At wits end with lab puppy?!?

[achban]

This is my first puppy that I'm training by myself. I've always had dogs so I decided, you know, why not get a puppy and train it to be a good dog? I train horses, a dog can't be that hard! No. I was wrong. A dog is difficult to train. He is a 4 month old black lab. He's VERY smart and very trainable, I'm just having a hard time training him!
He gets into the garabage constantly. He urinates where-ever he pleases. I've tried tinkle bells, I've tried taking him out every two hours, nothing helps. He goes outside, comes right back in and pees. If I catch him peeing, he gets spanked and taken immediantly outside again. He chews EVERYTHING but his chewies. I've tried peanut butter and chicken in those star toys and rawhide bones, he's rather chew on paper or walls.

I train horses so I take him outside and he's outside a good deal of the day. I'm trying to train him to follow me but he always runs off with my other dog who patrols the property or heels horses. That dog knows only to growl at the horses and will not bite them. The puppy tries to get in the middle of things and WILL be killed if my horses kick him because they are all shod. If I put him on a lead, he screams until I come and get him.
I tried building a nice little run for him. It's got a house and toys but he CONTINUOUSLY gets out... he either digs his way out or climbs the walls until he's up and over and out. I don't want to chain him up... that just seems cruel and besides, he howls and screams constantly.
I don't have money to take him to a professional trainer, my money goes into my horses. I figured it'd be easy to make a good farm dog but it's really not been.

I need help. How do I train him to stay in his run, to stop urinating all over the house, and to wait outside the pasture while I'm working? He does know sit and he knows to come when he's called. That's the problem. He DOES come when he's called but the second he comes to you, he's gone again. It's a constant cycle of CONSTANTLY calling him back. He gets patted and scratched every time he comes when I call him.

[sayre]

To big of a lecture message. I would just say give him away

[tonibraxton]

Oh dear. I'd say go to obediance class :( sorry I know that's really helpful.

Take him out by himself and make him heel, give him lots of love and treats when he does heel.

teach him sit, that's really easy I think you can figure it out if you train horses ;)

there is this bitter apple spray that you can get at petstores, and at this point spray it on everything in your house, it tastes nasty and your puppy won't want to chew things anymore.

One thing, is that even if your dog runs away, I don't care if he's been leading you on a goose chase for half an hour, when he does come back when you call him, you praise the crap out of him. I swear it works.

Praise him for anything they do good, no matter how good it takes.

You might have to physically force them to do it, but when they do, praise praise praise and FOOD :)

hope this helps, without actually being able to work with you it's kinda hard, so go to a local obedience class. :)

[chen12]

He is a Labrador Retriever. They stay puppy like well into the third year. He is a field hunting dog. He needs EXERCISE !!!

[galvin]

Stay in his run - You can line little pebbles or rocks (smooth sides up) along the bottom of the pen so that he can't dig his way out. That's what they do at my dog park. Anyways as for the climbing part, you should make the wall higher if you can. If that doesn't work, maybe reinforce the inside so that there aren't any pawholds and he can't get a grip on the thing.

Urinating in the house - First of all, organize a schedule for when he gets fed and watered. That way you can at least approximate when he might need to bathroom. Take him out immediately after he eats. Watch him to make absolutely sure that he goes on the lawn. If he does, praise him well and give him a treat. Make sure you scold him if he goes in the house. You have to be fast with this, though! You only have one second to do each, one second to praise and treat and one second to scold. If you don't discover the mess immediately after he made it and scold him, he will be confused and not know what he did wrong.

Wait outside pasture - Teach him the "stay" command. You say he is intelligent and trainable. He can do it. You must be persistant and patient. You can't give up! You have to work on it constantly so he will remember it. Don't scold him if he "doesn't do it right." He's only a puppy and he is only just learning. Make absolutely certain that you praise him immediately after he follows the command with a treat and say the verbal command again.

Calling him - It's good that you praise him when he comes, but you should also give him a treat and say his name while praising him like "Good boy, (name)!" If you teach him the stay command as mentioned above, it should help him stay near you.

Tips - Before buying any treats, read the ingredients and nutrition information. Since you will be using them a lot, make sure they aren't too high in fat and sodium. Make sure they're small and it would be healthier if they were all-natural. Be patient! Training a dog takes a lot of patience, practice, and time. If he is as intelligent as you say, he should learn quickly. Don't give up, either! If you do, he'll never get it. Be quick! You only have one second to praise, one to scold. Make sure you keep repeating the commands as well so that he'll know what to do when you say it.

Hope this helps! Good luck :)