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puppy is driving me crazy


ktgrok
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The waist belt leash thing came and wow! I have worn it for only about 5 minutes but it  is WAY less cumbersome than I expected. Really cool device! I have it on loose enough it will spin on my waist so he doesn't end up tangled around me, and part of the leash is bungie cord sort of, so it absorbs impact so I don't get knocked around if he goes one way and I go the other. It also came with a treat pouch that slides on AND another bag/case thing that has a poop bag dispenser AND is big enough to hold my cell phone!! And it was less than $20 for all of it!

 

It's going to take some adjustment as he learns he has to stay by me, but having treats close at hand to reward him and knowing he can't sneak off while I'm changing a diaper should make our lives better. Thanks to whomever suggested it. After you guys told me to do this I remembered I'd wanted one of these when we first got him, but being very pregnant knew the waist belt wasn't going to fit then, lol. Then I forgot. 

 

I also have an extra large kong in the freezer right now stuffed with a mix of dry and canned food and some treats. 

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Grr. I had typed out an entire post only to bump my new fancy mouse with newfangled buttons and I lost it all. 

 

Anyway, this was me a little over 5 years ago when our highly energetic labradoodle entered our lives.   I came here begging for advice because I had no idea how to keep up with Bear's energy.  It sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things.  We don't call him the wonderchewer for nothing. Bear's chewing was just so darn efficient.  Shoes left out?  One bite will give it gaping wide air-conditioning.  Outside and the leash gets tangled.  No worries.  One bite will free him.  And then we get to play chase!!  Whoo Hoo!    He chewed anything left on the floor including my favorite sandals.  He graduated to devices that took attention away from him ... 3 computer mice and a cell phone in about a week.  But he was just so darn cute, we were determined to figure him out. 

 

1.  We had to make several rooms puppy safe.  Anything left out was fair game so we all got good at picking up.  (After my favorite sandals bit the dust.)  The only thing was I forgot to tell someone who came to visit.  Bear decided he loved her so much he had to eat her shoe.  All shoes go behind closed doors - either the hall closet or a closet in the bedrooms.  Bear was not allowed in the bedrooms so those could be a little messier. 

 

2.  Counter surfing was a problem.  We ended up leaving cookie sheets on counters hanging just a little over the edge so that a dog jumping up would cause it to fall and make noise.  That helped a little bit.  But we found that we wanted to use our counters so we had to move the cookie sheets and we'd forget to put them back.  Baby gates leaning against the counter were a decent deterrant for Bear because he hates the sound of gates falling over.  We still can't turn our backs when making a sandwich or we may find an empty plate and a pup licking his lips. 

 

3.  All food had to be delivered in something that required effort.  First of all,  no food until dog is sitting nicely.  We did the frozen kongs of every size.  Bear seemed to like the smaller Kong because he could get it out of his bowl.  So we would put part of his meal in the kong and part was loose i the bowl.  We would end up freezing several kongs at once.   We also tried the fancy puzzles you can get at the pet store.  Also, we put the food in muffin tins covered with half-tennis balls. 

 

4.  Eyes on Bear.  If it was too quiet, I would yell EOB to find out who was watching him..  One of my kids didn't take this seriously and Bear chewed the arm of our couch ... the new couch, not the 25 year old one that I want to replace. 

 

5.  Exercise.  We couldn't do dog parks because Bear has terrible recall when he gets focused and there had been issues of some nasty dogs there.  So, we walked.  We had to go early in the morning and later in the evening due to the heat. 

 

6.  Although a good dog is a tired dog, dogs get very fit with lots of exercise so we had to find ways of mentally tiring him out.  Dog training classes helped. Yeah, we were newbies and needed the training ourselves.  But the class was filled with experienced dog owners who were looking for more stimulation for their dogs.  The socialization and having a job to do and something to work on helped.  We also did lots of nosework.  We would put him in a down-stay in one room and hide treats in another.  He would have to go find them.  We also hid other favorite objects.  Hide and seek is now his favorite game.  He even tries to teach it to visitors.  We also hide treats inside boxes, egg cartons, nesting boxes inside eachother, etc.  We save nearly empty peanut butter jars so that he can lick them clean. 

 

7.  Bully sticks.  I would splurge on a case-full from BestBullySticks.com  Yeah it is a lot of cash at one time, but they are definitely cheaper than the pet stores (and definitely cheaper than new furniture.)  We had to get the 12 inch braided ones to get 20 minutes of peace. 

 

Oh, and he did eventually get better.  Now he is a super sweet dog (who still counter surfs on occasion.) 

 

 

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And....he discovered the pool. By which I mean, he went THROUGH the screen to get to it, then splashed on the steps, then while I went to get a towel he got back out into the yard, muddied himself, and then the kids let him into the house where he tracked mud everywhere. 

 

 

I'm sure there was probably already a small hole in the screen, but it's much bigger now. Hubby will be thrilled. And now I have to watch him when he goes outside too. Or be ready with at towel!

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Other then the screen/mud/house debacle, I would definitely use the pool to tire him out.  I'm near you now and my kid is swimming without the pool heated and she is fine.  And when we were north of you my dog would be swimming when it was much colder in our pool and she LOVED LOVED LOVED it.  She would swim all day playing fetch in the pool.  We would finally have to stop throwing toys for her in the pool because she would be exhausted but she wouldn't stop jumping in.  

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FWIW -- Most experts advise NOT to use laser pointers with dogs. Many are susceptible to a type of OCD like condition that is thought to perhaps be triggered by laser pointers. It involves things like "fly snapping" and shadow chasing. Those problems can occur in any dog but I've heard of them more in herding breeds. A search will bring up lots of information warning against it. Here's one short blurb from a vet clinic.

 

(I'm not saying it absolutely shouldn't be done. Sometimes it's a choice between a maybe-not-good thing and being able to keep a pet. Or in other words, sometimes the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. Just posting this for informational purposes.)

 

We've had this happen with one of our dogs. I didn't know it was a thing, just thought it was my dog being goofy again. Every time we use a knife in the kitchen and he sees the reflection on the ceiling, he goes crazy trying to catch it. (Thank goodness he's not allowed in the kitchen!!) Same thing for anything else that reflects or casts light; he's barked at our cell phone screens when he sees them shine even just a little bit on the wall. It's caused different kinds of problems.

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Doggie Daycare made my life so much easier.  1-2 days a week I'd drop him off at 8 and pick up at 5 and he'd be tired and happy.  It was expensive but oh so worth it.  He needed this for the first two years.  Now he's 3 and only goes when I'm going to be gone all day long several times that week.  He doesn't do well with that.  It was hard to have a high energy dog that doesn't fetch or swim which is our usual method to tire out our dogs.

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We use these to feed our dogs as it is more mentally stimulating than just their bowl.  Neither are fans of the kongs so I don't bother with those but I do use the Kong Wobbler and puzzle feeders

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3O2956/ref=twister_B014WONKKG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/KONG-Wobbler-Treat-Dispensing-Large/dp/B003ALMW0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1492691237&sr=1-1&keywords=wobbler

 

 

Trainer said to make them work for everything.  Keep their brains working.  

 

 

Edited by Splash
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Doggie Daycare made my life so much easier.  1-2 days a week I'd drop him off at 8 and pick up at 5 and he'd be tired and happy.  It was expensive but oh so worth it.  He needed this for the first two years.  Now he's 3 and only goes when I'm going to be gone all day long several times that week.  He doesn't do well with that.  It was hard to have a high energy dog that doesn't fetch or swim which is our usual method to tire out our dogs.

 

We definitely do doggy daycare, but it only wears him out a bit. I mean, he's tired for hours afterwards, but still gets into trouble. But it definitely helps! I can do it for $10 for a half day and it's totally worth it on days i won't be able to take him to the park, or know I'll be gone a lot. 

 

Yesterday went pretty well....he didn't get to the park because my daughter had her religious ed class in the evening, but we took him with us and then my son and I took him on a nice long walk while she was in class. It wasn't super strenuous, but it was a walk in a new place so the novelty I think helped wear out his brain Plus the car ride was stimulating a bit. So he was pretty darned good when we got back. 

 

I also used the crate more, and the leash a lot. 

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Your story makes my heart happy. Sadly so many dogs like him end up in shelters because people won't take the time to work around a dog's issues. It sounds to me like you are the perfect momma for him! There is a reason you are the 7th home he's been in in his short life. He just needed to find a family patient enough to deal with his personality. I agree someday he is going to be a great dog! Think of all the stories you all will have about his crazy antics! 

 

 

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So puppy has been in what I lovingly refer to as "puppy boot camp" this week. I've gotten him to where he accepts the crate without freaking out, so that has made life 100 percent better! And he's wearing a leash most of the time when in the house and not in the crate. He's learning to be calm when he needs to be, and that's amazing. I'm very encouraged. Or at least less traumatized, lol!

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So, little update! He's trying so hard to be good! And we've made enough progress that even my DH is starting to admit he's going to be a good dog. DH even loved on him a bit yesterday :)

 

He's staying in his kennel more, and on a leash most of the time when not in the kennel. He gets at minimum an hour of running at the dog park a day, and sometimes we drive further so he can run in the lake and such as well. He did get OUT of that dog park though, last time, sigh. The fence goes down into the water, but the water was low enough that he could go around the fence, and then he was on one side and I was on the other, and short of me wading into hip deep water I couldn't get him. And he couldn't seem to figure out how to come back. He ran up to the fence and jumped up and put his paws on top though, and I got a leash on him and then a nice young man came over and lifted him over the fence, much to the delight of his awestruck girlfriend :)

 

We are also doing multiple short obedience sessions each day, working on recall, heel, place, as well as sit/down. I'm getting to know his motivators more, and although sometimes he'll work for treats, his favorite "reward" is to get to stand between my legs getting a nice hard scratch and rubdown. I'm also realizing that a hound isn't going to be like my Weims or my GSD/Pit/Lab mix...he's slower and more methodical than they were when it comes to obedience, but that's okay. And his attention span is shorter, his stamina shorter, for that kind of "brain" work. So now we do VERY short sessions scattered through the day.

 

But we are surviving :)

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Give him to another family. But I'm a Humans First person.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Meh, if I thought another family could handle him better, I might. But given that he's on his 7th placement in his life, I don't think the odds are good he'll find a better fit somewhere else.

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Give him to another family. But I'm a Humans First person.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why on earth should she do that? Here she posted two updates showing how she is figuring him out and getting a handle on his behavior and you suggest she get rid of him?

 

Katie, it sounds like you are making great proress. Kudos to you for your patience and tenacity in figuring out what he needs.

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

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