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kirstin_mad_dog
Dogsey Junior
kirstin_mad_dog is offline  
Location: West Midlands,UK
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 45
Female 
 
16-04-2012, 11:22 AM

Eating poo, chewing the house, and nipping!

right here goes..... Caleb is a 7 month old collie x golden, we have had him for 8 weeks ish now, he started eating hiw own poop when we changed his food over we have now changed it back but i think its become a habbit! obviously the best solution is to pick it up as soon as he does it but with a 2 year old who no longer sleeps during the day and who will stomp in poop if i take her into the garden with me or climb onto tables if i shut her inside i can only do it once a day! he aslo chews! mostly items he can get hold of eg clothes, a pram, anything really but recently has chewed 2 corners of skirting board and has tried chewing laminate floor ( my landlord will go mental ) as a result he is gated to the kitchen only during the day and has to be muzzled and shut in the utility room at night altho he can still chew things with the muzzle on! also.... i will ask him to sit/lay/wait etc and praise him when he has done this or is being calm when i have finished stroking him he will jump up and nip at me which altho isnt painful its very worrying having 2 children. i find myself increasingly losing my temper and shouting at him to the point where i scare mysekf and end up with a sore throat, i know its the wrong thing to do and before we got caleb i would have sworn on my girls lives i was not that kind of person! i am ashamed of the way i am behaving towards him as annoying as his behaviour is i know that we have either caused or made it worse, as my husband said to me the other day the dog doesnt have much of a life and must think we hate him, i really want a loving family dog that we can all trust and love play with etc but t the moment he is just driving me to the end of my tether! please please give me some advice i am willing to try anything hes a lovely dog on the whole he really is
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ClaireandDaisy
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Location: Essex, UK
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 14,147
Female 
 
16-04-2012, 11:41 AM
I find your post very difficult to read but I think you have a young dog you are having problems with?
I suggest you read at least 2 good puppy books - Gwen Bailey The Perfect Puppy and this one
http://dog-games-shop.co.uk/dog-trai...vival-kit.html

I am slightly shocked that you have muzzled and confined a young dog for being a young dog. Screaming at him will not help.
I suggest you go back to the Rescue and see if they have someone who can advise.
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BeagleBella
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Location: Peterborough, UK
Joined: Feb 2012
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Female 
 
16-04-2012, 11:43 AM
Poo thing...you are going to have to try and pick it up asap. Even if it is, let him out, get a bag ready, and dash in and out so your child isn't unattended for long. This can be a temporary measure. If the dogs eating poo, I've heard its because they aren't getting all the nutrients into their body, so eat their poo to keep in the protein etc..so maybe look into his breed, and a food that will give him what he needs.

Chewing, its a puppy thing, but you've got to teach out of it. Have a look at bite inhibition. Play, learn etc, but once he bites, thats it...your up and you ignore. Every time he bites, fun is over (in his eyes) so he will learn to play nice. Its a matter of time though.

The chewing...without sounding rude - is he bored? Get some really good walks / runs / play dates. Join some socialisation classes, or one to one classes, or if moneys tight - take 15 minutes out twice a day or so to teach new things. Mental stimulation works 4 times more than physical so he should get sleepy afterward.

Also with chewing - Give him the RIGHT things to chew, bones, chew toys, ice cubes, carrots....etc. If you get those bones from P@H with the stuff in the middle, scoop that out and add some melted cheese...they love it! Only once a week or so though, I dont like to give mine too much cheese.

Really try to interact with him and get his brain going so he doesn't get bored. In time, and with practice, the nipping will definitely stop.

I know its hard as you have a 2 year old...and a puppy is enough work! But (in the nicest way possible here) you getting angry and confining him isn't going to teach him whats right and wrong. You have to work at it and with him. It will all pay off in the end

I'm sure you will get loads of good suggestions and people on here are dog genuises I swear! But from experience...that would be my suggestion.

Good luck, and don't feel too bad xx
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BeagleBella
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16-04-2012, 11:44 AM
Sorry - the first chewing is linked to nipping! x
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Trouble
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16-04-2012, 11:49 AM
I must admit I struggled a bit with your post too, and without being critical I think it's tosh to say you can only poo pick once a day. Most of us have had dogs and kids in multiples and managed to pick up after our dogs, which is surely a necessity with young children playing in the garden anyway. Picking up one poo at a time takes seconds so isn't much of a time commitment just a time management issue.
As for putting a muzzle on him overnight because of his chewing it would be easier to manage by crating, that way he won't be able to chew anything he shouldn't and you won't be getting stressed out the minute you get up either.
I shout at my dogs from time to time it doesn't kill them but they are trained and secure in their surroundings unlike the one you have just taken on, he's still trying to find his feet and check out his boundaries so shouting is just going to set him back rather than help, so you really juat have to try and bite your tongue. Does he get much excercise, do you play ball games etc in the garden with him? he sounds a bit frustrated and bored to be honest.
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kirstin_mad_dog
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Location: West Midlands,UK
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Female 
 
16-04-2012, 11:59 AM
i know i am going about things the wrong way i really honestly do! i am soo ashamed of the way i shout at him its not who i am at all i never shout at my children......
i just need some guidance really!
he only chews when i am not there (upstairs etc) or when he is shut out in the garden (by my husband grrr) so i am unsure how to teach him not to when i havent caught him in the act?
as for muzzling and confining him at night i know this is FAR from ideal and not what i want at all if he is left un muzzled he will chew the flooring and the edges of the worktop even with a stuffed kong and nylabone provided!

as for exercise he gets 2X 20 min walks a day (a mile in total) and longer walks when my husband is home to look after the girls and we go over fields etc he can sometimes go off lead but if there is another dog i have no hope of recall so it doesnt happen as often as i would like!
i would also dearly love to be able to have him fulltime in the living room with us but until i am sure i wont some downstairs to a trashed house i darent!
i realise this all makes me sound like a really ignorant hateful person but i am not at all, i am just frustrated and out of my depth to be honest! any advice or guidance will be greatly appreciated! i am home all day so have alot of time to do any form of training that might help!
he is a quick learner and fairly bright so far and learnt to wait (stay) in a matter of minutes so i know the problems lie with me and not him " there are no bag dogs just bad owners"
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Trouble
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Location: Romford, uk
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16-04-2012, 12:10 PM
I still think a crate is a better option than a muzzle and he can't chew what he can't access, simples.
Rather than shut him in the kitchen all the time can you not have him on a house line so he goes where you go and just leave him in the kitchen when you go to the loo and are busy doing other stuff. I'm not saying don't put him in there at all as he does need to learn to settle on his own and yes you could muzzle him for brief periods although putting him in a crate with a meaty bone to chew would be a better option.
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kirstin_mad_dog
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Location: West Midlands,UK
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 45
Female 
 
16-04-2012, 12:18 PM
i have considered a hose line but i am unsure of how that would work with a toddler running around too, i will look into getting a crate though (my husband will hate it lol ) it will have to be a fairly large one! i have ordered a new stairgate as we moved one from the bottom of the stairs to the kitchen as it was meant to be temporary until we were sure he was house trained. I think i just need to bite the bullet let him in the living room and just deal with whatever happens then gate him into the kitchen at night,
do you have any advice as to how i can stop him chewing the skirting board? i have tried vaporub, cayenne pepper and alum powder on the advice of others, they all worked for a few minutes but nothing more
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Trouble
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Female  Diamond Supporter 
 
16-04-2012, 12:28 PM
All my pups have been crated as pups so chewing skirtings etc was never an issue, if he's chewing during the day when in the kitchen alone, not leaving him alone with access to chewable items will resolve the issue. They do grow out of it if it's not allowed to become a habit, which is why keeping him on a line attached to you will work because you'll be aware of it as soon as he starts and you can nip it in the bud. Also giving him things he can chew to his hearts content such as large knuckle bones and marrow bones, kongs etc will help. Just give him what he can chew whenever you catch him chewing something he shouldn't.
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kirstin_mad_dog
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kirstin_mad_dog is offline  
Location: West Midlands,UK
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 45
Female 
 
16-04-2012, 12:51 PM
thanks for the advice, what sort of length houseline should i be getting? i have just phone the dogs trust and they have passed my details to their behaviourists so hopefully thay can give me some advice too
i know i am doing wrong by him and i need to work on my patience and tolerance, none of it is his fault as such
a new dog a giving up smoking didnt combine well but thats my fault not his!
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