i am having huge trouble handling my dogs. i can't keep up. what to do?

Question

Last year, i brought 3 pups -- newfoundland, saint bernard and english mastiff. All 3 of them have now grown into giant dogs and i am badly overwhelmed taking care and controling them. I have too much work and school stress already.

My girlfriend also doesn't seem to care for them properly, because she fears their size and feels they may attack her

When i take all 3 for walk, i have very hard time controlling their leashes. All 3 of them pull me together, and i'm myself dragged instead of controlling them. I feel several hundreds of pounds of pressure pulling me at once. I have back pain, because of all the strength i use to barely control their leashes.
I can't take them 1 by 1 for walk, because i don't have much time so i take all 3 together.

They are becoming destructive and noisy too. In the night they bark a lot, and disrupt my sleep. Their costs are goin higher to

I was not aware that they will grow so incredibly large, when i brought them as pups.

How to handle them?

Answer 1

Yes, you probably didn't thoroughly think it through when you bought 3 puppies at the same time ! But you sound committed, I would try and enlist some help. Could you have a talk with your girlfriend and tell her important the dogs are to you and would appreciate her help ? If not, you can hire a dog walker that could take them out. Or you can take all of them to Doggie day care when you are at work. But if you find that you are too stressed out and you aren't providing all 3 of them with the care and attention they deserve, it may be time to find one or 2 a new home.

Answer 2

So you couldn't be bothered to make the effort to find out what you were getting or what care would be needed?! What do you want to do now, dump them? Make them someone else's problem?

Cut the crap and the excuses about time. It's all a question of priorities. You walk one dog and your girlfriend walks one, both at the same time. That way you are there with her if she is squeamish. That takes care of two of them at once. Then you walk the other dog. Rotate the dogs so that none of them feels singled out or left out. It's that simple. And maybe YOU will have to cut back on the schooling or the work. It's called being an adult. Your schooling can wait. The dogs can't. After all, their lifespans are short and you won't have them forever. Grow up. You started all this and it's YOUR responsibility. Be a man. Be a person of good character and shoulder your responsibilities. And if their costs are becoming higher, well welcome to the club! Costs are becoming higher for EVERYone. Just think what people with children go through! Get a second job if you have to, but care for those dogs! You don't have it so tough; you just don't want to be bothered to make the effort (again). It's called being lazy. If you had bothered to educate yourself and do your homework BEFORE you got the dogs you would have known better. Now you will have to adjust your lifestyle.

Answer 3

Sounds like you bit off far more than you can chew.

You can try training, but that is going to take a couple months, with regular classes (maybe longer), plus consistant reinforcement at home -- with both your girlfriend and you making sure they respond to commands (especially if the girlfriend lives with you.)

If you can't do this, I'd suggest finding a dog rescue to take in the dogs, or a rescue agency, for at least two (maybe all three) and consider getting something lower maintenance. The American Kennel Association is a good reference site for dog breeds.

Right now, you have a recipe for disaster. Dogs are pack animals, and respond to a leader. If they don't think of you as the "alpha," you are in big trouble. Same issue goes with your girlfriend.

Answer 4

Your first problem was NOT DOING YOUR RESEARCH ON HOW BIG EACH OF THESE BREEDS OF DOG WOULD BECOME. That said; I think that it is much better to take out one dog at a time and work with the one dog on an individual basis than to do what you are doing now - which is killing yourself.
I myself have 2 German Shepherds that I walk. My male is 103 lbs and walks like an angel on the leash. My female wieghs around 85 lbs and is the one that pulls. ( That is a bit of a lie in that one walks very well on the leash, while the other pulls like a freight train.)
Do your dogs know any sort of commands? If not that is where you need to start. Mine have to SIT before I set their food bowls down. They know the command STAY. They will stay pretty much where I tell them to. Like for example I tell them to stay when I go into the house. They don't try to go in unless they are invited into the house.
The dogs also know OUT ( get out of a room, go outside, exit a vehicle). They know COME. They come when ever they are called and don't run off from me. They also know the command BACK ( like to back up from the gate to let me in), they know DOWN ( like don't jump up on me). They also know the command WAIT ( if for some reason I drop the leash they need to stay where they are and not be doing anything).
Please work with them all of the time.
I know that you are busy, I too am in school, but I use these same commands over and over and over. It is very much like teaching a child to do something. Repetition is the key
Please don't get down hearted. Just when you belive that you are going to loose your mind, they seem to have gained the knowledge that you have trying to teach them!!!!!!!!
One more thing, perhaps there is someone that you know that might be willing to help walk the dogs since your girlfriend is scared of the dogs.
Good luck with these three - you will need it!!!!

Answer 5

Not to sound rude, but you should have researched the breeds before you decided to buy them, surely you knew they wouldn't stay the same size forever. What you need to do is train them properly, they pull you around because you haven't properly designated yourself as the leader, they think they are the leaders. You either need to give those dogs to families that can actually care for them properly or seek out a trainer in your area that can show you how to control your three giant sized dogs.

Answer 6

I want to be diplomatic here but I'm having trouble believing that this is even a serious question. Who in their right mind takes on three puppies at once without any clue as to how big they were going to grow? And without having a lot of time to devote to the challenge? Sorry to tell you but (if this is in fact a real question) you need to make time to work with them one on one before you can hope to have all three behave together. I hope you have a fenced in yard or someplace fenced in where you can take them to run. It's a lot easier to handle tired dogs than dogs with a bunch of pent up energy. Get a professional trainer to help you. If you can't seem to do this, rehome some or all of the dogs.

Answer 7

Unfortunately there is no simple quick fix. You will have to put forth more effort temporarily. I know a few things with dogs of that size that can be frustrating are the clean-up. I'd suggest you look into Furminator grooming. This way it will cut down on grooming costs and fuzz ball floating around your house. You only need to do it about once or twice a year and it does work. Second, set a schedule. My life revolves around lists so make a list of things you need to do each day including walk the dogs, feed them, train them. Spend a few minutes working one on one with each dog training them on obedience. Take them individually for walks for a few weeks and if they stat to pull stand your ground and pull them back. Eventually they will submit and learn to stand back and let you take the lead. Eventually you can work up to taking two dogs and then all three. Your girlfriend also needs to take an active role if she is going to be part of your life. The dogs are not just going to disappear so she needs to take an active approach at overcoming her fear.

Answer 8

You're going to have to work with each one individually on a daily basis for awhile to make them stop.Get a good training manual.Also I don't know where you'll find one large enough to fit but prong collars are great deterents for pulling.And if you'd load them all in the car and find a field where they can run off-leash safely for about 45 minutes every day that'll be a huge help to you.
wear them out and they won't be pulling.

Answer 9

Okay I think you should consider looking into re homing at least one of them. They have rescues for most all breeds of dogs. Does your gf help you at all? She should become more involved with the walking and exercise routines. Have they had any professional training (basic)? This will also help your dogs and you. (gf included). I know its hard to think of giving a dog to another family but sometimes it's best for them. Big dogs can sometimes be bigger responsibilities and if you can not provide what all 3 dogs need then re homing one is a selfless act!

Good luck to you and your dogs (gf included)

Answer 10

buying three pups at once, any breed, was a really stupid thing to do... but even more so considering they are the biggest. surely you were told they were big dogs?

you could take them to puppy training classes, so that you can be taught how to train them properly....

however.... unfortunately i dont think its going to help much. youve simply taken on too much - experienced breeders dont often take on three large dogs unless its a full time commitment.

if i were you id do my research and find homes for two of them. just make sure they are GOOD homes.
perhaps go to your local vet and let them know - they usually know good people who are looking.
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