Need to vent - Hate my boyfriend's dog

[showhorsegallery]

[QUOTE=threedogpack;6482228]
well that would be FAR too long for my tolerance level!

You might find that if you work on other things, this might disappear on it’s own.

I would not work on too many things at once with a dog who has the history this one does[/QUOTE]

I’m going to take your advice and give it a go. I’m going to boil some chicken for treats and divvy up his daily food ration as treats as well.

I read that article on open door crate training and I think that is something I can try too. The crates are in my office so I can do it while I work on my freelance stuff easily enough. I’ve always fed my own dogs in their crate so they go in easily enough. I’m going to keep stashes of treats around the house to use for alarm barking treating like you outlined. I don’t know how to handle the barking that happens the moment me walk up the house though. It starts from when we pull up to the house in the car.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;6482243]
I’m going to take your advice and give it a go. I’m going to boil some chicken for treats and divvy up his daily food ration as treats as well.

I read that article on open door crate training and I think that is something I can try too. The crates are in my office so I can do it while I work on my freelance stuff easily enough. I’ve always fed my own dogs in their crate so they go in easily enough. I’m going to keep stashes of treats around the house to use for alarm barking treating like you outlined. I don’t know how to handle the barking that happens the moment me walk up the house though. It starts from when we pull up to the house in the car.[/QUOTE]

Do the outline and the open door crate stuff and see where you are. Don’t try too much at once. If the barking in the crate when you get home continues after a few weeks of the other training, post again. We’ll take it up then. You have a lot on your plate right now with the relaxation stuff and the barking at sounds outside as well as the open door crate training.

[Canaqua]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;6481898]
When we leave the house we put him in a crate right now. I don’t mind having him wander the house because he won’t do anything EXCEPT when there’s rain and thunderstorms which we’re right in the middle of the season of in Florida. It’s rained every day for the last 8 days. During a rain storm (with or without thunder) he flips out and destroys things looking for my boyfriend despite us not being home. He already ruined the bottom of one door during a storm. So when we’re not home he’s crated because he can’t destroy anything in his crate. So when we walk in the door he starts barking. He also barks when not in his crate. Say we’re in the dining room and he’s out (he’s always out when we are home) and my roommate walks in he starts alarm barking. Or if he hears a dog in the neighborhood he starts barking. Or if a loud car goes by the house…[/QUOTE]

The dog is crated when you aren’t home, which I understand if he’s destructive, you have to protect him from himself. But, he’s also out whenever you are home? And then he’s crated at night too? Does he get much attention and time with you guys? This dog sounds a bit like our ACD mix, there is no way she could cope with that schedule. She NEEDS to be with people, my husband in particular. She’d be a total, anxious, wreck under those circumstances. She doesn’t like to be out without us. She’s fine in the house all day by herself (well, with our other dog), but she’s otherwise with my husband (her first choice) or me (distant second choice ;)). She could not tolerate the level of “alone time” that it sounds like your boyfriend’s dog is expected to. Herding dogs are pretty attached to their humans, I don’t find them to be at all independent.

[showhorsegallery]

[QUOTE=Canaqua;6482419]
The dog is crated when you aren’t home, which I understand if he’s destructive, you have to protect him from himself. But, he’s also out whenever you are home? And then he’s crated at night too? Does he get much attention and time with you guys? This dog sounds a bit like our ACD mix, there is no way she could cope with that schedule. She NEEDS to be with people, my husband in particular. She’d be a total, anxious, wreck under those circumstances. She doesn’t like to be out without us. She’s fine in the house all day by herself (well, with our other dog), but she’s otherwise with my husband (her first choice) or me (distant second choice ;)). She could not tolerate the level of “alone time” that it sounds like your boyfriend’s dog is expected to. Herding dogs are pretty attached to their humans, I don’t find them to be at all independent.[/QUOTE]

Right now he is crated when we are away from home because of the rain and his reaction to it. I just checked the weather forecast and it’s going to rain for the next 8 days straight and it’s been raining for the previous 8 days. Which, bleh, also means I won’t be riding my horse. Once we get past this raining/storming season he won’t need to be locked up during the day but he’ll still be home alone.

We work slightly different schedules so he gets out in the morning with me and the afternoon with my boyfriend and then all night before we go to sleep during the week. Then all day when we are home on the weekends. So he’s probably in his crate from midnight to 6:30am and 8:30am-4:30pm during the week and just at night on the weekends. It’s not ideal but honestly he’d probably be sleeping in a ball all day at home anyways so I don’t know why it matters if he’s in a crate during the day. He’s not hyper or crawling out of his skin to run around. We live in a very walkable part of town with lots of dog walking and we do take both him and my Standard Poodle for walks.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Canaqua;6482419]
She could not tolerate the level of “alone time” that it sounds like your boyfriend’s dog is expected to. Herding dogs are pretty attached to their humans, I don’t find them to be at all independent.[/QUOTE]

not to get into this too deeply, but you are aware there are medical conditions that require total crate rest except for on lead potty walks?

Better to acclimate a dog to long crating before you need it, and hope you don’t, than to need it and have an anxious dog who damages themselves more because they don’t know how to settle in a crate for long periods of time.

Had a disc insult in a dog once. The medical treatment was steriods, pain meds and 4 weeks of total crate rest. I never had a disc problem before, but the dog healed fine and I attribute most of the success to him being able to lie down in a crate and be still.

[jetsmom]

[QUOTE=libgrrl;6481339]
Sounds like a fabulous way to get bitten in the face.[/QUOTE]

It does, but then you get to smack the dog and force him to roll over to show him you are boss. Of course, the fact that alpha/dominance theory has been disproven and doesn’t work, needs to be ignored. After all, you won’t feel like a man if you give up the alpha rolls and scruffing…:rolleyes:

[Canaqua]

[QUOTE=threedogpack;6482509]
not to get into this too deeply, but you are aware there are medical conditions that require total crate rest except for on lead potty walks?

Better to acclimate a dog to long crating before you need it, and hope you don’t, than to need it and have an anxious dog who damages themselves more because they don’t know how to settle in a crate for long periods of time.

Had a disc insult in a dog once. The medical treatment was steriods, pain meds and 4 weeks of total crate rest. I never had a disc problem before, but the dog healed fine and I attribute most of the success to him being able to lie down in a crate and be still.[/QUOTE]

You are misunderstanding my point…it wasn’t about the amount of crating, because many dogs are crated during the day while people work, for their own safety. Both of mine are crate trained, though they are safe loose in the house right now, we can and do crate them when needed. I was questioning how much time the dog gets to spend in the company of people…because it sounded like the dog is outside by itself when they are home and then goes in the crate for bed…meaning the dog wouldn’t be getting much human interaction and regular company.

[showhorsegallery]

So when I got home from work tonight I was able to walk into the house without a bit of barking. It was like a miracle from heaven. I don’t know if the last week I’ve been “ignoring the barking 'til the stop” before letting them out has finally sunk in but it was amazing to be able to walk into the house and not be greeted by rabid barking 10 feet before I even get to the front door.

I let all dogs out with lots of praise and we went to the yard (played fetch with the Poodle puppy for a bit) and then we came inside for dinner. I did the open door crate technique from the link a few pages back and fed the main barking culprit his dinner that way. He was very excited and seemed happy to discover that the crate was a source of food. I’m going to continue doing that for a while as well as trying the treating technique from threedogpack for any alarm barking that pops up.

I’ll post an update in a week or so about how things are going.

[showhorsegallery]

[QUOTE=Canaqua;6482742]
You are misunderstanding my point…it wasn’t about the amount of crating, because many dogs are crated during the day while people work, for their own safety. Both of mine are crate trained, though they are safe loose in the house right now, we can and do crate them when needed. I was questioning how much time the dog gets to spend in the company of people…because it sounded like the dog is outside by itself when they are home and then goes in the crate for bed…meaning the dog wouldn’t be getting much human interaction and regular company.[/QUOTE]

When we are home he is outside his crate in the house hanging out with us. Not outside as in outdoors. Sorry if I wasn’t clear about that. The dogs are only outside in the yard in our company.

[MelantheLLC]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;6482747]
So when I got home from work tonight I was able to walk into the house without a bit of barking. It was like a miracle from heaven. I don’t know if the last week I’ve been “ignoring the barking 'til the stop” before letting them out has finally sunk in but it was amazing to be able to walk into the house and not be greeted by rabid barking 10 feet before I even get to the front door.

I let all dogs out with lots of praise and we went to the yard (played fetch with the Poodle puppy for a bit) and then we came inside for dinner. I did the open door crate technique from the link a few pages back and fed the main barking culprit his dinner that way. He was very excited and seemed happy to discover that the crate was a source of food. I’m going to continue doing that for a while as well as trying the treating technique from threedogpack for any alarm barking that pops up.

I’ll post an update in a week or so about how things are going.[/QUOTE]

Great to hear! Already strengthening his “quiet muscle.” Do keep us posted. It’s helpful to all trainers to hear how methods are working or not working and chew over why.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;6482747]
So when I got home from work tonight I was able to walk into the house without a bit of barking. It was like a miracle from heaven. I don’t know if the last week I’ve been “ignoring the barking 'til the stop” before letting them out has finally sunk in but it was amazing to be able to walk into the house and not be greeted by rabid barking 10 feet before I even get to the front door.

I let all dogs out with lots of praise and we went to the yard (played fetch with the Poodle puppy for a bit) and then we came inside for dinner. I did the open door crate technique from the link a few pages back and fed the main barking culprit his dinner that way. He was very excited and seemed happy to discover that the crate was a source of food. I’m going to continue doing that for a while as well as trying the treating technique from threedogpack for any alarm barking that pops up.

I’ll post an update in a week or so about how things are going.[/QUOTE]

outstanding! Good for you Shg! Please do check in again next week and let us know how he’s doing. Be prepared for ups and downs, good days and bad, as no learning is straight up!

[BLBGP]

I’m glad things are improving. It’s sad to me that you forgive your boyfriend for the way he raised his dog but don’t forgive the dog for the way he was raised.

[showhorsegallery]

[QUOTE=BLBGP;6483000]
I’m glad things are improving. It’s sad to me that you forgive your boyfriend for the way he raised his dog but don’t forgive the dog for the way he was raised. :([/QUOTE]

I did write somewhere back that I know it’s not his fault (the dog). I understand he’s a product of his upbringing. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating for me when it comes to enjoying my home environment and sleeping through the night.

He’s not a dog I would have picked out on my own. I don’t have the inclination to own herding dogs. I specifically chose two low shedding breeds (Chinese Crested/Poodle) for myself. I’ve owned retriever breeds before so I know that the Poodle is a breed of dog I can handle and train. I know if you can make it to two years old when the wild and crazy puppy phase is over you’ve got a good dog on your hands. The CC is a little more temperamental than I anticipated but she’s 5 pounds and easy to manage. Herding dogs on the other hand are sensitive and high strung and I would never have got one for myself.

I am sweet to him. I switched him to a higher quality food. I pet him and give him love. I give him pep talks all the time to try to make him feel more at ease (I know he doesn’t understand what I’m saying but he does understand my tone) but that doesn’t mean I’m not completely frustrated with the situation and frustrated with him as he is the source of the barking.

[Calamber]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;6481898]
When we leave the house we put him in a crate right now. I don’t mind having him wander the house because he won’t do anything EXCEPT when there’s rain and thunderstorms which we’re right in the middle of the season of in Florida. It’s rained every day for the last 8 days. During a rain storm (with or without thunder) he flips out and destroys things looking for my boyfriend despite us not being home. He already ruined the bottom of one door during a storm. So when we’re not home he’s crated because he can’t destroy anything in his crate. So when we walk in the door he starts barking. He also barks when not in his crate. Say we’re in the dining room and he’s out (he’s always out when we are home) and my roommate walks in he starts alarm barking. Or if he hears a dog in the neighborhood he starts barking. Or if a loud car goes by the house…[/QUOTE]

This something different, you might want to investigate a thundershirt, I have heard some really wonderful results from this in the event of electrical activity with storms. Do you happen to leave computers on at night in the room where this dog sleeps?

Also, Zen does help and it is not a pharmaceutical. I am very susceptible to most kinds of medications and this does not affect me negatively at all. It does not knock me out, he just makes me relax enough to sleep. It may help you. Good luck on your venture. I hope it all works out.

[Calamber]

[QUOTE=threedogpack;6481292]
did you read where the dog has no play drive? Or are you just discarding that? A shut down dog, like this one, won’t offer behavior and I’d be .really. surprised if he offered it from observation.[/QUOTE]

She said the dog would not play with her, she never said anything about whether the person that this dog clearly is obsessed with and is heavily attached to, has tried any activity. Play is not just tossing objects for retrieval or worrying, there are quite a few ways to play with a dog as I hope you know. My lab has very little play drive (being queen is serious work you know), but one thing she loves is when we get ready to go somewhere, she starts clacking her jaws and smiles, so I imitate her and we play for a bit, it is very happy. Also, when she does her zoom dog outside, I encourage her and she loves to fly by me with a big smile. Play drive can be encouraged in the most shut down, or serious of dogs and well, it is just fun for me to draw them out. Why not try something new?

I do not spend hours everyday making dogs lie on pieces of rugs with bits of kibble or endless hours with these kind of self limiting “cues”. Too boring and I have a full life otherwise. My dogs are my friends, not my robots.

[meupatdoes]

What is with all the sniping? People are so “concerned” about how the dog is being treated they will just let fly with snipes to piss everyone off. The home is deliberately painted to be about as abusive as a dog fighting ring when we are talking an open palm whap on the butt, which, while not ideal is not The End Of The World. We can’t all be perfect.

Then alternatives such as training self control by “lying on a piece of rug”(which I was not the one who suggested it but it has been GREAT for my hooligans) is summarily dismissed as turing the dog into a robot. Well ok then can’t whap it, can’t train it down stay either, guess OP is just SOL and an unfit owner. Let’s mock and dismiss ALL the options so OP accepts there’s really nothing she can do. Let’s convince her she is just wrong, wrong wrong!

Do you all feel better about yourselves? I sure hope you got some pleasure out of it because attacking humans never helps dogs.

[pezk]

I own 2 dobes and 1 GSD. The GSD is the worst barker of the 3. I want them to bark. I want them to bark if they hear something that goes bump in the night. I want them to bark at anyone coming to the door. I want them to bark at people,cars, etc. BUT when I say “Quiet” the barking is to cease. I will praise them for alerting me to something but I expect silence when I’ve given them a “Quiet” command. Nothing wrong with the human as alpha in their own household, but it’s got to be used fairly.
Teach the dog “Quiet”. Get some great special treats. When the dog barks, go see what’s it for, tell the dog “good dog”, put your fingers gently around the dogs muzzle, say “Quiet” and immediately give a treat because you will have a moment of silence.
Lots of repetitions but dogs catch on pretty fast. It’s a very useful command.
Just the way I train my dogs.
And give the dog attention and love. Sounds like it could use some.

[TheJenners]

I gotta say, I agree with Trak and his original post. I swear with this board… Must be the predominately female population ;).

“Hitting” has not been defined by the OP, or if it was, I missed it. Which is possible. While there is a possible link between hitting an animal and hitting a significant other, there’s also a link between water and drowning and yet we will still drink the stuff. But by all means the OP should be frightened of her BF (who she thinks is wonderful) and watch him carefully and expect abuse, and/or she should end the relationship. Honestly, neither sound like Dog Whisperers here, and who is? I let my dog jump on me, which DH thinks is HORRIBLE, but he lets his on the couch, which I think is horrible. OP’s 1.5 yo dog is just now reliable about accidents in the house. C’mon.

Bark collars work. If it’s stress, try the music to drown out noise and one of those thunder shirts, or medicate the dog for a while.

[showhorsegallery]

@TheJenners;6483665

I gotta say, I agree with Trak and his original post. I swear with this board… Must be the predominately female population ;).

“Hitting” has not been defined by the OP, or if it was, I missed it.

…

OP’s 1.5 yo dog is just now reliable about accidents in the house. C’mon.

I did clearly define what the hitting was several times. Open hand swat on the butt. Holding of the muzzle, pushing the dog down on the ground in a submissive position.

And I never said my 1.5 year old puppy is JUST now being reliable about potty trained. I said I’ve used crate training for her and it’s worked well. She was potty trained over a year ago. But I don’t allow her to run around the house when I’m not home because she’s still a destructive puppy.

[Canaqua]

[QUOTE=showhorsegallery;6482750]
When we are home he is outside his crate in the house hanging out with us. Not outside as in outdoors. Sorry if I wasn’t clear about that. The dogs are only outside in the yard in our company.[/QUOTE]

I might not have been reading super well for comprehension either ;).

It sounds like you are making progress with the dog and, you don’t really “hate” him, because you clearly do care about his welfare!

I’m a herding dog person myself, but they can be quite demanding and surely sensitive. You are already accustomed to smart dogs, with the poodle experience, that will help.

Good luck!