Have you seen Marley & Me? That's my dog!

[KidsHappen]

I have a Golden Retriever instead of a Yellow Lab but otherwise, same dog. I spend several hours a day trying to outsmart him. I try to figure out what he will try to eat and make sure it is put away. He still manages to find at least ten things a day. I have managed to train him to just bring me the items in exchange for a treat instead of ingesting them. This is actually major progress. You would be absolutely amazed at the things that this dog has managed to eat whole. We are using a training method in which if he chews on the item instead of bringing it to me then it gets tied to his collar. He is currently wearing three shoes, two stuffed animals, a plastic bottle, a bottle of lotion and a rubber door stop. :glare: He is having a bad day. I have to get very creative in how to attach all of these items to his collar but the process works. I now have a pile of things in my bedroom floor that he has had to wear all day but has never touched again. I am just afraid that before he is totally trained he will have to wear every single item in the house. He picked up a four foot stuffed animal today and I started wondering how am I possibly going to attach this to his collar. :001_huh: Luckily it was one of the items he just brought to me instead of chewing.

[AuntieM]

The author goes into a lot of detail about what actually was up with his dog. There were reasons why Marley behaved the way he did, maybe you would find the book insightful. The author is John Grogan.

[4kiddies]

Does he/she have enough bones to chew on? Not the leather type but actual bones?

[Hen]

oh goodness, your post is cracking me up!

 

..and scaring me a little! We have a deposit on a labradoodle puppy. I am trying to brace myself for how much work it will be, my kids are sooo excited, and I am, too.

 

the visual I am getting of your dog wearing all these things is just cracking me up. What a creative solution, I am amazed that it works. Do you know why it works? Where did you hear about this idea? can we have a pic?:D

[Nakia]

That is cracking me up! After raising a black lab from a puppy, I can relate!

 

And you really should read the book. It is so good!

[KidsHappen]

Does he/she have enough bones to chew on? Not the leather type but actual bones?

 

My goodness, I have more dead animal parts laying around my house than I would have ever believed possible: bones, cow hooves, pig skins, a Kong and all of them are regularlly coated with peanut butter, cheese whiz or liver paste. Honestly, this dog spends most of his day chewing on things. He has eaten so many socks and wash rags, I have lost count. He ate a stuffed animal whole, several frisbees and a soccer ball. :001_huh:

[KidsHappen]

I guess I'll put this on my reading list. :)

[Remudamom]

Good grief, and I thought my border collies and my crocodile in dog's clothing were tough.

[Melissa in CA]

We are using a training method in which if he chews on the item instead of bringing it to me then it gets tied to his collar. He is currently wearing three shoes, two stuffed animals, a plastic bottle, a bottle of lotion and a rubber door stop. :glare: He is having a bad day.

 

:lol::lol: OMGosh! :lol::lol: Having raised a "Marley-type" Lab and now currently raising another lab, I can SO relate...but this just really cracked me up! If we had done that with our grandpa Lab, when he was a pup, it would have been garden hoses tied to his collar...oh, and LAWN FURNITURE :w00t: The mental picture of that, and your current pups shoes, stuffed animals, bottle, lotion, and RUBBER DOOR STOP is just too, too funny! :lol: Sorry. I know it's frustrating and I honestly don't have a solution to offer. Ours finally calmed down around 3 years old and turned into THE most PERFECT and well-behaved dog imaginable. Our current lab pup is quite different. He chews, but he does not chew a lot. He loves to play fetch instead. Everything he finds he brings to me to throw. I wish I had a picture of the enormous stick he tried to bring into the house one day for me. It was at least 5 feet long. He tried every way imaginable to get that stick in the door. It was a hoot. He's about 1 yr old now, and has yet to chew up a garden hose, or any other piece of furniture. He's my luv-bug. :)