A few questions.
- Thread starter Mr.M
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Yes it does and I really hope you'll stick around the forum and learn as much as you can. There are a lot of knowledgable people here. Just remember that a lot of people volunteer at shelters and rescues and see the results of backyard breeders and puppy mills all the time. It's exhausting trying to fight it.
I did not read this whole post so forgive me if I am missing it.
My labs were very destructable chewers. I can't name all the things I have lost to them. I never once thought of rehoming. And they were crated when young at night too.
Their chewing didn't slack until they hit 2 years old. And then it really didn't slack, but they learned what was their toys, and what was "off limits".
I still pick up chewed to pieces "dog" toys every morning. But at least they know what is allowed.
My question is.....
How could this dog be put in different home and it be any better?
Unless you and your family were not capable of training, supervision, etc.
Apparently you were not and did not look after him properly. Proper supervision could have helped avoided this whole mess.
My labs were very destructable chewers. I can't name all the things I have lost to them. I never once thought of rehoming. And they were crated when young at night too.
Their chewing didn't slack until they hit 2 years old. And then it really didn't slack, but they learned what was their toys, and what was "off limits".
I still pick up chewed to pieces "dog" toys every morning. But at least they know what is allowed.
My question is.....
How could this dog be put in different home and it be any better?
Unless you and your family were not capable of training, supervision, etc.
Apparently you were not and did not look after him properly. Proper supervision could have helped avoided this whole mess.
Most of these problems goes back to the breeder. I know all breeds are different and some are more chewers than others. With my Goldens, When socializing I'd put down items that shouldn't be " toys " and when a pup would go for it... I'd take it away and say " No--Mine ". Over 3 weeks of it, most of the pups learned what " Mine" meant. I can truly say that I never had any destruction with 40 years of Goldens.... yes, there was a chair leg that needed bitter apple... whether it was that or me showing my pup it was " mine".... it wasn't touched again.
We were always there for him, we may of left him for a couple of hours to go shopping but thats the only time.
He went for my 3 year old cousin when he went near his food bowl once, and also bit my foot (I had slippers on so it didn't hurt that much). but it did scare me seeing i was a kid, i just walked off from him.
Looking back these ^, were very small issues which were soon forgotton.. His mother and litter were actually brought in from the streets.. I personally think thats why he was so destructive, i've had puppy chewers and it was nothing compared to him..
Snoop chews alot of things, and we just say no and he stops. Same with every other pup i've had.
Dibley was the name of the dog we had to rehome, we got him at 3-4months from a shelter who had gotten his mother and her litter from the streets, I can't exactly remember where now, it was a little dog den in the mothers eyes to protect her litter.. in reality it was something like a few dumpsters lined up and the litter was behind them.
I was only 10 when he was rehomed, but I remember on the day my dad picked me up from school and he told me, my brother and sister.. we all burst out in tears in the car, he will always be remembered by us as our dog, and a member of our family
He went for my 3 year old cousin when he went near his food bowl once, and also bit my foot (I had slippers on so it didn't hurt that much). but it did scare me seeing i was a kid, i just walked off from him.
Looking back these ^, were very small issues which were soon forgotton.. His mother and litter were actually brought in from the streets.. I personally think thats why he was so destructive, i've had puppy chewers and it was nothing compared to him..
Snoop chews alot of things, and we just say no and he stops. Same with every other pup i've had.
Dibley was the name of the dog we had to rehome, we got him at 3-4months from a shelter who had gotten his mother and her litter from the streets, I can't exactly remember where now, it was a little dog den in the mothers eyes to protect her litter.. in reality it was something like a few dumpsters lined up and the litter was behind them.
I was only 10 when he was rehomed, but I remember on the day my dad picked me up from school and he told me, my brother and sister.. we all burst out in tears in the car, he will always be remembered by us as our dog, and a member of our family
What I am seeing is a dog that is not properly supervised and a dog that is not being properly trained. I am seeing a bored dog, I am guessing the dog is highly intelligent and was not given proper mental and physical outlets to exercise with.
Please don't judge everyone here. I don't believe in getting rid of a dog that is being destructive..I believe in training them and modifying the behavior, if one of my dogs or fosters is doing something that is destructive it means *I* am doing something that needs correcting...it means *I* need to make modifications...it means I am not paying attention...The time to modify and correct inappropriate behaviors is before they get to the point of "destructive".
One does not have to be rich to properly train and supervise a dog.
As someone in rescue it makes me very sad when someone adopts a dog only to dump it later...for those of you who wonder why rescuers make adoptions so difficult now you know.
Your right the pup you got rid of was not the same as other dogs you have had...the dog needed training that you failed to provide.
Nobody here has pretended to know what goes on in your family, many of us however have experience successfully training dogs with various behavioral problems.
The problem was not a 1 1/2 year old dog chewing up everything, you allowed the problem to escalate to a 1 1/2 year old dog chewing up everything. The behavior was not properly modified when the dog was a puppy...That is not the animals fault it is your fault and your families fault.
The reason is you failed at training him.
If your training methods are not working than its time to try something else.
Actually your post demonstrates you have much to learn about training dogs...if you found a method of training that worked for your dog it would not need to be rehomed.
And it really irritates me when people blame the dog on the fact they don't know how to train.
So he was destructive and you left him alone unsupervised? Was he crated or kept in a dog proof room while you were gone? If not and things were destroyed in your absense then the only blame lays on you and your family.
Why was a three year old even allowed near the dogs food bowl...why did he bite your foot?
I don't consider those small issues...the fact that you are excusing them as such really concerns me.
As far as him being brought in from the street making him more destructive its the training or lack of training rather that was the problem..I have worked with and retrained dogs much older and much more destructive from far worse situations.
Each dog is different and when training you have to always be open to the idea that the method of training you commonly use may not work...
It's about finding what works for the dog.
Please don't judge everyone here. I don't believe in getting rid of a dog that is being destructive..I believe in training them and modifying the behavior, if one of my dogs or fosters is doing something that is destructive it means *I* am doing something that needs correcting...it means *I* need to make modifications...it means I am not paying attention...The time to modify and correct inappropriate behaviors is before they get to the point of "destructive".
One does not have to be rich to properly train and supervise a dog.
As someone in rescue it makes me very sad when someone adopts a dog only to dump it later...for those of you who wonder why rescuers make adoptions so difficult now you know.
Your right the pup you got rid of was not the same as other dogs you have had...the dog needed training that you failed to provide.
Nobody here has pretended to know what goes on in your family, many of us however have experience successfully training dogs with various behavioral problems.
The problem was not a 1 1/2 year old dog chewing up everything, you allowed the problem to escalate to a 1 1/2 year old dog chewing up everything. The behavior was not properly modified when the dog was a puppy...That is not the animals fault it is your fault and your families fault.
The reason is you failed at training him.
If your training methods are not working than its time to try something else.
Actually your post demonstrates you have much to learn about training dogs...if you found a method of training that worked for your dog it would not need to be rehomed.
And it really irritates me when people blame the dog on the fact they don't know how to train.
So he was destructive and you left him alone unsupervised? Was he crated or kept in a dog proof room while you were gone? If not and things were destroyed in your absense then the only blame lays on you and your family.
Why was a three year old even allowed near the dogs food bowl...why did he bite your foot?
I don't consider those small issues...the fact that you are excusing them as such really concerns me.
As far as him being brought in from the street making him more destructive its the training or lack of training rather that was the problem..I have worked with and retrained dogs much older and much more destructive from far worse situations.
Each dog is different and when training you have to always be open to the idea that the method of training you commonly use may not work...
It's about finding what works for the dog.
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The op actually said he was only TEN when the dog was rehomed. SOmehow i doubt that he would have had much say. I also doubt he would have had the ability, at the time, to give the dog the training it needed. He doesn't need everyone jumping on him for something completely off his original topic.
When i was a kid we got an RSPCA dog. She had severe seperation anxiety, she chewed literally everything, including the wall of the house. And this was with two, two hour runs a day, plus a half hour training session. I wanted to keep her, but the stress was killing all of us. Then she almost strangled my brother, when the lead got caught around his neck and she dragged him. She went back. I hope and pray that she went to a home that could handle her, i don't know. Some dogs just aren't suited to some homes.
When i was a kid we got an RSPCA dog. She had severe seperation anxiety, she chewed literally everything, including the wall of the house. And this was with two, two hour runs a day, plus a half hour training session. I wanted to keep her, but the stress was killing all of us. Then she almost strangled my brother, when the lead got caught around his neck and she dragged him. She went back. I hope and pray that she went to a home that could handle her, i don't know. Some dogs just aren't suited to some homes.
Thanks for that molly.
Yes I was only 10 at the time he actually got re homed, so 8 and a half when we got him.
Maybe thats what dibley(rehomed) had, seperation anxiety.. I've had a Jack Russle with seperation anxiety, looking back it was near enough the same problem, but the jack didn't steal stuff when we wasn't looking.
Dibley was untrainable, I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I remember even from a little kid he wouldn't obey after months of training.
He bit my foot because I was playing with him, he got annoyed and took a little bite.
We also took him on a walk everyday, if we missed one day (which wouldn't happen), he would of gone the next.
We tried everything for dibley, and he didn't learn, we were in a financial state after he ruined everything and couldn't cope anymore.
The people who keep saying you didn't train him right, I was 10, I didn't train the dog. It was my parents and the obediance classes he was going to, which didn't work.
Yes I was only 10 at the time he actually got re homed, so 8 and a half when we got him.
Maybe thats what dibley(rehomed) had, seperation anxiety.. I've had a Jack Russle with seperation anxiety, looking back it was near enough the same problem, but the jack didn't steal stuff when we wasn't looking.
Dibley was untrainable, I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I remember even from a little kid he wouldn't obey after months of training.
He bit my foot because I was playing with him, he got annoyed and took a little bite.
We also took him on a walk everyday, if we missed one day (which wouldn't happen), he would of gone the next.
We tried everything for dibley, and he didn't learn, we were in a financial state after he ruined everything and couldn't cope anymore.
The people who keep saying you didn't train him right, I was 10, I didn't train the dog. It was my parents and the obediance classes he was going to, which didn't work.
R
At age 10 or less, you could not have been expected to be responsible for training the dog or what happened to it later, however, you can now be held responsible for your attitudes towards training and dogs.
Hopefully you are getting some good advice here that you will find helpful with your current dog.
Hopefully you are getting some good advice here that you will find helpful with your current dog.
There are no untrainable dogs, only incompetent handlers. It is foolish to blame the dog for your parents' inability to train him.
With patience, creativity and a bit of knowledge, a person can train almost any dog (no matter how destructive or rowdy) to be an enjoyable, well behaved companion. It takes effort on the part of the handler, too; dogs don't always train themselves.
With patience, creativity and a bit of knowledge, a person can train almost any dog (no matter how destructive or rowdy) to be an enjoyable, well behaved companion. It takes effort on the part of the handler, too; dogs don't always train themselves.
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And sometimes a dog's personality simply doesn't match with its handler's. To say that this never happens is like all people can get along. The fact of the matter is that some personalites will always grate. To try and force the issue leads to frustration on both sides. SOmetimes you just have to let go. And at the end of the day a dog is a dog, no matter how much we love them. If they're causing family conflict, financial stress and sometimes danger, then they have to go.
Actually, I think you should keep in mind what happened with your dog. I think it's obvious that he had separation anxiety and some temperament problems (with the biting), but it's probably because he wasn't well bred too... And unfortunately by breeding dogs without knowing much about their parents etc, you can very easily end up with other puppies with such problems - which is why breeding should only be done by people who really know what they are doing.
Those dogs *are* trainable, it just requires a lot of time and energy, and much more than lots of people are willing/able to give, which is why so many end up in shelters. On a side note, a crate would probably have helped your dog a lot at the time, but I agree that at that age there's nothing you could have done about it. Either way, the dog got a good home!
Those dogs *are* trainable, it just requires a lot of time and energy, and much more than lots of people are willing/able to give, which is why so many end up in shelters. On a side note, a crate would probably have helped your dog a lot at the time, but I agree that at that age there's nothing you could have done about it. Either way, the dog got a good home!