Greetings, this is my first post - I just joined. I hope this is the correct forum. Also, I did not see any title that spoke to my concern. Grady is a beautiful, stunning Lab/Aussie mix. I adopted him from a rescue. My understanding is that he was tied up with tire chains in a backyard in OK with his sister/wife. He was parasite burdened, underweight and almost feral when I started to foster him in June (interestingly enough he was house broken). The rescue said he was 2 years old. He is now healthy, knows commands and his Aussie coat is growing in with the silky black hair (gorgeous). I wish the Aussie brain would kick in. Of what I have seen on this forum, the behavior issues with corrections seem to be for puppies. He is only 45 pounds but strong as an ox and there is no way for me to restrain him without dominating him which I don't want to do because he has some submissive/fearful behavior. I think he was abused in other ways in OK. He is VERY attached to me. Leaving the house requires I use all my strategic thought: planting coat and shoes at one door while I sneak out the other kind of thing. I have left him in the yard all day because he just wouldn't come in the house. He was reticent to come into the house when I bought him home. I don't think he spent much time inside. He won't come when I call him if he thinks I am calling him in so I can leave. We do practice come which he does. He knows when I am leaving or he anticipates it. He does all of the attention seeking activities discussed (barking and licking make me crazy). It is difficult to ignore his barking as there are tenants in the building and I caregive a family member who is bothered by the barking.. I have difficulty "putting" him anyplace. He will struggle to the point he could hurt himself. He is not aggressive and is very loving. He knows his basic commands and will do them (accept "come"). So. How do I train a puppy in an adult body? Thank you for your time and expertise
Well done for adopting a dog and giving him a loving home. I think with dogs that have had a traumatic start it’s very difficult to generalise training for them. What support has your rescue given and can they recommend a behaviourist as your lovely dog will need quite specific intervention due to his history. Good luck
My last dog was a year old when I got her and had no training, even toilet training, beyond what they had managed to teach her in the rescue. My current dog was adult sized and untrained when I got him at 6 months. I think the principles of training are exactly the same but the process takes much longer than with a puppy.
