i have a 2 year old, male, golden retriever. i think he gats bored cuz whenever we leave the house he eats things like books. ha has lots of toys but he still just lyes around doing nothing.
hes in good health!
2006-07-03 00:46:47 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
Since you know he's in good health, here's what I would suggest. When you are home stimulate his mind more. Reinforce his obedience training, take him for long walks, do interactive play and teach him a few tricks. Keep his mind busy. A bored dog is a dog that a)gets into things and/or b) starts self mutilating. (licking one spot till the fur is gone and there is an open sore then keeps on licking it. when you are gone crate him before he eats something that will do him harm.
two websites on how to crate train
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rc207100/info-pub.htm
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
use your favorite search engine to find "tricks to teach a dog"
2006-07-03 01:08:11 · answer #1 · answered by Stick to Pet Rocks 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CRATE: My suggestion is to get that critter crate trained. Get a big crate - as big as you can find. Feed him in it until he's cool with staying inside of it. Pretty soon he will go in on his own. Have him sleep in it at night (after he's used to it) After about a week, you can keep him in the crate at night. After about two weeks, you may be able to keep him in there while you're away and at night.
Oh, give him treats in the crate too!
The only reason I say crate train - is because you have to be there in order to make sure he's redirected if he does something wrong. If you're not there, and he chews up the couch, all he's learning is he can do it and it's okay. When you get home and scold him - they REALLY don't get it when you do that. It has to be in the act. And scolding.. I don't prefer, but some others may. It hasn't been necessary with our dog, and she was quite a freaking handful!
When you're not there, you can have him confined to small space (and that - they are cool with if trained this way.. dogs have always and will always be cool with having their own little den to call their own).
REDIRECTION: There's no need to swat or "scold" the dog when it does something wrong. Simply redirect it. It may take longer, not much though and you'll have a much better well mannered dog in the long run.
Redirection doesn't always work. When our dog bit us even just playing, we'd say no bite. Then we did this thing where you pull the lips over the teeth and hold down a second or two. They relate biting and having human hands in mouth with a bad sensation. She still did it now and then. So we used some binaca spray (in themouth) they hate the taste. That worked miracles. Spray bottle with stream in the face works well too - depending on the dog.
If the dog goes for anything that is not his toy, wiggle whatever toy to get his attention and redirect his attention to the toy.
When I play rough with my dog, I stick something in her mouth to get her to take out her biting aggressions on the toy. When she gets too rough, I tell her no bite (she has been trained on what that means) she gets ticked off.. runs around charges at me., gallops around the kitchen in circles like a mad dog., growls., but when it comes to biting, she grabs the nearest toy and rips the hell out of it!
REMEMBER: Golden Retrievers are bread to have things in their mouths! It's natural for them. It will take a bit extra to redirect his attention and keep it there.. more than any other dog.
Have fun! Our puppies favorite playmate was a golden retriever.. our puppy is a standard schnauzer. They had loads of fun together.
EXERCISE If not already, walk the dog at least three miles a day. :)
2006-07-03 08:33:37 · answer #2 · answered by game buddee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He has separation anxiety. Dogs are pack animals. Dogs see their human families as their pack...whenever their pack leaves the house they get frightened and stressed. If you don't want him chewing books and other things, you will need to confine him to a place when you leave. We put our dogs in the bathroom with the light on and a fan for "noise". They feel secure in the bathroom and now when they see us leaving and that they're not going along the go right into the bathroom themselves...
2006-07-10 03:54:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
your dog has separation anxiety! i had a dog that was like this. dogs are pack animals, when you leave him behind he freaks out! first of all an obedience class wouldn't hurt!
2. you need to either put him in a room, with just his food water and toys...so he cant tear up your house. (what i did with mine). OR buy a crate. make sure if you buy an open wire crate that you can see through....you drape a cloth over it to create a "den" like feeling.
put him in the crate and then reward him for not struggling with you..as you do that say "go to bed, or get in crate, or house" something easy. he will associate the food with the crate and it will be a comfortable place for him.
make sure he has PLENTY of room to STAND UP in and move around...(my feeling is..the bigger the better with crates). make sure he has toys...or raw hides, probably keep his attention longer. you could also buy rubber/plastic toys that have grooves or slots in it...and add peanut butter to it. hours of fun, trust me!
2006-07-03 08:17:46 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why don't you put him in a crate with his favorite toys and some doggie treats before you leave the house? Sounds like you will need a line of credit soon to pay for his damage.
2006-07-03 07:54:56 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He gets bored and most likely stressed out and so he is releaving the stress and bordom they only whay he can chewing up things you leave around.
You need to confin the dog to one room that you dog proof before you leave and keep him in there. Once he grows up some he may learn not to chew up things and could be loft loose in the house.
If you have a crate put him in in before you leave and you will not have the problem.
2006-07-03 09:52:41 · answer #6 · answered by tlctreecare 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well to a dog who is still considered a puppy, he just wants YOUR attention I think. Although, the chewing the books and stuff is bad, its a stage that they go through. You said he has a lot of toys...maybe he just wantes you to play with him.... and maybe all that book chewing makes him sleepy! It's hard work you know!
2006-07-03 07:51:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my dog is the same way. he is getting better though. i just pick everything up that i can and leave plenty of stuff for him to chew around the house. if i catch him chewing i lightly swat and say no, then give him something i want him to chew on to him and say good boy when he starts. it works for me, might not work for you though. i also have another dog so he doesnt get as bored.
2006-07-03 07:52:44 · answer #8 · answered by skyler_reeves 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should keep him confined for while to an area with his favorites chew toy. Dogs are creatures of habit. This should help him break the habit of destroying everything else.
2006-07-03 07:51:16 · answer #9 · answered by bob 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah im sure you have a bunch of great answers to this question already...but we had a similar problem with our golden retreiver (Callie). we didnt really spend enough time with her and she wasnt trained properly. When my dad found a german shepherd mix....named Banjo...the two of them hit it off. together they were both really great dogs. im not syaing another dog is a good idea if its not a commitment you can handle. this worked really well for us because we didnt have enough time :( to bond with our dogs. dogs are pack animals and people or other dogs to "bond with" are what most dogs need and want
(wow that seemed repetitive)
2006-07-03 08:46:18 · answer #10 · answered by roxy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋