Any animal lovers here? We have always loved dogs. Especially larger dogs.
Some of you know we had a 90 lb black lab that we lost due to the road at the end of last year. We attempted perimeter training- obviously without success for him so we decided to build a fence before we got another dog. We opted for a fence that would eventually work for livestock also. Well, having a large (smart) puppy has proved to have challenges. Most obvious is size.
He is currently 6 months old and about 75 lbs. Estimated adult weight is 100-130 lbs. His kennel took up a good chunk of our living room- we recently were able to take it down and give it back to my in-laws (thanks for lending it to us!). However, we still need to figure out an area to make his with a pet bed as we now have our small chest freezer where his kennel was located. Although to be honest- he prefers sleeping on the sofa/chair or in our 2nd daughter’s bed. For awhile it was under our bed but the last 2 times he attempted that, he got stuck so I think he has decided that’s a no go anymore.
One of the 3 places he prefers to sleep.
Another challenge is he has figured out how to get out of the fence. He figured out how to climb the gates several weeks ago.
Image of our gates going in/out of backyard (we have one larger [10’?] gate and two 48” gates); he climbs the fencing and fits through the bars at the top.
So, after attempting to retrain him to stay in the fence with little success, we decided on an invisible fence. My in-laws have one that they really like but we decided to get a wireless one. We chose the PetSafe Stay + Play Wireless Fence for Stubborn Dogs. It has worked like a charm. Assuming no prolonged power outages, we should be good. In that scenario, we have a tie out and of course his harness/leash. He has done so well with the invisible fence- took less than a week for it to “click” and he no longer even attempts to go near the boundary. It covers up to 3/4 acre and has 6 levels to adjust to your pet (the first level is just beeping).
Sporting his PetSafe® collar and a “what are you looking at?” face
The base unit for our PetSafe® wireless.
One of our other challenges has been that lately he’s learned that if we leave out any food on table or countertop that he’s big enough to access it 🤦♀️. So it’s a combination training. Reminding kids to either eat it or put it away as well as teaching the pup that taking our food off of surfaces is unacceptable. But having a pup has also been good for everyone and we have all enjoyed teaching him and playing with him. He learned to bark at strangers last week. When he barked at the FedEx guy, I pulled Max inside and the startled driver said “I’ll just leave this right here, okay?” and basically dropped it and speed walked back to his truck 🤣.
Do you like big dogs? Ever owned one or have a family/ friend that has? What tips would you suggest for owners of very large dogs?
Until next time,
Jenn
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Or here for their “stubborn dog” version which is identical to ours:
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