Here is an email I got today - this one made me shake my head and wonder :

Hi there, I have a few questions for you. I have a 13 month old black lab bull mastif mix. He is house broken, but he continues to go to the bathroom in the house. He chews on stuff at night when nobody is up to watch him. And when he comes in from outside, he runs around like a mad dog. I am so frusterated with him that I thought about selling him. Do you have any ideas to help with my puppy? If you can help me,

LOL! "He is housebroken but he continues to go to the bathroom in the house." Do I have a different view of housebroken than everyone else????

Who's smarter (or dumber)-a lab bull mastiff mix or his owner?

take him to puppy school, i think its just his personality. try him on a lighter diet to give him less energy and give him something to do when your away, i bought my dog loads of diff toys, gave him 5 types of diff chew bones and left the tv or radio on for comfort, he is getting alot better, this worked for me so i hope it helps, it might be bordem so thats why he chew

 Quote: Ed Frawley

I am so frusterated with him that I thought about selling him.

Good luck with that...erg. Ignorant people suck.

Toni, it's called Crating when no one can supervise this young dog not buy him 5 different toys and bones to chew on.This owner should crate his dog , give him a long nice walk , and a purpose in life not just throw toys to stimulate him.He needs to be played with , exercised, disciplined and crated!!
Toni I think your case might be an exception , but this owner needs more help

sorry but that persons doesnt deserve the dog .some people or so clueless , always blaming the dog never their self .To lazy to pick up a book at library to read about training /raising a pup , to lazy to apply what they read .

Jennifer,
It's never too late to educate someone, especially if they ask for help.How many times have you read on this site, "female pregnant what do I do?" that makes me more angry than what this guy is asking.The people with pregnant females that have no flippin clue on what to do and how to care for a pregnant female deserve a real kick in the A.s! Because those idiots are now responsible for more than one, and will sell to more irresponsible idiots, so let's do the math..
Let's give this guy advice and hope he applies it, and maybe he'll think twice about getting rid of the dog.Ceasar Millan didn't get rich from people that went to the Library to educate themselves about "pets" but hey Ceasar saved lots of animals from going to the shelter or 6 feet under, I guarantee it..
I get your anger, but have an open mind..

i dont believe in locking a dog in a cage for hours during the day is all. i think they should be taken for a real long walk and then put in the house toys or what not, if i leave my dog for long time i do it. but my dog is well behaved, NOW.

Toni, what Ed Frawley posted is an email he received from someone. Ed Frawley is the owner of Leerburg Kennels as well as this forum, breeder of over 350 GSD litters, decades of professional experience in training GSDs for specific police work, has produced at least 120 dog training DVDs, etc and you can read his credentials here: http://www.leerburg.com/history.htm
I would suggest you also read some of his dog training articles on the Leerburg site.

The person who wrote that email is a prime example of why so many dogs end up in a rescue or worse, a euthanizing shelter. There are millions of dogs in this country in shelters, and millions get euthanized. You may not believe in "locking a dog in a cage for hours", but your solution would not help the dog mentioned in the email, and would not spare him from going from home to home or end up being put to sleep.

A crate is not a jail (unless you use it that way), it's a safe haven for them. And for many dogs it spares them from having to live outside forgotten for the rest of their lives with no interaction or bonding with family members and the goings on in a home, cause people get frustrated and leave the dog outside since he can't behave in the house.

A lighter diet? Feeding a dog less to "give him less energy" is definitely on the wrong track and NOT the way to handle a dog that has a lot of energy.

The dog mentioned needs exercise, training, a crate to keep HIM safe from destroying things and to housebreak him so he learns he needs to go potty outside, and a leash on while in the house so he learns not to run wild in the house. Of course dogs can learn to be reliable in the house and can be left loose in the house whether owners are sleeping or gone...I had several. But to start the house training that way is not wise, and poses dangers to the dog.

Would you leave a puppy to roam free in the house while you were gone? What about electric cords, chemicals, choking hazards, and numerous other dangers. If this is what you did with your dog, consider yourself lucky. The 13 mo old dog mentioned in the email is still a puppy and even if he weren't, if an adult dog was doing this type of thing, he would need everything mentioned above, starting from scratch. A crate is a protection for the puppy/dog and an owner is responsible for protecting him.

Don't be so quick to discourage the use of a crate to someone. It's bad advice.

Come on Ed, your pulling our collective legs right?