Help/Advice needed

[asyade]

I have a 7 month on male staffy who my mum rescued, he wasn’t planned however my partner and I love animals and we already have an 8 year old English/staffy mix and his a gem.

He took to the puppy very well and the puppy took to him, he was very young when we took him in approx 6 weeks. Within a week his personality change, I think because he had the older dog to look up to he picked up a lot and was trying to pick up toys double his mouth size.

His lovely dog but he has chewed 2 table legs, skirting boards and shoes if forgotten to put away. His been slowly pulling at the carpet on my bottom staircase, I have a baby gate on the 2nd step. I have never caught him doing it - he never chews when we are around However as soon as I am out the door I return home to find the plastic covering the step pulled up, corners frayed. This has been on going for months now. Until the other evening my partner and I came home after an evening out and he'd pulled/ripped the carpet and underlay off totally and we are left with a bare step nails sticking out and everything.

Now I don't understand it, I know puppies chew its what they like to do but we give them plenty of bones, there's always 2-3 near their bed, there’s a ball which he likes playing with, tugging ropes. We are always buying them both new toys as they lose, chew through the ones we have and we don't give them too many so they don't get use to them/bored.

His also still peeing on the floor, usually after his come in from a walk which we cannot work out why. They have 1 hour long walks, no less then 3 times a day. At the park his off the lead almost the whole time, running around, chasing/playing with the older dog. They play who can get he stick, he chased birds. When he pee's or does a number 2 I give him lots of encouragement and call him to me, stroke him, tell him good boy.

Then we'll go home and might be in the living room, I'll get up and go to the kitchen and find his pee'd on the floor. So I have started putting down the training mats again after having to mop up pee and even sometimes number 2's for the past month. I cannot break him out of it.

I don't know what I am doing wrong, I have tried the anti chew spray, it hasn’t stopped him. We are both firm with him, his a smart little thing, he sits, gives paw. He understands when we say no but his also stubborn which I know is common in their breed.

For both my partner and I his behaviour is very challenging, with our other dog he never chewed, he was always happy with his bones/toys.

If anyone has any advice I would love to hear from you. I have had to order a new carpet and am investing in a fire guard type gate to fit around the bottom of the step to keep him away from my new carpet but am worried he'll just move on to something else.

[Mattie]

His lovely dog but he has chewed 2 table legs, skirting boards and shoes if forgotten to put away. His been slowly pulling at the carpet on my bottom staircase, I have a baby gate on the 2nd step. I have never caught him doing it - he never chews when we are around However as soon as I am out the door I return home to find the plastic covering the step pulled up, corners frayed. This has been on going for months now. Until the other evening my partner and I came home after an evening out and he'd pulled/ripped the carpet and underlay off totally and we are left with a bare step nails sticking out and everything.

Now I don't understand it, I know puppies chew its what they like to do but we give them plenty of bones, there's always 2-3 near their bed, there’s a ball which he likes playing with, tugging ropes. We are always buying them both new toys as they lose, chew through the ones we have and we don't give them too many so they don't get use to them/bored.

Crate him for his own safety, he could choke on something while you are out. The things he is chewing could kill him.

Then we'll go home and might be in the living room, I'll get up and go to the kitchen and find his pee'd on the floor. So I have started putting down the training mats again after having to mop up pee and even sometimes number 2's for the past month. I cannot break him out of it.

Get rid of the puppy pads, they have taught him it is ok to toilet in the house, this is why they are no longer recommended to toilet train a pup or dog.

Take him back to the beginning and take him outside to toilet, lots and lots and lots of praise when he goes.

Take him outside as soon as he wakes up, during the day as well as mornings.

Take him outside before and after he has been fed.

Take him outside after a training or play session.

As he is a pup take him outside every 45 minutes in between.

If he goes in the house put him outside so he doesn't see you clean up and use either white vinegar or biological washing liquid or get something from the pet shop. Using houshold cleaners encourages a dog to go there again.

Crating will also help the housetraining when you are not in.

I don't know what I am doing wrong, I have tried the anti chew spray, it hasn’t stopped him. We are both firm with him, his a smart little thing, he sits, gives paw. He understands when we say no but his also stubborn which I know is common in their breed.

You can't train a dog or pup if you are not there, it is impossible. He isn't stubborn he doesn't understand what you want. You have to teach him what each word means and what you want him to do. Set him up to do what you want and he will soon learn.

[m8r5k]

Definitely work on crate training. It will help so much. Make sure it is a wire crate though. The plastic ones are too easy to chew up. you also don't want to put a padding or toys he could choke on in with him.
Dogs like him need good exercise, cause they get bored easy. Take him for a good walk/jog a couple times a day. Don't jog him on the concrete though. His bones aren't all the way developed yet and jogging on the concrete could cause serious damage.
He might also want some educational toys. Just make sure they aren't always left down for him. Then he'll just become bored with them.
When he chews on something he's not suppose to give him your best mommy's disappointed look, and say "No chew" replace it with his chew toy.
Also don't forget you have a baby in the house. That means baby proofing. Shoes and other small objects need to be put up.

[Mattie]

Dogs like him need good exercise, cause they get bored easy. Take him for a good walk/jog a couple times a day. Don't jog him on the concrete though. His bones aren't all the way developed yet and jogging on the concrete could cause serious damage.

This is a 7 month old Staffy pup, yes he does need exercise but it is very easy to over exercise him. Staffies are not like Collies who can take a lot of exercise even as pups, too much can damage his muscles and bones while he is growing. This is a breed were he 5 minutes exercise per month of his age will be best. Jogging at the moment will be too much for him.

[asyade]

Thanks for your replies. The puppy gets lots of exercise, 3 hours of outdoor time nearly everyday - weather depending. My partner will stay up late and wait until the rain has stopped to ensure he gets a good walk. In the park he chases my other dog Nasha and they play loads, lots of running around so he gets to use that energy up.

I'm going to go to the pet shop later today and by him some new toys I have been reading up on toys which will keep him engaged for longer and hopefully help stop him looking to chew other things.

I have spoken with my partner about creating but he doesn't want to, he never used it on our older dog Nasha so he won't use it on Thai. I worry if I create him while we are out he'll see the other dog happy and free and feel like his being punished.

Thai spends time at my mum's also, this is so she can look after him when we go on holiday, he doesn’t pee in her house, and she doesn’t have to use the pads. This baffles both my partner and I on why he will pee at home but is clearly able to hold it at my mum's house.

I have thought about re-homing him, am I selfish in keeping him and expecting him to hold his pee while we are working, does he feel neglected while we aren't there? I thought having another dog already would be of comfort to the puppy and for the first few months my partner was off work his only been back at work since the puppy turned 4 months, which I know is young but is it unrealistic to think he'd be ok.

His bad behaviour, chewing etc I understand won't get better unless we give him proper training, and when we are at home and catch him doing wrong we tell him no, if he becomes to hyper we calm him, he gets plenty of love, cuddles, stokes, play time. However when we are not there he attacks the carpet and I have only once caught him chewing and that was recently so how do I teach him not to chew my carpets and furniture and get him to understand he needs to chew his toys?

It would break my heart to give him away; my partner doesn’t want that either, his part of our family and Nasha would miss him. He loves having another dog in the house and their relationship is so cute, the puppy dots on him too.

I'm thinking of looking into puppy day care which might help or will it simply unsettle him?

[asyade]

Thanks for your replies. The puppy gets lots of exercise, 3 hours of outdoor time nearly everyday - weather depending. My partner will stay up late and wait until the rain has stopped to ensure he gets a good walk. In the park he chases my other dog Nasha and they play loads, lots of running around so he gets to use that energy up.

I'm going to go to the pet shop later today and by him some new toys I have been reading up on toys which will keep him engaged for longer and hopefully help stop him looking to chew other things.

I have spoken with my partner about creating but he doesn't want to, he never used it on our older dog Nasha so he won't use it on Thai. I worry if I create him while we are out he'll see the other dog happy and free and feel like his being punished.

Thai spends time at my mum's also, this is so she can look after him when we go on holiday, he doesn’t pee in her house, and she doesn’t have to use the pads. This baffles both my partner and I on why he will pee at home but is clearly able to hold it at my mum's house.

I have thought about re-homing him, am I selfish in keeping him and expecting him to hold his pee while we are working, does he feel neglected while we aren't there? I thought having another dog already would be of comfort to the puppy and for the first few months my partner was off work his only been back at work since the puppy turned 4 months, which I know is young but is it unrealistic to think he'd be ok.

His bad behaviour, chewing etc I understand won't get better unless we give him proper training, and when we are at home and catch him doing wrong we tell him no, if he becomes to hyper we calm him, he gets plenty of love, cuddles, stokes, play time. However when we are not there he attacks the carpet and I have only once caught him chewing and that was recently so how do I teach him not to chew my carpets and furniture and get him to understand he needs to chew his toys?

It would break my heart to give him away; my partner doesn’t want that either, his part of our family and Nasha would miss him. He loves having another dog in the house and their relationship is so cute, the puppy dots on him too.

I'm thinking of looking into puppy day care which might help or will it simply unsettle him?

[mj702002]

We have just gotten a puppy a little over a week ago and also have an older dog that was never crated - something told me to get a crate before we brought the pup home (I don't own my house, so I absolutely can not have any chewing on the house or our personal stuff). Having the pup use a crate is new to me also, but it has worked out wonderful. I have the older dogs bed next to the crate- the pup loves his crate- it is like his own little space where he rests and sleeps and the older dog sleeps on her bed next to him. He is only in the crate when I am not in the house or at nighttime when he goes to bed. I have a couple of Kongs for him that I only give him when he has to go in the crate which in the weeks time he has learned that when he sees me get the Kongs and treats he goes in the crate on his own. At night I turn most of the lights out and tell him "bedtime", he sometimes whines for a minute untill all the lights are off then settles down and goes to sleep.

[Pzzldmom]

As for the chewing...sounds like to me it is a bit of stress...and like you might be causing the problem with the confusion of toys.

By that I mean...he seems to stress chew when you are gone. Perhaps you should crate him...It is a big world out there for a small pup...chewing seems to fill that void and take up a lot of time..and it is comforting.


And by throwing great goodlie-gobs of toys at him, I think it just confuses him. Here...chew on this..and this...and this...and this...and this....but not this.

How in the world is a puppy supposed to know the difference? Pick out one toy, just one and give it to him to chew on. Put that in his crate and any time you catch him chewing on anything he is not supposed give that to him instead.

And I would definitely follow the advice of the others who suggested crating the pup. I think it will lower his stress levels greatly. If you can't crate him, then if you have a smaller confined space, like a small bathroom or laundry room then consider that space instead. But even then I would be careful...there are things to be chewed in there....and chemicals that he might get to. Make sure the space is very safe for him.

[Mattie]

How in the world is a puppy supposed to know the difference? Pick out one toy, just one and give it to him to chew on. Put that in his crate and any time you catch him chewing on anything he is not supposed give that to him instead.

Most dogs learn the difference of what they can chew and what they can't but as this dog is 7 months old, he is probably going through his second teething period and is why he is chewing.

He needs plenty of toys he can chew to help him with his teeth. It is a good idea to only have some of the toys down for him and keep changing them. A pup going through this period and chewing everything he can does need crating when you are out for his own safety, he could choke on something and you are not there to get it out.

[Fundog]

I just remembered something I read when Annie was just a pup: Twist an old towel into a series of knots, soak it, and freeze it. Then give it to the teething pup to chew on; it is supposed to be rather soothing.

[Pzzldmom]

Most dogs learn the difference of what they can chew and what they can't but as this dog is 7 months old, he is probably going through his second teething period and is why he is chewing.

That assumes he was taught as a pup. If he wasn't then he needs to be taught now.

[Mattie]

Most dogs learn the difference of what they can chew and what they can't but as this dog is 7 months old, he is probably going through his second teething period and is why he is chewing.

That assumes he was taught as a pup. If he wasn't then he needs to be taught now.

All you do is swop for something that the dog thinks is much nicer to chew on, if teething something that will help his teeth.

First distract him by calling him away, then give him something of higher value, it really is that easy to stop a dog from chewing while you are there, even dogs that are teething. If you are out then they need to be crated for their own safety.