# In the Dog House! I'm just about had it...



## ykcamom (Apr 7, 2008)

Our puppy Riley is just over 6 months old now. And I have to say that my patience is beginning to wear thin. So I guess I need to rant a bit.

Some of you may recall all the dietary issues we had with Riley for the first few months and how he had runny stools for what seemed like forever. Thankfully we got that figured out and he's better now. He's pretty much house trained now, although he doesn't actually bark to go out. Rather, he simply hangs around the back door or gives us a certain look to indicated it's potty time.

Anyhow, now he is just becoming so trying with his behavior:


He suddenly won't walk at heel and he is big enough now to yank me right around when he sees something he wants to investigate while he's on leash. I am desperately trying not to give in and let him walk ahead of me, but my left bicep is growing noticably larger than my right as I try to hold him back.
He is terrorizing one of our cats. Riley has always enjoyed the cats, but now he is getting rather aggressive with just one of them and I'm worried Riley will hurt him. The other cat, he snuggles with. Personally I think it's because cat number 2 put Riley in his place from day one, whereas cat number 1 always ran away and began the chasing game. But nonetheless, it's getting a little out of control now and the cats are 13 and not quite as spry as they once were.
He is jumping up and taking things off the counters; food, paper etc. I can hardly put a meal together without tripping over him in the kitchen as he's constantly seeking food -- which is so bizzare because we don't give him people food. He gets a carrot a day and his food and that's it. (With his intestinal problems, we don't risk it). So now I have to tell him "out" of the kitchen when I'm preparing meals, which was never a problem before. He'd just lie in a corner there and watch the world go by...
The final straw for me, was last night. Riley has been sleeping beside out bed for about 2 months now. And he's always been really great. No accidents at all. But this morning, I woke up to discover he had grabbed my eyeglasses off the dresser and destroyed them. This is a $600 pair of glasses! I'm so furious with him. And I'm just so shocked because in two months, he's never touched my glasses, which I always put in the same spot. 

I'm now wearing an old pair, from which I can hardly see, waiting for the optician to open so I can look into replacements. GRRRRRR...

Sorry forthe rant, but I'm so mad at Riley right now and had to vent.


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Riley sounds like the average Golden Retriever Adolescent. Have heart, things will get better but the next 6-12 months are going to be challenging. Your dog is going through his "teenage" stage. The coming months are the months where it will seem like Riley forgets everything he's learned and will "test" you and the rules. Just keep reinforcing the obedience and your status as "boss". Also, exercise, exercise, exercise as a tired dog is usually a good dog. Good luck and things will get easier as he gets older.

As far as the cat goes - is your cat declawed? My cat is declawed and when Cooper was a puppy he would pick on the cat (it was a fun game) but the cat always came out ahead of the game and could take care of himself. The two still play together (chase) to this day, four years later. In most situations, cats always manage to keep the upper hand. As long as the cat's declawed and seems to stand up for itself, I would try to let them work it out themselves. My cat gave Cooper some really good bops on the nose and put him in his place. I can say with 100% surity that today with Cooper being 4 yrs old the cat is the boss in their relationship. The cat will walk up to him and bop him or bite him on the leg if Cooper's laying in front of the window that the cat wants to look out of - he's actually a bully to Cooper now. I guess he's making up for puppyhood.


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

Sounds about normal to me. But he's got too much freedom. The next few months are going to be a challenge....then he'll get better again.....then worse again....then better for good.

It's time to work on the training, and for you to expect the worst, but praise the best!

This too shall pass! (And you will laugh about it later)


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in.... breathe out.... 

Sounds like you have a perfectly normal 6-month-old puppy there! Sure, he fooled you into a false sense of security be being such a good boy early on, but everything you described is totally normal for a young/adolescent dog.

The best advice is to manage his world so he can't get into as much trouble. Crates, x-pen and baby gates do wonders to help keep dogs out of trouble while helping us maintain our sanity at the same time.

As for the pulling, I wouldn't expect him to be able to heel around distractions at his age. He'll get there, but there's a long learning curve. Consider an Ez-Walk Harness or Gentle Leader to make the learning process less painful on your shoulder.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Riley is just being a golden retriever pup. You are the human adult and it sounds like he needs some training. 

We dog proofed our house when our dogs were under a year, and did ongoing obedience classes. It sounds like you have very high expectationsbut are you working with him to change it?. If he has a crate or a bed , he needs to lay there when you are cooking. And if he is getting into things while you sleep, he may need to still be crated.

He will out grow the adolescent behavior but not behavior he hasn't been trained to change.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

I have a 6 month old now....I feel your pain (ok maybe not $600 Bucks worth!)..
Hang in there it really does get better....
As every one has said....Managment and training will get you through adolescence...

Pick up his training dont let it slide ...you may have to back up on some skills for a bit and work in shorter sessions so you both avoid becoming too frustrated...


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Looking back, I really think our girls.... who are by far the easiest dogs we've ever had, were set up to succeed by starting with crate training and then the follow up with classes and lots of socialization. They slept in their crates until they were almost 2 and ditto for when we were gone. Your pup is just being a normal 6 month old....... he'll learn with lots of positive reenforcement and training. Please don't give up on him..... he needs you to be the pack leader and teach him.... in a positive way./


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Deep deep breaths. Everyone has given you great advice. I have a 6 month old at the moment that can test my patience as well. I know how you feel!!

I would limit his freedom. Like Steph said, baby gates, crates, xpens...your greatest tool. Vito is ALWAYS crated still when I can't watch him 100%. That means when I shower, leave, clean, cook etc. It limits the trouble he can get into. One time when he was around 4 months, I left him out when I took a shower because he was asleep. I woke up to him sprawled out on the couch, ripping pages out of my text book, lol. 

The only time he sleeps outside his crate is when he is on tie down next to the bed. He gets 3 feet of freedom. That is it. 

Make sure Riley is getting plenty of exercise. A tired puppy usually isn't bored and therefore will get into less trouble. Exercise, I have found, is key.

Keep up with the obedience and be patient. Vito tests his boundaries ALL THE TIME. He drives me nuts. I just constantly correct him. If he breaks a stay, or down immediately he is placed back in position. Sometimes I will spend 5 or 10 minutes getting him stay in a command. Thats where the patience comes in, and oh man...it can wear thin sometimes. 

I also second an easy walk harness. My brother is using one for his 5 month old GSD and it was IMMEDIATELY helpful.

Good luck! With time it will improve greatly.


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## cinnamonteal (May 16, 2008)

I totally recommend both the easy walk harness and the gentle leader. My hubby broke his foot at the end of May and is just now getting off his crutches. Our obedience instructor hooked us up with both the harness and the head collar so that Matt could safely walk Caleb. The gentle leader gives more control but requires some training. Matt uses it every time he takes out the puppy. I use the harness because it lessens the pulling but Caleb likes it better than the gentle leader.


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## nolasmom (Jul 27, 2008)

*Sorry but I laughed out loud*

When I read your post I had deja vu. When Nola was about your puppy's age, she, too, decided to get my glasses off of the nightstand. She just grabbed and ran. I chased her down and got a lense out of her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't swallow it. I had to get new glasses but luckily there was a sale on frames so I got them at the discounted rate of 280 dollars. It is difficult raising a golden retriever pup but it is worth every minute of it. Nola is our 3rd and definitly the most difficult but she has turned into a wonderful 13 month old. She still has her moments but she is so sweet and loving that it really doesn't matter.


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## Ronna (Mar 24, 2007)

What great advice from everyone about this issue. It seems like only yesterday I was experiencing most of the same things you are at six months.........All of a sudden the puppy stage is over and things change dramatically for the better. Take all the advice you can and struggle through the next six months or so........Drink heavily!!!! just kidding.

Ronna
Dallie & Karlie


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## jnmarr (Mar 7, 2008)

All excellent advice.. this too shall pass.. but you do need to commit to the training. The only things I would add is up the exercise. They need a lot at that age.. tired puppy equals a good pup.. Try to stay upbeat with the training, also. My dogs will respond faster to me even if I have to force " happy voice" when they do right.. hard right after the boo boos. They do want to please.. We forget they are still mentally babies sometimes. Vent any time.


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Another Baby Gate fan here too - Griff no longer uses a crate in the house - it's kept solely for car trips but I do still use baby gates from time to time - like right now - I just put Frontline on him so he's in the kitchen until it dries a bit.

Don't tempt fate - even though he's nearly adult size *he is still a puppy* and anything in his reach is in the danger zone. The more vigilant you are now, the better he will be as an adult because it will not have become HABIT.

Griff stole a few things (food) from the kitchen table and counter a couple of times but I made sure that things were stored in the oven or microwave if I left the room and broke the cycle. Now I can leave things on the counter - he comes to get me, encourages me to follow him into the kitchen and stands or sits in front of it to let me know that there's still food out and he would like some.

Teaching to "WAIT" before you give him _*anything*_ has been a wonderful tool for me. If I drop something in the kitchen there's no mad dash to get to it before Griff because he always looks at me first for "permission" to take.

It IS a tough stage right now but if you continue to do the right things you WILL have a great dog in 6 months or so. Patience, patience - he's still a pup! Hang in there! (And sorry to hear about the glasses - argh!)


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## ykcamom (Apr 7, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice folks. I'm still really ticked at Riley, but I'm calming down. Sadly, it's only noon here so I can't start drinking yet! LOL!

The one and only optical store is closed today, so I guess I shall pick out some new frames on Monday. We just got back from walking Riley and he was very well mannered so it is clear he knows he's in trouble for something. Admittedly, I left him outside for 2 hours this morning because I was so mad at him. I do not normally do this, so I guess he got the message!

I shall get back to basics with him and his training. Not sure if I want to crating him at night again, tho. The funny thing is that we used to crate him at night when he was younger, but he would poop in it due to his intestinal problems. But then we put him in the bedroom with us, because we wanted to him hear whine so if he did need to maybe poop, we'd hear him. And strangely enough, he would last all night without an accident. So that became his new sleeping spot. Riley knows this too and as soon as I go into the bedroom at night, he follows me there, lies down and crashes. He will be very ticked to go back in the kennel at this point.... 

This will be a tough next couple of months. My son goes back to school soon, so he'll be home alone all morning and afternoon. I shudder to think what he'll get up to. Why do I feel so bad about crating him all day? Should I? It just seems like such a small space to stay in. 

BTW, we have baby gates galore around the house. He's getting quite good at jumping over them!


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

A six-hundred dollar pair of glasses is a tough lesson to learn, but a golden puppy can destroy anything in their reach. Keep all valuables (especially shoes) where your doggie can't get them. In another year, you won't believe the difference.


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

ykcamom said:


> BTW, we have baby gates galore around the house. He's getting quite good at jumping over them!


DOUBLE them - one on top of the other until he stops trying to jump them! You should have named him Houdini! :doh::


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

ykcamom said:


> Not sure if I want to crating him at night again, tho.


What about a tie down like nixietink mentioned? You can put an anchor in a stud in the wall next to his bed in your bedroom. Then you can put him on a leash connected to the anchor. Give him enough room to get up and move around but only a few feet.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Gosh, sorry about those glasses. At that age I couldn't trust Lucky one bit...6 months to a year was a really unstable age. The minute I thought he had matured and was set with training he took two steps back.

Walking was really tough...can't tell you how many times I was dragged by my elbows or my butt landed in the mud puddle when a squirrel crossed our path


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## Brady's mom (Dec 20, 2007)

6 months is a tough age. I was getting jumped on and bitten pretty regularly when Brady was that age. We hired a private trainer to come to our home and she made a world of difference! Brady was literally cured overnight. If you can afford to have a trainer come out, I highly recommend doing so! Saved my sanity (and my arms and clothes).


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## cinnamonteal (May 16, 2008)

ykcamom said:


> I shall get back to basics with him and his training. Not sure if I want to crating him at night again, tho. The funny thing is that we used to crate him at night when he was younger, but he would poop in it due to his intestinal problems. But then we put him in the bedroom with us, because we wanted to him hear whine so if he did need to maybe poop, we'd hear him. And strangely enough, he would last all night without an accident. So that became his new sleeping spot. Riley knows this too and as soon as I go into the bedroom at night, he follows me there, lies down and crashes. He will be very ticked to go back in the kennel at this point....


Can you put the crate in your bedroom?


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