Hello everyone,
This may get kind of long, but I'll be as brief as possible. I acquired a 5-6 mo. old puppy last August named Leo. Leo is a long haired shaggy mixed breed dog--the vet believes he's a terrier mix, and he sure does act like it! He is a very very busy boy. He's about a year old now, and I ended up bringing him home to my parents, as I am a full time student in a relatively small apt, and Leo definitely needs a fenced yard. Long story short, he lives with a 5 yr old (very well behaved) lab mix, and a 13 yr old bulldog. He and the lab mix adore playing with each other and spend a lot of time in the yard together. Leo also goes to the dog park for 1-2 hrs every day. He's not a very food-motivated dog, and obedience training has proven very difficult for both me and my parents. Mom has enrolled Leo in training classes that start early March. Ultimately, the two biggest obstacles my parents face with him are: 1) Leo eats EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that he comes across, from toilet paper, to books, magazines, mom's yarn (she knits), shoes, dog beds...for this problem, traditional advice has not worked. Leo has learned the "leave it" command, but appears to ignore it when he's got a highly prized object that doesn't belong to him. He has a small basket of toys that are rotated to avoid boredom, mom watches him like a hawk and often catches him in the act of ruining something, the shake can fails to startle him (In fact, he's stolen it off the table before to chew on it!), and the squirt bottle of water fails to phase him. And there just isn't enough bitter apple spray in the world to keep him away from all the possessions he likes to steal..but we've tried it. If caught chewing a forbidden possession, Mom removes it with a firm "no" and replaces it with a dog toy. I know chewing can be due to his young age, and he's a very immature one year old, but this just can't go on! He ate a twenty dollar bill the other day off dad's nightstand! Is there something we're missing? Anybody have any creative alternatives for stopping this chewing behavior? (I know this is very long so far....almost done!)
Problem 2 is: he antagonizes the senior bulldog by biting her feet and barking at her incessantly. If kept on leash in the house, the bulldog takes advantage and will bother him back. If not on leash, Leo gets crated with a chewtoy to redirect his energy (vet's recommendation). Often, he'll get let out of his crate after about 15-20 minutes, and he'll go right back to antagonizing bulldog. Does anybody have any ways to deal with these behavioral issues? We're at a loss. Mom and dad both adore him, but he is challenging for them, and as Leo was mine, I feel somewhat responsible for his behavior and I'd like to help them restore harmony to their household. Thank you for reading this lengthy post.....any and all suggestions will be entertained and appreciated!!
~Rachel
This may get kind of long, but I'll be as brief as possible. I acquired a 5-6 mo. old puppy last August named Leo. Leo is a long haired shaggy mixed breed dog--the vet believes he's a terrier mix, and he sure does act like it! He is a very very busy boy. He's about a year old now, and I ended up bringing him home to my parents, as I am a full time student in a relatively small apt, and Leo definitely needs a fenced yard. Long story short, he lives with a 5 yr old (very well behaved) lab mix, and a 13 yr old bulldog. He and the lab mix adore playing with each other and spend a lot of time in the yard together. Leo also goes to the dog park for 1-2 hrs every day. He's not a very food-motivated dog, and obedience training has proven very difficult for both me and my parents. Mom has enrolled Leo in training classes that start early March. Ultimately, the two biggest obstacles my parents face with him are: 1) Leo eats EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that he comes across, from toilet paper, to books, magazines, mom's yarn (she knits), shoes, dog beds...for this problem, traditional advice has not worked. Leo has learned the "leave it" command, but appears to ignore it when he's got a highly prized object that doesn't belong to him. He has a small basket of toys that are rotated to avoid boredom, mom watches him like a hawk and often catches him in the act of ruining something, the shake can fails to startle him (In fact, he's stolen it off the table before to chew on it!), and the squirt bottle of water fails to phase him. And there just isn't enough bitter apple spray in the world to keep him away from all the possessions he likes to steal..but we've tried it. If caught chewing a forbidden possession, Mom removes it with a firm "no" and replaces it with a dog toy. I know chewing can be due to his young age, and he's a very immature one year old, but this just can't go on! He ate a twenty dollar bill the other day off dad's nightstand! Is there something we're missing? Anybody have any creative alternatives for stopping this chewing behavior? (I know this is very long so far....almost done!)
Problem 2 is: he antagonizes the senior bulldog by biting her feet and barking at her incessantly. If kept on leash in the house, the bulldog takes advantage and will bother him back. If not on leash, Leo gets crated with a chewtoy to redirect his energy (vet's recommendation). Often, he'll get let out of his crate after about 15-20 minutes, and he'll go right back to antagonizing bulldog. Does anybody have any ways to deal with these behavioral issues? We're at a loss. Mom and dad both adore him, but he is challenging for them, and as Leo was mine, I feel somewhat responsible for his behavior and I'd like to help them restore harmony to their household. Thank you for reading this lengthy post.....any and all suggestions will be entertained and appreciated!!
~Rachel
