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Location: London, UK
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 44
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I wouldn't be surprised if he was separated at birth. He was bought by my youngest son from a far from suitable kennel near where we live. He is supposed to be beagle x lab, but has a very dodgy bone structure and I personally think he's from a puppy farm. It took a whole year to potty train him, he's extremely headstrong and was quite OTT as a puppy. The trainer couldn't do much with him to stop the incessant hyperactivity and pulling on the lead and told me to rehome him. I wanted him to go to the Dogs Trust, phoned them up and they had a long waiting list. Also there were many arguments indoors between my 2 sons and myself about this decision. In the end we kept him, changed his food, had him castrated and he gradually calmed down. My youngest moved away to live with his girlfriend about 1.1/2 years ago and I had a stroke so can no longer walk him. My eldest now walks him 4 times a day with an extended lead over the park which on our doorstep, but goes to work. I've been trying to find a dog walker for midday, but with no luck. Also over the park are young thugs who glorify in dog fighting (police and a certain society don't want to know) Another society is patching up various dogs and they are a cat society. Won't mention names as I think it might be against "site rules". Another worry we have, is that when I go out on my mobility scooter, Max has started chewing things up again. This is just over the past couple of weeks, as he stopped chewing after he was about a year old. I am doing my utmost to leave him things to do such as stuffed kongs, nylon bones and some indestructible toys and Anthony (eldest son) is going to take him to the vet to have his teeth checked in case he has toothache. I have a large crate, but if I leave him in there, he howls and tries to dig his way out, although is quite happy to lay in there with the door open, especially in the hot weather or if he is scared by any noise such as fireworks or noisy cars backfiring etc. and will go in there on command for his food or treat If I put a bed in there, he "humps" it and rips it open with his teeth. We have dog gates at the kitchen door and end of hallway (he loves ripping up paper!) and Anthony locks his bedroom door, as he once got in there and raided it, eating a pack of 6 crisps and packet of sweets, complete with paper, chewed up some of his computer equipment and there were batteries all over the hall. We had him x-rayed in case he had eaten one, but luckily he hadn't. Anthony uses a Canny collar to walk him to cut down a bit on the pulling. We tried a gentle leader, a Halti and various harnesses, but the Canny works best. Now when I go out, I hide anything that might cause injury and am trying to think of other things to keep him occupied. Hopefully, this is just a blip and I'm racking my brains as to why he has started chewing again.
Thanks again for your post. Regards Val and Max