Problems unraveling

[Wilkie]

Sophie was recently spayed and has to rest, but that isn't happening. She has so much energy. Her attention span is a peanut at the moment because she's bored out of her mind. She hates Kong’s and most other toys, but I think she's teething still and she plays with her squeaky toy. There is only so much fun she can have before she becomes really annoying. She's humping and she chases her tail. She won't stay in her crate (chews it and tries to move it while in it). If I'm not paying attention to her she starts barking and tugging on my clothes. When we're out in the yard, she constantly eats grass and flowers that I'm not even sure whether they are toxic to animals or not and she'll stare at me when she does it, then runs when I try to get it out of her mouth. When I call her, she runs around the yard. She keeps chewing her leashes. I can't help but think her behavior is occurring because she's stressed, her hormones are all over the place and she flat out bored. On top of that, she has separation anxiety and won't sleep without me near her, but I have no room for her in my room. Now she takes my clothes and shoes and makes a "nest".

The list of problems goes on and on and on, but none of the trainers want to help (they're really high on themselves) and their methods are said to be positive training, but really aren't. One trainer used Sophie's leash as a noose but wrapping it around her neck and then hooking it back up to her harness in order to get her to stop pulling by making it into a "handle". She said that when Sophie chokes herself she'll learn not to pull anymore . I walked out the door, undid her leash and am trying to find something involving truly positive training/reward based methods. On top of that, when my parents or sibling visit and want to take Sophie outside, they don't want to put her harness on because they say that "it takes too much time and effort", they can't find it (there are two hanging up), they can't figure out how to put it on and couldn't be bothered. Instead, they'd rather walk her with a leash attached to her collar and choke her .

I have been told by people that her humping is dominance, her pulling is dominance, her tail naturally arched is a sign of dominance and the list of dominance theories goes on and on. Basically, her entire existence is a sign of dominance. I was told to use a pronged collar on her because it would help me gain control and to spray water in her face, shake a can of pennies, use correction spray, use a shock collar, pin her down (but not like Cesar according to the trainer who allegedly approves of Victoria, but hates Cesar) and all of these "tips" were given to me by people claiming to be reputable positive trainers.

I don't want to work on everything all at once or I'd end up overwelmed and setting my dog and myself up for failure. My goal is for this to be a sucess story the right way.

[JudyN]

How frustrating for you Remember she's your dog and you get to say how she is handled. Not your parents, your siblings, or any trainers.

How much longer is she supposed to rest for? Remember, this won't be for ever and then you can get stuck in to tiring her out and working on her issues. Can you make her some cardboard 'destruction boxes', filled with smaller boxes or twists of paper, some with treats inside?

[Wilkie]

How frustrating for you Remember she's your dog and you get to say how she is handled. Not your parents, your siblings, or any trainers.

I try to avoid certain situations, but I can't watch Sophie all the time. When I'm busy and I ask a family member to watch her, they don't follow the rules. I always leave the harness on just so they don't have to burden themselves with the task of putting her paws in the left and right sides of the harness and snapping it shut . As for the trainers, there apparently are ZERO positive dog trainers in the area. Every time I tell someone that I refuse to harm my dog or scare the living daylights out of her, I get recommended to go to a certain trainer that claims to be a positive trainer, but ends up being a sham in my book. The woman called me a "marshmallow" because I didn't want to show my dog who's boss . I don't necessarily have to have a trainer, but having that support and encouragement would be very helpful when there is a frustrating moment that needs a second pair of eyes that might pick up on any mistakes or might have a different approach to fit Sophie's needs.

How much longer is she supposed to rest for? Remember, this won't be for ever and then you can get stuck in to tiring her out and working on her issues. Can you make her some cardboard 'destruction boxes', filled with smaller boxes or twists of paper, some with treats inside?.

She has one week to go before she gets her stitches taken out, but it seems like ages from now. I had a scare when she kept vomiting, slept a lot and wasn't eating or going potty for a couple days. She's much better now and I know that she's still considered a puppy, almost an adolescent, but she's hard to figure out. I have never had such a picky dog before. I will try out the cardboard 'destruction boxes' and see if that catches her interest. She's even picky about the treats she eats and likes only certain smelly foods, but no biscuits.

[Wilkie]

How frustrating for you Remember she's your dog and you get to say how she is handled. Not your parents, your siblings, or any trainers.

How much longer is she supposed to rest for? Remember, this won't be for ever and then you can get stuck in to tiring her out and working on her issues. Can you make her some cardboard 'destruction boxes', filled with smaller boxes or twists of paper, some with treats inside?

I just filled a paper towel roll with leftover chicken bits, closed both ends and stacked boxes on top. She's trying to get the chicken, but gets frustrated and starts air humping, then goes back to chewing the box! I've never done the box puzzle before, but my guess is that humping me or the air isn't apart of figuring the puzzle out.

[Wilkie]

What can be done about the nipping, humping, jumping and pulling on clothes? She's done with the box and is now driving me insane When I don't pay attention to her she barks non-stop and LOUD. I have taken her outside 5 times, but she won't stop being all over me and tearing apart her leashes. If I didn't have any grey hairs before, I do now

[JudyN]

More boxes? Clicker training, maybe free shaping with a box? Teach her to play hide and seek? Hide treats under cups and teach her to guess which one they're under? Maybe give her a large cushion/cuddly toy to hump to her heart's content if it's not going to damage her stitches?

Wear really old clothes that you don't mind getting damaged - OK, it's not a behaviour you want to put up with, but it will help you stay calm!

As a very last resort, if she won't stay calm enough to keep her stitches intact, you could ask the vet if they would be able to give a mild sedative.

Hang on in there - a week feels like an eternity just now, but it will pass.

[bendog]

Sounds like pretty normal puppy behaviour to me. How old is she? And what breed?

I went through months and months and months with poppy having essentially no time to myself, just trying to keep her entertained 24/7. Puzzle boxes, kongs, bully sticks, clicker training. Basically she is bored and so you have to up the entertainment factor until she is happy. Timeouts will help with inappropriate behaviour but only if her needs are being met first.

[Wilkie]

Sounds like pretty normal puppy behaviour to me. How old is she? And what breed?

I went through months and months and months with poppy having essentially no time to myself, just trying to keep her entertained 24/7. Puzzle boxes, kongs, bully sticks, clicker training. Basically she is bored and so you have to up the entertainment factor until she is happy. Timeouts will help with inappropriate behaviour but only if her needs are being met first.

She was recently spayed so the vet told me that she had to rest for at least 10 days to 2 weeks. I have one week to go and it seems like it's going by VERY slowly. Sophie is allegedly a Lab mix, but nobody has a definitive answer. Let me see if this picture works

Trying to get her interested in doing good things isn't easy and neither is getting her attention.

[bendog]

You can still do clicker training though. Just stuff that doesn't involve running around. Train her to put stuff in a basket maybe?

[Wilkie]

More boxes? Clicker training, maybe free shaping with a box? Teach her to play hide and seek? Hide treats under cups and teach her to guess which one they're under? Maybe give her a large cushion/cuddly toy to hump to her heart's content if it's not going to damage her stitches?

Wear really old clothes that you don't mind getting damaged - OK, it's not a behaviour you want to put up with, but it will help you stay calm!

As a very last resort, if she won't stay calm enough to keep her stitches intact, you could ask the vet if they would be able to give a mild sedative.

Hang on in there - a week feels like an eternity just now, but it will pass.

I love my dog, but wow she's a handful! I have to get locks for the toilets because she learned how to lift the seats. She ate an entire plate of ham that was brought over and pushed the pineapples and cherries to the side. Her paws were covered in cherry glaze. The person that brought it over was warned that Sophie gets up to the counter. She was sick for 5 days. She takes things out of coat pockets. She even tried sleeping on my pop out laundry basket. Watching her try to balance on top of the clothing filled basket was funny. Overall, she's very smart, but she has been very vocal and obnoxious. I have had her for almost a week now and she's a very different dog than when I saw her the first few times before taking her home. She attached herself to me very quickly and she opened up compared to her very shy former self. She's still very skittish and scares easily.

I had to bring her to the animal rescue with me the other day and she humped a woman in a wheelchair and an elderly man! I was soooooo embarrassed by her behavior, I was considering telling people that she wasn't mine and that I didn't know her. She humps everyone she gets anxious around or when she gets stressed out. She humped the garbage bin, but I don't know if giving her a stuffed toy or cushion would make her happy, she seems to only go after people.

Your post is very encouraging because I'm losing my mind and have no ideas left.

[Wilkie]

You can still do clicker training though. Just stuff that doesn't involve running around. Train her to put stuff in a basket maybe?

This might sound like a stupid question, but how do I do that?

[Wilkie]

Sounds like pretty normal puppy behaviour to me. How old is she? And what breed?

I went through months and months and months with poppy having essentially no time to myself, just trying to keep her entertained 24/7. Puzzle boxes, kongs, bully sticks, clicker training. Basically she is bored and so you have to up the entertainment factor until she is happy. Timeouts will help with inappropriate behaviour but only if her needs are being met first.

I forgot to mention that she's about 9-10 months old.

[JudyN]

So I'm assuming you rehomed her pretty well as soon as she was spayed, then, so she's only been with you a week? In that case as well as not getting the exercise she feels she needs, she will be completely stressed out and very unsettled, so it's understandable that she's so demanding at present. But don't expect the food stealing and pocket raiding to stop any time soon - for many dogs that's lifelong behaviour!

There's a thread about getting your dog to put their toys away here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13699&hilit=tidy

[Wilkie]

So I'm assuming you rehomed her pretty well as soon as she was spayed, then, so she's only been with you a week? In that case as well as not getting the exercise she feels she needs, she will be completely stressed out and very unsettled, so it's understandable that she's so demanding at present. But don't expect the food stealing and pocket raiding to stop any time soon - for many dogs that's lifelong behaviour!

There's a thread about getting your dog to put their toys away here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13699&hilit=tidy

The shelter I adopted her from requires that all dogs be spayed/nuetered before going home. She came home a day after surgery. I made frequent visits to spend time with her and play with her during the adoption process before she was spayed. I understand as well that she's completely uncomfortable and not having any fun, but it's frustrating trying to help her when we're still learning about each other. I don't know what to do to make her time as pleasant and comfortable as possible until she's able to run around, play heavy and go for walks .

Thank you for the link. Maybe tomorrow I'll sit her down and we'll attempt to learn that. That's if she sits still and doesn't go crazy like she has been doing.

[Wilkie]

She keeps nipping and biting me. She doesn't break the skin or cause bleeding, but her teeth are sharp and her bites hurt.