Dog Training & Health

[jaimeburns]

Hi, my name is Jaime and I am new to this site/board. I have a one year old lab/walker hound mix (accidental breeding lol). He is not the smartest dog, but once he learns something, he's got it. He's very loving and he's awesome with my kids, in fact he thinks he's one of them. Overall he's well behaved. He chews a bit, but we've figured out that it only happens when he's lonely (ie: we're all gone to work/school), so we just make sure that he has his own toys and that all of our stuff is out of reach. This has worked well for us (and our house is cleaner too lol). We live in the country so he gets to run loose most of the time, and he always comes back when he's called. He doesn't leave the property (anymore) and he pretty much stays out of stuff that he's not supposed to be in (ie: the shed).

However, we do have an issue that we can't seem to resolve. We love to camp, and have gone three times this year. The dog has come each time. Once we were camping at a friends property up north and he had the same rules as he has at home, and he loved it. The other two times we camped at a campground, and he had to be tied up or on a leash at all times. He is fine on the leash, and behaves quite well, even when it's our 4 year old walking him. The problem is that we can't always hold on to him, so at some point he has to be tied to something just so that we can have our hands free (like at dinner time). As soon as he realizes that he's tied up and that no one is holding the leash he starts crying, and he doesn't stop until he's untied. It's very frustrating because the other campers get upset. There was more than once that he and I were at the site alone while DH and the kids were swimming, playing ball, whatever, and I had to tie him up to pee, get changed, clean up, etc. Nothing I did appeased him, and he didn't obey me at all.

Any ideas on how to stop this? We're going camping again this weekend, and I don't want to be ticking off all the other campers.

TIA,

Jaime

[meezermom]

Hello Jaime and welcome to SeeFido!!

There must be something about the hounds and labs as that cross is seen rather often. Same comments too, not the brightest star in the sky but very loyal and loving! Some of the problem is your guy is still a baby mentally...He is a large breed dog and they are not mentally mature until close to three. He needs time to feel secure and he also needs to learn he is not the center of your home and family. Right now he certainly thinks he is... He is a bit insecure which is why he is carrying on so much when tied up. He also has been allowed to run and go where he pleases and now at the campground he is restricted, he isn't going to like it. And he is certainly going to make his opinions known! What you will need to do is starting restricting his movements at home to teach him he does not rule. He needs to learn that being tied up occasionally and being quiet will result in his release with a treat...This isn't going to help you this weekend I am afraid but will give you something to work on for later trips.

How is he about being crated or has he been crate trained? If not, you can try doing so but it may be quite difficult. He has not had restrictions on what he has wanted to do or where he has wanted to go so he is not going to accept this easily. A large collapsible wire crate should travel easily and allow him to still see you easily and you should be able to keep it pretty near your camp area so he won't feel so separated. For this weekend, you may simply have to have some family member hang on to him but after that, start training him to do what you want.

Also, read up on NILIF, found on our site, and put all of it into action. He needs to understand and learn his place in your family so he will be a content dog to follow the rules. As he is not listening to you, he knows he doesn't have to! Be sure you use consistent commands, be careful with your tone of voice. Dogs will "tune out" high pitched voices so lower your voice and sound more threatening. Use the "parent voice"! Also remember, just because he is normally allowed to run does not mean he should not have training! There are many very sick people out there today and you want to be sure he stays safe...

[jaimeburns]

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely be discussing those with hubby. I was thinking about the crate too, just wasn't sure how helpful it would be at this point in his life (would it be worth the hassle of training late compared to how often we would use it?). I will definitely check out that thread!

I forgot to mention, that he does occasionally get tied up at home, and he does fine there (usually because there's something going on at the neighbour's or there are other kids over - he gets rough sometimes and while he will listen to our kids when they tell him to stop, other kids tend to just get frightened).

Jaime

[meezermom]

Jaime, crate training can at times be a life saver!! Right now in California they are threatened with horrific fires and having a dog that is crate trained will make it much easier to evacuate safely and quickly.... There are times it is a necessary place to get your dog into fast for safety so you may want to consider trying it.... If he doesn't mind being tied at home, then it is anxiety at being in a strange place. You may just need to work around his fears and worries and have him attached to someone all the time until you get him trained and he is old enough to settle with the camping and such...

[haeveingridseyn]

Hey friends,

My tiger always cry at night. I'm wondering..
Will it make problems to me or it?

[jaxangel]

Does Tiger cry all night. Is Tiger a dog? How old? Could be that the animal needs to go out to the bathroom or could be that it is lonley. If it is just a pup, probably lonley, used to sleeping with brothers & sisters. Pets are like children, rather be praised than punished, but punised than ignored.

[meezermom]

Image, Jax is right. We need more information to be able to give you suggestions to fix things... So send us more! At the very least, we do need to know age, type and some idea of what type of dog mix if not purebred. What you are doing, how long you have had the pet, and if you can, any other information that you think may help....