The non-listening Newf

[kc.lynn]

My boyfriend and I own a 7 year old and a 5 month old Newf, both males. They are our babies! Kinnick (our 7 year old) was 4 when I met my boyfriend so I had nothing to do with his upbringing as a pup. When we decided to get Carver (our 5 month) I was so excited! The way he talked about having Kinnick as a pup he made it sound like it was so easy, 'he just laid around, and slept all the time.' 'He never barked or growled.' Which is true I think we dated a year before I ever heard Kinnick let out a bark, and it was because my brother's dog had growled at me (he is momma's protector:heart. I knew it was going to be a lot of responsibility to raise a puppy, but I didn't think I would be this difficult. I guess the issue at hand is that Carver doesn't listen.... At all!!! He can be 6 feet away from me outside sniffing something and I can call his name and he won't even bother to look up! He completely ignores me...

We live in the outskirts of a small town where everyone knows our boys. My boyfriend owns trucking and storage company that we live smack dab in the middle of, so our yard is enclosed with buildings and trailers. There is tons of room for them in our yard to run and play so we rarely take them for walks, just go outside with them and throw a ball until they get lazy and quit We have never kept Kinnick on a leash, he doesn't roam or wander, the furthest he will leave the yard is to go over to the office to spend the day with his dad! We will let him out to go potty and not bother to go outside with him because 10 minutes later he is standing in front of the door waiting to be let back in. Needless to say that was our overall goal with Carver, and are not having any luck!!! Last night I took him outside to go potty, he did his business and started walking away from me. I thought maybe he wasn't finished so I followed him out and waited. Next thing I know he took off as fast as he could, no matter how much I yelled his name he was gone. I literally had to jump in my car and drive around the yard before I found him. Once I did find him he ran away from me again and went and waited in the garage. This is not the first time it has happened and I just laid awake last night wondering what I am doing wrong...

Not only is it frustrating when he does this, but its terrifying!! I'm so afraid he will wander too far and .. well you know the rest... We have tried everything, rewarding, scolding.. nothing seems to work, he just does what he wants. :banghead: I am sure that at this young age we need to be keeping him on a leash which we have agreed is what we will do from now on. He needs to know we are the boss (although we all know Newfs have a tendency to run us more than we run them!!) I guess I am just looking for suggestions on how we can train him better, as I have said, we have used the rewarding method and even that stopped working. I bring the treats out and he ignores those now too. I just feel so helpless. I knew this would be difficult to some extent but now it is just keeping me up at night because I don't know what to do!! Kinnick out weighs me by 50lbs and we think Carver is going to be even bigger than Kin! The idea of having a dog that big that I have no control over is not a promising thought. I want to be able to take him places and do things with him like I do with Kinnick, but if I can't gain some control over him I'm not sure that will be an option and it breaks my heart! I apologize this was so lengthy, but I just need help!! Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

 

[lmfoltyn]

I've been there done that too...my husband was ready to boot me & Jake from the house when we first got him...he was about 7 months old when we adopted him. The best advice that I received and it worked was putting a leash on Jake and tying him to me, all day long for a few days. Wherever I went he went. He got the message pretty quick that he couldn't go anywhere that I didn't want him to go...we always keep Jake on leash even now when we walk him. The only time is at the park when we are all alone will we take him off so he can run and investigate. Seriously the tethering him to me really did work...hope it works for you too.

 

[Jager's Mom]

Great advice above. I might add...maybe the treats you are giving him are not "special" enough now. You may have to up the treats....something like chicken, carrots, green beans, etc. And remember each time you treat him, it doesn't have to be a large bite...just a small taste (so not to add on the extra calories). Sounds like you need to start completely over...back to basics. In other words, don't try to call him from 20 feet away. Set him (and you) up for success... if he's sitting next to you, call his name...when he looks at you, treat him. Once he does this consistently...call him from a couple feet away...and then further and further.

Yes, keeping him on a leash is a very good thing (especially if you don't have a fully fenced in yard, where there are no dangerous things for him to get into).

Most important...don't stress...he's young... just go back to the basics...things will get easier. You may try to get into an obedience class, too.

 

[WearingMidnight]

We had great success with tethering and the higher value treats for sure. We still up the treat value when we're working on new things.

Have you thought about making him work for meals? Using his food for rewards during short training sessions at the beginning and end of the day?

Puppy classes are great too, good socialization and setting foundations, plus you have an instructor to ask questions of when he's driving you up a wall. He's just a baby, you've got lots of time to work with him. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll be just fine!

 

[Jeannie]

A great trainer once told me if you cannot make the command happen do not give the command. So if you want your dog to come if you don't have a leash on your dog to make the dog come then don't give the command. Giving a command without a way to make it happen only teaches the dog he can make the decision NOT to come.

Does your dog really know COME? You will need 2 people, a very long rope, treats and one puppy. Have person #1 squat down holding the dog as the dog sits in front of him/her. Person #2 will take the treats and the end of the rope about 10 feet away (increase the distance as your dog learns). Person #2 will squat down and call the puppy ONE time. Fido Come! Use a stern but happy voice. As soon as you say come person #1 lets go of the dog and person #2 start pulling the puppy toward him/her All the while you are pulling the toward you praise the puppy in a high Micky Mouse voice. Good Fido Good Boy Yes!!!(do not repeat the come command) As soon as the puppy gets to you give a treat. Hold puppy and throw rope to the other person and have the puppy repeat this between both people. A puppy cannot be expected to come when he does not truly know the meaning.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

As pups (and still as adults) I used the game hide and seek with very high reward treats. Recall as mentioned above is very important! Practice everywhere!!!! Funny, one angel and one devil, sounds like my household (lol)

 

[kc.lynn]

This is all such great advice!! I would have to agree, we need to start back to the basics. We got him when he was only 8 weeks old so we started working with him right away. He was doing so good for a while and I think we just forgot that he's still a baby and needs to be continuously trained. Thank you all again for the great advice! We are going to start trying these things ASAP!