Training a dog is much more fun than I thought

[AstroManLuca]

Whoa, half boxer half lab? Just how insane is she? I have a boxer but she's kind of old. She's still energetic but she doesn't stay hyper for that long.

She was a rescue dog who came pre-trained. Once she got to know us she would sit whenever we told her. My wife did a little more training and taught her to shake, lie down, and roll over.

 

[Gooberlx2]

IME, when a family actually trains their dog, both they and the dog(s) are happier for it.

Good job, OP. :thumbsup:

 

[Joemonkey]

IME, when a family actually trains their dog, both they and the dog(s) are happier for it.

Good job, OP. :thumbsup:

That was part of getting the dog, it was something we could enjoy as a family and a good way to give our daughter some responsibility

 

[alkemyst]

That was part of getting the dog, it was something we could enjoy as a family and a good way to give our daughter some responsibility

I hope it works out for you, but in the end a dog (or other pet) should only be taken on by the person wanting to care for it a lifetime.

Many parents use a pet to teach responsibility...often times it fails miserably either during the early stage...animal collapses and everyone realizes no one was feeding or giving it water; or the later stages: child hits their teens and disappears, parents never wanted to care for the pet and now have their hands full with a teenager.

You sound like you wanted this dog so that's good. Make it your dog though and your daughter may grow to want her own as an adult too.

One of the saddest things for a dog I think is the kid that grew up 'owning' it, only to leave them when they went on to build their own life in that dog's most needy years.

Getting my dog, Hanzo; was one of the greatest things I ever did for myself.

 

[Joemonkey]

I hope it works out for you, but in the end a dog (or other pet) should only be taken on by the person wanting to care for it a lifetime.

Many parents use a pet to teach responsibility...often times it fails miserably either during the early stage...animal collapses and everyone realizes no one was feeding or giving it water; or the later stages: child hits their teens and disappears, parents never wanted to care for the pet and now have their hands full with a teenager.

You sound like you wanted this dog so that's good. Make it your dog though and your daughter may grow to want her own as an adult too.

One of the saddest things for a dog I think is the kid that grew up 'owning' it, only to leave them when they went on to build their own life in that dog's most needy years.

Getting my dog, Hanzo; was one of the greatest things I ever did for myself.

I'm with you on all counts. The dog is the family's dog. The responsibility our daughter has right now is making sure the dog has water (we double check), take her out to potty when she whines at the door (a chore shared by everyone in the family), cleaning up her poop every couple days (again, a chore shared by the whole family), exercising (same, whole family) and training (something we all alternate doing daily). Training = food, so we don't have to worry about making sure she's fed.

We view Jackie as more of a "family companion" than just a thing to help teach our daughter responsibility. Jackie has been ingrained in our routine over the month and a half we've had her, and I see no signs of any sort of novelty wearing off. All of us love to play with and train her to the point where it isn't a chore, it's part of the daily routine just like reading and doing homework with our daughter.

 

[*kjm]

Thats great to hear. More people need to have their dogs trained.

Boxers aren't known for their incredible intelligence, nor labs really.

That has got to be a joke? Labs are known for their willing to be told what to do. I have had two out of two doing triple blind fetches in their first year and a half of training! They do have master hunter blood in them but I spend a lot of time with them as pups and it pays off. Labs are very smart just google the vids:\

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOVqeXQ8jX4

 

[*kjm]

cleaning up her poop every couple days (again, a chore shared by the whole family.

One thing that has worked for me is to get the dog around winter time as a pup... in WI late Nov. I then snow blow a path to the garden for them to "go" and that is the only place they ever have gone. It has worked for me with two dogs and my dad with about 5 dogs over the years. It dont have to be a garden but could be a tree, one spot ect. If you are in a warm area you would just have to make them go in an area by leash and it would take more time but in the long run would save you time.

 

[*kjm]

Recently picked up a boxer/lab mix for my family (myself, wife, 6yo daughter) and we have been amazed at how good things are going. We picked her up at around 2.5mo old, and she took to crate training immediately. Last week (at about 4mo old) we started her with training at petsmart and she already knows 16 commands (8 total, each with a voice and silent/hand component)

Growing up I had smaller dogs, but they were never crate trained, never leash trained, and never command trained. My wife's family had Rotts that were crate trained, but not command trained and would jump all over you when you went into the house. We decided that if we were going to get a dog, we were going to be responsible pet owners and have it leash trained and command trained. So far it's working out great! Just watching my daughter interact with the dog is a blast, especially since the dog now responds to an "off" command when she jumps up on my daughter

We're thinking of taking the dog all the way through competition obedience training, not necessarily to compete, but we just want our dog to be that well trained. Anyone have any experience with agility/CGC/competition training? Did we pick a good mixed breed for such training?

Joemonkey go for it! The more you put into the dog the more it will love you and respect you. The dog will never let you down but you may feel you let it down Gratz on your new friend!

 

[Joemonkey]

One thing that has worked for me is to get the dog around winter time as a pup... in WI late Nov. I then snow blow a path to the garden for them to "go" and that is the only place they ever have gone. It has worked for me with two dogs and my dad with about 5 dogs over the years. It dont have to be a garden but could be a tree, one spot ect. If you are in a warm area you would just have to make them go in an area by leash and it would take more time but in the long run would save you time.

she has a fairly long lead on a stake so she only goes in that area. We are planning on putting up some fencing so we can just let her out the back door, but this works for now. She's never outside alone either, we're always out there with her.