Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you can't take care of the dog, there is someone out there who will. Try contacting another rescue agency if you were denied by one. Someone will take him! Hopefully a runner who is looking for a high-energy dog to keep up with him/her.
Destruction is usually due to boredom or anxiety. But really, why does a new dog have access to all of the house and all of the other animals already? New dog, new gates. Fences make good neighbors, gates make good dogs, at least in the beginning.
Everything else, go to a good obedience class, do your "homework" aka practice what the trainer tells you and take that young dog for a long walk, one on one, everyday.
Tired dog = good dog.
OP, don't give up on your dog just yet. You agreed to take him on; you made a commitment to him, did you not? Besides, destructiveness is a pretty easy problem to solve in most cases. As lkb0714 said, just wear him out and you've won the battle. A Chuck-It is your friend when you have a retriever breed. It's a ball that goes into a little cup attached to a lever that you toss for the dog. The dog catches it and brings it back. Lather, rince, repeat as many times as you'll do it. Sporting dogs love it! And dog parks are a great way to get their energy out, as well as good old fashioned walks. But do these things frequently, as in every day or every other day.
And be sure you give him plenty of dog chews: rawhide, Moo Tubes, Himalayan animal cheese, whatever. When he chews on something that's acceptable, praise him profusely. Don't just punish him when he's bad; praise him when he's good. That will make him happy and make him want to please you. And also, it's a good idea to confine him when you're out, either with a crate or baby gates. But don't use confinement as a substitute for exercise. That will only make the problem worse. And please don't give up on him yet. It will probably be easy to solve the problem, and you will be great friends. I wish you luck!
Alright OP, let's assume for a minute that what you have said is true. Many knowledgeable dog owners here have offered you solid advice on how to train and/or manage your dog's "issues", myself included. Two generous people have even offered to reimburse you for the cost of the dog if you take him back to the shelter. You have not responded in a meaningful way to any of these posts.
So, again assuming that what you have said is true, what do you want us to do? We have given you solid advice on how to train and manage your dog and/or return him to the shelter and/or contact a rescue. What do you want us to do for you other than what we have already done?
Do you want one of us to drive out to pick him up from you? If you were close to me, I would be happy to do that.
Are you looking for validation for your utterly reprehensible plan to abandon or euthanize this perfectly normal healthy young dog? You are certainly not going to get that validation from me, and I would be surprised if anybody else here sanctioned that plan.
Your choices are to make a good faith effort to get your dog into a rescue, return him to the shelter, or put the time and effort needed into training him. This is on you to resolve. Now step up, act like a mature adult, and do the right thing for your dog.
If you can't take care of the dog, there is someone out there who will. Try contacting another rescue agency if you were denied by one. Someone will take him! Hopefully a runner who is looking for a high-energy dog to keep up with him/her.
I tend to agree with this. Re-home it to someone or a family that wants one dog and can work with the pup. If your posting here it may be out of your league to handle the dog, especially if you already own other dogs.
This is for all you clowns calling me a liar claiming I don't really own a GR and that he couldn't possibly have done the damages I stated since they are all sweet angels from heaven.
I don't lie like most of you.
I'm not going to jump all over your case. I believe you. Some dogs, especially pure or mixed breeds of popular dogs that are in shelters, do come with huge problems. I got a 2 year old designer mix three months ago from the shelter that had at least 5 homes before us. He has been taken back to our shelter alone 3 times for the combination of being unhousebroken, aggressive, tearing things apart, not so nice play biting, acting like a crazy dog on a leash, and just plain old being incorrigible. We took him with the goal originally to work with him to see if he could be rehabilitated enough to be suitable for permanent adoption. Our home is his last stop, if I take him back and tell them I couldn't get it to work he will not be leaving the shelter again. Fortunately, we are making progress.
The point is, many shelters and rescues have people like me who take problem dogs in an effort to make them appropriate pets. These are not easy pets and require more than just your average dog owner at that point. The dog needs to spend a large amount of time with someone who has the time, skills, and patience to address their issues. And they are their issues, whether they were created by the humans that once owned them or not. We can't always "fix" these dogs, some are just too far gone. While I haven't had to so far, friends have had to advise the shelter that a dog fit in that category. It's sad, hard on everyone, and all they can do is try to be as humane as possible.
You dog has issues, and they are issues that are causing problems in your home. Problems which, from the sound of it, are beyond your ability to deal with. The dog needs to, for everyone's sake, be given to an individual or organization that can properly address his issues. It sounds like your shelter doesn't have a cadre of volunteers for this purpose so I second the recommendation of others to contact a breed specific rescue. They won't foist him on an unsuspecting home, they will put him in a foster home to gauge what he needs to be properly placed and to work on training to eliminate his problem behaviors. A rescue is different than a shelter, they will take precautions to make sure whatever placement they put him in will be successful.
There is no use in beating yourself up or taking it out on the dog at this point. It is what it is. Now is the time to do as much damage control as possible. That means a different place for him to live. If it is about the money a couple of posters have very generously offered to help you out. Do the right thing, it makes sleeping at night easier.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
.....I see that you post a lot in the Las Vegas forum........
Las Vegas? That's too bad. That's too far for me to drive down and pick the dog up. Wyatt McRiot could use a high energy wrassling buddy to help me wear him out, because he is still living at 65 mph and still sliding around corners and wiping people out.
Sometimes, they don't settle down as they get older, but that energy can certainly be channeled and my experience with high energy dogs is that they love to learn because that gives them something to do. High energy dogs are usually very trainable. Golden Retrievers are one of the leading breeds in obedience competition.
Below, in bold, are the OP's posts in this thread. I've included comments below them.
Original post: Our older dog got cancer and had to be put down. So we decided to adopt another dog from the city pound. I wanted a German Shepard puppy but my family instead chose a 2 year old Golden Retriever. Anyways, he has been a complete nightmare. So far he has destroyed a mattress (shredded it to pieces); chewed up a leather sofa; takes all the shoes and hides them all over the yard; takes expensive laundry off the line and chews them to pieces; takes all the blankets out of his and other dogs kennels and tosses them all over the yard shredded to pieces; jumps on and harasses all our other dogs all day long; chases after our cats; breaks in to the dog food container whenever he's hungry; etc. I call him the Devil Dog because I would imagine that's how a dog possessed by the Devil would act to make our lives miserable.
Unfortunately, the pound does not accept returns so we are stuck with him. I feel like they sold us a defective dog as they later admitted that he's been returned several times already. Plus I have no doubt if we were to return him (no refund of course), those unethical bastards wouldn't hesitate to sell him to another unsuspecting family.
I don't know what to do... any advice??????
Poster is asking for advice on how to manage a dog who is destructive. What follows are several posts from other forum members - some judgemental, but many offering suggestions on how to handle and train a dog who isn't in control.
Well, he's technically not new since he's been with us for couple of months.
He does not have access to the house fortunately.
Forgot to mention that a delivery package was left in our yard and he tore up the box and ate all its contents. He has tried to do it to other packages when I caught him.
Poster responding to a question as to why a new dog has complete access to the house. It does pose the question as to how the dog managed to chew up a mattress, sofa, shoes, etc. when he doesn't have access to the house. [And if the reason is that the dog has since been removed from the house and now spends his time outdoors, then this step taken by the owner would ultimately create an even more destructive dog.]
When I say they(the pound)don't accept returns I meant they don't do refunds. Of course they will always do owner surrenders but like I said I am worried he will be adopted out again instead of being put down.
We've had about 20 dogs over the years and not one needed training. They were all well behaved and not crazy like this dog. This dog is on my last nerve. I am ready to take him to the mtns and leave him there.
The above is actually two separate responses by the poster. I've combined them because I find it gives a bit of a sense of the person writing this. First, the poster states that he doesn't want to return the dog to the shelter because he's afraid the dog will be adopted out again, rather than being euthanized...and then he goes on to say that he's on the verge of dropping the dog off in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful, responsible options suggested by the owner, to abandon an animal that he has deemed to be totally out of control and unadoptable to a fate of suffering and most like a slow death, or to have the dog euthanized because he (the untrained dog) destroys items. Yet still, with all of the suggestions by others on how to fix the problem, and suggestions as to why the dog is acting the way he is, all of that is completely ignored by the poster. What is being focussed upon is how to negate any suggestions, meshed in with attempts to have others agree with him, that the dog is hopeless.
Looked in to GR rescue.... asked 50 questions and admitted they can't place a dog with behavioral problems. I think destroying half our house qualifies as one.
To everyone who claims he's bored cause he's all alone: Wrong. We have another high energy/hyper female dog and they play together all day long. But even she has limits and has gotten snippy when he won't leave her alone. He of course thinks she is playing and continues. Only way to get him off her is to throw my shoes at him. We also got her from the pound and has never been a problem. She is a great dog unlike the Devil Dog.
I have never known any dog rescue to refuse taking in a dog with behavioural problems, with the exception of dogs who are deemed highly vicious and dangerous.
A dog with issues such as this one - a dog who is still young and is destroying property - very much sounds like a lack of no constructive, positive training from the owner, along with little or no mental and physical exercise. Placing a dog in a yard with another dog and letting them play will burn off some energy, but it does nothing to address the lack of guidance being given to this dog, nor does it address mental and structured physical exercise that the dog needs. "Only way to get him off her is to throw my shoes at him" clearly shows the lack of knowledge the poster has in terms of how to raise and train a dog.
In response to a comment that the dog doesn't have behavioural issues; rather, the dog is 'stuck with a human who can't be bothered to train him': No behavioral issues? He destroys everything he can get his mouth on: mattress, sofa, shoes, clothes, packages, etc. He won't stop harassing our other dogs or cats. He has injured me several times by purposefully running in to the back of my leg while I'm walking. Also severely injured and bloodied my foot when I tried to stop a fight between him and another dog which he started.
We got our female dog when she was 9 months old and she has NEVER done any of the things this Devil Dog does. Actually, none of our 20 dogs have ever done what this Devil Dog has done. Plus 2 years is NOT a puppy!
I'd be horrified if he were to be adopted in to another unsuspecting family!
Yes, the dog has behavioural issues, but what has been repeated over and over again to the poster, and has been completely ignored, is the fact that the dog has issues because he is not receiving proper training, guidance, and structure in his life. Examples by the poster of behavioural issues:
"He destroys everything he can get his mouth on". Yes, because he has not been properly trained to NOT chew on items, which involves ensuring that the dog cannot access these items by removing them, by crate training the dog (not simply throwing him outside or in a crate, but actually training him with positive reinforcement to use a crate) and by ensuring that the dog has been given a ton of structured exercise, both on the property and during walks.
"He won't stop harassing our other dogs or cats." This is because he has opportunity, and (again) has not been taught to leave them alone. (This type of training, btw, actually does NOT involve the throwing of shoes or any other objects at the dog.)
"He has injured me several times by purposefully running in to the back of my leg while I'm walking." If the dog were trained how to walk on a leash, this wouldn't happen. If a person has problems training a dog to walk on a leash, there are plenty of places around that offer obedience training, which teaches the owner how to train their dog.
"Also severely injured and bloodied my foot when I tried to stop a fight between him and another dog which he started." Dog fights start with either aggressive or fear-based dogs. This fight should never have happened. It is the owner's responsibility to always be in control of their dog when they have them outdoors, and to know the dog's nature (Is the dog fearful toward other dogs? children? loud noises? Does the dog react to crowded, loud places?) If the dog is fearful or aggressive toward other dogs (or people) it is the responsibility of the owner to keep the dog in complete control at all times, and to not allow anyone to approach. And regardless whose dog was out of control, it is commonplace for a bite to be received if one is attempting to break up a dog fight, if the person gets too close. When in fight mode, the dog (or cat, or any other animal) is lashing out, and will bite anything that gets within proximity of the fight. If a human is bitten during a dog fight, it is because the human put themselves in harm's way.
This is for all you clowns calling me a liar claiming I don't really own a GR and that he couldn't possibly have done the damages I stated since they are all sweet angels from heaven. (picture of dog posted)
Poster included a picture of the "Devil Dog" to prove that his story is real. I don't deny that the story is real; the reason I wanted to highlight all of the poster's responses is to point out the one thing that rings true with this thread, and of so many others I've seen just like it over the years, both here as well as in other forums. The poster came into the forum asking for advice on what to do with a dog who is 'out of control', then dismisses every helpful suggestion on how to go about turning things around, and becomes defensive when the suggestions are ignored and others begin to see that he is not interested in attempting anything to fix the issue. The owner's lack of canine behaviour is evident in the thread, as is the complete lack of knowledge in how raise and train a dog. It appears to be quite clear that the owner does not want help; he wants "I'm so sorry you're going through this", "You should get rid of that horrible animal" responses.
On this one last point, I do agree...OP, you should return this dog to the shelter, as soon as possible. Give him a chance to go to someone who does know how to train a dog that has developed human-induced behavioural issues, who is willing to put in the time and effort to turn things around, and who will give him a chance at a wonderful life in a good home.
Take the dog with you on your 4 hour 7-10 mile strolls. Your dog will love you for it and the stroll will tire him out. Plus he will be WITH you, which is what any dog wants, which is to be with his people.
Take the dog with you on your 4 hour 7-10 mile strolls. Your dog will love you for it and the stroll will tire him out. Plus he will be WITH you, which is what any dog wants, which is to be with his people.
This^^^
OP...why don't you take this dog on your 4 hour 7-10 mile daily walk/runs?
Since you posted a picture of your dog it is possible you are not trolling. However, if you are not trolling then you are just plain hopeless and thankless...you've ignored the many posts people spent time on offering constructive advice.
Your young GR is obviously way too much dog for you. For the third time, please contact GRRSN to surrender your dog: GRRSN – Owner Release Form
This is for all you clowns calling me a liar claiming I don't really own a GR and that he couldn't possibly have done the damages I stated since they are all sweet angels from heaven.
I don't lie like most of you.
Oh good grief. What we keep telling you is this is PERFECTLY NORMAL BEHAVIOR for an untrained golden, or for almost any dog in fact. What is so difficult about this to understand? Why can't you get it?
Dogs are not magically "perfect". They require training. TRAINING, you know, where you spend months of work using patience and consistency, to teach the dog what you want of him.
My gosh, have you not read a single post in this thread. I beg of you GET this dog into breed rescue, NOW. Before he is ruined completely.
What the heck is wrong with this person?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
