LafayetteLady
Posts: 7683
Joined: 5/2/2007 From: Northern New Jersey Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Toppingfrmbottom Right now till he learns the house and I can feel more secure that he's not gonna break something or get into something he's not supposed to, I have him on a retractable leash, so he can explore, and I can maintain control. Twenty minutes for a Golden Retriever? How old is he? Because really, that is too frequent and he will want to always go out at those intervals. You want him to learn to do his business just 3-4 times a DAY. Waking up, after breakfast, after dinner and before bed. He is a large enough breed to hold it. You also should be crating him when you are out, especially since he gets into things when you are there. Further he is used to be crated (much better term than cage, don't ya think?) so this will assist him in adjusting. Most crate trained dogs look at their crates as *their* space. They will often spend time in there even when not required. It should be just big enough for him to stand up and turn around. It will discourage him from messing in the crate because most times they don't want to lie in it so they will hold it in. He's deaf so what types of hand signals are you going to use to train him? Not a bad idea to get yourself a book on American Sign Language and teach him signs that represent the tasks in ASL. Don't forget that while he can't hear, he CAN feel vibrations. You can use vibrations in two ways, just like you would your voice. Find something that you can make vibrations on the floor with. Not like walking, more like the bass on a stereo. It will get his attention to look up, so you can sign to him what command you want to give. You can also find some other type of vibration that can represent your "Good Boy!" voice by action, something more than just the happy face an rub a dub stroking of his coat. Something you use with this that will represent your voice, so even if you aren't doing the happy good boy face, or the rub a dub stroke, he knows you are happy with him. Hysterically, (blushes save me from myself!) the only "gadget" I can come up with is like a vibrating egg or a little bullet! They are the right size, have the right vibration for the task! Don't forget that just because you have Bones now, you get a buy on going to the gym pool. Schedule your day so you fit both in. The beauty of this is Bones is going to help you lose that apathy about your life and through you he will learn to use his "voice" I think it is wonderful Congratulations. Let me know how it goes.  
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