Wild New Puppy -What to Do
Question: Hello!
I came across you website today and it's great, very informative and I especially like The Trainer's Blog. Unfortunately, this email isn't just about telling you how great your website is (I wish it were!). I'm afraid I have a problem with my Dachshund (his name is Leo) and I really hope that you will be able to help me in the way of advice/tips. We bought Leo a week ago from a private owner who had to let him go due to personal reasons (he had Leo for about 4 months). Leo's 8 months old now and before we bought him, we questioned the owner specifically regarding housebreaking. We were told that 1) he has never peed or messed up the house and 2) they were able to leave him at home for hours without incident. I realised now that we may have been a bit naive in blindly believing him. I also realise that it's not Leo's fault, but our own as we didn't do too much research before getting him. We were blinded by how adorable he is and how much we wanted him :(
Anyway, we are both previous dog owners so we do know a thing or two and until a couple of days ago, everything went without a hitch. I work from home so there's always someone at home. 2 days ago, we went grocery shopping and left Leo in our bedroom with a nice treat and some toys, we decided to leave him in the bedroom because there were more things he could potentially destroy than in the living room plus we have our budgie there in his cage. We were gone for around an hour and when we came home, we were shocked to discover that Leo had completely bitten off our phone line and internet cabel into various pieces (it's in the living room but connected to our modem which is in the bedroom). He had also ripped off parts of the carpet that was on the wall. He has a tendency to chew/bite things (books, towels, slippers) but when we were there to see it and teach him that it's wrong, it stops...usually. But what about when we're not home? If we put him in his crate, he whines and barks and that isn't good as we live in an apartment building.
Today, I woke up because I could hear chewing and tugging (it sounded like the phone line or internet cable) and found that he has been tugging them so I stopped him. A few seconds later, I discovered that he has peed on the carpet in the living room (before I found out that he chewed the cables). Obviously I was upset by this and tried to take him by his collar to the spot so I can tell him "No". Unfortunately he ran away from me and started peeing everywhere else, on the couch, and different spots on the carpet. After reading some articles, I realised now that that was useless as he had no idea why I was scolding him (for his first pee anyway...not sure how the rapid subsequent ones?).
We both had a total of 6 dogs (ranging from puppy to adult dog at the time we got them) prior to Leo and neither of us can remember a dog peeing so many times in one go or chewing up cables. The problem is it's now not Day 1, he's been with us for a week now and before this, had free run of our apartment based on 1) his previous owner's reassurance and 2) while we were watching him, no incident happens. Can you give us any suggestion as to how we can crate train him (is it too late as this is not Day 1?) without him thinking the crate is a punishment? We made an even worse mistake regarding this: when we came home to discover he had chewed off the phone line and internet cable, we yelled a lot, said a lot of Nos and forced him into the crate (again, our fault, not his) so now I'm afraid he sees the crate as a punishment. After reading your articles, I've now put him in his crate along with some treats and toys. He can see me so the whining and barking is minimal. I'm not sure if I can get him to go to the crate voluntarily and when I command him to...
Apart from this two sudden problems, the only other problem we have with him is when we're outside. He won't listen or acknowledge us, won't come to us, tugs the leash like mad and goes crazy when he sees other dogs. Inside, he's better behaved although he sometimes won't come to us when called. And he doesn't understand chasing our budgie when he's out of his cage is not okay. Any suggestions on this as well? I've had a labrador-rottweiler mix and she was nowhere as stubborn or as hard to train as Leo :(( When he's behaving, Leo is fantastic- affectionate, curious, playful...we've only had him for a week but we love him to pieces. But his problems are quite serious in our opinion and we really want to avoid future incidents like these ones. Please help us if you can. Please be assured that we both love dogs (and Leo of course) and we would never be cruel to him, mistreat him or make him miserable. We just want to be able to understand him, discipline and train him and make him obey us when necessary (like outside where there are cars and other hazards). We want to share a long and loving relationship with him. All our previous dogs were with us (some from the day they were born) to the day they die and we still mourn each and every loss :( We appreciate all tips and advices you can give us. Thank you and have a nice day.
Answer: First, let me say that Leo is not stubborn. He is just being a dog. If you go into this feeling like he is doing any of this intentionally it will slow down your ability to bond with him and it will create a relationship based on win/lose and good/bad.
Leo's behavior sounds like basic puppy behavior. Chewing is normal for puppies. Nearly all puppies chew on things. They do this for many reasons. When they are teething it helps them feel better. When dog's are stressed chewing can relieve that stress. In addition to Leo being a puppy, he was also recently uprooted, so it is likely that there is some stress involved.
The first thing you need to do is provide Leo with a lot of things to chew on. Not old shoes, or stuffed animals, but things he can really sink his teeth into like bully sticks and nylabones. When he is looking for something to do, give him a chewie.
Also, it is important to make sure that Leo is getting plenty of exercise. A large backyard, or just a big house is not adequate exercise for a young, active dog. Leo needs to be walked, every day. You can also play ball with him in the yard. Just get him out and moving. A tired dog is a good dog:)
Leo definitely needs to be confined in some way when you are not able to supervise him. This will help him make good choices of what to chew on and where to go potty. You can use a crate or an exercise pen. Or, you can use a baby gate and confine him to safe rooms in the house, such as a wash room. However, because there is a history of chewing dangerous stuff (cords) I would opt for a crate. I understand he cries in there, but it will go away. All behaviors that are not reinforced (in the case of a crate, letting the dog out is reinforcement) will go away. So, if barking and or whining fails to get him reinforcement (let out of the crate) it will eventually go away. However, it will get a little worse before it gets better. Push through this and it will improve. Give him great things to do in his crate like chewies and stuffed kongs. You can even feed his meals out of the kong. This will give him mental exercise which is great for young, active and highly intelligent dogs. Any of my dogs that are left in a crate when I go out (usually just my little ones that are too small to be left with my bigger dogs) all get a stuffed kong when I leave. They love their crates for that reason.
when you are home with Leo, supervise him or confine him (by closing doors and using babygates), if he goes to chew on something inappropriate tell him "uh-oh" and give him something else to chew on that is appropriate like a chewie or bully stick. The chewing is likely to improve once he learns to chew on other things, once he is less stressed and more settled in and as he gets older.
Finally, the reason that Leo doesn't listen when he is outside is that he isn't trained. He needs more training, plain and simple. Just because he may sometimes get it right (like sitting when you say sit inside the house) doesn't mean he KNOWS these things and is reliable. He needs basic training. Find a positive reinforcement class (should be reward training, no choke chains or yanking him around) and get him started. He cannot be successful at behaviors that haven't been taught. Find a Certified Pet Dog Trainer at the Association of Pet dog Trainers website (www.apdt.com) in your area and get him started.
You are right not to punish him. None of what he is doing is his fault. He is simply doing what comes naturally to dogs and he will continue to do those things until he learns to do things that work better for him. When Leo ran away from you "peeing everywhere" he was doing that out of submission and fear. This is completely involuntary and it will happen when a dog is trying to diffuse a situation. Yelling or punishment will make him pee more because the more the dog is submitting (urination is a form of submission) the more he will pee.
I hope this helps some. He sounds like a great little dog that just needs a little help in the right direction.