How do I teach a large dog manners?

[Spirit2010]

Well, if I am going to take on a large dog, then I need to know how to teach, not to run threw the house, leave things alone, and things like that. :) Thank you for reading! Hope to hear from you all!

[rabbitsarebetter]

there are lots of good books on that.
someone will chime in with the titles soon i hope. good luck!

[Spirit2010]

thanks! :)

[bubbatd]

Really depends on the age .......Ollie was a year and a half old puppy when I got him . He has his yaa-yaa days ! At least he was house broken and is learning about " his " and " mine " things .

[Tracer Tong]

I'm digging "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson. You'll learn a lot and you'll figure a lot of things out. It can be a bit dense at times though.

[Dulce Pit Bull]

There are TONS of books on training at PetSmart. Try there :)

[Dulce Pit Bull]

Oh, and take the dog to dog traiing

[Tinjz]

I use a cage for my Lab puppy when she is alone.. That prevents her from chewing on everything.. The cage is big and comfy and she falls right asleep there.

I'm not sure how usual it is to use a cage in the Us though :) Some people don't like it, some do..
But my dog never suffered in it, and neither does my friends dogs.

[hollybea]

the principles are the same as for a small dog, you must be consistant and firm with lots of praise for good behaviour.

[casablanca1]

One thing I found useful was 'tethering' which was basically just tying the dog to myself for an hour or two. So if I was reading, they had to just lie there next to the chair, etc. It's not 100% successful if you have a great big crazy puppy, but as long as they're getting good exercise, it really helps to have them physically unable to leave your side for extended periods in the house. They can't get into trouble, they get used to being around you without getting constant attention - the idea is that you're just doing what you normally do, cooking, washing dishes, watching TV, etc., and they're there but not getting petted and made a fuss over - so they learn to calm down a bit in the house.

Also, study where you store things. I briefly owned a very large dog who could reach the top of the refrigerator. Even my 50lb dog is significantly taller than my previous two, and everything had to go up a level to avoid 24/7struggles over such temptations as the sewing basket (stupid, stupid dog adored playing with spools of thread, which usually had needles stuck in them), and the butter dish (which was once safe atop the sink; no more).