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Save me from putting my dog up for adoption please!! (staffy probs)

AE86JAY

As the story goes I wanted a staffy for a long time and when I decided the time was right I done 6 months of searching on buyandsell and the likes till the perfect little fella came up that had good history, strong lines and excellent temperament, he has never once growled or bit in aggression in my 8 months of bringing him up, my problem is his energy and excitement,

I looked up obedience training eventually sending him away he was gone for nearly 3 weeks,
this worked wonderfully he start walking on the lead which he never done, he sits,lies down and comes back to you on command so they done there job its this nuisance barking that is driving me and my partner nuts,
I'd imagine its only a matter of time before I get a call from my neighbours or dog warden (surprised it hasnt happened already)

I brought him for a brisk 1hr 15min walk last night around my local town, when we got back to the house I spent 15 mins doing his obedience training to tire him mentally as well,
I put him outside in the back garden then with a bone (9.30PM) I went inside start watching TV, put the dog to bed outside in his kennel at 11PM, I shut the door to stop the wind getting in he's very snug inside with an old duvet I stuffed in there, this is no problem he goes down without a whimper and no barking here, it starts from around 6AM every morning barking non stop to get out,
I got up this morning like every other morning at 6 to let him out gave him his bone,this lasted about 30min till he was up barking and bouncing/banging off the door to get in, people say if you want to train him you have to leave him be, its hard when your trying to get a nights kip and you live in an estate with houses either side of you and my staffys bark is rather high pitched and sharp,
I let him in the back kitchen with the bone again left him in darkness where he stayed quiet for another 30mins, its now 7AM Im up for work normally in another 15mins anyway so no biggy there, but how do I stop this nuisance barking,
My last resort and I really dont want to use it as I find it inhumane is a shock collar are these a gimmick or do they work?, I don't want him to be afraid to bark either but only when its the right time,

My partner is already at her wits end and its starting to cause row's, I have to admit as much as I adore him he's starting to annoy me now to, I really really do not want to give him away, any suggestions? he's a very bright dog he is clever and learns fast but is rather stubborn he know's when he does wrong and the odd time when doing his training he knows he has to lie down but wont do it for about 2-3mins the first time but eventually does as he wont get his treat,

After reading back I forgot to mention I also bring him to work with me where he has free roam of a large yard for the day, obviously I havent time to be doing stuff with him here so he's mostly relaxing for the day,

Any suggestions would be great, I'm willing to try anything so I can hold on to my little fella,

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AE86JAY

Tranceypoo wrote: »

OP have you taken his feeding routine and what you're actually feeding him into account? For instance if you're feeding him supermarket food last thing at night or just leaving it down for him to eat when he wants etc? Maybe you're already feeding a high quality food but just wanted to put that out there. Another thing that occurred to me was is he neutered and would there be a female in heat around? Or has this been going on for longer than a couple of weeks? Again, just some thoughts I had. I think you've been given some great advice here, especially with the crate training and the fact that your dog is only 8 months old and still only a mad pup, I hope you take it onboard.

Someone mentioned this already, I had him on Royal Canine and switched to a lower protein food IAMS made little to no change he doesn't get anything after 9PM, he gets his last big feed around 6 same time as us then a treat or 2 after but nothing after 9PM, its been going on for more than a couple of weeks, few months,

I am pie

Glaringly you need to know how to train the dog. The 3 weeks was wasted without you being present. You need to know how to control your dog.

Do not just buy the crate and throw him into it, you will not fix anything.

Seriously, if you really do want to keep the dog you need to do some reading up on Crate Training. Learn how to use the create. Investing the time that you already invest there is absolutely 0 reason to give the dog away. You are on the right track with your intentions, but you just need some help in learning how to train your dog, and to train yourself a little.

kylith

AE86JAY wrote: »

My next job is I'm going to buy that crate from Argos and put him in it periodically I know he will bark so I will wait till he's quiet and reward him each time he does so, am I doing this right or wrong can anyone tell me?

The point of a crate is not to put him in and wait for him to bark himself out. You need to feed him in there, give him treats in there, and gradually work up from having the door shut for a couple of minutes to having him happy to relax in there for a couple of hours. And, most importantly, he must see it as a place he likes to be. I haven't crate trained mine, but I'm sure others can recommend books that can talk you through it step by step.

I've had problems with barking while outside at night and I know that in my case keeping them in at night solved the problem.

AE86JAY

Bullseye1 wrote: »

From reading your OP can you confirm you sent your dog away for training but did not attend the training yourself? If so that was one of your first mistakes. 90% of the training is for humans. From reading your posts you seem genuine in your posts about putting in the effort. That is a positive. But talking about how much money you have spent already is not the dogs fault. They are essentially kids until they reach 18months, longer for some breeds. You don't give up on children just because its tough. Don't give up on your dog.

The trainer rang me with updates every couple of days and wouldnt let him home till I attended a handling course so the dog was comfortable and I was giving the commands right, the dog is doing everything the trainer taught him and I am keeping up my "homework" which I have to do with him also, no probs there,

muddypaws

AE86JAY wrote: »

Thank you for some constructive criticism, its much easier to reply to someone like yourself and not fly off the handle with some of the comments, Yes I agree I'm inexperienced, that's why I'm here getting advice because I've exhausted all other avenues so far,
My next job is I'm going to buy that crate from Argos and put him in it periodically I know he will bark so I will wait till he's quiet and reward him each time he does so, am I doing this right or wrong can anyone tell me?
Another thing I agree with you on is 8 months is to early yes, it may be just my patience ran out as it was the same thing day in day out with little or no change I think I just needed someone to tell me that,
He is very clever he knows a lot of right from wrongs but still does the wrong thing if you get me,
The trainer suggested I tether him in the sitting room when were there wait till he calms and let him loose when he starts going crazy tether him again repeating the process until you get the desired result again is this right or wrong???????

Just because you may not like what someone has said, does not mean that its not constructive. Have you spoken with the breeder?

Not sure how good the argos crates are, and if they are strong enough to contain a young Staffy. This company seem to sell decent, good value crates, a lot of posters on here have bought from them http://www.jebbtools.ie/. You need to train him to the crate properly, so that he likes going in there, and sees it as his den, otherwise he will still bark and whine, as he will see it as punishment. Check out this website, lots of great training tips http://www.dogstardaily.com/

Sorry OP, but it sounds as though the trainers that you have used so far are the old school, alpha, be the boss type, and that kind of dog training has been shown to be outdated and scientifically incorrect. have a look on this website and find a trainer and/or behaviourist that uses positive reinforcement methods to train dogs, near to you http://apdt.ie/

muddypaws

AE86JAY wrote: »

The trainer rang me with updates every couple of days and wouldnt let him home till I attended a handling course so the dog was comfortable and I was giving the commands right, the dog is doing everything the trainer taught him and I am keeping up my "homework" which I have to do with him also, no probs there,

And if it wasn't against the forum charter, most posters on here could name the place that you sent him to, and could give you a lot of negative feedback about them.

AE86JAY

muddypaws wrote: »

And if it wasn't against the forum charter, most posters on here could name the place that you sent him to, and could give you a lot of negative feedback about them.

The place is a well respected obedience school, based on treat rewards with dvds of progress during the way, run by women, The dog is not scared or afraid since he came back he simply does what is asked because he knows he will get something nice,

muddypaws

AE86JAY wrote: »

The place is a well respected obedience school, based on treat rewards with dvds of progress during the way, run by women, The dog is not scared or afraid since he came back he simply does what is asked because he knows he will get something nice,

Then why do you feel you have to be 'the boss'? Why not adapt the training indoors so that you use the same methods?

maggiepip

Personally I feel tethering a dog in the living room would just be counterproductive - they get so pleased to be released they just go even crazier when free. Have you tried all the usual - stuffed kongs, something he enjoys chewing to calm him?

AE86JAY

maggiepip wrote: »

Personally I feel tethering a dog in the living room would just be counterproductive - they get so pleased to be released they just go even crazier when free. Have you tried all the usual - stuffed kongs, something he enjoys chewing to calm him?

Yes have tried the Kong some success but not much as if I make it to easy he gets it all out quickly if its to hard he just leaves it there hard to get the balance right, I might try it again though,

AE86JAY

muddypaws wrote: »

Then why do you feel you have to be 'the boss'? Why not adapt the training indoors so that you use the same methods?

I feel I have to be the boss because he has to know he's not going to be brought for a walk at 6 in the morning or play ball whatever, I understand he's a pup call me inexperienced but the other staffy owners I know dont do this, yes no 2 dogs are the same I understand that also, I might have another look at his food can someone tell me what I should be feeding him.

muckety

Hi - if its any help, I just got a crate here - got it delivered next day, price was good.

https://www.jebbtools.ie/animal-products

njs030

There's a lot more experienced people here than me so I'll just tell you my experience-
My oldest dog is a jrt crossed with a collie and the yappiest most energetic dog I've ever met!!

As a pup he drove me insane and like yourself I asked for help. The advice I found worked was this-
When he barks make a loud noise to catch his attention (for me shaking an empty bottle half full with some stones from the fishtank worked) the instant he stops barking give him a high value treat (ham or chicken worked best). After a while of this I replaced the 'noise' with saying 'that's enough' in a firm calm voice and again treating him when he stopped.
Now he is 4 and will still bark at everything but instantly stops when I say 'that's enough'.
I also trained him to bark on command which allows him to go crazy at the right time.

Hope that helps

AE86JAY

notjustsweet wrote: »

There's a lot more experienced people here than me so I'll just tell you my experience-
My oldest dog is a jrt crossed with a collie and the yappiest most energetic dog I've ever met!!

As a pup he drove me insane and like yourself I asked for help. The advice I found worked was this-
When he barks make a loud noise to catch his attention (for me shaking an empty bottle half full with some stones from the fishtank worked) the instant he stops barking give him a high value treat (ham or chicken worked best). After a while of this I replaced the 'noise' with saying 'that's enough' in a firm calm voice and again treating him when he stopped.
Now he is 4 and will still bark at everything but instantly stops when I say 'that's enough'.
I also trained him to bark on command which allows him to go crazy at the right time.

Hope that helps

Keys banging on a table seems to stop my lad a lot of the time I might work a training routine around that for a while and see, thanks for the reply!

disco1

Try leaving him in at night but leave all the down stairs doors open... Put a child gate / baby gate at bottom of stairs this is what I do with my 3 huskeys... I do not close the doors as they will scratch them until there open.
Mine go out to toilet same time every morning around 7am... No way around that. Once they go to toilet they scrape the back door to get back in so i let them in. I can then go back to bed or stay up but that is their routine.

Your dog is very young you just need to find a routine that works for you. Either way no matter what you will have to get up 7 days a week early to let the dog out then back in again.

maggiepip

For what its worth like many others have said he's just a hyper young dog of 8 months who's full of energy and doesn't want to be alone, he sounds like a really clever fella - you've made progress with other areas of training. My labrador didn't begin to grow up / settle down until she was about 18 months to 2 years and she was crazy....she gradually became calm and placid in time. Lots and lots of exercise was the biggest help. I would really try to sleep your dog indoors though because then he'll know hes not waiting around to be banished outside and I think, in time, that could help him settle. Dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors alone go exceptionally crazy when they get a bit of company.

Pretzill

Please persevere with your pup - this post should be a remnder to potential dog owners that they are a huge responsibility, a family member that will share your space for more than a decade in most cases.

Some dogs do well kennelled outside but think of every noise they'll hear before you early in the morning - all the scents they are attracted to and there need to get out of the garden and in to be with there owners. With the stress and boredom of no company the barking is inevitable.

I keep my dogs in the home, I don't crate - they don't destruct - now I have a pup at the mo who would potentially chew anything but thankfully he has only wrecked a few socks so far. All my dogs were at least 2 years of age when they settled all their puppy behaviours - got a bit more sense and relaxed into the home.

But all my dogs have always had company 24/7 - because I've never kept just one pet - I know this sort of committment isn't possible for everyone but it sounds like your staffy needs confidence - keeping him in at night may help - giving him something to amuse him when you're not there will too but if he does suffer from being alone I suppose at least the neighbours won't complain if his barking is confined indoors.

You seem to be giving him the exercise and diet etc he needs but it's not all about that - getting stressed yourself won't help the situation.

LucyBliss

OP, you said your dog knows the wrong from the rights but does the wrong anyway? Yeah, totally my Jack when he was a young dog. He knew well what I wanted him to do but couldn't be bothered half the time. And it wasn't dominance, it wasn't him being a 'bad' dog, it was him being him and him using his smarts (for evil! Seriously, if that dog had ever decided to use his intelligence to fight crime, the streets would have been cleared up in no time).

Staff dogs need direction and at that age, when they are learning so quickly, they need it a lot.

It's frustrating, absolutely. But polite calm firmness and consistency will win the day. Trust me, I used to say to my mother "we're saying he'll be alright when he's two, what if he's ten and he's still an ass!" And now, he's gone from being the dog who would never bother to find a treat that I'd hidden around the garden because he correctly assumed I had another in my pocket so why run like the other two pleb dogs, you know? To being the the dog who I told to go back and find his treat when he came with me into the kitchen today and he ran back into the sitting room and returned with his half eaten carrot.

The crate really isn't the place for him to sit until he's quiet. If anything, it might just frustrate him and make him worse. You have to work on getting him to focus on you. Throw a treat around for him to go after in the garden as a distraction, then if he wants more, he will have to look at you because you will have them in your hand and he can only get one if he comes over and sits. It takes time but they pick up on it. Signs by, I can't even put my hands in my jacket pockets when I'm down the garden with the dogs because they come over and sit in front of me, thinking I have treats and there's me waiting for them to go pee so we can all go back indoors on a cold night!

Whispered

OP you wanted a staffy and you got it

They are well known for being energetic and can be disruptive when bored. My advice would be:

Bring the pup indoors, these are not outdoor dogs and do not do well outside. It's not just the fact their not built for temperature extremes, but emotionally, they really are people dogs. They need to be with their families. I understand that as he is at the moment, this is difficult but he will never just "know" you will have to start somewhere.

Buy your crate, or block off a utility room for him with a baby gate. The crate or room, if introduced properly will help with the barking and will really help with the 6am wake ups - if it's worked on, again he will never just "know", you have to start somewhere. (introduction of the crate/room should really be done properly so be careful not to rush it, the 6am starts will have to be phased out but in most cases can be done relatively quickly once he's settled in his room)

Start from scratch with training, make it enjoyable. Having a dog should be a joy, yes there is give and take, you have to consider your dog in everything, but overall, it should be more fun than hassle. If it doesn't feel like that at the moment, take a step back and think about how you can make it right. Do something fun with him, agility, obedience classes (which you take part in too), scent work, canicross etc.

Try to teach your dog that what you want him to do is beneficial rather than just expecting him to do it because "you're the boss". He doesn't care - he will do what works. Whatever he is doing, he is doing it because along the way it worked for him.

Staffies are an amazing breed and I will never be without one. However there are hundreds dying in pounds every week. Take a deep breath and commit to not allowing your dog be one of those. He doesn't have to be. I promise your problems are all very sortable if you can just take a step back, start training now and give the pup a chance. Also be aware that 8months is a difficult age with most dogs, so take heart in that.

BillyMitchel

No offence but I was around bull breeds for 20 years and high energy and excitement is part of owning one. That excitement was part of them until the day they died. Surely the research you done told you that?

Telling a staffy not to be excited is like telling Usain Bolt not to run!

DamagedTrax

Staffords are dogs that want to be around humans more than most other breeds. if you want an outside dog they arent the way to go as they can suffer anxiety if away from their family.

To train him, start with his crate in your bedroom for a few night, gradually move it out into the hall way over the space of a week or so, always leaving your bedroom door open so that he can hear and smell you.

Then, just keep moving the crate closer to where you want him to sleep. also, locking the crate door at night time isnt a good idea, its much better to give him the freedom to move about the house. if he's awake then let him go do his own thing.

mel94

I have not read through all the replies but basically the problem is Staffords DONT do well as a outdoors dog! They become bored and destructive!

The research that you have done on buy and sell is not proper research! You should have contacted breed clubs..... went to breeders homes to see their dogs and the way their puppies have been raised see the mother(not always possible to see the sire) and make a informed decision on a well balanced puppy!

Sending him away to be trained isn't good either.... This is a critical time for bonding with your dog he gets to know you and you get to enjoy him being a stafford and learning all his quirky ways.

The breeder should have told you that staffords don't like segregation they need to be part of the family! They love nothing better than being in the middle of it all.... they love their runs and walks but would also be quiet happy to lie on the couch beside you getting belly rubs! Not being left in the garden or locked away with a bone!!!

Staffords can be chewers as puppies so like others have suggested get your puppy a crate! Get vetbed rather than a fluffy bed the pup would have great fun chewing up! Buy Kongs and Nylabones to keep him occupied while your busy but must importantly GIVE YOUR PUPPY THE LOVE AND AFFECTION THAT HE IS CRAVING!!!!!

The Sweeper

maggiepip wrote: »

Personally I feel tethering a dog in the living room would just be counterproductive - they get so pleased to be released they just go even crazier when free.

It works really well if you do it properly. You don't tie him up in the living room and leave him there. You tether him while you're in the room, watching TV, to help him settle. You need to tether him out of reach of everything. I attached a D-ring to the skirting board in my living room and clipped the dog's lead to it when he was unruly. He would have to settle, and once he'd settle he'd be allowed off the lead. If he revved up again, he went back on the D-ring. The best thing was it meant I could leave the living room for two minutes and come back without him getting into mischief. They learn very quickly that they only get off the D-ring if they're calm.

AE86JAY wrote:

Keys banging on a table seems to stop my lad a lot of the time I might work a training routine around that for a while and see, thanks for the reply!

Hey OP, that won't be the solution to all your ills. You're concentrating on how to stop your dog doing stuff - you need to come at the problem differently. You need to figure out how to motivate him to only do what you want him to do (as opposed to focusing on stopping him doing things).

I have a 30kg bull breed mix. He's now three and a half years old and he is a fantastic dog. When he was a pup he was a total bollix. There's just no better way to put it. Sometimes I reflect on our puppy time and think to myself, ah he wasn't that bad, and then one of my friends will remind me. Seriously. They can remember.

He was destructive, unruly and incredibly headstrong. He picked up commands quickly, but he was hugely reactive to other dogs and so on and when he hit his teens, he simply did nothing he was asked. Plus I wanted to do only positive training and went to positive training classes, but he'd spit the treats out and continue to maraud around the place. (Eventually one really excellent trainer had enough of him in a class and took the lead from me and gave him three sharp leash check corrections just to get him to calm the eff down. I was so grateful to her. He genuinely needed it. But you can't do that forever, and it shouldn't be your go-to move.)

If people have had 'good' pups and dogs, they might not realise what it's like to deal with the juggernaut that is the bull breed puppy. 'He's just a pup' is entirely true, but that doesn't downplay the disturbance, upset and sheer whirlwind of mess that a really high revving bull breed pup can bring.

Things that worked for me:

TETHERING. I tethered the dog on a slack lead to the belt on my jeans while we were in the house. He moved when I moved. He stopped when I stopped. I had treats in my pocket. I was trying to integrate my dog with my six cats, so I needed him not to chase. I also tethered him to a D-ring in the living room as I described above. I only had to use that D-ring for a week before there was a change in his indoor behaviour. I wanted my dog to be indoors, but I wanted him to behave. This was part of getting to that point. He's now a house angel.

MOTIVATION. I had to find what motivated my dog. It certainly wasn't treats - yes, indoors, without distraction, he'd work for food rewards. Outside, he wouldn't have a bar of my treats. I could have the best, smelliest, most excellent food and he'd actually turn his face away from it. I eventually discovered my lad would focus on my face and maintain solid eye contact like a frickin laser beam, regardless of other distractions, for a tennis ball. Training at home: food treats. Training outdoors: toys - tennis ball and tug rope.

TRAINING. Lots of training. 20 minutes every morning of cycling commands. 20 minutes every evening of cycling commands. Training all through the day where I'd reinforce the basics and anything new we'd just learned. By 'cycling commands' I mean 'sit, lie down, right down (for flat on his side), now sit up [reward], lie down, sit up, [reward], wait ... come on [reward], now go away (send him to a spot, then distance commands) sit (at a distance), lie down (at a distance), wait ... come on [reward].' Drills, just like that, 15-20 minutes. He'll be knackered at the end of it. At eight months he might only make it to 10 minutes. Don't underestimate how exhausting obedience drills are where you make your dog concentrate.

You can also train through nuisance behaviours. My dog doesn't nuisance bark. When he 'found his voice' aged one year, I taught him a 'speak' command (mark the behaviour as they do it, and reward it). Teaching him to bark on request also meant I could teach him to stop barking on request.

ROUTINE. I established a routine - breakfast - 30 mins - a walk and a play. Those would generate a poo and a wee. Then he could be left indoors for a number of hours without creating a mess. Evening was dinner - 30 mins - a walk and a play. If it's too wet to walk, play ball in the yard. Play tug of war in the garden. Leave it a half hour for the food to settle, then gentle exercise to prompt a poo and a wee. Then he could be left indoors overnight with no problems. Routine reduces anxiety, which can help reduce nuisance barking. Your lad may bark early because he just isn't able to wait for a wee, or otherwise wait to fit in with your routine. You may need to compromise on this one - if he wakes at 6am and you don't get up until 7am, meet him in the middle somewhere? 6.30am? 6.40am and 20 mins of obedience drills to start your day?

CONSISTENCY. My dog gets away with nothing. NOTHING. EVER. Even when I'm exhausted. I allow my dog up on the sofa, but he has to 'request permission' (comes up and places his chin on the sofa and looks at you, ears pricked). He's never allowed up without asking. NEVER. If he ever tries (and he does, every few months), I order him off the sofa ('NAH-AH! Get down!') and leave him a couple of minutes. Then I invite him back up. Same with doors. He's not allowed charge through doors. He has to sit and wait. If he charges through, he's made come back and sit and wait. Every. Single. Time. If you're consistent, then ' corrected every single time' actually means 'the one occasion in five weeks where the dog is disobedient, he is corrected'.

BOREDOM. Boredom is your enemy. Boredom cost me two barbecue covers, a pair of high heels, every bed I bought him for the first 18 months, well over 100 potted plants, a silk top, the power cords for my husband's surround sound system, a pair of expensive flip flops, and holes in the garden that cost nearly a hundred bucks a time to backfill and reseed when we moved house. Boredom fighters include frozen kong toys - I'd fill a kong with raw beef mince and then freeze it. That bought me 45 minutes right there. Obedience drills helped fight boredom. Channeled destruction also helped fight boredom.

CHANNELED DESTRUCTION. Yep. Every so often we'd let the dog destroy something. It was always something specific (he can't tell the difference between an old shoe and my good shoes, for instance). Pizza boxes worked well for us. Order pizza. Eat pizza. Throw out the food so there's just the smelly cardboard left. Head out into the yard. Help the dog utterly destroy the box - pizza box confetti. Clean up the mess. Watch as, back indoors, he snoozes in expended happiness. Supervised destruction of an empty plastic soda bottle was also very popular. He was like a trash compacter. I'd take off the lid, the plastic lid ring and the label and give him the empty bottle. It's noisy, but you've gotta let your dog be a dog.

NOISE. Never underestimate the power of a quiet radio in the background at night when you're trying to get your dog to sleep in the kitchen. Dogs hear every snore and snort and roll over in a silent house. A low, quiet radio hum can help to normalise the creaks and noises at night. Some years ago I started to leave the radio on for my pets all day while I was out, instead of leaving them in a silent house, and I saw a marked reduction in edginess and anxiety.

YOUTUBE. There are a LOT of dog training videos on youtube. Don't search for 'training a staffy' in case you get one of the morons who supports pack theory and is trying to make their dog 'tough'. Search for simple things like 'teach your dog a sit'. Watch some of them. You'll quickly spot the really clever ones that show you how to teach some extended 'tricks' by building command blocks and showing the dog how to move by making him follow a treat held in your closed hand. Some folks dislike tricks - I find them very useful for wearing a dog out. Another example of how useful they can be: I taught my dog a lie down / right down / roll over command years ago, so I can get him to drop, lie on his side and then lift his legs to expose his belly and stop there. He recently had a heat rash which could have turned into hot spots. We went to the vet and instead of having to wrestle 30kgs of dog on the exam table or the exam room floor to see his belly, three commands later and he's lying on the floor patiently with his legs in the air, showing the vet his sore armpit. Result!

There is hope for you and your dog, OP, but you HAVE to change your approach. If what you're doing now isn't working, STOP. Come at it from a different angle.

Last thing - at eight months, your dog is a teenager. He's going to be obnoxious for the next 10 months. Got it? Ten more months. Until October 2014, your dog will be a pain in the hole. Accept it. Work around it. Eyes on the prize - Christmas 2014, if you play your cards right, this dog will be a brilliant dog. Remember what you were like as a teenager? Dogs also go through teenage years. Some are worse than others. (Mine was a nightmare.) Persevere. It doesn't last.

Pretzill

The Sweeper some interesting and thorough points there. I can't even imagine the concept of tethering though I have three dogs BC's all with their own little bollixy ways at the moment

Puppy's mad half hour has morphed into two hours - despite walks, playtime etc - the 3 yr old is getting great craic out of reverting to puppyhood with said puppy during the mad half hour and both are turning my elderly lad into a grumbling barky nervous wreck! However even in the small space we share the main things that makes the madness bearable is keeping calm, letting them cavort, allowing their elder the escape clause of another room until like now they are all exhausted and out for the count! The good thing is despite losing the odd sock as a pull toy puppy is distracted f destruction. Hopefully for the OP his guy will settle with time. Boredom is the worst thing for any animal left alone.

The Sweeper

Pretzill wrote: »

The Sweeper some interesting and thorough points there. I can't even imagine the concept of tethering though I have three dogs BC's all with their own little bollixy ways at the moment

Yeah I needed a restriction but for a variety of reasons I couldn't and wouldn't crate train. (My dog was a rescue and he was confined to the boot of a car in his own mess for some weeks - still hates restricted space now - crate training would've been inappropriate and torturous.)

Tethering isn't a fix all - you cannot tether your dog and leave him. It's a control for while he's in your presence. We graduated from tethering to established mats and beds around the house - 'on your bed' or 'on your mat' is a universal command in our house. I can go to the beach with my dog now, put a beach towel on the sand and say 'on your mat' and send him back to that beach towel over and over. Those are sanity-saving commands.

anniehoo

The Sweeper wrote: »

YOUTUBE. There are a LOT of dog training videos on youtube.

The Sweeper what is your opinion on Victoria Stilwell and her eHow series' on Youtube?

Considering Caesar Milan was a huge influence on many people,would you consider her Youtube videos a good way to teach your dog "positively"?

The Sweeper

anniehoo wrote: »

The Sweeper what is your opinion on Victoria Stilwell and her eHow series' on Youtube?

Considering Caesar Milan was a huge influence on many people,would you consider her Youtube videos a good way to teach your dog "positively"?

I've watched some of them but I don't think they're the best ones out there. She uses her own dog, Sadie, a lot and I think you don't get a true feel for the interaction because her dog completes the action before the command sometimes (from what I've seen). Her approach is good but the videos don't reflect it as well.

There's a girl with a blue merle Aussie sheepdog who's a bit weird but really good from what I recall... Must look her up and see if I can find a link...

Kikopup is her youtube username.

DeVore

Ok this might seem a bit mental to some people (OP included) but here's how I solved the problem.

I like to sleep late. Very late. Like 10am. So getting up to let Josh out was a pain in the nads. He didnt bark in the morning (mostly because like me, he stays up late too) but if he heard me moving around upstairs he would whine and bounce off the door. Literally, bounce.

I got a local handiman to put a pet flap in and then I cut the side out of the crate and this is what we have now...

This is going to seem nuts to a few people I guess.. but it has really really worked for us both. He sleeps inside but he still has access to the garden. I can block access (with the pet-flap door) and leave him have his bed and access to the house with me... or on the rare occasion he is being a little bollix, he has to do a 5-30 minute time-out when he is put in his crate AND the petflap is locked. Thats pretty rare these days though.

This is a crazy solution maybe but it really really works for us. I worried at first that he would come to be used to the freedom and any time he was constrained in a crate for real he would flip but that hasnt happened (he goes to Beabeg and loves his crate up there).

Josh has gotten used to me getting up at 10 and doesnt bother me unless it gets to about 11 when the whining starts

But even on the weekends, he doesnt mind as he can wander the garden on his own.

I dunno if this is an option for you but its certainly the best decision I made around Josh this year, its really worked well for us.

The Bishop Basher

DeVore wrote: »

I got a local handiman to put a pet flap in and then I cut the side out of the crate and this is what we have now...

<snip quoted picture>

Love this !! Been thinking of doing something similar for a while now. Seeing that it works has spurred me on a bit to do it.

OP - one trick with the kongs if they're not lasting long enough is to mush up food, stick it in and freeze it. Keeps our lads busy for hours.

The other tip with the crate is to put an item of clothing in that you've worn.

Apologies if these have been suggested already, I speed read through the thread but just thought they might be worth mentioning.

Best of luck. You'll get there in the end and it'll be so worth it :-)

DeVore

Swanner... he LOVES his crate (he actually gets very weird if I go in to clean it!). I really recommend this, its saved me a lot of trouble in the mornings.
One point to notice in the construction is that down at the bottom I've fastened the crate to the wall so that when he clambers in or out he cant push the crate away from the wall and get a paw stuck or anything.
I used small climbing crampon's and that keeps the whole thing solid.

The only issue I've had with it (which would be true of any pet flap) is that sometimes Josh tries to bring things through it. He tried with his over-sized tug rope and he (and it!) got stuck. He got very distressed by that and hasnt tried it again!

Sweeper!!
Josh definitely likes your new game