Help with Lab Puppy

[KingWheatley]

If I didn't have to work as often, I'd have a husky or German shepherd. I'd be working with either of them to teach them show-tricks just for the fun of it.

Would I be successful? Heck if I know. But I think the training alone would be fun for the puppy. Most dogs have such a drive to please their owner. It saddens me when people don't get that.

In this case, though, I'd say it's the equivalent to the horse owners around Lexington.

There are a huge majority of horse owners who own horses and farms just to SAY they own them. They don't do anything with them except have the horses stalled. It's so disturbing to me.

I don't get the culture of owning just for the sake of owning. I relish in the thought of utilizing an animal to its potential. Perhaps only to show it off, yes, but the joy between pet and owner of doing something together seems like such a pleasant way to bond.


Herp Derp

[KingWheatley]

I think my next pet, rather than a dog, if not another reptile, will be a bird. Though a lot more work, and a lot messy...

To be honest... I'm working myself step by step to be a vet through individual animal experience. Eventually I'd like to go to school and get a degree, but I want to have experience with animals first.


Herp Derp

[rabernet]

I never said it wasn't. I said it depends on the dog and isn't always 100% necessary, because the person above said they wouldn't even consider a dog if it wasn't crate trained.

Let me clarify a bit - Noah wasn't crate trained when we first picked him up - we trained him to the crate.

For US, we have always crate trained our puppies, and they've "graduated" from the necessity of crating them after they reach a year old, and they've also still chosen to go into their crates on their own (door open) after that.

And, since we do dog sports, a crate is necessary at many of the events, while you're waiting for your turn - it's a quiet place for them to rest, drink water and cool off (I have a fan blowing directly on him in the summer).

So I value a dog that has been crate trained, for various reasons.

And just because - a few pictures of my boy.

[KingWheatley]

Let me clarify a bit - Noah wasn't crate trained when we first picked him up - we trained him to the crate.

For US, we have always crate trained our puppies, and they've "graduated" from the necessity of crating them after they reach a year old, and they've also still chosen to go into their crates on their own (door open) after that.

And, since we do dog sports, a crate is necessary at many of the events, while you're waiting for your turn - it's a quiet place for them to rest, drink water and cool off (I have a fan blowing directly on him in the summer).

So I value a dog that has been crate trained, for various reasons.

And just because - a few pictures of my boy.

Such fab...


Herp Derp

[KingWheatley]

My roommate and I hit an understanding.

Being Mexican, part of their culture growing up is learning from their own mistakes. If they want to touch the stove top so bad, the parents let them, so they can learn. At least this is what my roommate told me.

So I explained to him that to some extent, dogs are like children, yes, but with severe short term memory loss. We had watched Finding Nemo + Dory (I love those movies) and I told him to picture the puppy like he is Dory. Extremely high energy, very excitable, eager to please, and in seconds will forget whatever it was that was happening before.

So let's say the dog chews a remote and poops on the floor at the same time. A noise happens that distracts him. He checks it out. Owner is coming home. All come back to the crime scene. "Whoa! Who did this!??" *sniff* "Oh... oh that's my poo. I did this... why did I do that?" *sad puppy*


Herp Derp

[Fraido]

Let me clarify a bit - Noah wasn't crate trained when we first picked him up - we trained him to the crate.

For US, we have always crate trained our puppies, and they've "graduated" from the necessity of crating them after they reach a year old, and they've also still chosen to go into their crates on their own (door open) after that.

And, since we do dog sports, a crate is necessary at many of the events, while you're waiting for your turn - it's a quiet place for them to rest, drink water and cool off (I have a fan blowing directly on him in the summer).

So I value a dog that has been crate trained, for various reasons.

And just because - a few pictures of my boy.

I'm just saying in general it is not ALWAYS necessary for everyone.

[rabernet]

I'm just saying in general it is not ALWAYS necessary for everyone.

I'll give you that, but it's the rare puppy that's been perfect from the very start. In most cases, I believe a crate (or X-Pen) is an important tool in raising a well balanced dog.

[Nellasaur]

So let's say the dog chews a remote and poops on the floor at the same time. A noise happens that distracts him. He checks it out. Owner is coming home. All come back to the crime scene. "Whoa! Who did this!??" *sniff* "Oh... oh that's my poo. I did this... why did I do that?" *sad puppy*

Honestly, KW, even that's still not quite right, and the only reason I'm still harping on this is because getting it right is a big part of effective training and behavior mod with dogs. The pupper isn't thinking "I did this... why did I do that?" *sad puppy*; that still implies a certain amount of associative thinking that most dogs just don't have. What the pup is thinking in this situation is "Oh that's my poo. And my people are angry and yelling. What's in the room-- poo? Poo makes my people angry, so I must never poo around them again. *sad, anxious puppy*" He's not associating the ACT of defecating with the response, he's associating the very presence of the stool with the owner's angry response. Or, alternatively, he won't be able to consistently associate ANYTHING with the owner being angry or upset, and then learns that his owner's moods are capricious and unpredictable and that he should always be afraid around his owner.

Again, that's why it's super super important to avoid showing anger and upset after the fact when destruction or accidents are found. The only thing that could possibly do is teach the dog to be afraid of either random items or locations in the home, or of the owners.

[KingWheatley]

Honestly, KW, even that's still not quite right, and the only reason I'm still harping on this is because getting it right is a big part of effective training and behavior mod with dogs. The pupper isn't thinking "I did this... why did I do that?" *sad puppy*; that still implies a certain amount of associative thinking that most dogs just don't have. What the pup is thinking in this situation is "Oh that's my poo. And my people are angry and yelling. What's in the room-- poo? Poo makes my people angry, so I must never poo around them again. *sad, anxious puppy*" He's not associating the ACT of defecating with the response, he's associating the very presence of the stool with the owner's angry response. Or, alternatively, he won't be able to consistently associate ANYTHING with the owner being angry or upset, and then learns that his owner's moods are capricious and unpredictable and that he should always be afraid around his owner.

Again, that's why it's super super important to avoid showing anger and upset after the fact when destruction or accidents are found. The only thing that could possibly do is teach the dog to be afraid of either random items or locations in the home, or of the owners.

I caught myself thinking "you literally repeated what I said but worded it different."

I think now it's either semantics or I'm just stupid...

I'll go with the latter.


Herp Derp

[KingWheatley]

My roommate is taking him out on runs now he hasn't chewed anything up for a couple days.


Herp Derp