kaos Posted May 16, 2002 Report Share Posted May 16, 2002 Hello All I have a serious problem, and I am hoping someone can help me! My two dogs have begun behaving excessively badly! When I leave the house (even though I am a stay at home mom I still have to leave every so often) I come home to find that they have been up on the counters (literally up on a kitchen counter or moveable kitchen island) and have gotten into what ever they can find there.... today I returned to find that they had raided the laundry bin (that had a a sealed lid (chewed through) and chewed holes through my sons clothes, and been up on the counter and stolen the sealed grease tin and eaten it on our bed. I am soooo furious, and definietly at the end of my rope I actually had to stop myself from smacking them around in front of my son.... So.... Does any one have any ideas how I can reteach them their manners? I am torn between crating them when I am gone (this scares me somewhat, what if there were a fire? they would have no way out!) they were both crate trained as puppies so it would not be hard to do...but I wonder if this is just avoidance of a larger issue of their ating out? I would like to address their behavior itself, they are even jumping up to look on counters and tables right in front of me (blatant little SOBs), which I immediately correct them for but, the correction doesn't seem to solve it. How do I stop something that occurs when I am not around? (I'm thinking of lining all my counters with red pepper and letting the little jerks get a snootful of that... should teach them not too if it doesn't blind them first!) Plus is this new fall from graceful behavior their way of saying they are having problems or just something that may have been gradually building through a slackening of my observance of correct behavior? they are 5 (houndX) and 4 (BC). any help will be much appreciated and sorry for the language I am REALLy furious and seriously at the end of my rope. sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubby Posted May 16, 2002 Report Share Posted May 16, 2002 When you are gone: crate them. Period. When you are there: give them strong, unmistakeable, and noisy correction that will make their legs weak for a few minutes after you stop. A dog that is babied is only gonna be a bad, spoiled dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted May 16, 2002 Report Share Posted May 16, 2002 You should crate them. There is no telling why they are acting this way. For awhile I suspected that my bc/mix was getting on the dining room table but I could not prove it until I set up a video camera and caught her on film. Of course you cannot do anything after the fact. Luckily she made the mistake of jumping up on the table in front of me. That was the last time she did it. I picked her butt up by the scruff of the neck yelling NO the whole, I put her on her back kind of harshly and proceeded to keep yelling at her and then I made her stay in a down for 10 minutes afterwards. She has never tried to get on any tables or counters since. And yes my dog weighed 40lbs at the time and I am not a big person, a whole 5' tall. I was able to pick her up without issue so please don't let that be an excuse. If they are still getting on counters with you around, then they are not taking you seriously enough with corrections. If you don't want to crate the dogs, try buying mousetraps. Put them UPSIDE DOWN on the counters etc..by doing this you will decrease the chances of them getting injured by the trap but it will also scare them, hopefully and they will stop trying to get on counters and things. I have never tried it but I heard it works great. I was going to do it but I was able to discipline my little devil dog and break the behavior before I went to that measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The New Guy Posted May 16, 2002 Report Share Posted May 16, 2002 One Word Crate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennylane Posted May 16, 2002 Report Share Posted May 16, 2002 i have to agree with everyone else..... CRATE!!! it breaks my heart but i have to do it too. there is only so much destruction we can take and when it's done behind our back we have no choice but to crate them! I also worry about fires but if he REALLY needed to he would be able to get himself out of the crate. there's a thread somewhere out there about a dog that eats through crates! don't feel bad or worry about crating them. they haven't really given you a choice. it's not like you'll be leaving them there for 10 hours at a time either! good luck with whatever you choose to do penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted May 16, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2002 Well, today I went out again and left them locked in the master bedroom... so far no noticeable damage, although it is probably just new to them and if I did that several times they would get bored again and start trashing my room too! I have no problem scaring the heck out of them when I discipline.... their legs go shaky and they show total submission... (through tone of voice, body language etc) I have done the "on the back" thing and the "shake the scruff" thing my problem is the lasting effect doesn't seem to be there. Plus I worry that my son will see it and A) think mommy is beating/hurting the doggies Think that that is the way to act with dogs and that human aggression is ok Like I said we have done obedience training etc and they were crate trained when they were younger and also wreaking havack in the house ($500 in foot wear, a really good baseball glove, couple of jackets etc). I would probably go nuts trying to find the real cause, however, I truly believe that to fix the behavior I need to do just that. You guys are probably right, I have gone too slack in our training and need to re-intensify and start drilling them on the basics just to re-assert myself as the Alph- bitch...(a title I take quite seriously) Also I need to stop babying them at the other times.... I don't think I coddle them but stranger things have happened. the mousetrap idea is a good one, I will definitely give that a whirl...the only problem with going back to the crates is location location location, we have moved and our new house is although bigger than the old apartment, much worse in its layout I have no idea where I could put their crates! Last but certainly not least THANK YOU to EVERY ONE for the support I was hopping mad this afternoon and your replies and sympathy have really helped me out, I am seeing more clearly now (less red and rageful!) and that can only be a good thing. If you have any more good idea let me know I am all ears! sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted May 17, 2002 Report Share Posted May 17, 2002 You can also try setting them so that you can catch them in the act. Leave something sinful on the counter that no dog could resist...go outside like you were going to leave--take your keys, etc....wait a minute outside the door and then come barging back in, hopefully you have a door near the kitchen. You might be able to catch them in act and discipline them that way.....the surprise of you barging in might work. Try this a couple times a day. The dogs may learn that it is never safe to get on the counters.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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