My giant dogs are driving me mad!!

MissMeggy

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#1
Hello there I am new here and just wanna be sure everyone knows I truely love my dogs. I have an English mastiff and a great Dane both of which are 11 months old. Here is my issue. They play waaay too rough in the house. During the day the Dane stays in a crate. When I get home and let her out the madness begins. They are truely having fun but they are pretty big dogs. They just thrash about and it's not so good for my poor house! What should I be doing to teach them to chill out and play a little less rough? I get their attention and make them both sit. Then I give them each a toy and praise them for chewing on the toy instead of each other. But as soon as I turn my back they are back at it. Thanks for any advice! :)
 

SuZQuzie

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#2
Exercise. Tired puppies = well behaved puppies. :)

The dog park, long walks, the beach (if you have one near you), and hikes are all great options.
 

Doberluv

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#3
I agree. These dogs have been pent up in the house all day? No wonder. LOL. You do paint a good visual. They need exercise and obedience training. Are they enrolled in class with a positive method trainer? They need that. Then you can re-direct them when they act up to something they have learned...something they love to do because they've been reinforced a lot for it. My Doberman was hell on wheels when he was a pup. I just can't imagine having two at a time. I feel for you. But get those two out for some good, hard exercise and obedience practice. Make it fun.
 

gecko_mom

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#4
I only allow my girls to wrestle outside because they get so crazy in the house.

I'd say, correct them when they start and keep on them. If you have a fenced in yard, send them outside. Otherwise figure out a way they can do it outside.
 

MissMeggy

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#5
Further probs

Well I was wanting to save this for another post but I guess it pertains to this subject as well. Willow our Dane is new to our family. We have had her for around 2.5 months. She lived her entire life in a crate. This is why I hate the crate for her but she gets in far too much trouble when she's left out. For her own good when I leave I put her in. So back t the point....when we let her out she bolts. If not on her leash she is gone! She knows come indoors but not outside. So usually we just walk her on her leash and she does great. We try everyday to let her off and run but she runs far away and will not come back. We have to catch her and put her on her leash and lead her back inside. It sucks bc we want them to be able to play outside together. Cyprus knows his boundaries btw until she is out. As for a fence we don't have the money to build one. Same goes for obedience training. Far too expensive and the closest is an hour and a half away.....it's all on us. Lol
thanks for the fast responses btw! :)
 

Doberluv

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#6
Start small MissMeggy. When she comes to you on her own....like even inside the house, give her a teensy treat and praise. Go outside and put a long line (30 ft or so) on her. Be careful she doesn't run out to the end of it and hurt her neck. Get her use to it first by starting with it shorter. Is she trained to a leash? Entice her to come to you and give her a special treat and praise. Let her go romp some more. What's probably happened is that she gets out, has a wee of a time and then doesn't want to come back in where all the fun and fresh air comes to a screeching halt. She needs to find out that when she does come to you, she can be released again a few more times to play. Then when she does come inside, don't stop the good stuff. Get out a favorite toy, just for this occassion. Play her favorite game. Get out the most scrumptious treats. (tiny, pea sized, real meat or cheese) Make a party for 5 minutes or so. That way, she will be more willing to come and to come inside.

Think about what is going to happen anytime she comes. Is it punishment or reward? Make sure you don't inadvertantly punish her. Ie: Don't call her to come, then clip her nails or some other yucky thing. Never associate anger with coming, no matter what. Always, always reward for coming, even if you have to go get her. She should not have freedom off a long line until you get her recall much, much more solid and then, only in a safe area miles away from any road. If she's running off, clear out of sight, this is no good.

It sounds like she needs some obedience training. If you can't afford a trainer, there are loads of good threads here on this forum. Here are a few links to some great training tips.
You can learn a lot through these.

Training a Steadfast Recall | Karen Pryor Clickertraining

You have to sign up for this, but it's no big deal. Really great methods:

ClickerSolutions Training Articles Contents


One of my all time favorites. Something that has become a part of my life. Excellent.

26. Zen
 

SuZQuzie

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#7
Yup, obedience training would help alot. I have a Boxer puppy and I live in a small apartment. If he is feeling silly, we train and he loves it! He loves the "touch game."

I have a feeling that the Dane just needs to get it out of her system. There has to be a dog park nearby you, right? I would go there and let her run and run and run and run to her heart's content. She WILL get tired; Danes aren't a breed renown for their endurance. ;) Bring treats and her favorite toys. Whenever she comes up to you to say, "Wow! I'm having so much fun!" with a big smile on, give her a treat.

Just be prepared to wait her out for 2-2.5 hours at the most, but I can't imagine her going longer than 1.5 hour.

Right now, the situation is, "I get free, run away, and then the parents play chase! Fun!" Turn the situation into her just running in a safe, enclosed area and then coming to YOU, not vice versa. :)
 

FoxyWench

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#8
we fenced out 1/4 of an acre with 5ft fencing for under $150.

we used the green wire fencing advertised as "deer fencing" with those metal posts...
most dogs as long as their supervised only need a visial barrier, but they do make up to 8ft tall in that stuff (it comes as a role and its good heavy duty wire.)
its not gonna stand up to a realy DETERMIND dog, but as a cheap boudry option untill you can save up for a heavier duty fence...

danes in particular are high energy masitfs that need ALOT of excersize and at her age shes still a puppy, menatlly she will be four another couple of years, danes dont realy slow down untill 3...and even then...
having a SAFE offleash area for her to realy run and play in would be a huge help...

id also realy work on recal, buy a super long line, a good 50ft leash, and start practicing recal outside...
obedience, even if you cant get to a class, work on obedience at home, because mental stimulation is also good for quelling energy. make the sessions fun, keep them short, and lots of rewards, be it food, toy or just praise...
 

Maura

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#9
I once used 5' cattle fencing and metal posts to put up a fence. My standard poodle could clear five feet, so I set the fencing so it was 3" above ground.

An immediate fix would be to use a pully system. You run a wire between the house and another building or tree or pole. You get a little pully, one roundy part goes over the line, the other part you clip a 10 foot chain to. Your hardware store probably sells what you need in a kit. I don't like dogs on a chain, but this system is far superior to a simple tie out. Your dog can run back and forth. At first, clip her to the chain and also a long leash, this way you can be sure she won't pop the system and get away. You will train her how far she can go on the system. When you put her outside you can play with her and let her get some of the vinegar out of her system. You can also work on her recall. Remember, dogs don't generalize and "come" in the living room means nothing in the field. You have to take her to every place she will be in and practice the recall. If you want her to come to you when twenty feet from the house, then practice working her twenty feet from the house. If you want her to come to you a hundred feet away, then go the hundred feet and work her on the recall there (first three feet from you, then five feet, then seven feet, etc._) I had to work my border collie all over my six acres, all the way to the boundaries, to get him to have a good recall all the way at the end of the pasture, as well as in the adjacent woods. One way to get exercise.

She wants to please you, she just doesn't get it once she is outside.
 
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#10
Your dogs need more exercises and offleash time.
I rescued a dog a year ago. She is a greyhound, shepherd, lab cross may be. She use to run awaya lot and was an escape artist. She also was crated for long period of time. The reason: Stress. Some dogs when they are stressed just need to run.
With me she has more freedom and more offleash time. She stopped running away
I totally agree with all the above comments I would add one more thing: Get her emotionally engaged as well: Play games, teach her tricks and all of that can be fun positive training.
 

Romy

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#11
Do you have any kind of yard area and it's just not fenced? Or is there no yard at all?

Putting a drag line on her will make it easier to catch her. Make it 80 feet long if you have to. You probably don't want them to play while she's wearing it, because it can get wrapped around the other dog's legs and at high speeds that is dangerous.

If you do have a yard, can you build an A frame like this?



If you can get one up, you can tire her out in a small space. Put her on a long line, and then put her over the A frame back and forth 70 or so times when she comes out of her crate. She will be feeling a LOT more mellow after that. ;)

Can you pick up a few used chain link kennel panels somewhere like craigslist? Even if you can only fence off a 10'x10' space, it is still somewhere they could wrestle each other and not be disruptive.

We bought 330' of 4' tall field wire for $186 at the feed store, it made a really nice dog paddock.
 

MissMeggy

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#12
My crazy willow

Thank you for all the good responses!
We know that she and Cyprus both could use more play time outdoors. We are just sort of short on cash right now after the holidays and all. So building a fence is definately on my list but not sure how to achieve just yet. Hadn't thought of craigslist thow thanks for that idea! Our property is fenced in but not enclosed so the drive way is open to the road. And some places the deer have busted. Needless to say I'm a little worried for her. Also there are some wild dogs here that concern me. Cyprus learned boundaries fast and we let him out unattended everyday. No probs. There isn't a dog park here either. I'm in a very rural area. I'm going to try a pulley like system I think along with a much longer leash. I like all of these ideas! Sometimes you just need a little input ya know? You guys are great thank you!
 

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