Okay, so sorry to rant again, but I'm about to scream so I guess it's better that I scream into the black hole of the internet than at my FMIL.
So rewind about 3 months. FSIL tells FMIL that she has a surprise. FMIL and I both believed it would be her engagement ring, but nope. It was a dog. FSIL and her SO had gotten a second dog. Rescue, labrador retriever, about the same age as my and FI's fur baby. Well a few weeks went by and in those few weeks, Rowdy, the lab retriever, had popped a soft sided pool, and chewed through FSIL's air conditioner twice. FSIL's SO said they had to get rid of the dog. FSIL bawled to FMIL who agreed to take the dog.
Note: My and FI's fur baby travels back and forth between his house and mine, so at any given time, there are 4 dogs in FI's house. His parents two older dogs, our pup, and now the aptly named, Rowdy.
Well, It has become apparent over the past few weeks that Rowdy is in dire need of training. He doesn't listen to anyone but FI and me, and that is only because we discipline him when he's bad.
So today, FMIL sends me a link to an article about how to establish yourself as alpha over your dog. Okay, fair enough, right idea. Thing is, I don't think this guy's tactics make sense, will work, or are necessary. I also told FMIL that FI and I should be stepping out of the way in terms of trying to train this dog because right now we're the only ones he'll listen to and we're going to be gone in a few months, to which FMIL responded that it didn't matter that we were going to be gone, everyone was going to help train this dog. Which would work if a.) everyone actually did help and it weren't just me and FI disciplining this dog, and b.) if there was some form of consistency amongst 5 people.
A dog that big needs an owner and master who will let them know right from in a way that is more than just saying no. You have to be able to physically correct the behavior because telling him words he doesn't understand without letting him know what action it's connected to will do nothing. He's 60lbs at 6 months old and FMIL is very petite and not really a good disciplinarian.
She always comments how our pup is so well behaved and no matter how many times I tell her it's because I was hyper-vigilant with her until she learned what she could and couldn't do, she still goes off and leaves the big pup to roam free and punishes him after the fact for things he's done which any dog trainer will tell you does no good.
*Sighs* okay, rant over. I just don't know how to help her train this dog without taking him as mine for a few weeks which would only undermine her as his owner. And beyond that, FI and I both think that FSIL should have handled her own problem and not pawned the dog off on someone else because she didn't understand that puppies need training and attention.
but regardless...just a few more months and we're both free of this mess.
