I don't know what to do.

[Idgiebay]

I have a seven year old German Shepherd mix, and for the past few years, she's been living life on a long chain. I'm tired of seeing her like that... The problem is when she's taken off the chain, she tries to jump the wall and, because she's a very large dog with strong leg muscles, she's often times successful. It's dangerous because our neighbors have small dogs and, while she isn't necessarily aggressive, she tends to play rough. I doubt the neighbors would appreciate a giant dog jumping over their wall, anyway.

She wasn't trained as a puppy because my parents' business took a bad turn right after we got her and finances were tight, which is probably one of the reasons she's so unruly. I love her so much though, and I hate seeing her on that stupid chain all the time... I'd like to get her trained now, but I'm unemployed at the moment, and my mom feels like it would be a waste to train her at this point in her life... I want to tell her that it's never a waste, but I'm not so sure...

I guess my question is: can an old dog learn new tricks? Is there a way we can keep her from jumping over the walls and not have to worry about it while nobody's home?

[dukedogsmom]

Older dogs can be trained. However, I have no idea of what to tell you on getting yours trained. I don't have that much experience. Are there any trainers in your area that would be willing to talk to you on the phone a little? They might have some suggestions of where to start. Maybe some other people here will know more than I do. Now if you ever need some horse advice, I know quite a bit more on that

[binka_nugget]

Nope, dogs are never too old to learn new tricks. I adopted Kaedyn at age 5/6. He didn't know a single command and actually was aggressive (this was only back in September). He's pretty obedient now. He has a better recall than my youngster, knows all his basic commands and is preparing for advance obedience. And most of the training was actually done by me. Trainers are just there to teach clients how to teach their dogs. You don't need any money to train your dog. I'm sure you could find some excellent training articles online (or a few good books from your library). There are also more experienced people here that might give you a few pointers.

Is there an area (inside) you could confine her to while you're not home? Or even a dog run outside would work nicely. A crate may work as well, although I'm not a fan of crating for more than a couple hours.

[Kfamr]

She has many more years ahead of her so it's definitely not a waste and life outside 24/7 is no life at all for a dog.


As far as jumping..

Do not give her ANY attention at all if she tries jumping. You may want to teach her "sit" before, so you can tell her to sit before getting any attention.


I'm not sure exactly what you want to know, so there isn't much mr I have to say.



Other than, Welcome to Pet Talk!

[mruffruff]

Welcome!

It's good that you want to take your dog off the chain. And yes, old dogs can learn new tricks. My dog Samson was at least 8 when I adopted him. He is a strong jumper--6 foot fence from a sitting position--and he no longer tries to jump the fence.

If your neighbor has the fence, you will have to either put up your own fence or keep your dog on a lead whenever he is outside until he learns not to jump the fence. Even then I would be afraid to leave him in the yard alone.

How high is your neighbor's fence? Is it wood or chain link? How is your relationship with your neighbors?

I put up a solid wood 6 foot fence around my yard and divided it with 5 foot chain link. I had to put a floppy wire fencing on top of the chain link to teach him to stay in his side of the yard. And wire down into the ground to keep him from digging out. He has a doggie door too so he can come in when the weather is bad.

It could take a long time to be able to trust him off the chain, but it would be good if you can train him to stay in the yard when you're there.

It's worth working on.

Mary

[tatsxxx11]

Welcome to Pet Talk Cudos to you for realizing that life on a chain is no life at all for a dog; it only prompotes aggession, nervous behavior and frustration. Her desire to jump is probably a result of having been restrained for so many years. Understandably she want to run and explore and if she's a natural jumper, well I guess she figures up is the way to go! Is there any reason why she cannot be in the house during the day, when no one is home; is she allowed in the home during the night, in cold weather? Building her an enclosed kennel outdoors, with a wire top might be an option if for some reason you can't bring her indoors. If for some reason she can't be trusted with free roam of the house, as has been said, you could try crate training or perhaps initially, gating off a safe area of the home, say the kitchen, and with time, you can increase her acccessability to other areas of the home. It's never to late to teach a dog...You might try calling up a trainer in your area for suggestions/advice. She/he would probably have some good suggestions on how to acclimate her to the home and obedience classes are always a good idea, at any age! Good luck to you! Your pup is lucky to have such a caring and concerned guardiaan! Please, let us know how it goes! Hugs to your pup!!!

[Pam]

There are some excellent training books that you could pick up at places like PetsMart and Petco if you have one close by, or you could order online. That would be less expensive than going to obedience school if money is tight right now.

[Idgiebay]

Thank you for your replies, everyone.

We used to let her roam the garage when it was raining or cold outside, but the last two times she was in there, she tore the place up... It was strange because she'd never done anything like that before. I suppose she was taking her frustration out on our furniture.

I started letting her in the house during the day, but she's so curious about everything and she tries to knock over the trash. She used to repsond to a frim NO or a clap of the hands, but she's gotten stubborn and reckless lately, probably due to the chain. Any suggestions for discipline? I already know never to hit her, and I wouldn't want to anyway. I've had many dogs before her, she's just the most unruly. Yet still very sweet and loving.

Her name is Mirage, by the way, so we don't have keep referring her to only "she."