For those who have Dogs!!!

justkris10

I seriously need someone to help me with my devil dog...before I throw him out the window In the last 24 hours my dog has: 1) shiit on the carpet TWICE 2) peed on the kitchen floor 3) scratched the bejesus out of little Justin 4) completely anhilated (sp) 2 pairs of boots of mine, 1 pair of sneakers of DH's and 1 of little Justin's shoes (obv making the pair unusable any longer) 5) chewed the entire corner off the edge of our ottoman 6) peed on the couch cushion and then when we removed the cushion covers to wash them he ended up chewing a good portion of the stuffing out of the cushion I serioulsy DON'T know what to do with this dog...he's my first dog so I have no clue how to handle this. I walk him once a day, take him to the backyard for bathroom business about every hour wtf? Can someone help me out or direct me to a good dog trainer/training service???

justkris10

And in case this matters He's a puggle (pug/beagle mix) we got him when he was 3 months old and he is now about 8 months old

mrs.spunky1508

Our neighbor's dog is a devil dog, LOL, and they hired Bark Busters to come to their home to train her. However, I have read up on their methods and I think they're kinda harsh. It's very much a tough-love kind of technique. He IS still a puppy and puppies need a good solid routine. Ours still occasionally pees on the floor and she's 1.5 (but a small dog with a teeny tiny bladder). It is totally our fault and something we work on daily. She has a ton of toys to keep her busy during the day - rawhide chews, toys where she has to get treats out somehow (kongs, etc), and rope toys to gnaw on. That has reduced the chewing on shoes (mainly DH's ha!) and the like. I now keep her sequestered to the kitchen with a gate when we are at work, instead of crating her or letting her roam throughout the house. There is much less she can damage in there, short of tearing apart our kitchen cabinets.

mrs.spunky1508

As for training, we took her to PetSmart for training classes for 8 weekly sessions. We found one that worked with our schedule. She was 3-4 months at the time - they recommended them no earlier than 3 months - and that really helped with her walking on a leash, come, sit, down, stay etc.

justkris10

Yeah I was going to do the PetSmart training class. i do realize he is still a puppy and of course, will inevitably get in trouble. But wtf...he literally does things only to be spiteful If I take a shower and don't let him in the bathroom to sit outside the tub...he'll crap right outside the bathroom door If I let him out of the cage...say while I run a few errands (instead of keeping him crated) he'll chew up everything in sight The list goes on...he seems very smart and he knows what he's doing spitefull little as*

akmackay

My friend had a beagle as her first dog... it chewed up everything and looooved eating her thongs (picture a little beagle literally throwing a thong in the air with its mouth and swallowing it whole... yes that was her devil dog). She did training but IMO it's still a little devilish- not nearly as bad as when it was a puppy though. I think it's the beagle coming out...  Just hang in there- they get better!!

AnnPH424

I had a devil dog. We even got kicked out of obedience school b/c he almost bit the trainer. We started crate training him at home and it helped the peeing etc. and eventually he got older and before he died slept in a bed in my parents room every night. So my suggestion would be to confine him in a place like the kitchen so that he isn't tearing anything up and if he pees at least its easier to clean. You should walk him for at least an hour a day, 30 minutes in the morning and at night if you need to split it, this will tire him out for sure. Then he needs to return right back to the kitchen. Dogs will not pee where they have to sleep. I would do this for a few days and gradually let him in other parts of the house but only if someone is going to be with him. It will work, I did this with my dog when I got him at three years old and he learned his lesson. I know it's hard b/c you just want to be with them all the time but it will be worth it in the end. Eventually you will trust him and you won't have to lock him up anymore.  Also, remember he's a puppy still so he will grow out of it, just be patient.

Angie550

Both of our dogs are min pins and are HIGH energy (I think Beagles are too) so the more we take them out the better they are.  If they dont get two long walks a day they are LUNATICS!  When you let him out to handle is business, maybe you could throw a toy around for him.  He might just have a lot of built up energy and doesnt know how to release it.  Maybe you could try to hide his toys around too or give him those Kong toys where you hid the treats.  I know my Aunt has beagles and they love being outside looking for things.  The breed is a hunting breed I think.I have heard good things about PetSmarts training, but I would ask your vet to reco a good trainer.  Not all trainers are qualified or know what they are doing.  I could put an ad in the paper and say I am a trainer when I have only owned two dogs in my life.

mrs.spunky1508

We also take her to doggie daycare about weekly, usually on Thursdays. We go out on Wednesdays with my ILs so we only stop home after work, and get home around 9PM. She is a devil then, trust me, and she only gets worse the next day. I found that by taking her to camp on Thursdays she is sooo mellow Thursday night, Friday, Friday night and even on into the weekend. She just has all this energy, she is amped up and has no way to get it out! www.campbowwow.com. There's one in Bridgewater that is owned by the same people as the one in Lawrenceville where we take our dog. I know you're out by Clinton (right?) but if either of you work in that area, it could work? Both my H and I watch our dog on their webcams when she is there, lol. As for walking, we walk her: 5AM when my H gets up (work at 6) 8:30ish before I leave for work Whenever we each get home (this used to be 3ish for my H, 5:30ish for me, now it is usually 4:30ish for my H, 5:30ish for me) Before bed, usually around 10PM

mrs.spunky1508

My dog is a perv too, LOL. We have to keep the upstairs blocked off b/c she will finagle her way into the laundry basket (in our bedroom) and chew my underwear - just mine, not my H's. I've probably thrown away 20 pairs in a year.

MrsBeachGirl7

one of my dogs is a puggle - she can be such a spiteful b*tch when she wants to. we got her when she was 8 wks old and now she's 3 yrs old - she will still randomly pee in her crate if she's mad or poop somewhere (usually on one of the few area rugs - our house is all HW/tile).you definitely need to walk him more than once a day...and he seems really bored. dogs aren't usually destructive unless they're teething, bored or mad/jealous.try to get up half hr early in the morning and take him for a walk so he's tired out. then take him for another walk when you get home at night. it's def harder in the winter to go on walks, but dogs really really need a schedule and exercise.

FutureMrsF111

Ive always had terriers and we did a mix of training. when I was home they were attatched to me by their leash so if they started to do anything bad I could scold them/bring them outside etc. When we were not home they were in a cage or in the kitchen.  I took them for a long walk in the morning and when I got home from school and my dad walked them at night.  All together the walks were over an hour plus lettign them out regularly to do their business.Dont give him the run of the house when you go out. Dogs tend to respond really well to crate training and get used to/feel safe in their crate after awhile.  It becomes their go-to place as long as you dont use it for punishment. Our older dog slept in his crate for years until we got another puppy then they had the war of the bed but that was for my parents to deal with..... And dont take this wrong way but with dogs its generally something you are doing wrong. I dont have any experience with puggles but in general if you feed a dog at the table he will always beg for food at the table. If you never give them scraps they dont know its an option and dont ask for them....I know that is not one of your examples but its a common one and the same rules apply.I would bring him to pet smart or someplace similar for obedience training but they cant control his behavior in your home. If you start teaching him sit/stay/shake/rollover etc. you should be able to interfere with negative behavior by engaging him in something else. For the destruction of your home you would most likely need someone to come in and work with you.  Just realized how long this is....sorry

designgirl14

My dog is about 11 months old now and still isn't 100% trained. During the day we keep her gated in the kitchen and leave wee pads. She is finally learning ot use them on a regular basis. We had a lot POTTY schedules for weeks in our house. Waking up every 3 hours for a potty run. If there was an accident and we saw it happening we would use the water squirt bottle and say no bad girl and then show her the wee pad and where she is suppose to go in the house. If we found an accident we wouldn't push her face in it but we would show her and tell her bad girl.. she knew.. Then we would put her on the wee pad and say good girl. As for the chewing we have a TON of chew toys.. But you still have to watch them all the time. I found my dish towel chewed, she tried to find the edges of the carpeting and pull those up in my brand new house!!! Shoes were a huge issue but that is our fault we need to keep them put away! As for the issues you need to have a safe zone for he dog and keep them either created or gated off somewhere (they will find ways to get out.. mine occasionally pulls down the gate) BUT it helps.. because it's boundries and if you need to shower in the kitchen he goes until your done. You'll be cleaning pees and poops for awhile!! Oh we never did training. I just spoke to a lot of my friends with pets and did reading on the internet. I think she's turned out just fine.. We crated for maybe a month and then stopped using it only leaving her in the kitchen.. When she was crated I'd come home at lunch to let her out. GOOD LUCK!

jaimelody

I think training is an awesome Idea but when push comes to shove, you're te one at home disciplining the dog, so I don't think it's entirely as effective as if you do te training yourself and at home. The biggest thing to remember is that you, DH and little Justin are the bosses. Create a specific response to a behavior that you don't like and make sure everyone is consistent in this discipline. For us, my little chihuahua would pee on the floor if she had to go out. So, we would show her where the pee was and say no, thn take her outside to how where it goes. Rewards are just as important. So when she goes outside we I'd the happy dance and petted her a lot every time. Crate training has worked best for us. They are puppys and try need naps too. Don't feel bad about putting them in the crate for a few hours a day. They will sleep and be excited when you come home. Most imporantly, stick to a routine. If you say no table food, that means from everyone. And try to feed and walk them At the sAme times. They will learn your behavioral and follow suit. I hope that helps! It's hard to be so strict with a puppy that's so cute!!

DiorAndKisses

I agree with BeachGirl, I think this dog is bored.  The good thing is, the more you train them, the less bored they are.  Teach your dog how to do silly little things like give paw or sit pretty or roll over or retrieve something.  Then give that command often rewarded with a small treat.  They feel a sense of accomplishment when they do their "job", and usually that curbs the couch chewing etc.  Also, your dog might be an active chewer, in which case I'd recommend a nylabone suited for his bite strength.  Also, whoever you get to train your dog is going to really be training you and DH, and even little Justin.  I don't mean that in the nasty way it sounds...lol  I just mean that a good trainer will spend just as much time explaining the training regimen to the pet owner as he/she will training the pet.  After all, you're the one who will have to follow it rigorously.  I'd advise positive reinforcement over harsh disciplinary measures ANYDAY.  You don't want to train by fear, as that will produce an anxious and possibly even aggressive animal.  Dogs enjoy being trained.  I took my girl to an absolutely wonderful and amazing woman named Pam Dennison in Blairstown, NJ, but she's really an aggression specialist, so she might not fit your needs.  There are plenty of great trainers, but steer clear of anyone using shock collars, scare tactics (shake this chain real loud if he pees and he won't do it again...huhhh?), etc.  Positive reinforcement and patience and a little time are all you need.  Best of luck, and keep us updated on his progress!

allie482

It sounds like your puppy is extremely bored!  One walk per day is probably not enough exercise at his age (he probably needs closer to 3 per day!).  Practicing obedience with him will also wear him out (while teaching some manners).  The classes at PetsMart/Petco are definitely good for puppies/basic obedience.  They are also good for socialization.  Not sure where you live, but if you're near West Paterson, there is a place called Club Barks that offers group classes with a certified trainer.  They also have doggie day care, grooming and boarding.  Day Care is a great energy burner :)Try not to leave him unsupervised AT ALL!  I used to tether my dog to me when she was a pup because she would destroy anything she could fit in her mouth.  Put the collar and leash on the dog and tie it to your belt loop.  If you can't do that, make sure the dog is contained either in a crate or gated in a small area while you are not able to supervise him.Do you have a Kong toy?  You can stuff those with peanut butter or Kong stuffing to keep the dog busy for a while.Good luck!

uppereastgirl

I would ask this on the Nest pets boards.  Those girls are all super helpful, and may have great suggestions for things you can do at home in lieu of/in addition to outside training.One thing to remember is that animals can't be spiteful -- it just isn't in their emotional vocabulary.  If they're acting out, it is because something is wrong in their environment or the owners haven't taught it the rules yet (which in your case would be because he is a puppy).  The key is to get to the bottom of what is causing the behavior and to appropriately nudge him to behave in a way that you'd like him to.

n&b9.4.2010

I don't know what everyone else wrote but I wanted to share some tips with you as I have two puggles. We got them both when they were 3 months and are now 3 years old. We had/have all the same troubles you have with one or the other. For the potty training, we haven't had an accident in about 2 years, except for when we first moved to our new apartment and I think it was the confusion of not knowing where to go to the bathroom. We realized they are actually very smart and can pretty much learn anything when they are bribed (sp). What we began doing is teaching them to tell us when they want to go out. They are crated every night so first thing in the morning we let them out of the crates and take them to the door we hung a bell and we would take there paw and hit the bell and then open the door it only took a short time for them to realize if i ring the bell the door opens, we would do this every hour when we were training them when we were home (before they were trained they were not left out alone, always crated) then when they would go to the bathroom outside I would give them a treat (it was actually just a piece of dog food, they were very excited to get it). Also if they didn't go to the bathroom we would put them back in the crate until they did or stay in one room so they couldn't roam the house and frequently go out until they did. ** he is a little older so it may not have to be every hour, but make sure you go out right after he wakes up, and a little while after he eats, and because of the beagle in him you may want to take him to the same spot all the time and we think the smell makes them go because they want to mark the spot** Once they got into the routine they never had accidents in the house. Also it was recommended that if they have an accident in the house after you clean it spray some vinegar down on the spot, because they are part beagles they really smell out there scent for the bathroom and will continue to go there (even outside I notice when we clean after they go to the bathroom it takes them longer to go the next time because they are sniffing for the spot). For the scratching - I don't really have any tips they didn't really scratch they jumped and we would just give them a little nudge and ignore them and it has calmed down, but not gone away altogether. The chewing of the shoes - I can't help at all one of the dogs has never gone after shoes and the other still always goes for slippers and flip flops. We try to keep them out of reach but don't succeed all the time. The couch cushion - I don't know if its all dogs or puggles but one of the dogs is very fascinated by the insides of cushions - he always tried to get to the insides of his beds, and they once put a hole in the arm of our couch and pulled out all of the stuffing. We "punished" them told them no but it continued on and then when they got older they just stopped. but if they get near stuffed animals they still try to get the inside stuffing out. Because of the Pug we were told they are power chewers so they cant really have soft toys, try and get him strong rubber toys we got plastic chewy toys, kongs and over sized tennis balls they don't destroy them and it keeps them occupied We went to a dog trainer when they were puppies, they didn't really help with any of the issues, they just taught how to get them to do tricks, sit, stay, lay down, come, give. Hopefully you will have better luck. But I do recommend trying treats, but you can just use food and then serve him a little less with his meals, so its still healthy. We also use healthy snacks (they love carrots so we cut up small pieces) Also be careful with wood when they are puppies and teething they like to chew on anything wood the salt in it soothes their teeth.

n&b9.4.2010

also if you have any other questions feel free to ask, or email nicole5278 at yahoo

justkris10

Wow! this has all been very helpful and after reading a lot of your posts it really pointed out to me the things we are personally doing wrong and that maybe I don't have a devil dog just an untrained puppy. the problem is that we don't have a LOT of time to spend with the dog, to train walk 3x a day etc. i can definitely start waking up 30 mins earlier to walk him first thing in the AM which I think will help his hyperness The night walk for 20 or so minutes is as good as it's going to get. Sad part is DH, I know, will not walk that dog by himself, he's just lazy. I usually walk the dog at night with little Justin but I didn't realize it should be for an hour (so that's a big change that we can make) He is 99% of the time in the crate and whereas he used to go potty in the crate, he def does not anymore and is good while he's in the crate (except for chewing his bed to oblivion) - it was my fault for trying to be "nice" and let him roam for a bit alone...stupid me I think I'll try an obedience class just so he understands the basics, but for now I'll just have to confine him to the cage or an area of the house - our house is REALLY small so putting him in the kitchen wouldn't work because we area always "in" the kitchen Nicole - I will probably email you, thanks.

mrs.spunky1508

Kris, what kind of food do you have him on? Are his stools runny? Higher quality food (check out dogfoodanalysis.com) is more calorie dense. He will eat less (or at least not have to eat more) but still get the same nutritional value and he will poop less since he is extracting as much possible out of less food. Chloe eats 1-1.5 cups of Merrick (5 star rated on that site above, highest is 6 but she is small and I didn't want to give her too high a protein content) and poops 2x a day, sometimes less. We take her out a lot more than that though, and she pees every time. She poops when my H takes her out in the morning, and then when we get home. Sometimes late at night, rarely during her early evening (when we get home from work) walk. Only if her stomach is bothering her would she poop more.

justkris10

I just got a chance to read some of the posts I apparently missed. Dior/Beach Girl -- the problem is I KNOW he's bored. But we live on a main highway and don't have a fence so I can't let him run around - he is always chasing after the cat, etc. but our house is small too so it can only go so far Allie & the others who mentioned toys - First, what's a kong toy? Just get it at petsmart??? He used to have like 8 different toys, he ate or chewed them all...the entire things - so bc of that we bought him hard toys and a couple bones of different sizes - he won't touch the hard ones, its weird So I either have to deal with plastic scraps from his toys all over our house or let him chew our stuff...I mean wtf? And the scratching - for some reason when he gets excited and jumps up on you he like drags his nails down the front of you when he's coming down...

justkris10

spunky - he's on puppy chow, simple grocery store available...I know its not the best - maybe we should switch? I just figured he was crapping everywhere because he was eating everything (shoes, furniture, underwear, anything he can get his mouth on - justin's toys, etc)

mrs.spunky1508

Kongs are hard-ish rubber toys to gnaw on. They have holes in them to stuff food/treats into. They have to work to get them out. Chloe, even though she's 10lbs can rip up a toy in a matter of hours (sometimes less). She can not rip apart a Kong. They even have Kong extremes which are even harder rubber.

mrs.spunky1508

Switch his food! Puppy chow has a lot of byproducts and fillers and fat. You have to do it gradually though. When we switched her, I put 1 cup new food and 3 cups old in a zip lock bag. Labeled it, fed it to her at normal meal times til it was gone. 2nd bag - 2 cups new, 2 old. Same procedure 3rd bag - 3 new, 1 old, etc. then went to just the new food.

mrs.spunky1508

You will probably notice a difference in his pooping habits within a few days, seriously. And yes petco/petsmart carries Kongs.

uppereastgirl

You should definitely switch her to a better food.  A lot of grocery store (and vet) brands are FILLED with fillers.  A higher quality food will cost more in the short run, but he'll have to eat less to get the same nutrients (plus, he'll be healthier which will lead to lower vet bills).Plus, he'll be shinier and will shed less.  Plus the bathroom advantages spunky noted.  (Clearly I spend too much time reading the Pets board)

mrs.spunky1508

A higher quality food will cost more in the short run, but he'll have to eat less to get the same nutrients (plus, he'll be healthier which will lead to lower vet bills). yes, forgot about that as well!

mrs.spunky1508

and the F&B board, uppereast! I read that Uggs post. ::insert eyeroll here::

justkris10

I didn't even realize there were pet boards Kongs - I'm getting tonight, these sound great Food - will do; figures though I just bought one of those HUGE like 40 lb. bags of it, oh well I'll give it to someone Petsmart has the "higher end" dog food you're referring to?

justkris10

I seriously don't know shyt about the knot apparently what is F&B? food and beverage...lmao