Can you teach an older dog new tricks? - We need a dog trainer (Charlotte: condo, broker) - City-Data Forum

FrankTheTank2 · 02-13-2012, 01:04 PM

We have a 4 year old Golden Retriever. He is a very nice dog with a good temperament. He has zero aggression towards other dogs or people and has never growled or been in a fight. The problem is that he is too friendly and too excited. He jumps on guests and runs into people when he gets off leash. He will not settle down if we have anyone over at the house and is knocking people and kids over with his wagging tail. The final straw - my wife had him in the park last week with our kids in a stroller when he decided to take off (he pulled away from her and almost broker her hand off) and then he ran into an older lady and almost knocked her over. He had a big smile on his face the whole time but my wife was not amused and she has had it.

The problem with training him is that he acts like an angel if he knows he is being "trained" and we have treats. Then when he knows we don't have treats he is back to terrorizing the neighbors. He also does not jump on us or people he is used to so we can't train him to stop it. He only jumps and runs into strangers.

Two questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with this behavior and does training actually work to correct this? How do they train dogs who are overly friendly?

2. Can you suggest a good trainer and approximate cost to work with one?

Thanks!

msm_teacher · 02-13-2012, 02:25 PM

Awe - how can that face belong to anything less than a perfect dog?

I highly recommend Off Leash Dog Training in Charlotte NC and Ballantyne, Belmont, Huntersville, Lake Norman..

They have several options, ranging from about $1100 up to $2000. That may sound like a lot, but you get several hundred dollars worth of training equipment. And you have unlimited individual sessions until your dog behaves well enough to be invited to the group lessons. You can attend the group lessons as often as you like for a year.

My dog was so hyper and unmanagable, I couldn't walk her. Now, even my kids can take her no problem. They work on any specific problems you have in addition to standard commands and good doggie behavior.

chance2jump · 02-13-2012, 05:39 PM

Another method -

It sounds like your dog has just never learned his boundaries with people and/or guests.

If done correctly, this is an excellent option: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i04_details

It will require:
1. time / commitment from you and your wife to spend on re-training his bad habits
2. correct timing for correction
3. consistent correction

The collars come with vibration (warning) and then 3 levels of correction. The prongs must have good contact through his fur, so you might want to consider having him groomed and clipped up a bit shorter. Start small with minor corrections - tell him to sit, and if he doesn't right away, he is corrected. Once the minor issues have been corrected, move on to a bigger platform. Have people come to the house specifically for training purposes - he wears the collar, you or wife have the controller while the other answers the door. The purpose of the smaller, minor corrections is for him to learn to pay attention to your commands so that when he is in a situation where his excitement would normally get the best of him, he is now better focused on commands. Once he has mastered this phase, he can then go out to public for additional training.

I do not condone abuse or overuse of an e-collar. At all. If you have any hesitation using an e-collar system, you really need to seek out a professional trainer.

We have used this system on our dogs, who were all "good" but not as well behaved as I would like when visitors stop in. This method of correction and time spent re-training has worked wonders on all 3 of our dogs, and in a very short amount of time. My older 2 are over the age of 5yrs - so yes, older dogs can be taught new tricks.

XcapefromNJ · 02-13-2012, 07:29 PM

To answer your questions, that type of behavior is very common and (relatively) easy to control if you know what you are doing. You are definitely on the right track looking for an experienced dog trainer. A 4 year old golden is an easy dog to train (again, relatively) because 4 is not that old and Goldens have a very strong desire to please, and they respond to food. Heck, I could train my dog with a tennis ball, because there were few things she loved more than to chase it and bring it back to me. Sorry I can't recommend a good trainer but when you find one I am sure you will be thrilled with the results.

nacmd70 · 02-14-2012, 07:06 AM

The dog mentioned sounds like the beautiful big black Labradoodle my wife got for me as a retirement present. A year later she bought me a plaque.
My dog is NOT SPOILED
I'm just WELL TRAINED.
She is ready to get rid of me because I have not trained our dog but the dog will stay.

Slakkie · 02-14-2012, 08:39 AM

I highly suggest dog haven you can google them. They have some wonderful training classes and private lessons too. Your dog needs to understand that this type of action is not to be tolerated. :-)

If you can redirect that to a POSITIVE reaction you and he will be much happier!

movedtothecoast · 02-14-2012, 08:58 AM

classes/instructions from an experienced trainer should be mandatory
before ever using an e-collar.

they are not something to just mess around with until you get it right.

first thing that comes to my mind, is to have your dog on a leash while greeting
friends.

you really need a trainer to help you with this , group positive obedience classes
would be were I would start.

bastetcat · 02-14-2012, 09:22 AM

Petco (Huntersville) has obedience classes and the trainers also run private lessons.I thought the basic obedience class was good and my collie is now in the beginning agility class.

lacey3eb · 02-14-2012, 05:22 PM

We loved our experience with Sandy at Charlotte Dog Trainer : Off Leash Obedience Training : Sandy McCormick, Private Dog Training, APDT Certified Behaviorist : Charlotte, & Central & South Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, Pineville, Matthews, Ballantyne, Dillworth.. I forget the exact cost, but $395 for the life of your pet sounds about right. No treats, no clickers, no shock collars...just good training. She helped us with our dogs separation anxiety. If we had more time to spend on training we would, but he's got all the basic commands (and then some) down from only 4 sessions with her. One day we will get back into it and work with her for more advanced stuff

and when we have kids we'll work with her then, too. Like I said...you have her for the life of your pet.

msm_teacher · 02-14-2012, 06:24 PM

I would highly recommend using a professional trainer with one-on-one training for you and your dog in addition to group lessons. Several specific trainers have been recommended here.

A professional trainer is more likely to offer special help for things that your family might need. The separation anxiety that lacey mentioned is a great example. Another - we needed our dog to open and close doors plus several other livability tasks, which petco or petsmart couldn't handle. We also looked at the length of training for the cost, if follow up help was included and what type of training methods they used.

The pet store classes are cheap, but unless you have limited needs or an easy to train dog, I wouldn't recommend them. They were great for two of our dumb happy-go-lucky dogs. But, it was a waste of money for our current one.