A Few Problems With My Dogs, Need Help!
OK, I have a 13-14 yr old female Golden, Heather, a 4-5 yr old female Great Dane, Princess, and a 6-7 month old male Pug/Malteaze (I probably didn’t spell that right) mutt, Rascal.
My first problem is with Rascal. He urinates everywhere. He does have blatter control. He’s proven that by holding it when he’s on tile, or when an adult is there, but the instant he is on carpet, and he doesn’t think an adult isn’t there, he’ll go whenever. He doesn’t even stop to squat or lift his leg(like he’ll do outside) he’ll go while running around, jumping, laying down. The only reason I know he does half of this is because he’ll do it infront of my lil sister, the spots I keep on having to clean up, and the guilty look he gives me when he knows he’s in trouble. I’m not sure what to do, he had better control when I first got him.
He also won’t stop barking, it’s gotten to the point I’ve been thinking about having his voice box removed but I really don’t want to do that. I’ve tried using one of those collars that sprays a lemon scent in his face when he barks. He didn’t like it, but he barked anyway. He killed the battery on the thing in a matter of days. I really need help with this one as I need to be able to sleep at night.
I also can’t walk him because he’ll suffocate himself. H’s pulls on the leash so much that he chokes himself and he’ll do it till he drops. He’s done that ever since I got him 4 months ago.
Next is my Great Dane. Princess is a great guard dog and very smart. The problem is that she likes to run off. She’s already figured out how to get out of a harness and choke chain, and she keeps on breaking chain leashes. She’ll come back to the house within ten minutes and then will try to hide because she knows she wasn’t supposed to do it.
She’ll also raid the trash and counters when people aren’t looking, and will once again try to hide when we find the mess. We’ve tried a shock collar on her, but she just shakes off the shock.
Lastly there’s Heather, my old girl. She’s a good girl, she just has a licking habbit. She’ll lick her paws bleeding raw. I’ve tried bitter apple, hot peppers and a number of other thing, but she likes them all. I bandage her up but she rips them off.
I think I got the basics of it all, if there’s anything else someone would like to know about their behavior I’d be happy to answer. I just really need help.
Here’s my two cents, starting with Rascal.
Have him neutered, and crate train him. He needs to learn that if he wants freedom to be a good dog, that he needs to be a good dog. LOTS of trips outside, LOTS of potty breaks. If he doesn’t potty, it’s back in the crate.
As for walks. He NEEDS walks. If he pulls and chokes, get him a harness. I bet you’ll find yourself with a calmer, quieter, less potty-ing dog if he got some regular exercise.
Princess. I think princess ALSO needs walks. And a well fitting harness will NOT come off of her. Talk to a breeder for advice on what kind to get. You can walk Princess and Rascal at the same time, and they’d REALLY enjoy the trip… As for counter surfing and the trash, block the kitchen as a no dog zone. Tall and sturdy baby gates will keep a GD out of there.
Heather seems to have developed an obsessive behavior with licking. I suggest you interact more with her too! If she’s phsyically capable, get her on nice long, slow walks. She needs something to stimulate her mind so she has something else to do besides fixating on her paws.
just a quick answer about your retriever, she is most probably salt insufficient, try changing her food or consult a vet.
Wow thats a lot. What I would do is talk with a trainer and a vet. They will be able to help. Good Luck!
i got a dane too, 7 months ol, good luck, mines on the countertops now
Take the pug to the vet to make sure there’s no UTI going on. If there’s not, it’s a training/ dominance issue. For walking, get him a Gentle Leader. It goes over the snout, and behind the ears, the leash clips on under the chin. If he tries to drag you on a walk, the GL turns his head so he can’t. This was the only way I could walk my Dalm/ Pitt. He was a monster if he didn’t have it on, but an angel when he did. They don’t like the feel of it on their face at first, but if you’re persistent and make it positive (el-cheapo hotdog slices worked best for getting my monster to hold still so I could put it on him), he’ll get used to it. It doesn’t hurt them at all.
The dane – training, training, training. You need to show this dog that you’re the alpha. That doesn’t mean you have to be mean to her, there’s lots of ways to do it. Look up the NILIF method (Nothing In Life Is Free). Just because she can drag you down the road doesn’t mean she has to. They make Gentle Leaders big enough for danes too.
For counter surfing, get some metal pie pans. Make a tall wobbly stack on the edge of the counter, then put something yummy/ stinky on top. When she tries to get it, the crash of the pans will give her a good startle. Make sure she doesn’t then get the treat (you could use peanut butter or something)
Take your golden to the vet. Sounds like it’s a nervous condition making her lick her paw so bad. He may give her some pills, and put an E-collar on her til it heals up so she doesn’t get infected.
for the bladder problem you may need to get him checked out to make sure he doesnt have a urinary infection or something of that nature that won’t let him hold it when hes in action.
For the barking, when he barks tell him “No” or “Hush” and keep saying it until he does stop. Give him a treat and let him know he did good. You have to train some dogs not to bark. Or when he barks say again No or Hush and wrap your hand around his mouth and release, do it again if he barks again.
For the leash training, the dogs needs to learn that when you go out that is a privlage and you are in control. When he pulls, stop and make him sit and wait. When hes calm start to walk again, when he starts to pull repeat it. It takes awhile, hubby and I went on a mile walk that took 2hrs because our APBT kept pulling. But he soon got the drift that if he didnt pull he was allowed to walk.
With Princess, do you leave her chained up outside? Im not sure how a dog can really break a chain easily. You need to have a fenced in area for them or do not leave them outside, let them go out when you are there and on a leash. Its dangerous for your dog to be chained up alone, anyone can come by and take her.
I don’t like shock collars, so I would not suggest them. Being a big dog you probably need to “dog proof” the counters, don’t leave anything in her reach. And tell her “No” and “down” when she tries to look up there, don’t even give her the opprotunity.
I am not sure what to tell you about the licking thing…
All in all, your dogs need obedience training and so do you, an untrained disobedient dog is a dangerous dog. You need to take them (at seperate times) to obedience class. They will show you how to show dominance over the dog to show you are in control and how to train them properly.
… you can lick paws til they bleed? I somehow find that doubtful.
I don’t think you can handle the dogs you have. Take the ones that need to go to the vet to the vet, please. and perhaps talk to a trainer.
Hm that does sound frustrating. Because of the vast array of issues you are having, I found something that may make your life a little easier. Check out this resource I found online. It helped me TONS with my Little Jack Russell issues:http://www.kingdomofpets.com/dogobedienc…
I wish you all the best.