Should I give my dogs away?! Help! (vet, training, puppies) - - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

NY Annie · 01-19-2010, 01:53 PM

I would say that while you claim you are willing to train your dogs, you haven't done so. You state, "I can't" on more than one issue. You CAN, if you want to. Dogs can be trained, even the most stubborn. But first you have to put in the time and the energy. It doesn't happen overnight and it is more difficult as the dogs get older, but even an old dog CAN be taught a new trick IF you want to invest time and energy.

So the first thing you need to do is decide that you want to do it. Then you have to be willing to set aside time, every single day. You have to be willing to get up a little earlier to feed them and walk them before running off to work or school; etc.

I don't mean to come down hard on you, but if you're not willing to put in the time, then find the dogs a new home. Untrained dogs are not happy dogs and their owners are miserable. Make a choice and stick with it. If you don't think you have the capacity to train them on your own, there are places to get the training.

ZSP · 01-19-2010, 02:52 PM

I can't add much to all the excellent advice already given but I will tell you your dogs are trainable and you can have a nice home and dogs. I have four, all under 6 years of age and no one poops or pees my house.

It's not easy and much like having a new baby - but if you step up and make the commitment, everyone will be much happier.

Viralmd · 01-19-2010, 03:20 PM

Your dogs should have separate wire crates. Wire is nicer because they can see everything going on and each other.

And to crate train, look at this: Crate Training : The Humane Society of the United States

Viny80 · 01-19-2010, 06:52 PM

You need to get a trainer, if you truly love your dogs

brightdoglover · 01-20-2010, 12:06 AM

Free feeding didn't work for me with my original two puppies, because they ate at different rates and then had to go at different times.
Dogs will always want to eat. They have little sense about it. I had one dog who would pick at his food and then push his dish around for a while. I'd remove it (as his brother polished off his own dish). When picky eater wanted his dish back, I'd only give it back if it was almost the same time as dinner. If much later, I didn't give it back, and he'd certainly eat the next day at the right time (and be more on schedule for pooping). And yes, you can remove the water dish sometime in the evening. Scheduling is really important.
You can walk two dogs at once with a coupler attachment for the end of the leash, esp. if the dogs are the same size. Any place that sells leashes will have a coupler.

Honeycrisp · 01-20-2010, 05:49 AM

We tried the couplers and while I have small dogs, they were too close together, they just didnt have that much room to sniff etc, they may be fine walking from the car to a dog park or event (ie, a short distance) but I felt I had less control over them too, would rather take my chances in getting tangled, LOL. I live near a lake w/ a paved walking path around it and there are quite a few dogs being walked - a lot of owners of small dogs seem to have 2 - and I rarely see the couplers around here. I see quite a few retractable leashes but that's another story (am not fond of them either). Anyway, JMO.

SunsetBeachFL · 01-20-2010, 05:51 AM

You also mentioned they are 1.5 y/o. Two of ours were crazy for poop, their own or any other pooh (deer, etc.) they could find during that age. Mind you they were rescues, so that is part of the reason. The other reason is their age. They WILL grow out of it as time goes by, along w/your vigilance. We used to subscribe to free-feed but now the bowl is up by 3p, water gone by 6p. We didn't crate but we spent a LOT of time w/frequent walks and small training treats when they came back in (getting them back in was also part of our training challenge).

If you can afford it, please enroll them in a doggy training course. You will learn some very valuable lessons in real-time. You will be amazed to find that they really want to please you and very best of luck to you.

Keep up the good work!

Reason to edit: water gone by 6p sounds cruel and needed to state we are up at 3a (sometimes earlier but never later) to deliver a walk and water, food back down at 5a immediately followed by a walk. Working from home means we have to accommodate our projects in different time zones so we also frequently nap during the day; our "nights" in this time zone are often our "days", if that makes sense. Odd schedule for most people but seems to work well for our little guys and us. Thankfully, there are two us but we're still out-numbered and we still have challenges that we're working on.

Viralmd · 01-20-2010, 06:01 AM

I would not recommend restricting access to water. EVER.

That said, you should get them into training class. Find a trainer who uses ONLY positive training: NO 'pops' on the leash, NO 'corrections,' NO pushing the dog into position and absolutely NO alpha rolls. You'll see what a difference it will make.

eyewrist · 01-20-2010, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puglywump

Thanks. I would never give them to a shelter. I would find them good homes, but my preference would be for them to stay together.

I will search on that post. I think I am going to buy that Forbid and try that. I must break their poo eating. I can handle picking up one poo, but not a thousand fragments of poo.

However, I still must do something with the flooring in this house. This whole thing is incredibly frustrating.

I would separate those two juvenile delinquents into different homes; they would easier to train. Could you imagine giving those two to someone and they end up doing the same in their home... the new owners will be ready to kill YOU!!!

brightdoglover · 01-20-2010, 07:56 AM

I didn't actually restrict water. They had free fun of my little house when I went to work on third shift and if they finished the water, they finished it.
My current gang barely drinks water until after 3p, and then they seem to load up until I go to work. I crate the two girls who seem given to accidents, and they do fine. The boys would all rather die than have an accident.
I adopted them all at late ages, so have no idea how or when they were trained. But they're a lot better than the two that I raised. I wish I crated my early puppies when I went to work on third shift (or put them in the bathroom). I think they'd have been a lot better regarding accidents in later age.