New dog!!!

[Giggles]

OK - I love my new dog! I already have a 4 year old cocker spaniel and we just took a 3 year old golden retriever off a friend's hands. The problem is - he has pretty much always been an outside dog. We were told that he was housebroken, but it's looking more and more like he was just an outside dog and doesn't really understand the difference. Any suggestions on breaking him fast? We decided to go ahead and crate him during the day for now and see how that goes.

ALSO - HE'S MARKING!!!! AAAAA!!!! IN OUR HOUSE!!!!!! ANd, to make it worse - last night (ok, start laughing - cause this one's funny for everyone else) he marked on ME!!!! I was sitting on the couch and he just came right up, lifted his leg and let it go on my legs and the couch!!! I understand that as far as a dog is concerned it's a good thing (I think that's them saying that they will fight for us or their territory), but for us??? I was crying I was so upset. Anyone know how to stop this?

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks, all!

 

[Miller]

when we housebroke our puppy, any time he went in the house, we would say "No, bad dog" and then take him outside while saying "bathroom time" and pulling him outside by his collar. But don't seem too upset because he'll be reluctant to go with you. We never hit or raised a hand to him. After a week or 2, he was trained.

I have no experience with a 3 year old though.

 

[Newbie]

house training

My mom got a dog when it was a year or two old, and they never could house train him. He marked everything. He lives outside now

When my dog was a puppy, we spanked her when she went in the house (not very hard, but hard enough for her to not want it to happen again), and we made her go outside right then. We also had to let her out frequently, like every few hours, so she would get the idea that going outside was for using the bathroom. It took a few weeks.

 

[kirsten]

I'm assuming he's not fixed.

Getting that done should probably be step one - I believe that should cut down on the "marking his territory". Crating him is also a good idea. I had never trained a dog using a crate before, but the vet recommended it, so we bought one. Since we have 2 big dogs, now we have 2 crates and the creates are life savers, let me tell you. We work long hours so sometimes they have to hold it for a long period of time. The vet explained that as long as they can't get up and walk around (ex. in the crate) they shouldn't have too many problems. The trick is to get them in the habit of going directly outside the minute you take them out of the crate. We crate them while we are at work (unless it's not too hot or too cold and we can leave them outside) and at night when we go to bed. They really don't mind it. In fact, their cages are in my laundry area downstairs and if I'm home doing laundry, they will both go into their cages on their own to lay there and watch me. When they hear my hairspray in the morning, they know I'm just about ready to go, and they'll both go to the top of the stairs and wait for me to take them down. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[Jalon]

goldens

We have a golden retriever and they are extremely smart, so he should learn quickly. If you can, contain him in a large crate, or in a laundry room or small bathroom, then take him outside and give him a verbal cue (we say "go hurry up") and use that cue all the time. When he does his business, praise him like crazy, give him a small treat/biscuit, and let him back in the house. He should then be able to be in the house for awhile without being contained in the small room. After 2-3 hours (a 3 yr old dog should be able to hold his bladder that long), take him outside and do not let him back in until he's done "something". Then do the praise thing again.

For marking, immediately catch him in the act and give a firm "NO" or "OFF", take him outside. If he's not neutered, it's worth having it done to save your house. He'll mark less if neutered, usually. You can buy "Nature's Miracle" at a pet store and that will help remove any odors.

Good luck! Goldens are such awesome dogs! Mine visits my classroom and I ask reluctant readers to read to him (5th grade) and everyone loves his visits. :-)

 

[Giggles]

great advice

Thanks everyone. Jalon - that's what we have been doing and it seems to be working. We did decide to keep him in his crate during the day and at night - just to try to get him in a routine. His eating routine is off too. He's only eaten like 3 cups of food in 3 days. Luckily we have a big porch we can have him hang out on, too, at times. He's also not neutered and we decided day 1 that we need to do that ASAP!

Also - my cocker is happier now. It's taken him a couple of days to adjust to his new big little brother:>) They are finally starting to play together a little bit, etc. We even popped the Golden with the newspaper last night because he's picking things up off of our coffee table - and the cocker came at us in the Golden's defense! It was kinda cute.

What a great idea - to have the dog come visit the classroom. I wouldn't 100% trust my cocker, but yes, definitely the Golden. He's got the sweetest personality and doesn't leave my side.

 

[Jalon]

eating

He's probably a little nervous and just not eating much right now. That will probably change. It's good you're giving him a consistent routine...he'll respond to that well, I bet!

Our golden is 9 yrs old and he still has bursts of "puppiness", but he is the most laid back, gentle, sweet dog I've ever known. Goldens are just awesome, I know you'll love your new addition!