Hi
I'm first time dog owner of a large 2yo (entire) male labrador who I've had since he was 2mo. I love him enormously and wouldn't trade him for the world.
I've found training him more complex than I expected and I feel like Ive made so many mistakes.
I think it's partly his personality. Even as a small pup, he has always been unusually independently minded and confident. He's not a cuddler by nature. He knows his own mind and has never really looked to me for leadership. He has never responded to praise or petting as 'rewards' as I think most retriever dogs would.
Thankfully he's also very clever, enjoys training and is very food orientated.
So I've been able to teach him all the basic commands, using treats, all of which he learned quickly and easily - sit, stay, wait, off, down, leave it, place, OK (release word), touch, heel, paw etc
However he mainly only does it for food and provided that there's nothing better to do.
I've been trying to reduce amount of treats with mixed succes.
What I hadn't appreciated was that teaching commands is only a fraction of dog training. The most important parts (for me anyway) are good manners. Like not jumping up at people, not stealing objects, not being pushy or bullish about getting what he wants. I'm finding good manners much harder to train.
He has good manners in some scenarios - meal times (waits until told), excellent car manners.
There are also so many lovely things about his personality. He's very playful and fun loving. Most importantly, he's very good natured, friendly to everyone; people and dogs. He wants to befriend everyone indiscriminately (to a fault). He gets lots of compliments about how healthy and handsome he looks, how lovely natured, non-aggressive, playful, lovely etc. Several strangers have told me they'd love a dog like him and wished he was their dog. Most of the time he's a dog I can be proud of.
But there really is something missing in my training of him.
An example from this morning. He knows he's not allowed in my bedroom. He sleeps in the hall outside my bedroom door. He's been really good for months about not trying to come in (mostly because I give him food rewards each time he doesnt). But now that I'm phasing food rewards out, this morning he pushed past me into my bedroom and jumped up on my bed. Last time he did that he desttoyed my bedding while I tried for 15 minutes to bribe him off of my bed with food. This time, he was right next to my most sentimental, prized possession in the world, a handmade quilt made for me by my Mum. I instantly and without thinking said "No!", grabbed his collar and dragged him off my bed and back to hall and shut the door. I've never dragged him like that before.
Now I'm worried that I've done wrong thing, and that it could lead to future problems - e.g. him trying again and next time growling at me(which he's never done to date) or developing a fear of having his collar touched and maybe growling or snapping at that (again, which he has never done to date).
I feel guilty and awful for dragging him off my bed by collar. All I can think of is to go back to constant food rewards and maybe clicker for not coming into my bedroom until he forgets about today. But I never envisaged having a dog who'd only do as I asked for constant food bribes.
I suppose I'm asking more exoerienced dog people:
How can I get an independently minded, super strong dog like him who doesn't respond to praise, to reliably do as I ask without constant food bribes? I hate that I resorted to force this morning without thinking :-( I've vowed never to do that again. But I also can't allow my 6 stone dog to keep running circles round me.