dragging say a man along and and little old 5ft me with my GR strolling along beside me on a nice loose lead :pac:

How old is he now? Have you done any training with him at all? Retrievers are greedy pigs - so you can use this to your advantage for training using treats.

A basic obedience class should help for pulling on the lead/towards people/going nuts when visitors come and maybe the sea water if you could get him to leave it? If you let us know where you're based we can suggest trainers/classes.

For chewing - I started my guy with puppy nylabones when he was small and he's moved up in size as he's gotten older and stronger (he's almost 2 and half) he sits with them in his bed and chews them everyday and doesn't chew anything else up.

For wanting a chase - this is a retriever thing -they LOVE a game of chasing. If you don't want to oblige him have you tried eg using 2 sticks - when he's gotten the first one you throw the second and he should drop the first. Will he retrieve at home at all? My guy will retrieve home and at the beach all day long but only started retrieving in the park in the last while - like all of a sudden one day he just started it and everyone was amazed lol

For shedding -what kind of brushes are you using? I use a furminator, rake and slicker. I stopped using the furminator for a while as I'd read they can damage the coat but after reading up more on it I went back to using it. I tried it on my own hair like somebody else who was worried too lol(yes I know that sounds mad lol) and it was fine so no worries with it. Also are you washing him at all or just brushing him? I found with my guy if he gets wet down to the undercoat loads of hair comes out and it cuts down on day to day shedding.

Btw for drinking the sea water - I lol'd when I read that - often if a dog is running around the place they'll have a loose poo so it could be just a co-incidence?

SingItOut

With him chewing (believe me I know how frustrating that is) you need to provide him with hard plastic toys, kong toys are fantastic (ours is still suriving after 3 years, put some peanut butter in it & it will keep your dog occupied for an hour or two), get him some post mans legs bones from a pet shop or beef bones from a butchers (I get mine free in the butchers). Their are loads of toys/bones you can get to deter chewing. My labrador retriever didn't fully mature until he was about 3 years old, honestly he was a pain in the ass but now at 5 years he's almost a model citizen however he does take a dislike to certain socks/shoes/blankets now & then At 18 months your dog is still really a baby & won't begin to mature until after the 2 or 3 year mark.

With him pulling, have you heard of a halti harness? the one that goes on their face and attaches to their collar? they keep your dog by your side and under your control. I used one of those with my guy for maybe a year but then got this Easy Walk Harness honestly the easy walk harness is a godsend! You can also buy a shorter lead to keep your dog from pulling.

Don't let him drink sea water, could be anything in it. Take him to a river instead if you can, he'll burn off so much more of that hyperness swimming around, then he wont have much energy to switch into destruction mode.

Retrievers are lovers, as I'm sure you know, & need to be the in the centre of everything. You need to teach your dog it is not acceptable to jump on everybody without their permission. You can combat that with simply pushing him down and saying AH! Stop! No! whatever word you use. When the door knocks/bell rings make him sit down before opening the door. If that doesn't work then put him in an empty room or outside and the message will soon get through to him, they are an intelligent breed (surprisingly so!) and will pick up on their faults very quickly.

As for the shedding, that comes with the breed. A vet recommended we put olive oil over our labs dry food, we had no choice because our dog was chasing and eating his fur as it blew off him :rolleyes: Other than that you may just keep brushing him unfortunately.

The Sweeper

Get a trainer in - a good, positive rewards based trainer. Everything you describe can be fixed with training.

he chews

My lad does this too. Take everything valuable out of his reach and give him toys like kongs stuffed with raw mince and frozen, and the everlasting treat ball (without the treats - my lad loves the ball on its own). Every so often, commit to a clean up and give him something like an empty pizza box out in the garden. He'll have a whale of a time tearing it to bits.

he pulls constantly on his lead and god help you if he sees another dog

I have this problem too. I haven't had the time to do some training work on it yet, so for now we use a special harness leash that prevents him from pulling me off my feet.

he knocks visitors down when they call, racing up and down the hall with excitment


My dog has a mat and he's trained to go to his mat when there's a door knock. If he's not on his mat, I don't open the door. On his mat, he gets treats while he stays there. Visitors know to ignore him totally when they come in. Get a few committed friends and get them to help you (you need someone who doesn't mind standing on the doorstep for ages while you don't answer the door until the dog settles).

Watch a few episodes of 'It's me or the dog' - Victoria Stilwell repeatedly addresses 'front door manners' with unruly dogs and you can literally just imitate what she does. Whether you're behind her or Caesar Milan, her front door techniques really do work. So do her 'ignore the jumping dog' techniques.

he drinks sea water then gets the runs on the beach.

You can buy these waterproof fold up drinking bowls to give your dog fresh water. They're easy to carry along and just bring a bottle of fresh water and a folding bowl along with the ball, treats and poo bag you carry.

he sheds and sheds and sheds his hair is everywhere ,even though we groom him daily , hoovering twice a day.

As others have said, investigate grooming tools.

he will fetch but wants you to chase him to retrieve.

Again, this is fixable - you need to have something in your hand that he wants more than what he's got in his mouth. A treat may do it if he's food driven, otherwise his favourite toy. Teach him the 'leave it' command - after a while, the dog will realise that bringing the ball back to you means you throw it again, which is the best bit of the game. Never chase him because that's huge fun for him, and if he thinks he'll get a chase he'll never trade down for a treat, he'll wait until you chase him.

How's your recall with him, does he come back when called?

LucyBliss

You can do all the research in the world and read all the books but nothing, nothing can prepare you for when you actually get the dog and realise this cute creature has a personality all its own and thinks you're really nice and loves you to bits, but some days would much rather dig in the garden than learn to sit down and stay.

As other people above has given some great tips for helping the dog calm down a bit, I won't bother. I will just say that we've had small and big dogs and it doesn't matter what size they are. At 18 months old, they're still big pups and act as such and all you can do is hunker down, go back to basics and stock up on the booze/chocolate for when they go to sleep and you get ready for the next day's fun.

Stick with it. He's still young and if you put in the work now, by the time he really matures and hits the three year mark, he'll be so different and you'll look fondly on these days and say "remember when he was such an adorable little heartscald? Aww!"

Oh, and seawater goes right through dogs. It's something you just have to put up with if you go to the beach and they drink the water.

are you serious

I thought this was some kind of poem with a twist at the end no?

cocker5

he chews .

he's 18 months... my cocker chewed until 2 years of age.... what are you doing to try and stop this? make sure he has plenty of his OWN chew toys... ie kongs etc. also get a tub of crib halt (see link below) this will stop him chewing stuff he shouldnt (ie legs of chairs / decking etc)

http://www.triequestrian.ie/tri-equestrian-product-categories/for-the-horse/detail/95-cribbing-products/youjoomla/1844-crib-halt.html?sef=hcfp


he pulls constantly on his lead and god help you if he sees another dog.

what training have you done with him??? do you have a halti? or dogmatic? these can help massively with pulling.

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

he knocks visitors down when they call, racing up and down the hall with excitment.

he sounds like any normal dog... all dogs will do this if you allow them to.... you need to train him to stop... also sounds like lack of exercise....

he drinks sea water then gets the runs on the beach.
my cocker does this too... plus he eats the seaweed... personally i dont see the problem on this one.

he sheds and sheds and sheds his hair is everywhere ,even though we groom him daily , hoovering twice a day.

Get him clipped... I have my cocker cilpped quiet short as we dont want the house destroyed.

have you tried the furminator?? http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_grooming_care/grooming_tools/furminator/261308

he will fetch but wants you to chase him to retrieve.

Normal... my cocker does the same

we love him, he is part of the family but i will never bring a large breed into my life again.

feel very sad reading your post.... Im sorry but what you listed above is your dogs fault, sounds like lack of training and possibly excercise... yes you bought the books.... yes you researched the breed... but what training have you actually done?? no dog is perfect, with lots of training and excercise my cocker clamed down at around 2... and now he is the perfect dog.... yes it took two years of us training him and lots of patience but my god was he worth it, cant imagine my life without him. :rolleyes:

a puppy / dog regardless needs lots of training, time and consistency... all thge issues you mentioned above are training issues NOT breed related or your dogs fault, im sorry to say but it the owners fault. you will only get out of a dog the effort you put in .....

what are you feeding your dog? make sure he's not on puppy food or supermarket brands (or tinned food ) these will cause hyperness in dogs and add to his bad behaviour.

What exercise is he getting?

Is he neutered?

all the issues you mentioned can be sorted no problem... if you make changes and put the effort in.

Best of luck

callmekenneth

that retreivors and labs for you, they're nuts and have too much energy, they're not designed to be inside dogs really, i'd never have one. there are big breeds that know how to chill, yours isnt one of them unfortunately

skylight1987

thanks for all the advice folks . i will def look into the halti and sending him to his mat when there is a knock on the door . the shedding, we have a great brush but it just keeps coming.this was more of a venting post after a tough day where i was pulled ,dragged and jumped on.i know it will get better but somtimes i need to be able to moan, give out about him and vent my frustration.

tk123

callmekenneth wrote: »

that retreivors and labs for you, they're nuts and have too much energy, they're not designed to be inside dogs really, i'd never have one. there are big breeds that know how to chill, yours isnt one of them unfortunately

Rubbish! My retriever is chills out all day - he's at home now snoozing on the couch!:pac:

Vince32

rofl good mental health for you is just as important for the owners as well as the dogs, you did the right thing getting it off your chest, sometimes a sympathetic ear is all you really need

But on a serious note, if the dog is stressing you, training classes will make your life wonderful again, to quote a fav song of mine "peace will rule the planets, and love will rule the earth"

Zulu

Untrue!!! We've a great 13 month old Lab. She did all that, and worse, but with a bit of perserverance, she does what we ask.

OP, do you walk him? Honestly, EVERYDAY, do you take him for a 60min+ walk??

he chews

so does ours, but only what we give her to chew. When she tried to chew something we didn't want, we'd say clearly "NO" and immidatly offer her something we wanted her to chew, "chew that".

Note: If we don't walk her, or only take her on a short 40min walk, her chewing is far worse, & she'll chew things she knows she's not supposed to. If I take her for a 2/3hour walk, she won't chew at all.

he pulls constantly on his lead and god help you if he sees another dog

So does ours. Well, at least at the very start of the walk. Consistantly, when we approach another dog at the start of a walk "SsssiIT". Now when she's too much energy, I stop & she sits. The other dog either approaches & they say hello or the other dogs passes.

With the lead pulling, as soon as she pulls I stop. EVERYTIME. She pulls; I stop. She pulls; I stop. She pulls; I stop. Sure you'll end up stopping about 15-25 times at the start of the walk, but they learn VERY quickly - IF you are consistant. Now my dog doesn't pull me, but she does my wife. Why? Because, after 5 times stopping, my wife used to give up & the dog knows this.

Again, how long is the walk? And are you walking everyday?? On the way back from a 3/4hour hill walk, our dog has very, very little interest in other dogs, and is trailing at my heel off lead.

he knocks visitors down when they call, racing up and down the hall with excitment.

Well we haven't this perfect yet by a long shot, but then thats our own fault, as we get her all worked up when either of us are at the door. This is a case of a bad owner, not a bad dog for us.

he drinks sea water then gets the runs on the beach.

So does ours, but thankfully she doesnt get the runs. I think all dogs do this.

he sheds and sheds and sheds his hair is everywhere ,even though we groom him daily , hoovering twice a day.

...well thats dogs. I hear the Dayson have a great hover product that hovers dog hair, might be worth looking into.

he will fetch but wants you to chase him to retrieve.

Consistancy: never chase him. Also, have two of everything. If you are throwing a tennisball, have two. He legs it after one, brings it back, and looks for a chase. You don't chase. You offer the second toy. He's interested. You pretend to throw. "Get the ball, get the ball" all excited. He's get's very excited. He drops the first ball. THEN, you throw the second ball. When he's running after the second ball, pick up the first, and repeat.

marley123

Never heard so much rubbish in my life!! Its common knowledge Retrievers & Labs make excellent family pets.

Mine is 45kilos & walks beautifully on a Halti - have you tried one ?

Do you have a selection of thinks likes Kongs full of frozen food etc to keep him busy - If a dog is kept busy & mentally stimulated they are much less likely to destroy things!

My guy goes nuts when new people come into house - solution Babygate between rooms so he can great but not knock anyone over.. as soon as he calms down the baby gate is opened.

If recall not great, try some training with this in an enclosed dog park or if out walking on beach use a long line, that way he has freedom but you can regain control if necessary..

Furminator has helped with our chap but still hoover twice a day !

callmekenneth wrote: »

that retreivors and labs for you, they're nuts and have too much energy, they're not designed to be inside dogs really, i'd never have one. there are big breeds that know how to chill, yours isnt one of them unfortunately

suziwalsh

skylight1987 wrote: »

thanks for all the advice folks . i will def look into the halti and sending him to his mat when there is a knock on the door . the shedding, we have a great brush but it just keeps coming.this was more of a venting post after a tough day where i was pulled ,dragged and jumped on.i know it will get better but somtimes i need to be able to moan, give out about him and vent my frustration.

Get a coat king and some furminator shampoo to help with shedding....look at his diet too as that can cause shedding problems if its excessive. Consider getting him a professional groom every so ofter.

For the pulling get a front connection harness like a halti harness (not a head collar) any good shop will size it for you and allow you to have a go of it.

Book yourself in to some obedience classes and then you can learn from someone experienced to will make life a whole lot easier

tk123

Chilling like a villain:

Léan

callmekenneth wrote: »

that retreivors and labs for you, they're nuts and have too much energy, they're not designed to be inside dogs really, i'd never have one. there are big breeds that know how to chill, yours isnt one of them unfortunately

We've had a few Labs over the years and they were very lazy. Quite happy to flop by the fire or climb into the bed with you :pac:. And they were always inside dogs.

LucyBliss

skylight1987 wrote: »

this was more of a venting post after a tough day where i was pulled ,dragged and jumped on.i know it will get better but somtimes i need to be able to moan, give out about him and vent my frustration.

Heh, that's true. It's not easy when they go bonkers on you and all you want is just a sign that the training is having some kind of effect! It does get better though. I had one that I told my mother crying one night that I was never walking again because of what he'd put me through with the pulling and jumping! But I stuck with it and now a year later, he walks great. And he doesn't make me cry anymore so, progress!

Loopie

OP, my lab sounds somewhere similar to your dog (though we did teach her to sit on command, she now does this straight away when you're looking at her, you can almost see her braing going "TREAT YUM").

We're starting her in obdience classes in Dublin tomorrow night, should be absolutely hilarious, but I can let you know how it goes if you think it might be a route you might take?

They are amazing dogs but can be a handful unless they have some semblance of manners!

Slightly off topic but I've seen a few of you mention putting frozen food in kongs? What sort of food? Uncooked mince? We've a 10 month old lab, amazing but mischievous dog! She loves the kong but the mush that you can buy for them is a) v.expensive IMO and b) presumably full of words ending in "-xide" and that can't be good for her.

Loopie

tk123 wrote: »

Chilling like a villain:

tk123, is this where you come into the sitting room and realise you may have to sit on the floor?!?!?!

RubyGirl

callmekenneth wrote: »

that retreivors and labs for you, they're nuts and have too much energy, they're not designed to be inside dogs really, i'd never have one. there are big breeds that know how to chill, yours isnt one of them unfortunately

I'd have to disagree, I have 3 labs & a retriever and once they get walked they will just chill out. They are all under 3 yrs aswell.

tk123

Loopie wrote: »

tk123, is this where you come into the sitting room and realise you may have to sit on the floor?!?!?!

No we have another couch lol!! That was taken the day we took his crate down after 6 weeks of crate rest! :pac:

DBB

Loopie wrote: »

Slightly off topic but I've seen a few of you mention putting frozen food in kongs? What sort of food? Uncooked mince? We've a 10 month old lab, amazing but mischievous dog! She loves the kong but the mush that you can buy for them is a) v.expensive IMO and b) presumably full of words ending in "-xide" and that can't be good for her.

Hi Loopie,
Here's a link to the Kong website's suggested recipes for Kong Toys:
http://www.kongcompany.com/tips-and-expert-advice/recipes

OP, as has been suggested but just to support the suggestions, I think you'd get huge benefit from going to training classes, or better still, a one-to-one session with a good trainer or behaviourist. You will be amazed at what you can achieve within just one session at home, and it should make you feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel.:)