Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 1/23/2008

Question
Hi, my name is Lawrence, and to start off, I'm a 16 year old boy, whose family has recently adopted a 9 month old golden retriever mix from the local shelter. We adopted Ace about 2 weeks ago. He's a male, neutered, and was labeled as a stray. They told us they didn't have much more information on him other than the fact that he was stray. My parents won't allow him in the house so we keep him in the garage where we keep his doghouse and toys, food, etc.

My first question is about training him to do basic commands. When i first began training him, he picked up pretty quick and now he is able to perform sit, down, stay, play dead, and shake hands. I was thinking that it would probably be wise to have him master the sit, down and stay commands before teaching him new things so i began to experiment. I had him stay in one spot and i walked about 5 or so feet away and from there I asked him to sit. He stared at me as if he didn't understand my command and when i told him again to sit, he walked up to me before sitting down. Same thing happened when i asked him to sit. Why does he have this tendency of coming closer before obeying the command?

My other question is sometimes Ace would be perfectly calm and suddenly he would jump up start growling at nobody and running around in every direction he can, doing nothing but running and growling in a aggressive manner. He then stops, sits down and starts panting and breathing fast and if we try to pet him in this condition he would try to put his mouth over our hands, not quite biting, but still quite fearful. I'm not sure if this is a problem but it's quite startling.

My last and final question is also about leash training. I've been training him in a way that shows him I do not want him walking ahead of me by stopping and asking him to sit every time he starts pulling on the lead. I've seen results but, they haven't been as good as i had hoped. He will walk by my side for about 2 seconds perfectly before he starts pulling again and asking him to sit doesn't seem to help him get the idea across. Would it be a good idea to have him use up some of his abundant puppy energy before taking him on walks? I've considered that but how can i use up that energy? I've thought of playing fetch but isn't that more of a reward? I also wanted to know if there was anyway i could train him to run beside me because I've tried a slow jog while walking but he tends to run in front of me of just to fast and pulling on the lead too hard. I could use a jogging partner but how can I run with him if he keeps getting in front of me? Should I just wait until he masters walking by my side first? Or can i train both at the same time?

Sorry for the length of this message, but I really want him to be the fun, obedient dog I've always wanted now that my parents finally got me a dog. Thanks so much for your time and help!

-Lawrence.

P.S. Around when will he mature and be more calm? And we've started feeding him adult food just recently, does that affect the rate at which he matures?

Answer
You're throwing far too much at this dog far too soon.  Go to Karen Pryor's web site and buy her clicker training kit.  Start with a simple "sit" and go from there.  Keep training sessions short.  Learn about how to train before doing it; you're confusing the dog who is trying to  make a very difficult adjustment.  Don't experiment with this dog.  He is a living entity.  Your motives might be wonderful but you simply don't have sufficient information.  Do your HOMEWORK.  Find out how to train a dog properly using positive reinforcement and then do it very slowly over the next couple of months.  This dog just came from a very frightening and confusing experience; he requires PATIENCE, affection, and 100% commitment from you, and that means you must LEARN how to manage him.  Secondly, what you describe as his sort of crazed running behavior is actually normal neurological development.  Many young dogs exhibit this behavior.  Unless it worsens or continues much past his first year of age, you should just leave him alone until he calms himself.  If for some reason you feel unable to do that, put him on leash and remain calmly by his side.  Leash confinement should stop this behavior.  If he continues and worsens, go to a veterinarian for a neurological evaluation.  I consider keeping a dog in the garage verging on abuse.  Dogs are pack animals and need to be part of the family.  Your dog should be allowed in the house and be able to live with its occupants.