My friend's landlord (who also resides in the house and is a friend of my friend) bought a husky puppy a few months back. She is an adorable thing, but is being raised in an environment that is really unfortunate for her. There are three or four other renters in the house plus a random assortment of guests and visitors that come when parties are thrown in the house.
From speaking briefly to the landlord, I get the impression that he bought the dog on a sort of romanticized whim and then decided that he didn't want her anymore. He was planning to get rid of her, but one of the renters stepped in and said that he would take care of her. As the story goes, the renter who assumed responsibility for the dog did not care for her appropriately (he would sleep in until 2, leave the dog to mess in her crate, and then not clean up the messes). I get the vibe that the landlord (the dog's original owner) sort of stepped back in and "reclaimed" the dog so the speak. The renter who was not caring for the dog appropriately is moving out soon and I get the impression that the dog is staying at the house of the landlord. Either way, that's a sort of moot point, but the gist is that the environment is entirely unsuitable for raising a well-mannered puppy.
She is now probably 6 or 7 months old and I have been to the house a few times. The landlord is very carefree when it comes to the dog, so I've taken her out of the crate when I've been over at the house visiting my friend even though I don't know the landlord well.
The issue is that she is extremely mouthy when she gets excited (which was basically the entire time that she was out of the crate). Here's a recap of the other evening. I was over for a barbecue that my friend was hosting. The guys sat down in the living room to play videogames, which isn't my style, so I grabbed the dog out of her crate for some company. I had her on a leash because she had been stealing corn cobs out of the unattended trash can and by the point that the guys started to play video games, there were chicken bones in the trash that I was worried that she'd get (I think I was the only concerned person in the room). There were no dog toys in sight. I was sitting on the couch with her on a leash beside me and she was all jaws and mouthiness, so I redirected her onto her leash. I figured that if I didn't have a toy, a leash was a better thing to bite than my body. Eventually she got tired of mouthing the leash and was all over my arms. Pushing her away from me was all a game to her and she continued to mouth harder. I ended up just putting her back in the crate because I was tired of getting bitten, but I didn't feel like I was in a position that I could really "train" the dog (both for time reasons and social reasons).
I would love to be a positive influence in the very brief time that I get to spend with this dog, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. I didn't feel comfortable going into "dog trainer" mode because the dog's owner (who I don't know well) was in the room playing video games. Likewise, I felt bad sticking her back into her crate because it seems that she's in her crate more than a puppy should be and I was available to watch her. But I knew that letting her get amped up chewing on my arms would be counterproductive and encourage her biting. Keep in mind, she has an extremely inconsistent life to begin with, as all of the roommates handle her differently.
I suppose the scenario was kind of like dealing with someone else's horribly behaved child while they are in the room.
That was the long story. The short question:
What do you do in such a situation? No toys (except a Nylon dog leash), an extremely mouthy puppy who is all fun and games but has absolutely no manners to speak of, and a situation where you don't feel comfortable making any obvious training gestures (i.e. talking, giving treats, or getting up and actively training). Could I have done something differently than just lock her back up?
From speaking briefly to the landlord, I get the impression that he bought the dog on a sort of romanticized whim and then decided that he didn't want her anymore. He was planning to get rid of her, but one of the renters stepped in and said that he would take care of her. As the story goes, the renter who assumed responsibility for the dog did not care for her appropriately (he would sleep in until 2, leave the dog to mess in her crate, and then not clean up the messes). I get the vibe that the landlord (the dog's original owner) sort of stepped back in and "reclaimed" the dog so the speak. The renter who was not caring for the dog appropriately is moving out soon and I get the impression that the dog is staying at the house of the landlord. Either way, that's a sort of moot point, but the gist is that the environment is entirely unsuitable for raising a well-mannered puppy.
She is now probably 6 or 7 months old and I have been to the house a few times. The landlord is very carefree when it comes to the dog, so I've taken her out of the crate when I've been over at the house visiting my friend even though I don't know the landlord well.
The issue is that she is extremely mouthy when she gets excited (which was basically the entire time that she was out of the crate). Here's a recap of the other evening. I was over for a barbecue that my friend was hosting. The guys sat down in the living room to play videogames, which isn't my style, so I grabbed the dog out of her crate for some company. I had her on a leash because she had been stealing corn cobs out of the unattended trash can and by the point that the guys started to play video games, there were chicken bones in the trash that I was worried that she'd get (I think I was the only concerned person in the room). There were no dog toys in sight. I was sitting on the couch with her on a leash beside me and she was all jaws and mouthiness, so I redirected her onto her leash. I figured that if I didn't have a toy, a leash was a better thing to bite than my body. Eventually she got tired of mouthing the leash and was all over my arms. Pushing her away from me was all a game to her and she continued to mouth harder. I ended up just putting her back in the crate because I was tired of getting bitten, but I didn't feel like I was in a position that I could really "train" the dog (both for time reasons and social reasons).
I would love to be a positive influence in the very brief time that I get to spend with this dog, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. I didn't feel comfortable going into "dog trainer" mode because the dog's owner (who I don't know well) was in the room playing video games. Likewise, I felt bad sticking her back into her crate because it seems that she's in her crate more than a puppy should be and I was available to watch her. But I knew that letting her get amped up chewing on my arms would be counterproductive and encourage her biting. Keep in mind, she has an extremely inconsistent life to begin with, as all of the roommates handle her differently.
I suppose the scenario was kind of like dealing with someone else's horribly behaved child while they are in the room.
That was the long story. The short question:
What do you do in such a situation? No toys (except a Nylon dog leash), an extremely mouthy puppy who is all fun and games but has absolutely no manners to speak of, and a situation where you don't feel comfortable making any obvious training gestures (i.e. talking, giving treats, or getting up and actively training). Could I have done something differently than just lock her back up?
Phrase things the right way and they won't be offended, but grateful for the help.