What to do. Can't keep dog

sidcon

Help, I have a 2-3 year old black Labrador and he is adorable, however he has become to strong for everyone in the house apart from me. This leaves it to me to do the walking which I don't mind. The only problem now is with work he is only getting walked once a week and now is tearing our back yard apart in frustration. It's no way to keep him couped up and at night I can hear him crying when I get home.

Any advise on how to relocate him as we can't keep him couped up and more

Whispered

If you get a front connection harness he won't be able to pull half as much. They're great.

Knine

Rather then rehoming the dog, have you considered training classes for him and the rest of the family members?

As Whispered mentioned, you can get all sorts of walking aids to help with exercising him.

Another option is a Dogmatic Headcollar. I found these excellent for walking several large 45 + kg dogs at the same time.

ShaShaBear

Agreed, my monster used to pull everyone until I bought a halti - now everyone can walk him. The odd sensation of your dog being tugged from the front when he pulls will quickly correct the behaviour!

jsabina

Hi you can really find a way to educate him.
He is still so young he will learn if in your family they want to learn as well.
I bet he is fantastic! Black labrador!

RubyGirl

Knine wrote: »

Rather then rehoming the dog, have you considered training classes for him and the rest of the family members?

As Whispered mentioned, you can get all sorts of walking aids to help with exercising him.

Another option is a Dogmatic Headcollar. I found these excellent for walking several large 45 + kg dogs at the same time.

/
+1 on the dogmatic, I'd be lost when walking my retriever without it.

TooManyDogs

I think Canny Collars are great too.

So there's at least 3 options for walking aids and advise for getting training classes for him and your family.

Realistically there are at least 3 or 4 times (probably higher) more dogs looking for homes than there are homes available at the moment, everyone is moving, downsizing or emigrating so dogs are being handed into rescues hand over fist. The small sizes, young dogs (under 1 year) and cute dogs are the first to get rehomed, the big dogs and unfortunately black dogs are often the very last to be rehomed. So please exhaust other options first before looking to rehome him.

elen88

I'm not sure if he is neutered, but it would really help calm him down.

kylith

+1 on training. A little hard work will solve your problem.

This is ridiculous. You can't get rid of your 2-3 year old dog because you can't walk him. Have you not researched the breed? Think it's so unnecessary to think about getting rid of your Labrador because of this.

What have you tried? You've plenty of suggestions in this thread.

+1 for a canny collar and get a trainer out to help you.

sidcon

Thanks for the replies, Ringo has been trained and also has had numerous collars. Buy his previous owner was a male and he will not for some reason respond to any female voice. I have tried and tried to and spent nearly €600 on training and collars but to no avail. If I had a choice I would not get rid of him, I'm doing it because I know he is not having the life he deserves being couped up out the back all week.

jsabina

A dog sitter walking him once a day and then in the evening you walk him?
I know it sounds extreme, but the prices are not crazy, and the chances to be rehomed in this moment for a dog are difficult as there are so many looking for a home!

micar

Deleted User wrote: »

This is ridiculous. You can't get rid of your 2-3 year old dog because you can't walk him. Have you not researched the breed? Think it's so unnecessary to think about getting rid of your Labrador because of this.

What have you tried? You've plenty of suggestions in this thread.

+1 for a canny collar and get a trainer out to help you.

Totally agree!!! You shouldn't get rid of a dog as you can't walk him. The dog tearing up the garden as he/she bored and not being walked. Walking the dog in the morning and evening will make him/her tired and will sleep more.

Get a harness and get another person in the family to walk him/her with yourself. Get the dog used to another person walking him/her. Then do a roster. Get everyone to do their little bit.

I have black lab cross and adore her. Would never dream of getting rid of her. She's been in the family for 11 years.

Knine

sidcon wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, Ringo has been trained and also has had numerous collars. Buy his previous owner was a male and he will not for some reason respond to any female voice. I have tried and tried to and spent nearly €600 on training and collars but to no avail. If I had a choice I would not get rid of him, I'm doing it because I know he is not having the life he deserves being couped up out the back all week.

But did you try any of the Headcollars mentioned? Trust me he would not be able to pull you or any females with the dogmatic. Have a look on their website.

There will not be people queuing up to take on an adult black lab.

Ddad

I'm sorry your experiencing such problems with your dog. My lad is very strong on the lead and has been since I started walking him as a puppy. I always have a pocket of dog nuts/ cheese/ small treats when I walk him to reward him for walking to heel. Sometimes I don't need to use a morsel to keep him in line. Sometimes I'd want a sack of nuts to walk in peace. I know one thing though, the more I walk him the easier it gets.

I know from attending training classes the you could spend millions training the dog but unless you take that advice on board and you have a consistent training regime you will never achieve anything.

I'd imagine a large chunk of trainers ae female and they don't have authority issues with dos, I'd imagine you'd need to revisit your regime with the dog and work out why he won't respond to you.

Are you the only adult in the household or an the walking duties be shared. If the walking duties can't be shared is it an option for you to get up earlier to give the dog a walk in the morning before your work day.

Most of the time I'm free to walk the dog for an hour or so in the morning after the kids get t o school. When I'm not free I get up at six and walk him before anyone else is up(love that time of day in the summer). In the winter I take him into town to walk him under lights( we live in the countryside).

If your the only adult in the household I'd imagine it is very hard to get free to walk him. If you can't get free from the house why don't you go out and train him to fetch. That'll wear out a lot of dogs in thirty minutes. Some exercise is better than none. Walking te dog is as much about mental stimulation as it is physical exercise. My fella is only fit for the Leaba after a fifteen minute ball session followed by fifteen minutes of training. He's mentally wiped, and he's a high energy collie x.

My kids are also joining in the training and now (under Very tight supervision)
My five year old daughter walks him to heel for short periods.

Best of luck, but I think your courting trouble for the dog by rehoming him. If it was me I'd choose a dog that required less work and there's a good few of them about these days.