Dog Problems HELP! Ginny (your son) where are u?
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Dog Problems HELP! Ginny (your son) where are u?
My brother has always wanted a dog and he got one from my best friend. Sadie (the dog) nipped at her son so my brother took her and the only problem they ever had with her in the last 1.5 yrs was her digging in the yard.
Well since my brother has had her she has eaten 5 pairs of shoes. He has tried punishing her with the shoe she ate and popping her nose and everything. She knows what she is doing is wrong cause as soon as he gets home and he picks it up she drops her tail between her leg and hunkers over like she knows it was bad.
He does not believing is caging a dog or locking her up when he is gone. If she cannot be free to roam the whole house he doesn't want her.
He said if he cannot break her from doing it he is going to have to get rid of her. And i know he doens't want to have to do this.
Any suggestions please help.
Well, crating the dog would be my #1 suggestion. It would keep her from chewing, when he is gone.
My next suggestion would be to make sure no shoes are out, so she doesn't have the opportunity to chew.
Jasmine has the run of the house, now, but we crated when we were gone, for almost a year, before we let her have the run of the house. It saved our sanity, when she wasn't completely reliable with going potty outside.
Sorry, I think its a bad attitude to say if she cant roam the house he doesnt want her.
Ive had dogs all my life. I deal with dogs on a daily basis, due to my in home job. Some dogs NEED to be caged.There is nothing wrong with a crating a dog when nobody is home, or nobody is there to supervise it 24hrs a day. Many dogs lead wonderful lifes, who are crated when owners are at work, or out running errands. Dogs by nature, are cave animals. Most dogs(not all)like the a small enclosed safe area., it makes them feel safe.
Maybe a dog isnt the perfect pet for your brother.
He doesn't believe in crating. My best friend crated when they were training her and she is house broken. But she is chewing up shoes and cat toys and unused rolls of toilet paper from the bathroom. The first 3 weeks he had her she was fine now she is slowly going down hill.
She has huge bones and raw hides that she chews but for some reason when he is not home will take to his or his roommates shoes or other things. Any other training ideas ladies!!
Ditto Jackie. We have always caged our dogs until they were older and could be trusted to be out. (At least the first two years.) They would even sleep and rest in their cages when they didn't have to be, just because they liked them. It is their "den."
I don't think it is a bad attitude it is a big heart. He doesn't even like the idea of locking her on her lead when the gates are open in the yard but he does it for her safety.
We had many dogs when we were growing up and never caged them when we were gone and that is what he wants. He doens't want to lock them up when he is gone cause of his job he could end up working a double shift and only be able to come home on his lunch breaks and let her out. Or if the room mate is home she can let her out. The doubles rarely happen but still would you like to be stuck in a small enclosure for 9 hours a day.
How long has he had her?
Tonya,
I agree also with the crate method, we have dachshunds and have always used the crate method. My dogs sleep in their cages at night, they have comfy blankets and burrow themselves in the blankets. Dogs chew out of bordom, also it's a new environment for her. If he really wants this dog he needs to do what's best for her, she is probably getting bored while home alone. When he is home and can supervise her then she can be out and about. While she's at home alone she should be caged. Is there anyone available that can stop in at least once a day to pay her some attention?
Crating is a mind set, it is not cruel and it's not about having a big heart it's about doing what is in the best interest of the dog.
It's like disciplining your children, we don't always want to and we sometimes feel bad about it, but what's worse, having an unruly, poorly behaved child or one that knows limits and boundaries. You can apply the sample rules and principles to dogs.
They need to know what is expected and what the rules are or they are not happy content creatures. The dog does not misbehave on purpose, it's their nature to chew. There are safe chew toys that can be put into the crate.
We crated our dog for about the first 6 months. Did she love it? No.
Is she lose in the house today at two and a half years old? Yes.
Does she know the rules? Yup she sure does.
Is she a happy and content dog? You betcha!
I would suggest doing some research on-line about crating and learn all you can and pass this on to your brother, or suggest that he enrol the dog in obedience training.
Good luck with your situation, it would be a shame for your brother to give up this dog when all it would take is a little time and effort to help the dog readjust to the new situation.
Last thought, crating doesn't have to be something that is done indefinitely, you can use it as a retraining tool or process and slowly give the dog a little bit of freedom each week.
He has had her around 5 weeks. He comes home on his lunch everyday and is home around 45 minutes. He plays with her and runs her in the yard while he is home. She doesn't do it when it is only for a few hours that he is gone but when he is gone for 8-9 she does it.
She has tons of her own chew toys but chooses shoes instead.
I have a Jack Russell who is almost 11 months old and he has been crate trained and is in the crate at night, all I have to say is "Nite-Nite" and Rusty goes in the crate. When we are not home Rusty is in his crate, because he does not like to be alone and I know he would do something wrong Experts say their crate is there safe haven.
Hope things will work out for your brother.
Well, I would say she is acting out because of the new enviroment and also because she is home alone so long. Did the previous owners leave her home alone like that or was the mom at home? The dog is used be being crate trained since that is the method that your friend also used with the dog. I also agree that your brothers statement that if the dog won't stop hw is going to get rid of her sounds like a bit of a bad attitude. "punishing her with the shoe she ate and popping her nose" doesn't sound like it is more of a big heart than crate training to me. The dog isn't going to stop the behavior because he tells it to, it will stop when it is trained to! Dogs are pretty smart, it might be chewing his shoes because he puts them on when he leaves!! LOL Even though he doesn't like the crate, I would do that or at least block the dog into a room where it can't chew things up such as a laundry room etc. And obviously, put shoes away!
Ditto everyone about the crating. One thing I've learned from all the dogs we have owned and that our families have had is that chewing is sometimes caused by anxiety. Some dogs that chew do it because it smells like the owner that they miss when the owner is gone, you know? Shoes smell like your brother and the dog misses him. That is one reason, besides the fact that dogs like to chew.  If it was just a chewing thing, it seems to me in my experience that a chew toy or rawhide would help the problem.
Crating is a wonderful method of training a dog! My 2 jacks were crated for 3-4 yrs. during the day before they could be trusted in the house alone all day. One sleeps there at night still. She knows what 'night-night' means and goes there, just like Kernkate. My Jacks were also so hyper when they were younger when people came over that we used the crate as a time-out also, a place to calm down and collect themselves before visiting with guests.
My sister has a lab that she refuses to crate during the day and he is 8 and STILL chewed comforters and blankets until they put him on an anxiety med becasue the vet said he missed my sis when she was at work. It has worked wonders for him......Rarely if ever chews anything now.
POpping her nose with the shoe isn't working so why do it? She may even see it as attention. Crate training is a time thing....the dog is out for 30 min., owner returns, nothing chewed, great then increase the time out. The owner just has to leave the house, work in the yard, something. There is a wonderful dog book called The Culture Clash (can't think of the author) that really helped us with our sometimes hateful younger Jack.
Are shoes the only thing she is chewing? Some dogs just love the stinky shoe thing. How about putting the shoes somewhere where she can't get at them (like a closet or in a Rubbermaid) and letting her have run of the house but shutting doors to bedrooms and bathroom. My dog will get at the baby's (clean)diapers if we leave her door open, so we shut it when we go out, problem solved.
I am asking my son to read this thread and reply, utilizing my username. But I don't know what his timing will be.
In the meantime, I respectfully suggest that your brother is putting his philosophy about what is "right" for dogs above the dog's welfare. By this, I mean that if he can't persuade the dog to stop chewing because it should stop chewing, rather than take steps to prevent the dog from chewing, he will give it away to what may not be as good a home and may possibly put it in line for being destroyed. And frankly, I have no patience with this.
Dogs, being descended from wolves, are den/cave animals. Wolves spend most of their time, when they are not required by hunting or other necessary activities, lying around in a cave or den. The modern crate is simply a modern den or cave, providing the dog with a comfortable, safe place to hole up when it really has nothing else to do. As long as the crate is big enough, there is fresh water and food, I am convinced the dog has no objection.
I think your brother is projecting his feelings of what he, as a human being, would like onto the dog, rather than looking at what is best for the dog. Dogs are not people, and almost every dog I know of or have heard of has no problems with being crated. A lot of dogs that are regular crated will go into their crates of their own choice if the world around them gets noisy or crowded simply because they feel safer there.
I once had a neighbor who couldn't bear to put her dog on a leash, because it would "interfere with her freedom". Not being on a leash was what actually interfered with the dog's freedom, when where she was struck and killed by a car. Your brother's attitude about the dog reminded me of this.
Oh, and punishing a dog for something it has done is not much good. If you don't actually catch the dog in the act and punish it while it is doing the bad thing, it is not going to associate the act with the punishment. She is cowering and putting her tail between her legs because of his tone of voice and attitude, not because she knows she has done something wrong.
H'lo all. Ginny's son here, chiming in as requested.
Crate the dog. Give it plenty to chew on. Talk to your vet about training.
Our crate is in the kitchen. Even though, we don't really crate her much anymore, it is where she chooses to go, when we are bustling around our kitchen. It is a good place for her, since then she isn't underfoot, too!
We crate too! I don't like the term cage at all. Crating is as described above---a safe denlike atmosphere for the dog. Our basset willingly walks to her crate at night when she gets tired and will stay there all night even if we forget to close the crate door. It's her cozy spot and it's in our bedroom, so she's with us in our "den."
I don't think it was mentioned earlier, but what about your brother learning to put his shoes away? Dogs can't open closet doors and if the shoes are put away in the closet, then the dog can't get to them. Since we got a new dog everyone is very good about putting shoes away after I lost 2 pair. We also keep the bathroom doors closed at all times and put the kitchen garbage can on the counter when we aren't at home. Bassets are notorious "counter cruisers" so we have been trained to keep all food waaaay back on the kitchen counters where she can't get it. With a dog you have to dogproof just like babyproofing. I think if an unsupervised toddler got into some medicine we wouldn't blame the child, but the parents/caregiver. Same thing with a dog---I think the fault lies with your brother and he needs to dog proof his house, train her, and crate her. Crating is much more humane than giving her away to her third family in 2 months. Also, walk her, run with her (Not just in the yard, but a long tiring walk.run), play hard with her. A tired dog is a well-behaved dog. We have found that to be very true.
I did not crate my dog at first we just kept him in the bathroom. But my mil lives with us and was home almost always. However, she went home in Dec for a month. He went crazy when we would be gone. I came straight here and the advice I got was crating and it sure saved my dogs life probably literally. I was also to the point if I came and and one more thing of mne was chewed that was it. My dog now will lay in his sometimes when the door is open. I really believe he likes it.
It's already been said, but we crated our dog (2 yo) and he LOVES his crate! He uses it for naps most of the time.
A year ago we started leaving him in the house and not crated. We close off a few doors to the rooms we don't want him to go in (he loves trash and toilet paper) and we make sure that the stuff we don't want him to chew is picked up. I crate him when we have company over who don't like dogs or when he needs a "time out."
Crating is not cruel - in fact, I think not crating is cruel. Dogs need their own space and to feel that they have their own little place. Dogs are not people and they have their own needs.
As for the non-toy chewing (aka, the shoes) - the one responsible for the shoe chewing is YOUR BROTHER. The dog needs to be exercised and given decent toys to chew. The choice of the toy will depend on what kind of dog s/he is.
I wish this dog the best in your brother's home. Dogs are a lot of work and owners need to be willing to put forth the required energy before getting one.
I just want to add that my 2 Jacks were crated during the day for years while I worked. Sometimes I felt guilty, not because they were crated but because they were alone. Now that I'm a SAHM and they're out of the crate all day everyday, they both still go to their crates on their own to take naps throughout the day! I never expected that, but I guess it's their comfort zone. Crating is safe and good for the dog. (Ours are actually large cages with beds in them.) We use actual crates for travelling.
Jasmine goes into her crate to rest, sometimes. We have a fake sheepskin pad and an old kid's sleeping bag in there, for comfort. She was in there, just this evening, for a little while. Right now, she is down by my feet, under my computer desk.
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