I've read over most of the posts and I've noticed a few things
1. You mention that you can't get her into the bed of the truck for the ride to the vets. However, if you have an open bed I would *never* stick a dog in the back, whether it is tied or not. I think I did this once when I had to move my dog and another dog about one street length away and I was nervous the entire time doing that. The dog should either be inside the cab of the truck, or in a crate or large plastic pet taxi. Those are my favorite for trucks because the enclosed pet taxi keeps the full wind off of the dog.
The problem with moving the dog in an open bed is that not only do you run the risk of the dog jumping out (could you imagine the damage that could be done if the dog is tied and still jumps out?) but it is illegal in many areas. I know I could be pulled over and fined very heavily around here. Get her used to being in a crate, secure the crate in the bed of the truck, and move her that way. It is safe and humane and no one will be injured.
2. She does not seem like a bad dog. Rather, it seems like she is lacking discipline and an alpha leader. YOU have to be the alpha. It won't happen over night, but you have to be consistent. It takes tiny, baby steps to get her to understand you. Labs and other retrievers are very intelligent, but sometimes their excitement causes their attention to wander. Start small. For instance, don't put down her food until she backs and and waits for you to do so. Get tough. If she jumps on you, push her down and say "NO" in a very firm voice. It will take time, but as soon as she does what you want, reward her by placing down the food. Do not let her eat until she is calm and does as you ask. She'll get the point real quick if she is a dog driven by her meals!
I train most of my animals via pressure and release. This means you apply pressure (whether it be from the leash, your voice, your hand, etc.) until they do what it is you want. For example, if I want my dog to heal, I apply pressure to the collar and give a verbal command. I keep the pressure until my dog stops. The moment the dog stops, I release the pressure and that is the reward. I don't use treats and since I too have a high energy dog I try not to raise my voice to say "good dog". This usually gets him going. I also try not to touch him at all, because this will also get him excited. Therefore, he has come to learn that pressure means I want you to do something and the release of that pressure means I did it right. The dog will usually figure out what it is you want when you do things in small steps.
I started out with a prong collar on my dog as well. He did very well with it, even though it looked evil. I then moved onto the choke collar once I was able to get him to do most commands with little pressure on the collar. Now I am able to use his regular collar, but sometimes have to remind him with an occasional use of the prong. My dad hates the look of the prong collar, but used properly it can be a very good tool.
Work with your dog leading a few minutes every day. Training such a high energy dog will take lots of time. I spent about 15 minutes every day with my dog when he was a puppy. He is very good, but still has small issues. Its not easy training an animal, but you can usually figure it out along the way. However, I've seen people who weigh 90-100 pounds take full control of dogs that weigh the same if not more then them. What you weigh does not matter. You can have just as much control and power over a dog as a strong 200 pound man can. It just all depends on the way in which you apply the pressure to your dog.
Getting tough with your dog doesn't mean you have to hurt them or be "mean". The punishments from other dogs would be much worse than most of the things people can do. The key is being firm.
Please, please get your dog spayed. The last thing you need is more high strung puppies to train and deal with!
1. You mention that you can't get her into the bed of the truck for the ride to the vets. However, if you have an open bed I would *never* stick a dog in the back, whether it is tied or not. I think I did this once when I had to move my dog and another dog about one street length away and I was nervous the entire time doing that. The dog should either be inside the cab of the truck, or in a crate or large plastic pet taxi. Those are my favorite for trucks because the enclosed pet taxi keeps the full wind off of the dog.
The problem with moving the dog in an open bed is that not only do you run the risk of the dog jumping out (could you imagine the damage that could be done if the dog is tied and still jumps out?) but it is illegal in many areas. I know I could be pulled over and fined very heavily around here. Get her used to being in a crate, secure the crate in the bed of the truck, and move her that way. It is safe and humane and no one will be injured.
2. She does not seem like a bad dog. Rather, it seems like she is lacking discipline and an alpha leader. YOU have to be the alpha. It won't happen over night, but you have to be consistent. It takes tiny, baby steps to get her to understand you. Labs and other retrievers are very intelligent, but sometimes their excitement causes their attention to wander. Start small. For instance, don't put down her food until she backs and and waits for you to do so. Get tough. If she jumps on you, push her down and say "NO" in a very firm voice. It will take time, but as soon as she does what you want, reward her by placing down the food. Do not let her eat until she is calm and does as you ask. She'll get the point real quick if she is a dog driven by her meals!
I train most of my animals via pressure and release. This means you apply pressure (whether it be from the leash, your voice, your hand, etc.) until they do what it is you want. For example, if I want my dog to heal, I apply pressure to the collar and give a verbal command. I keep the pressure until my dog stops. The moment the dog stops, I release the pressure and that is the reward. I don't use treats and since I too have a high energy dog I try not to raise my voice to say "good dog". This usually gets him going. I also try not to touch him at all, because this will also get him excited. Therefore, he has come to learn that pressure means I want you to do something and the release of that pressure means I did it right. The dog will usually figure out what it is you want when you do things in small steps.
I started out with a prong collar on my dog as well. He did very well with it, even though it looked evil. I then moved onto the choke collar once I was able to get him to do most commands with little pressure on the collar. Now I am able to use his regular collar, but sometimes have to remind him with an occasional use of the prong. My dad hates the look of the prong collar, but used properly it can be a very good tool.
Work with your dog leading a few minutes every day. Training such a high energy dog will take lots of time. I spent about 15 minutes every day with my dog when he was a puppy. He is very good, but still has small issues. Its not easy training an animal, but you can usually figure it out along the way. However, I've seen people who weigh 90-100 pounds take full control of dogs that weigh the same if not more then them. What you weigh does not matter. You can have just as much control and power over a dog as a strong 200 pound man can. It just all depends on the way in which you apply the pressure to your dog.
Getting tough with your dog doesn't mean you have to hurt them or be "mean". The punishments from other dogs would be much worse than most of the things people can do. The key is being firm.
Please, please get your dog spayed. The last thing you need is more high strung puppies to train and deal with!
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