Bonding with dogs - Page 2

Bee,
Is Riley really interested in the dog?  I would put Beau's crate in his room and make Riley responsible for feeding and walking the pup.  I would separate Beau and Mojo and only allow them together for a brief time each day. 

I feel you are right, Slamdunc, I am reluctant because I fail the crate training so far!  Riley 's got the kind of bed it is so high up, I can't risk the pup jumping off. He'd need to be in his crate. It will be painful to implement, so I have to find the right time so the sleep deprivation has least impact on those who might need it... (DH comes to mind!).

Yes, Riley is very interested in the dog, but he has a learning disability that makes its own issues. Usually it is with a beginning, and translates to a frustration at not understanding how to learn a thing, but if I break it down, step by step so he gets it, he'll never forget the lesson.

FYI, the dogs do spend time apart, but not all. Mojo actually wants his "me" time. If I leave the room, he has to come with me. Then the pup, jumps on the gate and whines. I have to just ignore the pup! 

Thanks Kitkat, for your thoughts, too ... I appreciate the encouragement!

Bee
Do you have a training class or club where Riley can take Beau? Obviously you would need to take him there, but could wait outside. Then you haven't the problem of you doing the teaching and Beau reacting to you rather than Riley. My OH has the strongest bond with my male because they train together. If my OH is out in his studio, my boy will sit out there in the rain or snow just waiting for him to come out LOL, yet I walk him every day with my other dogs and feed him and he adores me, just not quite as much....

Can Riley take Beau to a different part of the property on a leash to work and play with him safely? Once Beau is away from you and Mojo he may forget and concentrate on Riley more. It will help a lot when Beau can sleep in Riley's room as others have said. Then they get real one on one time together.

It will come together if Riley works at it (and you can step back a bit). Maybe you can demonstrate training techniques with Mojo, and then Riley can do it with Beau, so that you are not 'stepping in'. Just a thought.   

Bee,

Just a suggestion here.

Could you possibly mix Beau's food in his dish and leave it on the counter. Go in another room and let Riley take the dish off the counter and put it on the floor for Beau. Maybe Beau would see this as Riley feeding him, instead of you feeding him.

After raising my son with lots of dogs over the years, most dogs gravitate to the alpha (for a lack of a word here) My son did all the things mentioned but it was the dog who ended up choosing.

At the AKC dog shows I had Dobermans and to get them to stand still and put their ears up we would use liver treats that we made at home.  very inexpensive.  we simply boiled some liver with a little salt and garlic till no longer pink  wipe dry then bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Its dry and not slimy.  we would then cut it up to bite sized pieces.  we still do this for training treats never had a dog who didn't love them.  

Bee, I haven't read every post, but your question about early time stuff set in stone.....the answer is no, not usually.

New paragraph, yea... Some body else might have already suggested this, but I think that if you have Riley start doing puppy obedience training with Beau, fun stuff with lots of rewards, that will create a strong, meaningful bond between them. Most dogs love to be trained and please their human. Also, the treats will taste better if earned :)

So bee, how is it going?. :)

P.S. ..pictures will help..