Help!!!!!!

[CrazyDoodle]

We have a 9 month old labradoodle that we are having a lot of problems with. We have two young kids and I travel quite a bit with work. My wife has tried a training program locally but it was two hard with the kids. Does anybody have any suggestion's on a book with a good training program that we can do while we are at home?

Please Help!!!!!

[Raleighsmom]

Welcome to the forum Crazydoodle!!!! This is certainly the place to get help if you need it!! What kind of problems are you having with your pup??? And what's his or her name???? There are many, many people on this forum that are very well versed in discipline, and can help you...also you can do a search and see if you come up with any answers that have been addressed previously! Hope to see pics of your pup when you get the time!!! Enjoy him/her while he/she is little...they grow so darn fast, and I'm sure you'll look back when he/she's older and wish for the 'crazy' days!!!

[Jac]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
There are many great books that help you with training but (I am speaking from experience here) if you don't take a few minutes EVERY day to work with him, he will learn that he can do whatever he wants...so it is very important that everyone in your family, even the children, stick to a plan of discipline...not in a negative sense, but in a routine sense.
Perhaps your wife could teach your children what she learns and the children could work with him two or three times a day...they could make it into a play time and everyone will benefit.
Most important is to be consistent. Whatever you teach, be consistent with it or your doodle will get confused. Dogs are creatures of habit so if, for instance, you teach him to sit before being greeted...everyone must follow through or the dog won't get it.
So, that being said, I have some recommendations for books but there are some excellent online programs too...and some good You Tube videos...there are DVDs that you can order if you need to see the action.
Without knowing the difficulty you are having, it is hard to know where to direct you.
I have a favorite online site that I use for just about every issue...to help you get an idea about what to do...then you can find a training method to go along...I put in a search for "training an older puppy" and these are the results: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx
That should get you stated. I like Patricia McConnel books, specifically "The Other End of the Leash" but she has some good books on teaching children to train dogs and making puppy training a family activity...

[Remykins]

Our doodle is 20 months old now. My kids were 2, 8 and 11 when we got her. She was my first dog as an adult and I had problems at first, because she was very sweet but strong-willed and I really didn't know what I was doing. My husband travels frequently too so he hasn't been very involved in training her.

I got a lot of books and read a lot on-line about training, but it still helped me tons more to take classes. We've done puppy obedience, beginning obedience and two levels of agility. Just seeing and talking to the trainers made me much more confident. I know it's hard with little children and often I had to find babysitters for my youngest (the middle child attended with me and the oldest often had another activity). For me, it was well worth the hassle to attend classes. I would then use my books for reference and follow-up at home.

Another thing to remember is many dogs go through a difficult stage at 9 months. I thought we had Remy well-trained at 6 months, since she was potty-trained, crate-trained and had stopped chewing. Then she went through a whole different stage starting around 8 months. She started calming back down about 13 months and now, at 20 months, she amazes me sometimes at how well-behaved and calm she is (although we still have issues to work on). I'm so glad we stuck it out through the difficult periods, since we now have the loving family dog I was hoping for.

Good luck! Also, this forum is a great resource. Everyone is very helpful and positive. When I'm feeling frustrated, just reading about other owners' experiences can be very reassuring.

[momoftwo]

Hi - Welcome you will get a lot of helpful information from the members on this forum - you came to the right place! I think the book - Raising Puppies & Kids Together: A Guide for Parents (Paperback) by Pia Silvani (Author), Lynn Eckhardt (Author) is a must read. It is a very easy read with great information. My breeder loaned us a copy and I liked it so well I bought my own!

Heather

[lindamarie]

I agree with Jac. Nothing works as well as taking time each and every day to put your dood through a routine.
I definitely would recommend the DVD's of my trainer. He was wonderful for us at our house with Bogart. He gave us the DVD's for review.

You can check them out at
http://www.911dogwizard.com

This guy is a riot in person!!!

BTW.....depending on where you live, he has training programs in Michigan and CA.

[MaxandMe]

HI crazydoodle..........and it's not easy between a puppy and small kids and husband travelling but hang in there!! it does get better
just as kids go thru stages and need to be told something about 4000times some days to committ it to short term memory
well puppies are like that on and off esp during 1st 10months.

Consistent training is key ...even daily training in short say 5 to 10min sessions really do help. Doodles are very intelligent dogs
so just like a smart kid, they're more apt to push your buttons as their minds need stimulus........with doodles its training.

you can even incorporate the kids. simple things like sit/stay using treats intiallly...also making your doodle sit/stay and wait for the
word OKAY before eating.
you can play games too like follow the leader where you and kids go thru a doorway/archway FIRST then allow your doodle to follow last
I think you get the idea......it teaches your doodle manners, simple commands, and also puts YOU and kids higher up on totem pole
as Alpha's.

Doodles can be quite crazy when they hit their usually short lived stages....it gets easier/better as time goes on
but even my 2 doodles need me to do refresher training every so often.

here: kids can take 18yrs + to mature........doodles will mature for most part by 2yrs old
so the training you do daily now will help down the line

keep up the GREAT work....it takes time committment patience and sense of humor (so do kids and a hubby)
if you ever need a break nothing wrong with crating your doodle for short while to nap while you take a breather

keep us posted

[mtd885]

Lots of good advice here! Consistency is paramount and that means EVERY DAY. I highly recommend Paul Owens, The Original Dog Whisperer DVD's and accompanying textbooks. Our dog Abby is an avid Victoria Stilwell fan ( I don't mind the Black Leotards at all ) Another excellent choice would be Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog. Here's Abby learning the latest from Victoria. Don't even think about changing the channel

[blueteal]

I cannot even count the amount of times in one day that Ryder is told to leave it or off or whatever
as I have said he ain't no Denver but he is our pupple and we love him dearly............
We were very spoiled with Denver as he was and is perfect and then we got Ryder and now know
what the rest of you are talking about when it comes to counter surfing and chewing everything and
stealing paper products.......We just keep repeating the same commands every time and I know that
eventually he will learn. Actually he knows all the commands, he just chooses not to obey where Denver was and
is a sensitive dog so he did not challenge us where Ryder will look at you as he is stealing something and here what
you say and turn around and take it anyway......he cracks us up as he is so cheeky but consistency will prevail and
that is what it takes so hang in there and know that they do get through these phases and everything shall pass........
I do believe...... I do believe......... I do believe...........
bahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa