The younger one is still a puppy, does he have his permanent teeth yet?
Here is what I have learned;
Dogs need chew-toys and a digging box. But most of all, my dogs need exercise. Enough to make them tired and nap the day away. He needs to run. I put him on a schedule, that suits me, and after a short time, he started to come asking for it. And dogs have to understand their names, so that they know when you are talking to them, when there is more than just one in the room.
And I had to establish TWO-WAY communication, so that he can come and make his needs known. When he was young and acting stupid, it was because he had no proper way of communicating.
So the way we did this was; I taught him to put a paw on my leg whenever he wanted something. I taught him, one or two word phrases that he soon recognized and responded to. I always preceded the question with his name so that he understood that I was addressing him specifically. Here are some of them; Hungry? Thirsty? Run? loving? (which is petting and grooming) Outside? Inside? Walk? (which means go take care of business), and you can add whatever is germane to your way of life. His response to the correct question I had to learn. Georgie's was easy; he gave me a propeller tail, which he only ever displays in this way.
After that it was extremely handy to teach him the basics which are; NO!/down/stop/heel/sit/stand/jump-up/stand-up/stay/wait/turn around/back-up/move over/ and things like; "more?", as in more food, more loving more running, whatever more might apply to. It is so great when my dog comes to me for a second helping. And like "All-done/ all-done?", as in that's it for whatever we were doing, or are you finished?
>I have never used food as a training aid. I established dominance right away, the day I brought him home from the shelter, and I claimed everything in sight; then slowly showed him which things were permissible to be done.
Dogs are pack animals, and I have never had one that wouldn't give up dominance to me. They are not real good decision-makers, so you gotta take charge. Failure to do this will lead to social problems. Dominance does not mean to physically hurt them. They need to understand that the same hand that feeds them, and pets them, also corrects them, with knuckles in the ribs; just enough to get his attention.
After that, they need a lot of attention in the younger years. Mine comes for loving quite a lot, even at 10 years old. But he is good with five minutes, then "all done", and off he goes.
In case you got the wrong impression, I have only rescued/rehomed, lessee; Georgie, Duke, Sparky, Milo, and Jake, so five dogs in as many years. But as the town Garbage-man, I know at least fourty or more other dogs, most of which are friendly to me, and I dog-sit several of them, which always go home, having learned something from the Garbage-man..
>Oh, and one more thing; dogs use their faces to indicate things, watch carefully. When the nose points to something, you gotta figure out what he is trying to communicate. When the nose points, it is sometimes very fast, and easy to miss. So I ask him again; "what does Georgie want?", and he will repeat it.
His eyes and ears and tail are his principal tools of communication. His eyebrows will say a lot about his mood. His tail had it's own language, and is not always in-sync with his brain. When his ears are forward, he is curious and this is the best time to teach him anything; he is wanting to learn. Learn to recognize his happy-smile.
And recognize his "I gotta go take care of business", tell. In that way you won't have a yard full of greasy doggy-turds to deal with. My dogs go in the ditch, alongside the country road during exercise time, which is running a mile or more in the country, so I don't even have to scoop it up. But I always carry bags with me at all times, just in case. Cuz everybody knows me, and it wouldn't be good to catch the garbage-man not picking up after his own dog, lol.
Of the many things I have learned from my dog George, the overlying thing is that he, for one, is a daymn smart dog, and I would never have known that unless we had got to know eachother. Before this adventure, I had a very low opinion of animals, dogs included. Now, George has become part of the family, and responds to over three dozen spoken communications. Plus we read eachother's body language. He is 10 now, 7 of those have been with us. I will miss him when his time comes.
Georgie was fostered from the shelter, twice prior to us taking him home. To this day I cannot understand that. I suppose, he was not well-understood, and nobody took the time to get to know him. For us, he has been golden.
Oh, BTW George is 70 pounds and because he can practically talk, lol, he has free-range inside and outside, but spends most of the winter inside. He has learned to show affection in various and pleasant ways.
>Oh yeah, barking inside , even when announcing visitors, was never allowed. I sleep poorly enough without being awakened by no stinking barking dog.
The way I did this was a one-two punch. I put a leash on him in the house during the training period. Then whenever he barked I grabbed him, and, simultaneously said "quiet!" and give him a slap under the chin. The leash had a dual purpose; first so I could chase and catch the bugger to administer the correction, and second he was never allowed to bark while on leash. A 70 pound dog can run really fast, lol, so the leash made it easier to catch him, when he knew he was gonna get a slap..
Georgie responded right away and now, because he can communicate so well, he only ever barks to come inside, and it is just one modest " hello; anybody there?" type of bark.
Other dogs were less willing to STFU. But if they were mine or I was dog-sitting, I never let them get away with it.
