Just adopted 3 month old golden

• 10-08-2007 5:23 PM

  mama_mojo Joined on 07-16-2007 Champlain Valley Posts 47 Points 0

  Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact and he is amazing to me.  Our recently deceased boxer was a delight, a ball of energy, and silly as the day is long, but she was HARD to train.  We loved the challenge, but we now have three young children, and felt an easier breed might be a better choice.  So, this puppy learned his name and how to walk on lead (NOT heel, just follow us with the lead) in about 18 hours, 12 of which he was asleep.  He learned our elimination expectations between one potty break and the next.  He learned to sit in about 3 minutes.  He figured out our routine seemingly overnight.  We have crate trained him (once a day, about 2 hours while we do our main home school work), and we have a great area to work on off leash stuff.  His recall is currently more reliable than my dear boxer's ever was.   My question- Now what?  We play, we are introducing fetching, we are introducing water (giving the chance to get wet), we are working on "down" during dinner.  It almost sounds like the poor dog must be hard at work all day long, but that's not how it is.  He just learns so fast.  What should we do for him to keep it fun and interesting?    Also, he does not do lots of silly puppy stuff.  He picks up some "off-limits" items 2 or 3 times a day, mostly during our evening bedtime routine, and we are working on "leave it". he is not too interested in learning this.  How do I train it?  He gets three good romps a day, and has the opportunity to be with us pretty much steadily, but he never does the crazy careening our boxer puppy did.  Are goldens usually goofy as puppies?  My reading led me to expect just as much "trouble" with this puppy as we had with our boxer, but so far, he's a dream.  Will he loosen up after he's with us a bit longer?  It's been 8 days.   Long Enough- Rachael   Rachael "Most of us, male or female, work at full-time jobs that seem organized around the presumption that some wifely person is at home picking up the slack- ... but in fact June Cleaver has left the premises."

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• 10-08-2007 6:18 PM

  In reply to mama_mojo

  Chuffy Joined on 12-17-2006 UK Posts 5,510 Points 10

  Re: Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact You don't mention what socialisarion he is getting.  Getting him out and about to experience a wide variety of sights, smells, sounds and new people, dogs etc. is very important.  His early experiences should be positive.  Have you thought of a training class?  It sounds like you know what you are doing but it will help no end by giving you an opportunity to practise with the dog in the presence of other dogs and will also provide an opportunity for the pup to play with other pups his age... great for his development. Do you have a hollow toy you can stuff with food for him, so he can work to get the stuff out?  Or a marrow bone (you might need to take some marrow out so it is not too rich for his tummy)?  Have you tried freeshaping? There are lots of ways of teaching Leave it... here is one 1. Get a clicker.  "Charge" it. 2. Hold a treat in your closed hand and wait.  The dog will try to get at the treat.  Don't correct this, let him experiment.  Just wait.  Eventually he will look at you - CLICK!  Reward.  3. You can do the same thing at dinner; once you have him waiting nicely for it don't release him till he looks at you.  Doors is another one.... in our house bums must be on the floor for the door to open and the door closes if bums come up.  I wait for eye contact, then I give the OK.  Teach him "you can have what you want ONLY when you back off from it and check in with me".  It ties in nicely with NILIF anyway.  Once he gets the idea you can add the cue.   In future you can use the "leave it" for a variety of things... some of that stuff he will not "earn" by leaving it, but some stuff he will.  You can continue to practise at meal time for example.  And when his bladder is more mature, at doorways too.  You can work up the level of distraction until you can get him to "leave" other dogs he meets.  After you have checked if the other dog is ok you can release him to play whenever possible.  You may see a change of behaviour when the "honeymoon period" ends.  Just be consistent and set him up for success.... it is very easy to forget when you have such a "good" puppy that they really ARE still very young with very much to learn and to therefore raise the bar too high for them.  You are very likely to see a change as he reaches an age where he begins to feel more independent.... This happened around 5mos with our pup (a collie X).  Her recall was previously perfect and as a result we became complacent.... bad idea!  And obviously a likely set back at puberty.  make it very easy to succeed and hard to get wrong... "Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." (Pratchett, Jingo) "I used to look at [my dog] Smokey and think, 'If you were a little smarter you could tell me what you were thinking,' and he'd look at me like he was saying, 'If you were a little smarter, I wouldn't have to.'" - Fred Jungclaus

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• 10-09-2007 3:48 PM

  In reply to Chuffy

  mama_mojo Joined on 07-16-2007 Champlain Valley Posts 47 Points 0

  Re: Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact Thank you!  Very helpful ideas.  We take him with us where we go, and we have back door neighbors with two dogs to play with.  Also, I have signed us up for  basic obedience class with the understanding that it will be very low key for him, as he is so young.   I appreciate the heads up about his getting more difficult when slightly older.  I did not know this, or had forgotten, or...  well, anyway, thanks! I like the eye contact idea.  I'll start working on that right away.   Rachael "Most of us, male or female, work at full-time jobs that seem organized around the presumption that some wifely person is at home picking up the slack- ... but in fact June Cleaver has left the premises."

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• 10-09-2007 3:53 PM

  In reply to mama_mojo

  Maxs Mom Joined on 09-26-2006 Livonia, MI Posts 1,583 Points 100

  Re: Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact One thing about Goldens I have found is "they want to please!" Anything you ask he will probably find extremely fun and interesting! My senior Golden literally still "attacks" commands with speed and efficiency, and looks for more! I think the thing I am guilty of as a Golden owner is not doing enough. Both my girls know their commands so I don't practice as I should, they would both love me to. They like to work, play anything that involves interaction. I have my pup involved in agility, rally O, dock jumping, obedience and if time and money would allow I would like to try field work and perhaps tracking. I think I have worn Teddi out, and she comes home and is looking for someone to play with. On the other hand they also like to be contently pet and rubbed too. They are also the ultimate couch and bed potatoes. That is why I love the breed, easy to train and fun to have. Goldens in my opinion are much easier than boxers. Not that boxers are bad or hard, but containing their HUGE motivation and drive, takes a strong person in my book. My lab was our "problem" child. I kept telling my husband that Maxine was born perfect and we must not compare. However Teddi has been just as easy as Max. Belle is far more high maintenance still, and I consider Teddi to be high drive and high energy. Tell me more I want to hear more. Post pics if you can, I am not one to talk I don't have any pictures posted yet. Need to someday do that. Ann & Art Maxine CGC, UADNJIII, DDNJ-r (11 yr old Golden) Belle NJP, NAJ, OJP, CGC, UAGI, UADSJ, UADJJ (5 Black Lab) Teddi UADJJ, UJJ, CGC (1 1/2 yr old Golden) Pete 14 yr old TB

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• 10-09-2007 8:48 PM

  In reply to Maxs Mom

  mama_mojo Joined on 07-16-2007 Champlain Valley Posts 47 Points 0

  Re: Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact I am bad about taking pictures as I my hands are so often full with little hands and/or a leash.  It falls to my husband, so I just wait for him to do it.  (perhaps I prompt him) Let's see... our puppy's name is Elmer, and he loves the kids, but responds best to my 7 year-old son.  My son is the one most likely to go with me when I take Elmer for a romp, so it's not surprising.  Elmer is VERY tolerant of my 2 year old, but I keep close watch because he is so much stronger, and she is oh-so-foolish.  I worked on the eye contact thing about 4 times for under 2 minutes each time this afternoon, and he seems to be already understanding what I am asking of him.  I sat with him to show him just what I want when I give the down command, and he seemed to be just almost understanding after 3 tries.  I really end up doing these little tiny training sessions all through the day, because I quit introducing new things once the kids get interested.  I am training them, but for now, they quickly muddy the waters of what I am trying to explain to Elmer.  We have two extra kids for one more day, and after that things will get easier.  My three are pretty dog savvy, and are quite willing to copy me, but the two who are staying with us say a command over and over without Elmer getting a chance to show them he knows what they mean.  It seems pretty unfair to him, so we do these mini-training sessions.  He showed signs today of trying to understand "leave it".  I know he's a dog and all that, but it's like he hears leave it, and takes his mouth off and watches to see my reaction.  Then he gently touches his nose to the object, which elicits another leave it.  Then he uses a paw...  He's really great!   Rachael "Most of us, male or female, work at full-time jobs that seem organized around the presumption that some wifely person is at home picking up the slack- ... but in fact June Cleaver has left the premises."

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• 10-09-2007 9:31 PM

  In reply to mama_mojo

  Liesje Joined on 03-02-2007 Grand Rapids, Michigan Posts 7,108 Points 850

  Re: Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact My dog is not a puppy, but she also picks up on things really quickly.  Sometimes in class we introduce a totally new skill and she'll have it figured out by the end of class.  I've discovered that she enjoys using her smarts as a game.  I use a really high, excited voice (I sound like a fool, you know what they say "be a fool for your dog") and just do fast sequences of obedience skills.  Just now we were doing this, practicing heeling while turning to the left (difficult b/c often the dog has to move back and you have to turn into the dog without bumping it) and also "drop", which means a "down" from moving (no sit in between, just BAM on the ground).  I sound something like *imagine an annoying, high pitched voice talking like a baby* "OK, Kenya, come along!  good girl! come along!  yes! good heel! good heel! ok.....DROP!  YES! good girl *treats* wait...ok, HEEL!  Yes! Come along, turnnnnnnn, yes!!!" and basically use my tone of voice to create more of a game than formal obedience practice.  Sometimes we do the same with positions, like "Ok Kenya....Sit!  Yes! now Stand!  Good girl! now DROP! yes! Sit! Down!  goooooog girl!!"  It's a win-win situation b/c the dog thinks it's the greatest game ever and I get to reinforce basic training AND train her to respond to my tone of voice and be attentive while having fun.  I'm also teaching her to "touch" (put her paw on) various objects and then to make it more challenging, I have them all out and say which one she has to touch.  Like the obedience game, the faster we do it and the higher my tone of voice, the more motivation I see from her.  I've been increasing the distance so that she has to run across the room to touch the object, then she hears the clicker and wants the reward so she runs right back to me.  Again, an indirect way of training her to be attentive to where I am.  vankelderdogs.dutchbingo.net U-CH Alta-Tollhaus-Krieger Lamb Chop RA CL1-F CL1-R TT HIC TDI CGC ("Kenya", GSD) VPC's Coca-Cola CGC ("Coke", All American) Alta-Tollhaus' Bono ("Nikon", GSD)

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• 10-10-2007 7:56 PM

  In reply to mama_mojo

  Chuffy Joined on 12-17-2006 UK Posts 5,510 Points 10

  Re: Just adopted 3 month old golden Reply Contact Keep doing your "mini" training sessions.  They are the very best kind!  The dog absorbs waaaaay more info this way.  A lot of it is that Goldens are very trainable, very handler-orientated, and bright.  But don't sell yourself short - a lot of his progress is down to the effort you are putting in, your instinct and knowledge... and I am thinking a lot of it is due to your mini training sessions as well.  Short and fun is ideal. "Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." (Pratchett, Jingo) "I used to look at [my dog] Smokey and think, 'If you were a little smarter you could tell me what you were thinking,' and he'd look at me like he was saying, 'If you were a little smarter, I wouldn't have to.'" - Fred Jungclaus

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