Rescued/Found a Coonhound - needs to be trained - help

[BluegrassCat]

Even though I don't live in Philadelphia area any longer I thought I'd give this site a try since googling "dog training" is overwhelming with paid sites, and I don't know of any dog training message boards.

In any case, I found a year old, Redbone Coonhound in a 20,000 acre forest. I was on a 7 mile hike and he and I crossed paths a mile in and he then proceeded to follow me the remaining 6 miles back to my car (I did not pass another hiker the entire walk). He did not have collar, nor had he been microchipped. I've taken him to the vet already where he received all of his shots and I scheduled an appointment for him to be neutered next week.

As far as I can tell he was never trained to be on a leash and he is extremely nervous whenever I bring him inside my house. He tears at the furniture and paws at the window trying to get out even though I am there with him. When he is outside he is extremely affectionate, a bit skittish, but wants to take off and roam, much like he did in the forest. I fear that not only is he going to destroy my house, but that if I ever take him off the leash I will never see him again.

And to put this in perspective for you city dwellers, I am now living on a 200 acre farm and we are one of the smallest farms around. So being off leash is not a bad thing as long as I can train him not to leave the property. The vet suggested feeding him 3 small meals a day so he realizes this is home, but that is the only advice I've got so far. Oh, the vet also mentioned that the neutering would probably help with the roaming, but I also need help with getting him to remain calm indoors.

The dog is a chick magnet though. When I take him to town every woman I see wants to pet him, so I can live with his faults if necessary.
Thanks.

[Gladys]

Well I'm sure you will get plenty of good advice about this on this thread soon. But i wanted to say good for you for taking him in, to the vet etc. and that 200 acre farm is perfect!

Food seems to be the best thing to keep a dog coming back. I hope it works out and someone here can help.

[ColeenH]

As long as he has no recall, I would not let him off-leash, if you want to keep him. Either use a heavy-duty retractable, or a long (like, 20 feet) nylon leash.

I taught my shepherd recall by keeping her on a leash, then I'd call her to me. When she came, she got a piece of dehydrated raw duck (doggie crack). She ONLY gets that treat when we do recall. It's more motivating to her to come get the treat than whatever she is looking at, sniffing, etc.

For getting her to walk on a loose leash, I started with her on a very short leash. I was basically holding the leash a few inches from where it clipped to her collar. She got rewarded for walking next to my knee. We'd take a few steps, I'd reward her, take a few steps, I'd reward her. When she was doing that reliably, I'd take several steps, reward her, several steps, reward her, a few steps, reward her, several steps, reward (when they don't know when the reward is coming, they work harder to get it).

I highly recommend Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed," for recall training, Victoria Stilwell's "It's Me or the Dog" for other basic commands, and Patricia McConnell's "The Other End of the Leash" for a general understanding of how dogs communicate.

[Merciel]

Coleen's recs are all solid. Control Unleashed uses a fair amount of agility jargon and doesn't really explain it, so I don't know that I would recommend it as a starting point unless you're somewhat familiar with the basic ideas and vocabulary already (sorry, don't know what your prior dog experience is!), but it is a really good book once you're familiar with the terminology.

To her list, I'd add:

-- Love Has No Age Limit, a new booklet that Patricia McConnell wrote to help adopters of adult and adolescent dogs (a situation that it sounds like you've accidentally found yourself in);
-- the Petfinder.com Adopted Dog Bible (a good all-purpose primer, not specifically focused on training);
-- How to Train Your Dog Like a Pro, by Jean Donaldson.

Teaching the basic idea of recall is not hard. Start in a situation where the dog can't fail (either in the same room as you with the door closed, or on a lead so the dog can't just run wild and free). Call the dog over, offer a high-value reward, praise and treat when the dog comes, release the dog to go sniff around or whatever else for a few minutes. Rinse and repeat.

Build up SLOWLY to add more distractions and call the dog from greater distances. Don't expect too much too fast, especially from a dog who has little or no previous formal training and may be uncomfortable just being indoors or near a new person. Never ever call the dog over to punish it. Always go get the dog if you have to do anything negative (end playtime, administer medicine, deliver a scolding, whatever).

Apologies if you already know that. Again, I don't know what your prior experience is.

[Pibbles]

They actually have Control Unleashed classes at Y2K9, sometimes taught by Leslie McDevott. I don't know how close you are to Wyndmor, but they are pretty good there. I took the class last year with one of my dogs. It's more about getting the dog to focus on you around distraction, not off leash recall per se, but the stuff can be applied to that. Welcome to Y2K9s
It sounds like he could use some basic obedience first though. If you tell us the area you live in, there may be some other trainers closer to you. Or try Leigh at Opportunity Barks.She'll come out to you and give you some training tips. Op Barks - Dog Training - Dog Behavior Problems - Animal Behavior & Training
You might want to try crate training him if he's tearing up the house. Also put the leash on him in the house and give him lots of treats when it's on to get him used to it. Then more treats when you have him onleash outside.

Good luck!

[BluegrassCat]

Thank you for the replies. They've all been helpful. My pup is getting fixed tomorrow so I plan on beginning recall training in a couple of days. I've either had or been around dogs all my life but this is the first time I've had to train one in a situation like this.