Hi. My name is Miriam-- and I live in Washington state with my HUGE, active, crazy family.
I'll give you a little background before I tell you about my problem child.
I'm a 39 yr old stay at home mom of 7 and a grandchild. My husband, Jim and I have been together for eleven years and have a 9 year old son- Caelan together. In addition to that we each have children from one previous marriage (each) that we brought to the family. Jim's children are now 20 yr old son Geoffry and 17 yr old daughter Shadoe. And I brought with me 15 yr old son Gavriel, 14 yr old daughter Oriennah and 11 yr old daughter Cymbre. The final two bi-pedal family members are Jim's 21 yr old nephew John, who we brought in after his mother abandoned him when he was sixteen. And Jim's daughter Shadoe's 1 yr old son JJ.
In case that craziness wasn't enough we have a 4-legged family. We have 5 cats, 3 ferrets, a snake and two dogs. One of them is the PERFECT dog, she's a one year old Pomeranian mix named Mara. She's a fun, active, smart girl. She's well-trained, only barks to let us know someone is at the door or entering our bedroom, and a very loving girl. The other dog is a 3 yr old Corgi mix named Albert. He is our problem child and I need some serious advice on what to do with him. We rescued Albert from a rescue organization that was going out of business 18 months ago, and were told that he was potty-trained and socialized, but had problems with running away-- he is 20 yr old son Geoffry's dog. Well- Albert never ran away from us, but he's also never been potty-trained. Every morning first thing he is let out in the yard and he'll run around in circles and bark. Once he's let in he'll sneak to the basement or some other unseen corner to do his business. He knows this is wrong and if someone sees him he'll slink and put his ears down, and if he is reprimanded he'll submissively urinate. The submissive urination is, in fact, our biggest problem with him. The second problem is fear-based aggression. Other than Mara he is aggressive and loud to every dog he's ever met-- he'll growl and snap and then if he's reprimanded he backs off completely and will often submissively urinate. But he is also aggressive towards people-- if my children bring friends over, if I do, if yAlbert is taken out of the house he'll snap at people, bite clothing and occasionally the skin underneath. He barks and pulls and cannot be distracted.
We have considered finding a home that would be better suited to Albert several times and have attempted to rehome him, but have ended up with him being given back every time, since outside of our home he whines, shakes and ceases to eat. He is very bonded with Geoffry. He was best friends with my cat Brogan, but when Brogan unexpectedly died he became depressed and his behaviors all got worse. We are at our wits' ends and have actually gotten to the point of considering having Albert put to sleep because he cannot be adopted into another home.
Hi. Need some help.
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Hi. Need some help.
Welcome to the board!
You're more likely to get advice if you post in the "Dog Training Help" section. To help us understand more about your dog and the best ways we can help you change his behavior, could you post as much history as you know about him, what kind of training you've done (not just "he knows sit," but how you trained it - luring him into position with a treat? Pushing on his rump? etc - not only tricks, but manners or other kinds of things), and what his daily schedule is? The more detail, the better!
You might find this thread to be of use to you.
For now, I would suggest taking him outside when he needs to go and waiting with him. Have a treat or something he LOVES ready for after he potties, but don't show him yet. Don't stand over him, don't stare at him - he sounds fairly nervous, so standing side-on, keeping the corner of your eye on him, might help him feel more relaxed. It also sounds like he's been punished for pottying in front of you, so he might be frightened of doing that again. In the future, don't punish/reprimand him for pottying inside, as he'll think he's being punished for pottying in front of you. Just calmly remove him from the area, and clean it up when he's somewhere else. A lot of people (unconsciously) broadcast their anger/disappointment/annoyance when they have to clean up dog messes, so the dog gets upset.
You're more likely to get advice if you post in the "Dog Training Help" section. To help us understand more about your dog and the best ways we can help you change his behavior, could you post as much history as you know about him, what kind of training you've done (not just "he knows sit," but how you trained it - luring him into position with a treat? Pushing on his rump? etc - not only tricks, but manners or other kinds of things), and what his daily schedule is? The more detail, the better!
You might find this thread to be of use to you.
For now, I would suggest taking him outside when he needs to go and waiting with him. Have a treat or something he LOVES ready for after he potties, but don't show him yet. Don't stand over him, don't stare at him - he sounds fairly nervous, so standing side-on, keeping the corner of your eye on him, might help him feel more relaxed. It also sounds like he's been punished for pottying in front of you, so he might be frightened of doing that again. In the future, don't punish/reprimand him for pottying inside, as he'll think he's being punished for pottying in front of you. Just calmly remove him from the area, and clean it up when he's somewhere else. A lot of people (unconsciously) broadcast their anger/disappointment/annoyance when they have to clean up dog messes, so the dog gets upset.
What a lot of people take for guilt in a dog is actually a combination of calming signals, trying to say "I'm not a threat, please don't hurt me." If he "knew better," he would be doing it!He knows this is wrong and if someone sees him he'll slink and put his ears down...
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14