What do I do about my dog?

[bunnyb.gal]

I think that posts so far commenting on training methods based on the theory of dominance/submission with regards to canine behaviour, Mr. Millan's included, have in no way implied that these methods are "pain-based". That type of training (illegal fighting dog trainers and similar pieces of human trash aside, of course) went out of general favour quite a while ago (I hope). (Besides the fact that I'm sure most people would have been baying for Mr. Millan's blood long ago were that the case.) What I think has been assumed by the terms dominance/submission is theory based on observing behaviour of captive wolf populations.

I hope I'm not speaking out of turn; this is just my take on what's been said!

 

[Effingham]

As I look at my post and some of the replies, I realize I shouldhave given y'all more information.

I've bought Gladstone a Thundershirt to keep him calm, but he doesn't really seem to need that very much. I also have two DAP infusers in the house (like those Glade plug-in things, only putting out doggie-calming pheromones),he's on daily doses of puppy Prozac, and I even bought a CD of music specially intended to calm dogs ("Music for a Dog's Ears" or something like that). I've also bought and read ever McConnell book there is, and a few others for good measure -- and I'm in awe of the Dog Whisperer.

I put him in the cage overnight because I don't trust him yet, and he has no problems with it when it's dark, but during the day he knows that the cage means "the boss is leaving for an hour at least!" (again, I don't trust him to have the run of the house when I'm gone -- he won't pee in the cage) and he goes all stiff and "please don't hit me" when I try to put him in. Should I cage him when I'm trying to work, so he'll leave me alone and stop bringing me toys to toss for him? (I don't play with him when I'm at the desk, but that doesn't keep him from trying.)

When I cage him when I'm leaving, he used to whine and howl like crazy -- I haven't heard the whining or howling lately, but the downside is he's harder to crate up when I'm leaving. When I get back and let him out, he's bonkers to see me and get out, and I try to ignore him for a bit and let him wind down so it ceases to be a big deal, but that's not going very smoothly or quickly.Every time I crate him he gets a special Kong crammed with goodies and peanut butter (the only time he gets PB, his favorite thing in the world, is when he's being crated).

I do get the "going and coming is no big deal" thing, and I really don't do anything special. I am trying to make it as matter-of-fact as I can, but if he's not in the crate and I'm just going to get the mail, I practically have to throw him away from the door or I can't get out.

We do walks once or twice a day for about half an hour or 45 minutes, depending on how much sniffing he needs to do around the ground (hey, he's part beagle).

I don't know how the hell to get him on a going-out schedule. I've tried. He wants to go when he wants to go, but MAN it pisses me off when he really gives me the "I need to go outside" vibe and all he wants to do is look around. I swear, it makes me want to throttle him with his leash when he does that -- especially if he's interrupted my work flow just for a "look-see" outside.

When the weather is good, I let him run around in the backyard and he just goes bonkers back there. He's never caught a squirrel, but I'm sure he's given a few of 'em a coronary. I had some plumbing done recently in the back, and a big chunk of the backyard is a dirt pit, which is fine when it's dry, but it becomes a mud pit when it rains, and he likes to dig. Not a good combo. I've put in a sandbox for him where I bury toys to try to redirect his digging -- it's working more or less, but I've had to "no-dig" spray a few places he really likes to dig around the foundation of the house.

Gladstone doing his "Tony Montana" impersonation in the sandbox:

There is no WAY I am going to add another dog. Part of the problem I have is that I can't leave for regular weekend trips and so on as I really want, and two dogs would DOUBLE my problem there. It would also double the general headaches of dealing with walking and so on, and I'm really not down with that.

I know eventually I'll be able to wear him down to where I can disappear for three or four hours and he'll be fine in the house, but the real issue I have is the long term one, of losing my own freedom to just take off for a while. Beyond that, of course, right now I'm having a devil of a time getting any work done. Usually I can go through about ten or so pages of translation in an afternoon, and I've been lucky lately to get five or six done in TWO DAYS. This is not good for my income (and I've already lost a major client due to missing a deadline thanks to poochie, and that's an $8,000 hit this year).

For the record, I adore my behaviorist. She even gives talks at vet conferences in different places in the country. I'm trying to do what she says, but she does say I'm a softie, and Gladstone, being so bright, is a tough haul.

Frankly, I don't know if I'm up to it.

He's a sweetie, and I don't know if I'm being fair to him considering what I want out of the relationship (more independence). I guess I kind of thought he'd be more like a room mate than a kid...

I really appreciate the feedback, folks. Thanks!

 

[dmdmorris]

I wonder if a second dog would help him, sort of like expanding the pack and giving him someone else besides you to interact with?

 

[Gin&Tonics]

I feel your pain, because I've been exactly where you are. In my case it was a lovely standard poodle named Jazzy who had the most insane separation anxiety ever. She was the perfect dog in all respects except one; when left alone even briefly she became destructively ballistic. The first time we found this out, she ripped apart our spare room because we left her there for a couple hours thinking she'd be more comfortable in a smaller room rather than in a big unfamiliar house (dumb us). This dog escaped from a PADLOCKED wire mesh kennel. We tried everything we could possibly think of; we tried desensitization, we tried medication, kenneling, etc. In the end, the only thing that kept her from going ballistic when left alone was to have her kennel outside in the back yard against the house. I think the activity of squrrels and birds and traffic noise and all the different smells kept her mind occupied so she didn't think about the fact she was alone. Since we couldn't leave her out there when winter hit, we ultimately had to give her away to a family that had other dogs and always had someone home. It was a sad, painful day for us. Unfortunately separation anxiety is the worst dog problem to deal with specifically because it only happens when you're not there; any other problem can usually be easily rectified because you simply put in the time to train them out of it. With separation anxiety, the dog can be a perfect angel in every respect as long as she's with you, as Jazzy was, and become a tazmanian devil the moment you leave. That isn't to say that it can't be fixed, because it can be usually, it's just extremely difficult.

I notice that you've begun some kennel training, and that is good. Dogs naturally have a denning instinct, so they tend to feel more secure when in a nice cozy kennel. The problem you seem to be having with that is that you only seem to do the kennel thing when you leave, which is not good. If you start doing the kennel at various times and with major praise/rewards each time, and for varying amounts of time so that your dog doesn't associate the kennel with you leaving, you should find that your dog enjoys his kennel and may actually go there on his own accord without being commanded. The key is that you don't force it, and you never EVER make the kennel a punishment. Heaps of praise when he goes in successfully, even when he only goes in briefly. Your dog appears to have Beagle in his blood, and if that's the case, you will find treats extremely motivating to him. Beagles love food with a consuming passion and will actually eat themselves to death if you let them, so treats work like gangbusters in training beagles. If he's part beagle as he appears, he'll probably have some of that overwhelming food drive too. The flipside of that coin is be very careful not to overfeed your dog.

De-sensitization is also a good idea. Read some dog training books on the subject. Basically you want to take away the significance of your comings and goings to the point where the dog no longer places any significance on it and it becomes a non-event. A key part of that is not greeting your dog right when you get home; if you give him a big production welcoming when you get home, it only adds to the problem. Kenneling him and giving him a favourite toy to play with in his kennel while you're out can help a lot; just make sure that you've fully established the positive kennel experience before you try leaving him in there; it has to already be a good happy place for him before you leave him in there for any length of time or it all goes to shambles. With your dog, you may literally have to start by stepping out of his line of sight but staying in the same room, working up to leaving the room for a minute, working your way up to longer intervals but staying in the house, to finally leaving the house for a minute, then longer, etc. When you do this process, do not acknowledge the dog at all, and never let him out of his kennel until he's calm-submissive, or you reinforce the bad behaviour as leading to him being let out.

I suspect another problem you may be having is not being the alpha male. Dogs need to know who's boss, and it needs to be us as the owners. They need to be in a calm submissive state. This may sound harsh, but the reality is that dogs are far happier and more secure when they know who the pack leader is and it isn't them. It's stressful being the pack leader, because the leader is responsible for the well being of the pack, and on top of that they have to defend their position from up and comers trying to topple them and take over! No wonder dogs that think they're in charge have major issues. Always be firm with your dog when you give commands and demand obedience the first time. When you feed the dog, make him sit quietly before you give him the food, and be consistent with this training! It goes a very long way toward making a happy obedient dog.

Obviously there's more to this problem than can be easily sorted out by a forum post on FL, but these are some basic starting points. The key thing to remember is that dogs are NOT PEOPLE. They don't think like people, they don't reason like people, and they don't have the same instincts or needs as people. A lot of dog problems are caused because people treat dogs as if they were human instead of understanding their canine psychology. I definitely recommend reading some of the books by Cesar Milan; the man has definitely taken the time to learn the psychology of dogs and he has been able to help a lot of seriously messed up dogs become wonderful pets (in truth, it's usually the humans that are the root of the problem!)

(I wrote this post yesterday and couldn't post it due to technical difficulties, so apologies if some of what I've written is a bit redundant.)
I hope this helps you!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Using the Crate is the best way to deal with a dog with this type of problem. I had a Jack Russell that did the same thing. The Crate gives the dog a sense of security that is at the root cause of the problem. I have two dog's now an they love their crates.
I always give them lots of treats before we leave the house so they associate getting in the crate with food. There is always a howling stage that dogs go thru when getting adjusted to the crate but they get use to it after a couple of days. Another choice for you if you want to be gone for several hours and feell guilty is to use Doggie Day care. There are lots of Doogie Day care options here in Lousiville and I am sure if you check with a Vet they will stear you to your local options.

 

[Flicka]

Random note - in America it seems quite common to have a crate/cage/kennel for your dog, but I have never ever heard of it done here. Cultural differences?

 

[sheeplady]

To Effingham: I think if you were able to crate train him, you might find him a suitable traveling companion. My parents travel with their crated schnauzers all the time (mainly day trips). There are plenty of places (hotels, etc.) that will take pets if they are crated in the room. It's not as easy as traveling alone, but my parents really enjoy it. I've been with them on such trips and other than a few extra potty and water breaks, it was like traveling without a pet. They have 4 dogs (two big and two small) and have traveled with all 4.

Random note - in America it seems quite common to have a crate/cage/kennel for your dog, but I have never ever heard of it done here. Cultural differences?

I think it's a relatively new thing in the US- maybe the last 20 years or so. Now everyone talks about crate training. I'll admit I was skeptical for a long time, thinking it was like locking a dog up in a cage. And some people do that- lock their pets up for basically their entire lives- but that's not the right way to do it. But my parents crate trained their miniature german schnauzers and they love their crate. They sleep in their crate on their own at night (with the door open), and the only time they whine/bark in the crate is when they hear someone outside (intruder) or if they have to go to the bathroom.