Behavioral problems

[Petros]

Saje you are confused, as I can see, and I don’t know why.

Yes I want to bark to stranger as a warning not to approach but I can’t stand his boredom bark during the night. If he barked during the morning there wouldn’t be a problem. But now he just makes me lose my sleep. You see except the dog I also have needs and one of them is sleep.

Yes I want him to be protective to my home and my family and just because I don’t let him get in the house that don’t mean that he is not part of my family. Maybe sound odd to you but dogs are animals and they feel better when they are in theirs natural environment, that’s means outdoors. Don’t take it as personal attack (neither you CreatureTeacher) but where do you think the dog will be happier, imprisoned in a 100 square meters apartment where they can feel the freedom only 1 hour per day during the walks or outside having some thousand square meters to run and explore? I know that all you are thinking that the dog will be happier when you are with him. And where is this best to happen? Of course outside. I think that if you truly love this animal you have to try spent as many hours you can with him outside, at his natural environment, and not lock him up to an apartment. The best formula for dog-human relation is the dog outside and the human with him. This formula I follow until today and I don’t even think to get the dog inside the house. Once again I do this because I care for him and I am considering that having the dog inside and contain him in a small apace is one of the cruelest things that we can do to a dog.

One more thing. I DON’T want to make him aggressive just cautious. I don’t want a killing machine but a cautious dog that doesn’t storm in every human near him and treat him like his best friend. Just that.

Because the night barking is real problem, which is getting bigger as the time passes can you suggest me a method to get rid this problem? I exhaust him playing with him not for 10 min but 1:30 hour before he sleeps but still was woke up very early. That’s why I am thinking the collars because there are an easy way. What do you suggest me to use?

Please do not consider anything I written above as a personal attack. I don’t have any intension like that, I am just expressing my thoughts about this issue. After all you are real saviors for me. You have explained to me so many things that I will never figure them out by my own. Thanks again for you help.

 

[Fran27]

No offense, but this is *. If my dog's best environment was outside, why does he insist to come inside everytime he's done his business outside? We left him outside for 2 minutes last night and he was barking and scratching the door... His best place is with you, inside, because you live inside. You're just leaving him out of the family, if he was so happy outside why would he bark? Obviously he isn't. If he would be happier with you outside, why don't you just go live outside then? Seriously...

I wish more people took the time to search a breed before adopting one I have a solution to get rid of the barking outside problem though - find him a home that will care about HIS needs, not theirs.

 

[Petros]

What a feedback? I wouldn’t imagine a reply so harsh as yours Fran27. I thought that all the thinks I wrote into my last message was clear and easy to understand. OFCORSE the best environment for the dog is HIS natural environment, which means OUTSIDE. Having the dog outside means that you care for HIS needs and not for YOURS. You are saying that because he wants to come into the house with you is a suited environment for him. I want to remind some more things that the dog gladly will do.
1) Running into a road.
2) Eating poisoned food
3) Eating chicken bones
4) Do his needs in your carpet
5) Destroy your clothes and shoes
According to your logic we have to let him do all the above things just because he wants to. As you can see that is no possible. There are some things that the human knows better than the dog. One of them is that outside is the most appropriate environment for him.

From your message I can see that your dog is living almost imprisoned into the house and getting out only to do his business. Do you think that this is normal and healthy for the dog? He doesn’t different much from a bird in a cage, the animals in the zoo or even a human convict.

I couldn’t imagine that my question about anti barking collar would end up in a debate about the most suited environment for the dog. For me the answer is clear and I used only common sense to come to that conclusion.


As a notice I want to say that I don’t know what anyone has into his mind when hear that the dog lives outside but in my case outside means a vast area of thousands square meters.

 

[Fran27]

This is the worst argument ever for proving that dogs should live outside. Dogs are DOMESTIC pets, that love people, and their place is WITH people. Not on their own outside. Will some dogs be happier outside nevertheless? Probably. But obviously, your dog isn't one of them.

It's not about what is best for them... It's about what makes them happy. That's a big difference. And don't compare being inside with the family with running into a road or eaten poison... It's apple and oranges. Besides, They're more likely to do that unsurpervized outside than inside!

Sorry, but from your post it's just obvious that you don't understand dogs and don't care about them one bit. Really, if for you what matters is protecting your family, I agree with what is said above, get a buglar alarm.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

I agree with you, Petros. I don't think a dog should be locked up all the time. I don't like hearing about dogs being stuck inside all day while their owners are off at work. I didn't realize from your earlier posts that you were spending a lot of time with him. A lot of people are more comfortable inside than out, and they bring their dogs along with them. I apologize for misunderstanding. But it's important to remember that dogs and humans have lived together for 4,500 years, maybe more. Dogs have a genetic need to be in contact with people. We bred it into them!

As for the barking, I'm still going to argue that it's boredom. You should look into getting some stimulating toys, like a Kong and a Buster Cube for him to play with. You could also try making him a little entertainment course in your yard, with some buried treats that he has to dig up, a toy in a place he has to work to reach, and lots of fun squishy things to chew. If he's busy having fun, then he's not going to bark. His brain needs exercise just like his body does.

I would stay away from the collars. Here's an analogy: say I develop lung cancer. (I don't know how--probably sitting in traffic jams behind those d*mned SUVs.) I go to the doctor and tell him, "I've got this ungodly cough. Every time I cough, I spit up blood and other nasty things." My doctor prescribes cough syrup. Maybe it stops the cough, but it didn't do anything to the cancer. The cancer will get worse no matter how much I suppress the cough. Citra collars, shock collars, and sound collars all treat the symptoms, like the cough syrup. They do nothing to cure the underlying disease, which is causing the real problem. It's like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. You need to treat the problem, not its manifestations.

I agree that as he gets older, your Pyr will be more protective of you. But dogs are incredibly observant. Where you see a potential threat, he may already have written it off as harmless. I always trust my dogs. If they don't like someone, I don't either. They've never had to prove it, but I know any one of them would do anything for me. I know this because I would do anything for them. If you develop this kind of strong partnership, your dog will never let harm come to you.

 

[Love4Pits]

Ok I don't agree with petros I think the house is better then keeping a dog outdoors. I think they are more comfortable indoors with their family not freezing in the cold and rain. Yes I keep a good amount of my dogs in kennels in the barn but its heated and safe.

 

[smkie]

This is just my opinion..based on 30 years of working with dogs on a daily basis
a dog is a pack animal...not a hamster that prefers solitude
he wants to be with the pack..there for, with YOU
He is not a security system, or an object without feelings
to be ostrisized to the yard while his "pack" is inside would feel exactly to him
as it would to you.
A dog is a child that matures to the age of 7. That is when you are still their hero, before they turn into self serving teenagers..that is why we love them so.
THey have all the same emotions you have, except for greed and vindictiveness, they can forgive more than any human i have ever known.
When they are away from the pack..it is seen as rejection. Isolation becomes boredom
Boredom becomes bad behavior..eg digging and barking. Their feeling become hurt and they begin to act out, as you would as well.
That is why..my dogs are in the house, they are happy well trained and clean. They are my "pack", my joy. That is all any dog ever asks of us. A dog can hear a sound for three miles..he can do that from inside as well as out..he can smell 500 hundred times what you can..he can do that as well from inside...the benifit is not only will u not have to hire or install a security system , but you will make a friend, one that will forgive you for shutting him out, one that will care when no one else notices, one that will be there just for you and when they are gone, your world will never be the same again. A dog if a gift from God..given to us to treasure for the ever so short time we have them. I do not waste on second of that, nor do i ever take it for granted.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

Very well put, Smkie.

 

[Saje]

Yes Smkie. That was excellent.

And, no, Petros, I was not confused. It's very clear to me why your dog is barks (occassionally) and what you need to do. I hope you will take some of the advice that you have been given.

I'm glad you spend a lot of time with your dog. I'm not sure what kind of playing you are referring too but I hope it burns a lot of energy. An hour and half of hide and seek is more stimulating for their minds (soul spirit ...) than their body. My dogs adore hide and seek but it does nothing to burn off energy for the night. I imagine that your dog is a very high-energy puppy and that it probably needs a lot of exercise. My Maverick, who is a newfoundlandX, would get two hours of off leash walking/running/exploring time everyday. My bf and I would go out in the late evening when most people were out and take him along the beach. He'd dig up crabs and all kinds of things. Loved it really.

I know you need sleep but your puppy needs a lot of things too. You are responsible for a living being no different than a child.

Having your dog in the house does not mean he will destroy your house or be a prisoner. My dogs sleep inside and come in and out all day. They don't destroy anything. Only the toys that I give them. They have house rules. There are rooms where they aren't allowed. And it works wonderfully. I sleep much more peacefully knowing that they are safe inside with me and that they are warm and dry and not lonely. I can't imagine a more wonderful feeling than my cozy house with all my fur-kids inside.

 

[smkie]

Wish we had a beach.....oh my that sounds lovely!

 

[Saje]

It was so much fun. Really gorgeous. We'd go when the tide was out at night and all the creepy sea crawlies were there. hee hee hee. Maverick had SO much fun

 

[smkie]

Victor is so funny when he goes out at night..he runs about 12 feet into the yard and freezes into a point..his eyes are as big as half dollars....last night i stood there still with him..i heard a racoon shooting up one ceder a few feet a way..heard an old horned owl whowhoooooo oo oo all those night smells you know. I think it just blows his mind..and in the morning zippppppp to the end to scatter the squirrels.. maybe at night he is thinking WHEREDTHEYGO? He is so funny. I would love to see his reaction to a beach and the waves. I haven't seen the ocean in 20 years now and i crave it. I hope to see it one more time in this life for i think the waves are the heartbeat of the earth and oh how much i love to listen

 

[Saje]

20 years is a long time. I guess that can kind of sneak up on you cuz I just realized it's been almost 6 months for me and I hadn't even thought about it.

You should draw Victor's face like that. That would be adorable. lol

 

[poodlesmom]

Petros, I have a suggestion that I would like you to consider. If you truly feel it is boredom that is causing your pup to bark during the nite while you & your neighbors are trying to sleep, perhaps a simple solution would be to have him come in the house just at bedtime. That way he would learn that nighttime is "quiet" time. I am sure if there were a legitimate reason for him to alert you he would even tho he'd be inside. Granted he would have to learn some "house manners" but I think it might just be the ideal solution to the barking problem.

I too was happy to hear that you spend alot of time with your dog outside. Most of us here do have dogs who mainly live inside with us. My 2 I can honestly say are quite happy to be in the house with me as well as going outside to play with or without me. In warmer weather I am outside with them quite a bit but in cold weather I prefer to stay inside. But that doesn't mean that we don't play alot of games of fetch - my long hallway is ideal for that!

 

[Renee750il]

Just an illustration. My dogs are herding/working dogs. They have over 60 acres and they enjoy being out, patrolling, playing, hunting, and all of those doggie things very much indeed.

But guess where they always want to be after they've been out playing for an hour or two? Right back in the house where they can keep an eye on me while I'm working. Even Bimmer, who is much more 'natural' being part wolf.

No, being cooped up inside day and night isn't ideal for a dog; they need to be outside where there are things going on, squirrels to chase, groundhogs to catch and all sorts of things to be nosy about, but being banned from inside the home - where their people are - isn't good either.

I know people who don't let their dogs inside, and they are always asking me why my dogs are so much more devoted to me and pay so much more attention to me than theirs do to them. It's because my dogs are an integral part of ALL of my life.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

My three dogs all live indoors with me, always have always will. We adopted the terrier mix from a no-kill shelter, and there's pretty much no they would have let us keep her outside. We have a large yard that allows them to run, romp and play with eachother, and they get regular walks. My girls are some of the happiest dogs I have met. Their tails are almost always moving .