independent dog

Question
Hi. At first our golden retriever, bought from
a friend of a friend at about dog's age 7, seemed
friendly and trainable. But when we left him home,
we usually found a mess when we returned. He
attacked furniture, the drapes, the door! Now,
just chaining him up to a safe basement post and
area results in his howling like a wolf, barking
and "bathrooming" for hours!

Do you have any ideas on this? Thanks in advance
--Max


Answer
I have a question for you.  How many owners has this dog had?  Sometimes, when a dog seems untrainable, people just give up and give the dog away.  This dog is extremely trainable.  You need to get a crate large enough to hold him in.  Start by putting him in there when you are home.  When he howls, too bad.  When he's not howling, let him out, play with him, etc. Put him in there and leave for a while, about 15 minutes, but listen to him, see if he's howling.  If not, go in and let him out.  Let him be with the family and play.  After a bit, put him back in the cage.  Only let him out if he's NOT putting up a fuss.  If he puts up a fuss, make him stay in there until he's quiet, then let him out.  If he chews and scratches at the bars, get some "Apple Bitter". It's a spray you can get at a pet supply store.  Pet Smart, PetCo, etc.  He won't like that and that will help with the chewing. This will make him understand that his good behaviour is only rewarded and bad behaviour is not.  You must put him in this cage when you're gone at all times.  If he's 7 yrs old and still destroys things, you will never be able to leave him out at this stage, when he's trained to understand that you will be back soon, then maybe you can leave him out.  When he fusses, don't say anything.  It will be really hard at first, but he will learn that his noise isn't getting any attention.  No yelling either, this only makes him know he's superiour to you.  Do this a little longer each time until you can go 2 hours or more without him making a fuss.  This will also teach him that you will be home, you're not going to leave him, you're not going to send him away to someone elses house and most importantly, you're not going to give up on him.  Lavish him with pets and praises, and even treats when he does what you want him to do and no reward, (not even yelling or spanking when he does something you don't like).  Also, it might not be a bad idea to get him into an obedience class of some sort.  If you teach him what you want from him, he will be a very obedient and loving dog.  This works really well with puppies.  It may take some time to teach this dog what you want, you need to be patient, he's older and more set in HIS ways.  You keep trying, take vitamin B for stress lol and he will eventually do what you want him to do.  ;) good luck, katie.  ps. let me know how it's going.  consistency is another key here.  do the same things over and over, he'll get it.