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Posted by Keith in Washington on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 11:20:49 :
In Reply to: OT; Doggie Problem, Need Suggestions posted by Paul (in NY) on Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 20:27:02 :
Paul:
I see that you have a major issue here. I am sorry that life is so tough at this time. That dog is not worth all the problems it causes. I think that you should have your head examined for not being able to train that dog properly. Come on how difficult can it be to train a dog to catch. I am sure that this dog is not trainable. I am sure that he is chewing up everything in sight and leaving piles and wet spot all over inside the shop and house.
I am sure on the other hand, that dog is just waiting for you to straighten up. No dog would ever think of catching a ball from a guy that does not have his act together. Come on Paul. When you throw the ball correctly he will be more than happy to catch it. Maybe he is waiting for you to put some maple syrup on it.
There may be something going on here Paul. Some dogs will not catch or cannot catch. I have had one that would not but would bring back anything that you throw. You say that he closes his eyes when you throw. That may be your clue. Someone may have scared him or hurt him with a flying object when he was a pup. Keep bringing things towards his face. Teach him that they will not hurt and that it is a good thing. When he closes his eyes keep the ball in your hand and not in his mouth and make sure that you do not scare or hurt him. When he keeps his eyes open when you bring the ball to his mouth let him have it and give him lots of love and a treat and tell him good boy and etc. When he closes his eyes do not let the ball touch him and hide it in your hand and ask him where is the ball. Train him that he will not get anything special when he closes his eyes.
There may be a vision problem also. He may not be able to track moving objects too well. He may be closing his eyes to protect them since he has had a couple hit him in the face a couple of times. The point that you made that he will go after it when it touches his nose tells me he is using his sense of touch more than his eyes to locate things. You also might just have him sit with you and then take your hand and move it quickly to his face talking to him nicely. Do this very quickly and continuously for several min. Train him to keep his eyes open and that nothing will happen to him (never let your hand touch him as you are trying to build absolute trust of you in him). When he keeps his eyes open when doing this then let your hand touch him softly from time to time and give him a treat. When he allows you to do this and his eyes are open then start with the ball doing the same. When his eyes are open let the ball touch him.
Now that I have helped you. It is your turn. My nine month old pup (neutered male) is very oral. Everything is in the mouth as is normal. However, this dog loves wood and sticks. All my wife's bushes in the garden are well pruned. He will grab a branch and run then sit on the grass and chew it then go back for more. His bed in the house is near the wood pile for the fireplace. He always goes for it and gets the small scraps from my projects. Chewed wood chips are all over the room. We are happy that it the fire wood he likes but what a mess. He seems to like white oak the best. When it is not wood and he is out side he has a plastic nursery pot in his mouth where he gets them all I do not know but he is funny looking with a 5 gallon pot in his mouth. Yea I now that young dogs like to chew, I have had lots of pups over the years,but this guy is destructive and has made quite a mess of the yard with all his branches. The wife says no gardens this year.
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