What Jodi said. This is a situation that is really difficult on many levels. Young, poorly bred, large breed, high energy dog. In a city where you don't have the areas needed to ideally work through his issues. Reallistically it will take many months to accomplish your goals with him. If I was in a situation like this, I'd write out my goals, then break them down into steps. Then pick 2 of the steps to work on each week until he has it down. I'd probably look into something like l-theanine to give him to try to take the edge off the reactivity while I'm working through everything. Reactivity is self reinforcing and takes a while to work through so, while I'm no fan of using supplements/drugs instead of training, I think maybe something like that would be helpful here to give you a chance to train in your situation. Just my 2 cents

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

That goes for his whining and barking. Sometimes when I lock him up and leave him I stand downstairs and listen and I can hear him loud from the 3rd floor.

Sometimes it takes him 45 mins to stop screaming. Neighbors DO hear, they told me about it.

I know that I should come and go for a few secs at a time and I'm doing it but in the meanwhile I have to go to work and leave him for 11 hours.

In any case, crating is a life saver. Before crating I made my daughter stay home with him because we couldn't leave him alone (he dug hardwood floor).
Sometimes she'd leave and we'd fight.

I've stayed out of this thread because you are getting great advice from others who are better-qualified than I, but the issue I have quoted above is still really bothering me. No one has addressed it, and I wonder if it got lost in the shuffle. Are you saying the dog is left in your apartment, in a crate, for 11 hours straight, while you are at work? And then I'm assuming he's crated again when you are home, sleeping. That's an awful lot of time for a young dog (any dog!) to be crated. You mentioned a daughter, 18 years old, I think. I'm not clear on whether she lives with you or not. Can she (or anybody else) get the dog out of the crate a time or two while you're at work so he's not spending 11 hours straight in there? That kind of confinement cannot be helping his state of mind.

(Maybe I misunderstood......)

no, you didn't misunderstand. i just got the crate 2 weeks ago, before that we couldn't leave him alone AT ALL, not for 5 mins so we mad it a point for one of us to be home.

my daughter IS home most of the time but we decided to make believe like she's not and just lock him up in my room in the crate.

at some point she will start working or going to school, what will we do? i wanted to make sure we get him used to being in the crate while she's home now and can intervene.

yeah, it sounds like a long time so what do you suggest? i can leave him loose in my room. i can leave him loose for the night.

i'd like to start preparing for the times that she won't be home.



ETA when he's locked in for the night he's right next to my bed, i'm sure he doesn't mind that crating period.
and i don't have to lock him up for the night. but the times i'm at work i have to.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: steve strom

The main thing I think you should do is concentrate on setting his boundaries and a routine for right now. I think that's going to fix a lot more then you realize. Sometimes, trying too hard to organize you can lose sight of whats actually going on. You didn't do anything terrible, and I don't think he looks like a reactive problem dog. Just settle into one thing at a time.

I just want to point out the importance here:

"The main thing I think you should do is concentrate on setting his boundaries and a routine for right now. I think that's going to fix a lot more then you realize. Sometimes, trying too hard to organize, you can lose sight of whats actually going on. You didn't do anything terrible, and I don't think he looks like a reactive problem dog. Just settle into one thing at a time."

Echo

 Quote: Mara Jessup

What Jodi said. This is a situation that is really difficult on many levels. Young, poorly bred, large breed, high energy dog. In a city where you don't have the areas needed to ideally work through his issues. Reallistically it will take many months to accomplish your goals with him. If I was in a situation like this, I'd write out my goals, then break them down into steps. Then pick 2 of the steps to work on each week until he has it down. I'd probably look into something like l-theanine to give him to try to take the edge off the reactivity while I'm working through everything. Reactivity is self reinforcing and takes a while to work through so, while I'm no fan of using supplements/drugs instead of training, I think maybe something like that would be helpful here to give you a chance to train in your situation. Just my 2 cents

thank you, yes, you're sensing correctly. i have so many issues (though they're not issues i can't live with) that i'm all over the place and don't know where to start.

my main problems are
reactivity
chasing the cats
pulling

everything else can wait a little.


i'm also looking for a trainer, again. my 3rd trainer gave me good pointers on reactivity and they seem to work but i'd like to find a trainer i can settle with and she's too positive for me.

her corrections are spraying and citronella collars (and don't tell me it's too early for corrections lol, she's the one bringing them up. i also thought there'd be no corrections at the reactivity level however if i didn't catch the barking on time and h barked she sprayed him. basically, she's saying that if he does go into a barking frenzy he needs to be corrected).


anyway, looking for the 4th trainer but i am using her methods (minus the spray) in the mean while.

 Quote: Tammy Moore

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: steve strom

The main thing I think you should do is concentrate on setting his boundaries and a routine for right now. I think that's going to fix a lot more then you realize. Sometimes, trying too hard to organize you can lose sight of whats actually going on. You didn't do anything terrible, and I don't think he looks like a reactive problem dog. Just settle into one thing at a time.

I just want to point out the importance here:

"The main thing I think you should do is concentrate on setting his boundaries and a routine for right now. I think that's going to fix a lot more then you realize. Sometimes, trying too hard to organize, you can lose sight of whats actually going on. You didn't do anything terrible, and I don't think he looks like a reactive problem dog. Just settle into one thing at a time."

Echo

that's what i thought and that's what the trainer said but i'm posting his problems ONLY and it might seem like i have this out of control monster.

i don't, he's an amazing dog with a owner that doesn't know much. any problems he's having are my fault and i'm trying to fix them.


ETA i'm starting over with Ed's pack leader routine and also his cat routine.

everyone keeps saying that many of my problems will get solved and Ed says that too in his articles and it makes sense. when my trainer handled him (1st trainer) he was fine. i'm sure he's sensing power and i'm not projecting it.

i will work on this

i want to add though, most of the time he's really good. i'm afraid i'm painting the wrong picture here.

3 trainers saw him by now plus people on the other board saw a video of him barking and they said it sounds like a dog that just like to talk.

he IS very talkative and i find it very cute. he has many different sounds he makes and many tones to his barks. i really don't mind it most of the time.

i only care if it's aggression or whining, those i stop.


he definitely has some issues but not anything overly crazy IMO and i'm managing them for now by leashing him.

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

That goes for his whining and barking. Sometimes when I lock him up and leave him I stand downstairs and listen and I can hear him loud from the 3rd floor.

Sometimes it takes him 45 mins to stop screaming. Neighbors DO hear, they told me about it.

I know that I should come and go for a few secs at a time and I'm doing it but in the meanwhile I have to go to work and leave him for 11 hours.

In any case, crating is a life saver. Before crating I made my daughter stay home with him because we couldn't leave him alone (he dug hardwood floor).
Sometimes she'd leave and we'd fight.

I've stayed out of this thread because you are getting great advice from others who are better-qualified than I, but the issue I have quoted above is still really bothering me. No one has addressed it, and I wonder if it got lost in the shuffle. Are you saying the dog is left in your apartment, in a crate, for 11 hours straight, while you are at work? And then I'm assuming he's crated again when you are home, sleeping. That's an awful lot of time for a young dog (any dog!) to be crated. You mentioned a daughter, 18 years old, I think. I'm not clear on whether she lives with you or not. Can she (or anybody else) get the dog out of the crate a time or two while you're at work so he's not spending 11 hours straight in there? That kind of confinement cannot be helping his state of mind.

(Maybe I misunderstood......)

no, you didn't misunderstand. i just got the crate 2 weeks ago, before that we couldn't leave him alone AT ALL, not for 5 mins so we mad it a point for one of us to be home.

my daughter IS home most of the time but we decided to make believe like she's not and just lock him up in my room in the crate.

at some point she will start working or going to school, what will we do? i wanted to make sure we get him used to being in the crate while she's home now and can intervene.

yeah, it sounds like a long time so what do you suggest? i can leave him loose in my room. i can leave him loose for the night.

i'd like to start preparing for the times that she won't be home.

ETA when he's locked in for the night he's right next to my bed, i'm sure he doesn't mind that crating period.
and i don't have to lock him up for the night. but the times i'm at work i have to.

There are a lot of things going on in this thread, but I'm just going to answer your crate questions, since that is what I asked about, and you asked me some follow-up questions.

To sum up, you got the crate two weeks ago. You are away from home at work for a total of 11 hours straight. Your daughter is at home for at least part of that 11 hours. Nonetheless, in order to prepare the dog for some time in the future when your daughter will be at school or work and the dog will be alone, you indoctrinated him to the crate by immediately putting him in it for 11 hours a day, every day, alone, locked up in your room. Does your daughter let him out at all for a potty break or to stretch his legs?

Your response to me states first that, two weeks ago, you couldn't leave him alone for even five minutes. Then, a few paragraphs later, you say you can leave him loose in your room and loose at night. So why does he have to be crated for 11 hours? Forgive me if I'm not following along.

Teaching a dog to be comfortable in a crate is something that is generally done on a gradual basis of slowly increasing increments of time, especially when there is a person home to facilitate this.

And maybe (hopefully) when your daughter is working or going to school, your schedules will overlap in such a way that you're not both gone for the same 11 hours, and the dog will get a break from being confined and alone for such a long period of time.

quote=Natalie Rynda

ETA i'm starting over with Ed's pack leader routine and also his cat routine.

i will work on this


Good to hear, Natalie.

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

 Quote: Natalie Rynda

That goes for his whining and barking. Sometimes when I lock him up and leave him I stand downstairs and listen and I can hear him loud from the 3rd floor.

Sometimes it takes him 45 mins to stop screaming. Neighbors DO hear, they told me about it.

I know that I should come and go for a few secs at a time and I'm doing it but in the meanwhile I have to go to work and leave him for 11 hours.

In any case, crating is a life saver. Before crating I made my daughter stay home with him because we couldn't leave him alone (he dug hardwood floor).
Sometimes she'd leave and we'd fight.

I've stayed out of this thread because you are getting great advice from others who are better-qualified than I, but the issue I have quoted above is still really bothering me. No one has addressed it, and I wonder if it got lost in the shuffle. Are you saying the dog is left in your apartment, in a crate, for 11 hours straight, while you are at work? And then I'm assuming he's crated again when you are home, sleeping. That's an awful lot of time for a young dog (any dog!) to be crated. You mentioned a daughter, 18 years old, I think. I'm not clear on whether she lives with you or not. Can she (or anybody else) get the dog out of the crate a time or two while you're at work so he's not spending 11 hours straight in there? That kind of confinement cannot be helping his state of mind.

(Maybe I misunderstood......)

no, you didn't misunderstand. i just got the crate 2 weeks ago, before that we couldn't leave him alone AT ALL, not for 5 mins so we mad it a point for one of us to be home.

my daughter IS home most of the time but we decided to make believe like she's not and just lock him up in my room in the crate.

at some point she will start working or going to school, what will we do? i wanted to make sure we get him used to being in the crate while she's home now and can intervene.

yeah, it sounds like a long time so what do you suggest? i can leave him loose in my room. i can leave him loose for the night.

i'd like to start preparing for the times that she won't be home.

ETA when he's locked in for the night he's right next to my bed, i'm sure he doesn't mind that crating period.
and i don't have to lock him up for the night. but the times i'm at work i have to.

There are a lot of things going on in this thread, but I'm just going to answer your crate questions, since that is what I asked about, and you asked me some follow-up questions.

To sum up, you got the crate two weeks ago. You are away from home at work for a total of 11 hours straight. Your daughter is at home for at least part of that 11 hours. Nonetheless, in order to prepare the dog for some time in the future when your daughter will be at school or work and the dog will be alone, you indoctrinated him to the crate by immediately putting him in it for 11 hours a day, every day, alone, locked up in your room. Does your daughter let him out at all for a potty break or to stretch his legs?

Your response to me states first that, two weeks ago, you couldn't leave him alone for even five minutes. Then, a few paragraphs later, you say you can leave him loose in your room and loose at night. So why does he have to be crated for 11 hours? Forgive me if I'm not following along.

Teaching a dog to be comfortable in a crate is something that is generally done on a gradual basis of slowly increasing increments of time, especially when there is a person home to facilitate this.

And maybe (hopefully) when your daughter is working or going to school, your schedules will overlap in such a way that you're not both gone for the same 11 hours, and the dog will get a break from being confined and alone for such a long period of time.

I got the crate after I was convinced to at germanshepherds.com and I was told that no matter how good he is with not chewing he shouldn't be trusted alone not locked up and that the crate is the best for them and so on.

I thought it'd be a disaster but he took to the crate pretty well and I decided to try crating him 'for real'.

At night he's locked up because of the cats (my cat sleeps with me and he will chase her). Also, he will jump on my bed (I used to let him sleep with me).

But whatever, all that is not important, he can be loose at night.

And I can have him be loose while she's home as well. I was just trying to get him used to the 11 hours while I had the chance as opposed to doing it once she starts going to school and he has no choice but to be locked up

 Quote: Tammy Moore

quote=Natalie Rynda

ETA i'm starting over with Ed's pack leader routine and also his cat routine.

i will work on this


Good to hear, Natalie.

I went above and beyond for him. The results are not all that impressive but I definitely tried. Just the 2 hours outside daily are a huge thing for me, I'm the laziest person you know, I will stay home for months in bed if I can.
So the fact that every day, no matter the weather I go out with him is shocking to anyone that knows me.

I also spend over 7k on him in the last 6 months, anytime I have any money I spend it on him. I love him, I adore him and I'm sure that's not healthy. But I can't help it. I'm in my first dog euphoria stage. Everything abt him is adorable to me.

Anyway, someone from the board messaged me and gave me links for 2 ipo competitors, I just emailed them.
I'd love to have a trainer that I totally trust and that I can go to when I need help and hopefully this time I find one.