Don’t know how much more we can take.

I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. I can’t go into detail much here because certain training approaches are not approved but… our 9 month old male golden has also been (no offense to him but) somewhat of a major pain since the day we got him… we have no other dogs in the house but I can imagine he would do something similar to yours if we did.

So anyways… we’ve realized that the positive reinforcement stuff only cut it so far with our boy especially at this age. By no means implement anything harmful or fear-inducing! BUT, IMO they are cognitively at a stage where they can understand some forms of behavioral “punishment” re: operant conditioning and it can be a helpful tool IF implemented correctly. That’s the piece a lot of people don’t understand.

We recently started working with an awesome balanced trainer who combines positive reinforcement along with some leash/training tools that have been super helpful. It’s like they clear out all the crazy fog in his brain and allow him to actually think. She has told us to use a leash in the house and practice with these tools so that the leash is our way of communicating. Not yelling, pulling him away, luring with treats, etc.

We have been at our wits end in many ways and I’m sorry you may feel that way too. I’m sure you’re kinda sad for your other dog also. For us, this new training approach has renewed a lot of faith in us feeling like we can actually manage him. We finally didn’t get a “they’ll grow out of it” sort of blanket response but an actual solution. Because you can’t just count on them growing out of every behavior, that’s a slippery slope because they learn through rehearsal. Of course we give him grace as he’s going through some pretty intense puberty rn lol, that’s pretty clear and some regression and fear period things as well.

I’m not sure what kinds of trainers you have explored but if you haven’t looked into a balanced training approach or tried a new collar/leash situation with the guidance of a qualified trainer, I highly recommend it.

/r/puppy101 Thread