Max Update and further advice please

Max Update and advice please

I cannot get over how kind you all are – Max is beginning to flex his muscles – so I need advice please
• As I have said he will sit / down / leave it with treat until I say OK / and give paw – no problem
• We have had no toilet accident at all despite the original loose stools which are better
• Lead pulling we will get there – with halti I can control that and using garden to practice etc – also getting long line as recommended by Ozzysmom
• Water squirt and ignoring him when he jumps as recommended by Thordell and Ossymom worked wonders – he is much calmer this morning
• If he jumps at me turning my back stops it straight away and we are ignoring him at the moment so he is calm and quiet
• I work a great deal on my PhD on my laptop on the bed as I am arthritic – and April always lay and slept by my side on the floor wherever I was
• I do not know where the original owner kept him
• Breeder on a farm said he was with her other dogs in a barn type place or the kitchen nowhere else in the house
• We are in a bungalow – so more difficult
• However I had a horrendous evening last night
• I cannot leave him loose – last night he kept mounting destructively and chewing on the bed clothes - my clothes – curtains cushions etc but not me
• He has chew toys but will not be distracted once he starts
• I removed him into the utility room for time out about 10 times between 7 – 9 pm until we were both exhausted – but he persisted all through the night – getting up on to the bed – he has damaged the door in the utility room so O H not too happy
• So he is banned for all bedrooms as from today
• He gets frantic if I leave him on his own – though I am starting to leave him for 2 mins and shutting the door and going back in – before he scratches the door and saying goodboy
• Ozzysmom has advised a crate - which is what I wanted in the first place – but O H thinks it is cruel
• Can I train him at 8 mths to use crate at night in the kitchen – I do not want him to see it as a punishment – but his own den
• As he gets destructive we would not be able to go out and leave him – and that I cannot cope with not fsir on O H – at the most it would be 2 hrs once a month
• Strangely he is very good if left in the car

I feel very greedy posting this long list but I wanted you to have a clear picture it is sad he is very loving and desperately wants attention - and love – how do you strike a balance – I think he has done this at the first place as a young pup and been allowed to get away with it – can we change him - because though I love him I cannot put up with this for years

Hi Tirnanog it sounds as if you are doing very well

I will try to repy to some of your questions ..
This is a an earlier post on teaching a dog to get used to being away from you, it may be of some help..
click here
Sorry folks I do not like the method of spraying with water..for a method to work you need to use it on the behaviour every time and timing is all important ..it may not always be possible to spray with water as the behaviour happens . I think the best thing is to use the same word all the time (one that you don't use in any other situation like 'away') and fold your arms/turn away..if the behaviour still persists remove the dog instantly to another room . Nothing works instantly , it may take many days.

A crate (or confinement to one room is ok if the dog is not destructive)..is fine. You condition the dog to going in the crate gradually by hiding treats in there or throwing a treat in and saying crate and praise when he enters...
here is more info on crates..

..a crate is fine and not cruel if used as a happy /secure den and not a place of long confinement or punishment .. also make sure your puppy gets lots of play and mental stimulation during the day so he is ready to sleep

I can only agree with Mini here on everything, but it sounds like you're doing a good job anyway. These things really take time you know. I also think Mini is sooo right on the "word" part, I always use the same word for the same thing, be it praise or otherwise, and when you're turning away or folding your arms, always look away from the dog or up in the air, never be tempted to take a quick peek!

I wish I could help you more, and I also agree with a crate, it might just be the answer to give him the security that he wants apart from YOU, but I expect you'll have a lot of work to do to make him realise this, but I don't know anything at all about crate training coz I've never had to use one!

Just a point, are you giving him enough exercise? Short bursts of exercise coz he's only little, but that might get rid of some of that boistrousness in him and he might relax/sleep more! I'm a great believer in wearing them out (well, sensibly of course!) and keeping them occupied, so that I have time for myself to get things done around here, otherwise they would cling to me like your Max does? Most importantly of all I think is a routine, do everything at the same time each day, and hopefully he will learn that there are certain times that he must lay down and be quiet. I managed to teach Georgie this and he was a rescue who didn't know our routine, but I've never looked back, so hopefully you'll end up the same! Good luck, you're doing a grand job by the sounds of it!

..TN don't forget you can add to the exercise with games.. hide and seek is excellent...let Max smell a treat then let him see you hide it, use a 'special word' to encourage him to find it..when he has got the hang of it progress to taking him from the room and hiding more treats making it a little harder to find them.
As a gundog he will really love this game it will exercise his mind too...

Thanks both – I am using the same words and most of the time he is OK – maybe it would be better to put the crate in the bedroom to start with so that he does not feel too isolated and get him used to it – at the moment he is even destroying his bedding as well as mine!

..not sure about this ,In the case of a small puppy being houstrained I would say yes so you can hear him/prevent bed soiling ..but Max is older and should be getting used to remaining in the place where you eventually wish him to sleep....if that is the bedroom ok if not think twice about getting him used to a situation you intend to change..

I have got crate - he has been out with us for 2 hrs in the car and had a walk while I went swimming we then left him for 1/4 hr with a car full of DIY stuff very chewable - no problems at all. Spoke to N Wales WSS rescue today and she is coming to see me next Tuesday to assess him she has five of her own and adviced crate in bedroom to start with incase he was frightened - but I am wondering what to do

Only just come in on your post, see your lad is a WSS, presumably rescue? I had to have my old lad put down at the beginning of Jan. his cruciates went in both legs so he couldn't walk, he had a bad heart so an op was out of the question. However after that I know what you mean about not wanting to be alone. When I got Harry I had a German Pinscher bitch and she really did look after him, he had been completely neglected and knew nothing, he was 5 yrs old, and Kleine taught him everything. When she had to be put down he actually had what the Vet said was like a heart attack. From then on he couldn't bear me out of his sight. I put him on to various herbal sedatives and a DAP, all of which helped quite a lot, but he was an old dog and had had a rotten life before I got him I am all for a crate as long as the dog can be made to think it's his 'space'. try feeding him in there, leave an 'indestructable' bone in for him, throw his toys in there for him to fetch out, in short try to make him thin k its a very special place. Don't shut the door until he is used to going in, then just for a moment, let him out and lots of praise and a treat. Hopefully you will have a more settled dog. Harry was a real love with that gorgeous WSS expression, real 'chocolate box'picture dog . Good Luck with your boy, he will be worth all the effort belive me. Kath

Hi Kath - yes he is a rescue - but we have no history except he was destructive - I feel very despondant tonight - never had a problem like this - I have lured him into crate with cheese etc but I don't think he will sleep in it - spoke to his breeder and she said shut him in the shed but I can't he is traumatised as it is. I will have to leave him in the bedroom with me as he will wreak the kitchen on his own if I cannot lock the crate - that really is the problem not being able to leave him even for two muinites as he wreaks the doors - I will take him to the vet tomorrow for further advise.

Shut him in the shed??????? That's a bit tough isn't it???
Put the crate in the bedroom, with his toys, and some water (?) and shut the door when you go to sleep, end of! He'll soon learn! Rather that than have the house wrecked or shutting him in the shed imo! I can't believe that!