SBT pup

Hi
My friend has a male Staffy x. It is driving them nuts as it keeps wrecking - ripped suite to bits/ destroyed flooring. It isnt house trained yet and nearly 7 months old. Theyve taken to crating it, although I think its crated too much.

Has anyone any experience with staffies and can offer any advice?

Viv

Hi Viv and welcome to Dogweb! :smt039

Is he doing this when left alone? If so he needs something to keep his mind occupied... get a few 'Kongs' and hide them around the house so he has to find em (put some nice 'smelly' foods in there).

Also if hes chewing stuff whilst ur friends are there they should correct him by saying 'no' until he stops.

good luck!

Housetraining:

How long has your friend had this dog?
What is the reaction of your friend when the dog toilets inside?
What methods has your friend tried to train the dog to ask to go out?
How long is the dog left alone inside?

More information on the above would be useful. Without knowing more, what I suggest is that your friend needs to go back to basics. The dog should be taken outside (NOT sent outside on its own) frequently to the designated toilet area. As it pees or poos a marker word should be used, e.g. busy, wee, .. whatever. The action of toileting should be lavishly praised and a treat given. This will need to be done many times until the dog associates the area, the command, the praise & the treat with the action of relieving himself.

.........

Destructiveness: This sounds like boredom or SA.

When does this behaviour occur?
How long is the dog left alone?
Has the dog had any obedience training?
How much exercise does it get?
What is provided in the way of mental stimulation for the dog?
How does the owner react to the destructiveness?

How long at a time is the dog being crated?

Hi
Back again. Right I will answer Shadowboxers questions - they have tried leaving stuffed kongs around the room but he has demolished so many of them!

They have had the dog from a pup
When he toilets indoors they tell him "no" and put him outside - to me this is futile as they are often not there when he does it
They leave the door open so he can come and go - again I told them this isnt the correct procedure as there is no one to praise him when he does actually "go"
He is left up to 6-8 hours at a time 2-3 times a week

He is destructive whether they are there or not!
No, no obedience training, say they have not time
Not sure of actual exercise although they do have a reasonable sized garden.
Mental stimulation - dont think there is any
They have taken to crating him whenever they are not there - see above.
The owner now yells at him if destructive.
^Think the problem is more they are first time dog owners and would not listen to anyone advising them in the first place as pup was let do whatever he liked - literally and now of course he is older and things are not so funny.
Viv

Think the owners need 'training' by the sound of it.. I good OB class would do em both wonders

I agree eRaze. Can you persuade them that their best chance of sorting out the problems is to go to a good training class? They may be getting a bit desperate now and would perhaps just need a little push. We could post a lot of advice - but would it be listened to? You sound as though you know what you are talking about Viv and it seems as though they are ignoring you, so would we have any better success? If you think it would help then I am willing to sit here typing away, but I feel it would probably be pointless.

EDIT: Sorry, that was not very helpful was it? A bit of frustration creeping in. I will try to be constructuve.

Housetraining. As I said in the first post, they need to go back to basics. There is absolutely no point in correcting indoor toileting unless they actually see him doing it. If they catch him in the act it is a firm "no" and take, NOT PUT, him outside to finish. Leaving doors open makes it even more difficult for the pup to differentiate and understand where it is acceptable to do his jobs. 6-8 hours alone is too long for an untrained pup who, while physically capable of holding on for that length of time, has not learned that it is necessary to do so. (Must add, I feel that is too long to leave any dog on a regular basis, especially in a crate).

Destructiveness. Again, absolutely no point in yelling at the dog after the act. He will not associate the anger with the tearing up of cushions etc. which he may have done hours ago and forgotten about. If the owners actually catch him chomping on something he shouldn't then they must exchange it for something he is allowed to chew. When they go out anything that they do not want the dog to damage should be put where he cannot reach it.

A garden alone will not provide sufficient exercise. At 7 months the dog should be walked for about half an hour twice a day and also have some off-leash exercise in a secure area. Dogs also need mental stimulation, which is as important to their wellbeing as physical exercise. Playing games which make them think, such as hide & seek, or find, will exercise the brain. As will obedience exercises. It is no good walking the dog and then immediately leaving for work as the pup will still be hyped up. He needs at least half an hour to settle after a walk.

The crate can be a godsend but 6-8 hours in it is much too long for any dog. He will be going stir-crazy and is probably twice as destructive when let out after being cooped up so long. Can they get a friend/neighbour/dog-walker to come in halfway through the day to let him outside and spend a bit of time playing with him?

Your friends really do need to make the time to take him to training where they will be instructed on the best way to handle and train their pup. There is only so much that can be done via the written word. Having someone actually see and work with the pup and his owners could well make a big difference. Emphasise to them how much more happy and pleasant their lives, and the life of their pup, would be if they sought some advice from a good trainer.

Personally I think they need to rehome him, if they say they haven't got time to train him, them they haven't got time full stop
I'm sorry but people like this really annoy me they don't even sound like they are even trying. They want the perfect dog without the effort. IMPOSSIBLE.

Mitch

I agree Mitch....dogs don't train themselves and if they haven't got time to do it properly he needs to go to someone who can
Nikki

dogs respond very positively to praise and mental stimulation- but it doesnt sound like hes getting any? Staffys in particular are a breed that very much like to please

there are no bad dogs just bad owners... i agree with mitch...this dog needs attention more than anything else...then the problems would probably stop...jayne