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Dog Advice needed

Hypancistrus

New member
We have a basset hound pup named Katie that will be 7 months old on Jan 23. We are having a TERRIBLE time with her chewing and stealing things that do not belong to her-- everything from books to sewing thread to medicines to my cell phone (which will now need to be replaced). I know the simplest thing is to just say "Well don't leave it out for her," and honestly we are trying very hard not to do that. But even when we are careful, we're not 100% and she is very crafty about stealing things to chew.

I don't know how to train her not to do this. We've tried bitter apple and it doesn't work on anything we put it on.

She is enrolled in basic obedience but both of our first two classes have been snowed out.

HELP!! This dog is eating us out of house and home!!
 
What type of trainer big company or small?If you have a kennel put her in there when she does something bad,or lock her somewhere(like a room where there is nothing to chew on)You could try to make your own Bitter Apple(Something she hates and will not eat)You could also try chew toys(rubber would be best for her) and coating them with something she likes.

A few (hopefully)helpful links.
http://westwoodanimalhospital.com/BhvArticles/kong_stuffing.htm Kong stuffing.I have never used this so I I don't know if it works or not.Peanut butter works GREAT.
A small Kong-http://www.amazon.com/KONG-Classic-...1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1295569765&sr=1-1
http://www.basset.net/boards/ Is a Basset Hound forum.
Hope this help:)
 
The forum I've found that is the best forum for dog advice is pitbullforum.com. It doesn't matter if you are looking for problem solving for a pitbull or not- they cover practically everything in their stickies, and are VERY responsive about answering questions.
 
You need to use a combination of mostly positive and some minor negative reinforcement. When you see her chewing something she shouldn't, tell her "NO!" in a firm voice (you don't have to yell but you can't be wimpy either - you are basically getting her immediate attention so she will learn to understand that she will now get a training session because her behavior needs modifying), immediately but calmly take whatever she is chewing away (no tug o' war or it becomes a game she'll want to play), and immediately give her something appropriate to chew on, being very positive when she chews on that appropriate toy/chew bone/etc ("Good girl", a treat and maybe play with her and that chew toy). You also need to teach her the command to "Drop it" or "Leave it". That will make your job of taking "whatever" away from her much easier. Whenever she does something correctly, give her a little extra-special treat (dogs are food motivated, praise motivation is only for much later in the training). Those extra-special treats are only used for training and must be given immediately and each and every time when correct behavior is displayed by your dog. And remember to start with very SMALL accomplishments at first. A child must first identify a piano, then to touch the key, then to press down on the key to hear the note before being able to play Mozart. Be consistent and be immediate in the minor "discipline" and then in the rewarding for good behavior. You will be surprised how quickly she'll catch on. And proper crate training is essential for when you can't be with her to monitor her during this time as well as for a myriad of situations that may happen in the future. The crate needs to be a good place where she is to go when she feels uncomfortable or stressed. It is not to be used as a punishment. The crate is her place where she goes voluntarily and calmly, not to be locked away from all the good activity. The crate needs to be a better place to be under certain conditions (after she has met the repairman and understands he isn't a threat, her crate is where she'll get something good (peanut butter in a Kong) and will be safe from the scary noise of the repairman's tools. Basically, lots of patience and understanding the old saying that you get more flies with honey than vinegar is the best way to train a dog.
 
Susan gave you great advice. I can' add to it other then to make sure if you use a crate, never ever use it as punishment. You want her to love going in it, not dread it. A Kong with peanut butter is also a great idea.
 
In combination with all that Susan said, it sounds like she isn't ready to be out and about in the house unless she's on a leash that's attached to your beltloop. That will make it a lot easier for you to keep an eye on her.
 
(There's a good post about the belt loop deal on pitbull forum). Might be part of the NILIF post, or part of the two week start over/reboot/I can't remember what it's called period.
 
My advice. Follow these five steps and I would guarantee an improvement!

#1) Increase her exercise (at least two 45 minutes walks/romps or consistent activity a day)
#2) Increase her mental stimulation. Give her kongs, puzzle toys, or even make your own. Teach her how to play hide & seek with you (or the treats). Start training her fun tricks too- I recommend Kyra Sundance for easy to follow, trick books.
#3) Crate when you're not home- for everyone's safety and sanity
#4) Make sure to provide her plenty of toys of her own and praise her constantly when she's playing with them.
#5) Start the basic obedience now, at home. Things like sit, stay, down, are all very easy to teach (and a young dog like her to learn) right away if she doesn't already follow those commands. Clicker training is also very effective, especially with stubborn breeds.
 
I havent had a dog in years, but maybe she is bored?
Does she have her own toys?

Bethany! I thought you knew us!!

toysdeargod.jpg


(In all honesty, those are seperated into three bins that we rotate every couple of weeks so they don't get bored with them)

You need to use a combination of mostly positive and some minor negative reinforcement.... teach her the command to "Drop it" or "Leave it". That will make your job of taking "whatever" away from her much easier.

She is actually pretty good about dropping it once you see she has it... we've been doing the "exchange" thing the obedience instructor talked about (offering a better toy or treat in exchange for what she has at the moment) and that works-- what we're struggling with is a way to teach her that some things are off limits entirely and should not be touched. Sometimes when we say "No" you can see this gleam in her eyes and you know she understands EXACTLY what you're saying and she just plain doesn't care.

She is crate trained. We are working on getting her to go in willingly. Our chi goes into his when you just say "Crate," and we'd like to get there with her, too. But she's fine once she is in it, and she stays in that when we are at work. We've tried tethering. I think that might work if you only have one dog, but with two others it can be fairly lethal for the human involved.
 
Yeah, I realized what a stupid queston that was the second my finger hit enter!

Good...now get over here and help clean up this mess. We both have the crux/flu/bug/plague/whatever the heck it is :puke01: and I lack the energy to pick it up. Lauren rushed downstairs to make me take a photo for you and create that huge pile and now I am out of breath. LOL!
 
OK, perhaps she is over-stimulated with all those toys. I know she only gets 1/3 of those at a time, but even that might be too many at once...making her think that since she has all those toys, everything else in the house is her toys as well. It seems like you're doing the right things but they aren't working. I just came back from my vet conference and I did attend several behavior lectures there. They dealt mostly with aggression/fear but some touched on other issues as well. I've also taken many behavior lectures in the past and the one thing I can guarantee they all said is that you can't always fit every dog or cat into one of the general categories. There will be individuals that need to have their behavior issues approached from a different angle. Try taking all but one toy away and she can only have that when you tell her it is okay to have it. Recondition her to think that she can mouth NOTHING without your approval first. You can rotate her toys daily, even allowing her to choose which toy she gets to have. When she tries to chew on something, still take it away, but instead of giving her the appropriate toy, have her sit or lay down and stay for a couple of minutes, then have her come and get the toy from you (or her toy box). It will take lots of work but will be worth it in the end.
 
Love the piture! What a cutie!

Lots of great advise.

I have an almost 6 month old Greyhound pup who steals stuff to get my attention.
When she takes something, I don't play the chase game. I will squat down and say "hey, what'cha got there, let me see" and she will usually come to me and I can trade the item for a cookie.
I also work a lot on "come" and she will usually leave the item to come for a cookie.
I am also working on "leave it", still in progess. :)

Dogs usually steal stuff because they are bored or are trying to get your attention.
 
Good...now get over here and help clean up this mess. We both have the crux/flu/bug/plague/whatever the heck it is :puke01: and I lack the energy to pick it up. Lauren rushed downstairs to make me take a photo for you and create that huge pile and now I am out of breath. LOL!

LOL
Sorry you guys are sick, feel better.
 
Good...now get over here and help clean up this mess. We both have the crux/flu/bug/plague/whatever the heck it is :puke01: and I lack the energy to pick it up. Lauren rushed downstairs to make me take a photo for you and create that huge pile and now I am out of breath. LOL!

I am so sorry you two don't feel well. Great pic though!!
 
Bethany! I thought you knew us!!

toysdeargod.jpg
Lauren, that is a beautiful dog, and cute picture. Very cute.
My Brutus would be horrified, and that would be one corner of the room he would never go.

I had neighbors once who had a basset hound. One of the smartest dogs I have ever observed. Not only did she learn (at 3 or 4 or more years old) to open the gate of a cyclone fence, she learned to jiggle the plug or loop hooked through it to 'prevent' the lifting of the latch.
She was always up to something annoyingly genius.
 
Lauren, that is a beautiful dog, and cute picture. Very cute....She was always up to something annoyingly genius.

Yes, it's hard to tell with this one. Everyone we talk to expects her to be "stupid" because she's a hound, but she seems pretty bright from where we are standing. She certainly has managed to get all manner of objects smuggled out from safe places for her chewing pleasure.

Now if she would just get the housebreaking down....

Come to that, we're still waiting on the chihuahua to figure that one out, but according to Dean-O we shouldn't hold our breath.
 
What I learned from my Whippets and the Greyhound...

1 - Hounds are really smart, scary smart.

2 - You can't MAKE a hound do something that is doesn't want to do.
(you can cajole, beg, bribe or convince them it was their idea in the first place :D )

When I got my first Whippet, I had to change my training method from correction based to positive reinforcement. Ever since, I have been using clicker training and love it. Do a seach for clicker training, there is a lot of info.
 
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