Terrible Twos!

SillyBeans

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice about my dog who's ever so slightly starting to drive me a bit crazy :pac: Bit of a long post so apologies in advance.

He's a rescue dog and I've had him just over a year. He's now 2.5 years old. Prior to him choosing me as his human, he had 3 previous owners, was in foster care and was in kennels. From what I was told, the previous owners didn't keep him as they found he was two energetic for them.

When I got him I was told he was house trained and he was good for a week or so and then started going indoors. With perseverance I eventually got him to stop going inside but even that was a struggle as he won't go for a poop if he's on the lead! A couple of months ago he started weeing overnight (he sleeps in the kitchen at night). On rare occasions I'll let him sleep in my bedroom and he never wakes to go to the toilet then (would letting him sleep in my room some nights be confusing him?). Once or twice he's gone in the kitchen while I'm at work. I started leaving the cooker light on at night and he didn't wee for about two weeks, then it all started again. I've cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom with that spray from the pet shop to discourage marking but it made no difference.

He gets very anxious when he's away from me (even if I'm trying to hoover and I close the door on him, he's instantly trying to open the door and whining and yelping and barking to get into the room with me). He's the same with anyone, hates being kept away from the action! I ignore him as much as I can when he starts the barking and whining but when it's late at night and he's barking it's harder as I don't want the neighbors to complain. He's always quiet during the day when I'm actually gone though as I've asked the neighbors if they've ever heard him and the odd time that I sneak in without him noticing he's usually asleep or happy playing with his toys.

We leave for work around 8, one of use comes back for 45 mins at lunch time and then home again just after 5. He gets a walk in the morning and a walk in the evening. I don't trust him to come back to me so his walks with me are on lead, with my boyfriend he's off the lead and runs until his leggies can't run no more!

I've tried training him and while initially he got things like sit, lie down, paw, leave it etc he seems to not respond to it as much anymore. I've tried all sorts of trick and collars to get him to stop pulling on the lead and they're not helping and he pulls the arm off me.

I'm sure there's something obvious I'm doing wrong here, just looking for an outside opinion. I've had dogs all my life and they've always responded really well to training and have been a breeze. This fella, even though I love him to bits, makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes!

TL;DR - 2.5 year old dog wees at night, barks and whines constantly, pulls on the lead

Thanks everyone

cocker5

OP…


I can’t really advise you onthe weeing at night but im sure other posters will suggest something…


On the barking / whinging –when you leave the room what do you do? Do you just close the door and walkoff? Or do you pop him in his bed?

Personally I would pop him inhis bed with a “stuffed” Kong, a treat and will distract him for a while … andhelp relax him. What about giving him a raw hide to occupy him?

Is it possible not too closethe door when hovering? Or does he attack the hoover or something.


My cocker is similar as in heis very vocal (no barking just whinging) if I leave the living room and closethe door – as result we just leave the doors opened and he’s happy out, with thelack of restriction’s he’s not that bothered where I go.


You could look at rescueremedy for dogs it helps relax him or a DAP plug In:


http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pets-bach-flower/


http://www.petworlddirect.ie/p/adaptil-dap-diffuser-plug-in/187036036


On the lead pulling (again mycocker was a star pupil at this event),try a dogmatic…. They are brilliant!! I ordered mine from the website below…..

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/


Do you mind if I ask what youare feeding him? As this can also lead to negative behaviour…

SillyBeans

Thanks for the reply.

First off the only thing he seems to like is the Webbox brand of food. I've tried lots of things for him and he'll eat them for a week and then go off it. He's been eating this for over 6 months I'd guess.

I've tried a halti collar with him and he just tries to get it off. While he's not trying to remove it (for about 5 steps!) he does great, but then he drops to the ground and starts trying to push it off his head.

I've tried one of those plug in things and it made no difference to him at all. To be honest after about ten minutes I couldn't even smell it so not sure how good it was.

On leaving the room... if he's standing at the door I make him go into his bed and he has some toys there. He loves his stuffed kong but if he's trying to get into the room I'm in, no amount of toys or food will distract him. I sometimes feed him as I'm leaving the room and he won't touch it if he knows I'm in the house anywhere (or if he can see me outside). If he's away from the door when I'm leaving, I just walk out without saying anything as I don't want to make a fuss of him. When I come back in I don't make a fuss either.

He likes to pounce on the hoover. He's the same with things like electric shavers. Doesn't like the whirring noise. It's not just when I'm hoovering that I close the door though. Things like if the postman comes to the door, I put the dog in another room for a few minutes as he'll try to jump past me to see who the visitor is. Or if I'm bringing in shopping from the car I put him in another room so that he doesn't run outside.

He's very keen to escape (the back garden is enclosed but the front of the house isn't). A friend was looking after him one day and wasn't fast enough for him and my dog ran out the front door and straight in the passenger window of a neighbours car and sat there looking pleased with himself until my friend went and got him! Luckily my neighbor saw the funny side

cocker5

OP,

First off I too tried the halti years ago and my cocker too pulled itoff…. The dogmatic head collar is nothing like the halti they cannot get it offas it’s a head collar.

I tried EVERYTHING… halti, gentle leader, harness none of them workedexcept the dogmatic and I still sue it to this day.


Now I’ve just google the food and this is what google came up with:

WEBBOX

Ingredients: Cereals , meat and animal derivatives (min 4% fresh beef) ,derivatives of vegetable origin , oils, fats , fish & fish derivatives,minerals, EEC permitted antioxidants, preservatives and colours


Not trying to be negative or anything but that’s a very very low quality dog food (if it is in line with what’sabout) – the golden rules when it comes to decent dog food is there first fewingredients should never be one of the following: cereals, animal derivatives..there is no nutritional alvalue in this food OP and this could be causing 50% of his behavioral issues.Of course he likes it, it’s like feeding yourself (or kids) McDonalds all day everyday, they will like it but it’s bad for them.


Personally I would change his food to a higher quality food and get the dogmatic head collar…after a few weeks on better food you will see an improvement in behavior and instantly the dogmatic will help.

If you want somedog food recommendations just ask (avoid all dog food sold in Supermarkets theyare 99% muck).

With regard tothe smelling plug in…. you’re not supposed to be able to smell it??? It’s a hormonething for the dog?? What brand did you try??

OP it’s ALL aboutpersistence…. Its takes weeks of those plug ins and changing his food to see adifference it won’t happen over night

cocker5

sorry some of the words look stuck together... posting from my phone!! :rolleyes:

SillyBeans

I'll give the dogmatic a go but they look quite similar in shape, apart from where the lead attaches?

I didn't want to give him the webbox food because of it not being the best but I've tried loads of different brands and this seemed to be the only one he liked. I haven't bought the usual suspects like Pedigree and Bakers and things. I tried food from the pet shop that didn't have additives and organic brands and he tends to stick his nose up at them. He'd rather eat nothing than eat something he doesn't like. He's a picky little devil! I'll try changing brands again though and hopefully we'll find something his majesty doesn't hate!

I can't remember the brand but it was a little glass bottle attached to a plug. The instructions said it should smell a little. The plug in has been there for a few months now. I've plugged it in near his bed.

Thanks for taking the time to answer

(As I type this he's outside barking at the air and has been for about 30 minutes. I'm worried the neighbors will start to get annoyed as he has been worse of late. I do have to put up with their screaming kids though so fairs fair!)

tk123

I'd recommend a front attach harness over a head collar - you need to train a dog to use a head collar and it can take time. I use Freedom and Perfect Fit ones and find them really good. The Freedom one would be cheaper - €35 from Positive Dog Training in Sandyford if you're in Dublin.

For the plug-in - I'm assuming it's an Adaptil plug-in which lasts max 1 month so it won't be doing anything at this stage and tbh I doubt it'd make a difference if you're feeding a crappy food full of additives to make him hyper


For the food - I'm assuming it's those Webbox chubs so he probably prefers wet food? There's plenty of good quality wet foods eg Rocco/Lukullus/Rinti/NatureDiet from zooplus. Zooplus.de is usually the best one for Rocco

SillyBeans

I'm not sure of the name, the instructions said it should last a few months. To be honest I'd forgotten it was there so might just dump it, only gathering dust!

Yep it's either the chubs or the little trays. I'll look into those brands.

Thanks

cocker5

Honestly OP it’s not at all like the halti, the halti has a small collar around the back of the neck and then your slide it over the nose…not secure and the dog can get this off with little effort at all.

The dogmatic is a head collar, it is kind of fixed into shape, you put it over the dogs head and its secure, it goes around the entire snout, and as it’s a solid head collar the dog CANNOT get this off trust me ,you clip your lead onto the ring… honestly please trust me on this one my cocker was manic and it made a huge difference.


You must persist it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t like it its faaaar better for him in the long run. Poor quality food will make a dog hyper,it’s a proven fact. A dog will not willingly starve to death, leave him a few days and he will eventually eat. By givingin and giving him crap food your making him into a hyper dog – trust me. In the long run if you persist you will all be faaaar happier than you are now.


Please do not buy the food in the supermarket (honestly you might as well feed him burgers and chips – its muck). Personally I would look at Taste of the wild (I feed my guy this) or Burns, while it appears to be expensive don’t be fooled by price. When you buy a better quality dog food you feed a smaller portion. My taste of the wild costs me €60 for 13.5kg BUT it lasts me nearly 3 months, I add boiled carrots, peas etc. as well to bulk it up at times. So it works out at 66cents per day… far cheaper than the crappy / cheap brands. More price but lessfood. Again please trust me on this one… after a month you will see an improvement in his behaviour.


What breed of dog is he? Is he neutered? Sorry if you’ve already said.

ihatewinter

Is that Weebox chubs not a complementary food. He's not getting much nutritional value from it. Persevere with one type of food, mix it with some type of gravy or broth and he will eat it. Don't give in, normal after a day or 2, they will willingly eat it.

aonb

+1 for a FRONT ATTACH HARNESS too
My bigger dog was a total pest on a regular leash. I got a harness with an attachment at his chest. If he pulls, it causes him to "turn around" - he learned within minutes that there was no point in pulling! Its great, no more being dragged along on a walk. Maybe if you know someone with one of these harnesses you can borrow to try it on your dog

What breed is he?

If he has had several previous owners, the poor chap, it sounds like you will have your work cut out, but loving him certainly helps the process! Good luck, I hope you get things sorted

SillyBeans

cocker5 - It's not that he can get it off, it's just that he tries his hardest to. I'll have a look at the brands of food that have been mentioned in the thread. I wasn't keen on giving him this stuff but I'd tried so many that he wouldn't eat. The one rubbish one I try and he loves it I will persevere with something healthier though. I hadn't thought that it would be affecting his mood until you mentioned it

ihatewinter - there's a few different types from that brand. I'll try something new with him and hopefully he goes for it

aonb - I definitely love the little monster (I just didn't like him very much that time he ate my lamp...and the replacement lamp...!) :pac:

He's a staffie but I think he's crossed with something as he's quite big. He was neutered before I got him so it was when he was quite young. Thanks for all the suggestions

bluejelly

Pulling on lead: A front attach harness works for me too on my 3 labs. The relief on my arms! I use the premier easy walk harness.

My pup barks & whines when there is a closed door between her & me. She is very vocal compared to my other dogs. It starts when she hears my eyes opening at 7am every morning I just leave the doors open as much as possible. Is getting a 2nd dog as a companion on option?

SillyBeans

I was thinking about the second dog option but thought maybe it would be better to wait until most of the issues had been resolved. If it was just the anxiety of being alone I would have gotten him a buddy sooner but I think having another dog while he's still a bit rowdy might be a disaster. He used to play with the neighbors dog but they gave her away. He looked for her for weeks

Another of his traits is that he barks very aggressively at some dogs but the majority of the time he's very submissive and lets them sniff him and push him around (especially teeny tiny dogs!) Apparently he was attacked when he was a pup so that might be some of the reason for the aggression. He has a kink in his tail as a reminder. He definitely has his baggage, poor fella.

cocker5

SillyBeans wrote: »

cocker5 - It's not that he can get it off, it's just that he tries his hardest to. I'll have a look at the brands of food that have been mentioned in the thread. I wasn't keen on giving him this stuff but I'd tried so many that he wouldn't eat. The one rubbish one I try and he loves it I will persevere with something healthier though. I hadn't thought that it would be affecting his mood until you mentioned it

ihatewinter - there's a few different types from that brand. I'll try something new with him and hopefully he goes for it

aonb - I definitely love the little monster (I just didn't like him very much that time he ate my lamp...and the replacement lamp...!) :pac:

He's a staffie but I think he's crossed with something as he's quite big. He was neutered before I got him so it was when he was quite young. Thanks for all the suggestions

No probs at all...listen don't worry we've all been there, I fed my cocker Beta food with a mix of earls wet food from aldi as he would eat anything else when he was 1/2 (as much as I am ashamed to say it I fed him crap too - that's BEFORE I did lots of research). we got a trainer in as he was MENTAL, and first thing she said was change his food etc - we did and after a few weeks it made a HUGE difference. Look he will resist the change so expect him to be a little stubborn brat when it comes to food. I moved my guy onto Burns, he didn't eat for 5 days, I was panicked to say the least I called the trainer and the vet and the BOTH said - he wont starve himself to death.. so I persisted... next day he wolfed it down... after that he was fine. I feed him burns for 5 years and he did well on it and not hyper at all.

I now feed him Taste of the wild and mix it up with carrots, peas etc.


Here's where I get my dog food from and infact all my dog supplies:

www.zooplus.ie

Personally I wouldn't add gravy as one its very high in salt for a dog and secondly if you start this you will end up sticking with it for life. Personally I would suggest you find a decent "complete" dog food within your budget, and persist. it must be a complete food though. once a week add a mushed up tins of sardines he will LOVE it and its great for their coat and joints etc.
Stay away from commercial wet food its full of crap.... there are high end wet food you can buy if you wish, personally I prefer the dried food for my guy.

The trick here is to persist and I promise things will improve dogs are all about consistency and routine...

you mentioned exercise, how much is he actually getting per day? I know my guy at that age needed at least 1.5 hours of decent walking... otherwise he was a header...

also have you thought of cycling him? Our trainer recommended this for us and it worked VERY well - got rid of a lot of my guys pent up energy when he was 2/3.... I'd def recommend it. you can get a special attachment for your bike for cycling dogs... I found it brilliant.

Best of luck and fair play to you for giving him a home and don't give up on him

SillyBeans

Thanks for all that info.

He gets about 20-30 minutes in the morning and a good hour in the evening. When my boyfriend takes him in the evening they usually run a couple of miles and he runs him chasing a ball until he's really out of puff. (He then has a mad half hour when he comes home, runs laps around the house, up and down the stairs, chasing his tail!)

I'll give the cycling a go. He's fast so it might suit him

cocker5

SillyBeans wrote: »

Thanks for all that info.

He gets about 20-30 minutes in the morning and a good hour in the evening. When my boyfriend takes him in the evening they usually run a couple of miles and he runs him chasing a ball until he's really out of puff. (He then has a mad half hour when he comes home, runs laps around the house, up and down the stairs, chasing his tail!)

I'll give the cycling a go. He's fast so it might suit him

you need to purchase the proper attachment to your bike don't cycle holding the lead he will pull you off the bike or into traffic - its too dangerous. you can get them on www.zooplus.ie - its called a cycle mount.




Just some hints if you do get this:

its secures under your seat, its very safe for the dog -its brilliant
ALWAYS cycle with the dog on your left hand side - away from any potential traffic.
if cycling at dusk always have a doggie visi vets on him for safety.
Don't cycle him if its hot outside he could over heat
only cycle him for 20/30 mins
don't cycle fast, just glide around and let him dictate speed.

Its works a treat at calming down hyper dogs plus they LOVE it... still to this day when my guy hears someone rings a bell on a bike he goes mad for it

Pretzill

SillyBeans wrote: »

Thanks for all that info.

He gets about 20-30 minutes in the morning and a good hour in the evening. When my boyfriend takes him in the evening they usually run a couple of miles and he runs him chasing a ball until he's really out of puff. (He then has a mad half hour when he comes home, runs laps around the house, up and down the stairs, chasing his tail!)

I'll give the cycling a go. He's fast so it might suit him

That running around after a good workout suggests to me an adrenaline rush - my girl gets it if we over stimulate her to be honest she's an adrenaline junkie! And is a bit of a barker too - though shes 4 now and has quieten down a lot and has a young brother for company!

What I found was it wasn't the quantity of play but the quality - she is mad for frisbee and ball but the repetition was like a drug to her - now the games are varied like hiding games (hiding a toy or ball and letting them find it) jumps, etc just anything to break the cycle.

Does your guy sniff along a walk or just pull to rush ahead ignoring all the smells?

My little guy does this so I stop and wait until he calms down and then walk on - keep stopping if need be.

It's a long day to be left home alone too and even with the 45 minutes you come back - he'll get bored - and is probably storing up energy for later

I would include him in the house when you're there leave the door open when you hoover (he'll get used to it) play with him indoors too hiding treats etc.

Normally dogs begin to get a bit more sense after 2 years but your guy had a hard start and he just needs patience and persistence and needs to trust now I suppose - hope he settles soon.

SillyBeans

He sniffs everything. Marks everything too (so much that I think he runs out of 'fluid' and just lifts his leg and nothing comes out after a while!).

He's with us 99% of the time when we're home, it's just the rare time that I'd need him in the other room. He thinks he's a lap dog so he spends most of his time curled up on my lap like a baby!