54326jj@hou2f.UUCP (J.JOHNSON) (04/18/85)
I was wondering if anybody could help me with a
problem I am having. Any suggestions would be
greatly appreciated.
I have two dogs; one dog (Clover) is 6 years old,
a mixture of black lab and Chesapeake Bay retrievers.
He is a real good dog. My other dog (Rocky) is a
7 1/2 month old puppy; his father is Clover, and his
mother lives across the street, she is a mixture of
Doberman and German Shepherd.
The problem is with Rocky. He is a big puppy (75 lbs. +)
with a lot more growing to do. He is very energetic.
During the day both dogs are kept inside. We have a
yard but it is not fenced in. Clover has the run
of the house, but Rocky, because he has a tendency
to chew, is kept in our small bedroom (we have two
baby gates blocking the doorway). Rocky has chewed
two holes in the wall, and ripped up most of the
Congoleum on the floor. He just recently started
on a third hole in the wall. I have been spraying
"Indoor No" around the room, but it's not real
effective. I'd like to leave him the run of the
house, but I don't want him to ruin anymore (plus
he would probably really bother Clover).
We are planning to set Rocky up in the yard sometime
very soon (either a fence or cable run), but
in the meantime, I was wondering if anybody
had any helpful hints on how I can get Rocky
to quit chewing.
Other than this, Rocky is a real good dog and
real friendly. We don't want to get rid of him!
A response through net.pets would be good, or through
my system, hou2f!54326jj,; I would really appreciate it!
Jo-Ann Johnson
AT&T Bell Labs
Holmdel, NJ 07733
hou2f!54326jj
(201) 949-2840cushner@ttidcb.UUCP (Jeffrey Cushner) (04/22/85)
The problem Rocky is having is caused by anxiety (I say this so much
lately, I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record to the rest
of the net readers).
Without knowing about the situation and environment further, I can surmise
it is caused by: 1) being alone and 2) having Clover, his sire, on the
other side of the door. This is *very* traumatic to a puppy, especially
such a large one that can do a *great* deal of damage.
There are several methods of dealing with such a problem:
1) As a recent poster said, give him chew toys. A dog with anxiety does
not hold it in but dumps it as soon as he feels it. Unfortunately your
dog is *dumping it* in the walls. He should *always* have a chew toy
near him, preferrably of rawhide or nylabone. In this case, however, it
takes more than that; biting on a chew toy will not get him out.
If, when he's with you, he starts chewing on something, correct him, but
then, immediately, stuff a chew toy in his mouth and praise him. This is
but a start (and should have been done from day 1 away from litter).
ANYTIME HE CHEWS ON A CHEW TOY DURING THIS PROBLEM PERIOD, PRAISE HIM
*LAVISHLY*!!
Unfortunately, when he's with you, he probably isn't anxious.
2) Change the situation.
There is no magic way to stop him from being anxious under the present
conditions. You can modify the environment by either taking Rocky
out of the room or putting Clover in the room with him and see what
happens. I would suggest, on a weekend or on afternoons, leaving
them together with the run of the house for a few minutes at a time,
then gradually lengthening the period of time until everybody is
comfortable with the situation. This coupled with positive, anti-
chewing training (as described in 1) should elleviate the problem.
3) Okay, so you're chicken to try 2) and you do want some *magic*
to take care of the immediate problem. Just understand that
a dog will do something to get a reward in this case the hope
of escape. If he encounters something scary along the way, he
might think that the reward isn't worth it and will give that
up in favor of some other form of anxiety reliever.
Can you say "Airhorn"? Of course you can.
The startle value of a loud portable airhorn or a lifeguard whistle
can be great in stopping this kind of behavior if used *very*
infrequently but at the right time; as the dog starts doing the
unwanted behavior.
Again, start the day off, usually on the weekend, as if it were a
normal weekday. Make sounds of leaving the house and clear everyone
out except you. Then, WAIT, outside the room (shhhhhquietlyshhhh).
When he makes a digging, biting sound on the wall (and this may take
a *long* time before his anxiety builds up enough) BLAST him with the
sound! But remain hidden. He is not to know you are there!
Repeat this once more if he does it again, and then leave for a
half an hour or so. Make alot of sounds so he still thinks you were
gone. Repeat this procedure about 3 times a day for the weekend.
When you blast the horn or whistle make sure it is loud and very short
(about 3/4 second) or he might catch on.
Of course, ensure that he has some chew toys around to utilize.
This method will work on most dogs, if done properly, but I would
rather see this problem solved in a positive way (1) than negative.
I hope this solves your and other netters problems in this regard.
Sorry for being so verbose but I get carried away sometimes. Perhaps
I should just write a book, make a lot of bucks and just tell netters to
refer to that. {^:
> From: 54326jj@hou2f.UUCP (J.JOHNSON)
>
>I was wondering if anybody could help me with a
>problem I am having. Any suggestions would be
>greatly appreciated.
>
>I have two dogs; one dog (Clover) is 6 years old,
>a mixture of black lab and Chesapeake Bay retrievers.
>He is a real good dog. My other dog (Rocky) is a
>7 1/2 month old puppy; his father is Clover, and his
>mother lives across the street, she is a mixture of
>Doberman and German Shepherd.
>
>The problem is with Rocky. He is a big puppy (75 lbs. +)
>with a lot more growing to do. He is very energetic.
>During the day both dogs are kept inside. We have a
>yard but it is not fenced in. Clover has the run
>of the house, but Rocky, because he has a tendency
>to chew, is kept in our small bedroom (we have two
>baby gates blocking the doorway). Rocky has chewed
>two holes in the wall, and ripped up most of the
>Congoleum on the floor. He just recently started
>on a third hole in the wall. I have been spraying
>"Indoor No" around the room, but it's not real
>effective. I'd like to leave him the run of the
>house, but I don't want him to ruin anymore (plus
>he would probably really bother Clover).
>We are planning to set Rocky up in the yard sometime
>very soon (either a fence or cable run), but
>in the meantime, I was wondering if anybody
>had any helpful hints on how I can get Rocky
>to quit chewing.
>
>Other than this, Rocky is a real good dog and
>real friendly. We don't want to get rid of him!
>
> Jo-Ann Johnson
> AT&T Bell Labs
> Holmdel, NJ 07733
> hou2f!54326jj
> (201) 949-2840
--
==============================================================================
Jeff Cushner @
Citicorp-TTI
Santa Monica CA 90405
(213) 450-9111 x2273
{vortex,philabs}!ttidca!ttidcb!cushner