I'm fostering a 3mo yellow lab who's feet are already as big as my 75lb dog's.
He is a monster!!!!! He managed to tear down a curtian rod while I was in the shower and has a fondness for all the trim along my floor. He's literally going to eat my house.
He is also very smart. Stopped going in his crate the second day I had him. Holds it for up to 8 hrs!!!!!
I like to foster puppies so they can remind me why I don't want another dog.
I spend all night saying NO and pulling things out of his mouth.
He is a monster!!!!! He managed to tear down a curtian rod while I was in the shower and has a fondness for all the trim along my floor. He's literally going to eat my house.
He is also very smart. Stopped going in his crate the second day I had him. Holds it for up to 8 hrs!!!!!
I like to foster puppies so they can remind me why I don't want another dog.
I spend all night saying NO and pulling things out of his mouth.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 9:57 AMare you putting something in to replace what you're pulling out? -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 10:33 AM>>are you putting something in to replace what you're pulling out?<<
Exactly! He needs to know that good things come from good behavior (such as sitting for meals, chewing yummy stuff like bones and not your shoes, waiting to go outside and not barging through it, not jumping on people/getting petted only when seated and calm). He should get nothing from bad behavior - attention is attention no matter what kind it is and if he gets reactions out of doing bad things, he'll just keep doing it. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 11:23 AMI am going thru' a similar situation. My female pitbull, Kyra is chewbacca in a dog's body.
So far she has chewed my wooden blinds, my remote control, my paper work, my door stop, 2 lap top power cords (that one got me !)
I fixed the first cord and then she did it again whilst I was wkg in front of the tv - I had no idea ! She pulled the pond pump out and ran around the yard and chewed it up also. . . she is 1 years' old and still somewhat of a puppy. She has chew toys, she has lots of exercise and activities (stimulus), yet she still is naughty. Being that she was abused I just can't seem to get angry with her. She knows.
As for you fostering to remind you not to have another dog - that's a good idea. Two dogs are a lot more work than one. A lot messier... a lot more costly too... I love both of them - but I think I am more of a one dog household preferance. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 11:39 AMKyra sounds like my cat Jack! He LOVES to chew on my paperwork and power cords. So far he's destroyed our cell phone chargers and a USB cable. He also like to chew on my old bed's wood headboard.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 12:27 PMOf course.
Problem is, his attention span is about 3 seconds. So he drops the good toy and ambles over to chew on something not so good.
And the title should be labrapotomus. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 12:33 PMMaybe give him a large Kong with peanut butter in it ... ? -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 1:33 PMLOL ... The good news is they eventually mellow out to be really nice dogs... then you all get to live happily ever after in a house with very little furniture left. I once came home to find my 'labrapotamus' had scaled the wall and was stuck on my neighbour's garage roof. It took her about 18 months to start behaving like a regular dog ... my other 2 dogs were the same age as her and used to watch her antics with eyes wide open in amazement. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 6:14 PMI agree with Tri. You have to set limits and reinforce positive behavior. If you can't be there to control the behavior, you must control the environment. You can correct a dog without anger, but you must be the leader in your house. Your dogs needs you to be the leader. Letting a dog know what's expected and rewarding him when he does that is the best way to heal an abused dog. Permissiveness is not the answer. Good sound training is. Get a book. Watch a video. Take a class. Yes, they eventually mellow somewhat, but they still need good training.
We're monkeys living with canines. We need to understand how to communicate with them and tell them what we expect.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 1:24 PMBitter apple the things he likes to chew that he shouldn't be or block him from it all together. It's up to you to control his environment and reinforce his behavior. If there's not a consequence then he won't stop.
We bought an outdoor fence thing that was a kind of mini corral for pups to be outside and used it in our living room around our not so easy to replace items (we detached it so it wasn't a "circle" and had it go along 1/2 the room). We also had family take some pieces of furniture we were worried would get chewed up to hold onto until we felt safe to bring it back home. It was either our diligence or luck (still not sure which!), but our puppy grew into a wonderful dog who leaves all of our possessions alone and only chews on her toys.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, April 3, 2008 - 8:05 AMIt's exhausting, isn't it?
You can be doing all the right things to teach a puppy what to chew and appropriate behavior and who's in charge, and give yourself a pat on the back for that in those three seconds that he's not getting into something. Doing it right doesn't mean it's not tiring, though.....
Thankfully it doesn't last forever.
:-)
(although if you'd told me that when Tess was three months old, I wouldn't have believed it. Now she's almost nine months old, and a total joy. Yay for well-trained puppies!)
Good luck, Molly~
:-) -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Fri, April 4, 2008 - 8:16 AMI'm dealing with the chewing. He gets when I say NO. We have a ton of toys all over the floor and he always goes for the books, or ashtray, or paper of any kind. But he at least moves on when I say NO.
Now it's the barking! If my other dog is chewing on a bone, the pup just barks and barks at him. I've tried giving him a bone or another toy. He holds it for about a second and then goes back to barking. I'm also working on distracting him by teaching him fetch. But sometimes, I just want to sit and watch a movie or just get through a paragraph without jumping up to correct something. Uuuuuggghhh!!!
(Just so I don't get a big lecture about bones, the only ones in my house are those big, hard sterilized hollow ones. My dog Loki has had them for 7 years (the same ones, no less) with no problems, and I've never had a problem with any of my fosters either. Because I've a vegetarian, my dog doesn't get any bones from people food or anything that too closely resembles actual animal bones. They are the only bones, the only toys, that hold up to Loki the Destroyer. He's even torn kongs to pieces, and picking that up was a total pain!) -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Fri, April 4, 2008 - 10:55 AMOne of my dogs will bark at the other one if she has a toy or bone that he wants. It does not help to give him his own bone. For some reason, the one he does not have is the better one. ::rolls eyes:: So I sympathize.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Fri, April 4, 2008 - 11:31 AMHopefully the barking is just a puppy phase. My dog used to bark when overly excited as a puppy, now she only does it when you're playing fetch and wait longer than she'd prefer to throw it. My response to her barking now? I don't throw the ball. It gets put away so she knows she can't boss me around. She's smart though and learned, but when it comes to other people? They throw it when she barks so she still tries from time to time with me, but stops after it doesn't work. Training is hard because more often then not, you're training people not the dog and when you have friends/family/partners/children who don't abide by the rules you're creating you get a dog who learns that the rules don't always apply. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Fri, April 4, 2008 - 2:38 PMWhich is why we can't eat pizza at my house. My former roomies thought it was so cute to give Loki pizza. It was cute when he weighed 10lbs. Not so cute on a food-hound 75lber!
I had two rules when he was a puppy: no people food/food only goes in his bowl and don't hit my dog. Both were broken.
That's part of why I don't live with them anymore. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Fri, April 4, 2008 - 2:55 PMYeah... people training, the toughest training of all. Sorry to hear they hit your dog! I don't know what I'd do if I witnessed anyone lay an aggressive finger/foot/fist on my pup. I think I'd black out for a moment... -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, April 5, 2008 - 11:06 AMIt only happened once that I know of. He was a visitor that didn't know the rules.
He was not welcome back :) -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 7:22 AMYeah, I would be furious. I have trouble training the people that come to my house, but it's mostly because they like dogs and so will be more eager to spoil than to abide by my rules (i.e. don't pet unless they sit).
I hope the barking thing is just a phase. I try to ignore it, or use the water bottle when he does it. I'm just afraid that any attention is rewarding the behaviour. But you can't hear yourself think when he gets to barking. My other dog just ignores him. Maybe she has the right idea. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 8:24 AMThe ignoring causes the barking! He does it to the cats as well. Doesn't stop till someone plays with him, but I don't want to reward the barking with play.
Tried the squirt bottle. He's stubborn. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 9:45 AMWait out the barking and the moment he stops... play with him. Reward the silence, reward the sitting, reward the behavior you want to happen. You can use a clicker to mark the good behavior. When you have a puppy it's a good idea to carry a treat bag attached to your belt or keep treats in every room so you can always reward them. It can be a reward of belly rubs or a game of tug as well. It's the same for jumping. My friend brought her puppy over this last Saturday (black lab) and the puppy wouldn't stop jumping so they had her on leash to prevent her destruction (food, people, it was a little muddy out...). I walked over to her to say "hi" and whenever she jumped I'd turn away with my back to her, then she'd sit and wait for me, and I'd turn around and pet her. The moment she got excited and jumped, I'd turn away again. After just 5 minutes she learned that she only got my attention by not jumping.
Some dogs like the squirt bottle and that, in itself, becomes a game. If so, you'll have to think of something else. Try pennies in a can - dogs usually HATE that, but use it sparingly - it's fairly traumatic, but it worked for our puppy when she'd whine in her crate and now she loves her crate.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 8:43 PMAh...that reminds me of a few pairs of shoes I no longer have. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, April 3, 2008 - 6:48 AM"Being that she was abused I just can't seem to get angry with her."
It's not about getting angry, it's about leadership and teaching appropriate behavior. I see a lot of people who let their dogs take on the alpha role (and destroy the owner's house) just because they are worried about the dog's feelings because of past abuse. You don't have to get angry with your dog to teach it good manners....matter of fact, you shouldn't get angry at your dog at all when teaching them. Your dog will respect and love you if you set the ground rules and gently reinforce them. Provide a large variety of appropriate chew toys and always keep a close eye on your pup...if they go towards something or pick up something that isn't acceptable to chew on, distract them and give them something allowed. Crate your pup or secure in a "safe" room when they can't be supervised, and spray bitter apple on anything your dog finds irresistible . -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, April 3, 2008 - 11:07 AMYou're a special person to foster... what a lucky pup!
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 4:00 PMahhh the puppy phase.
Curtains, mini blinds, couch, countless shoes & purses, many dog beds, the linoleum, the back gate...those things I dont miss about rearing a puppy.
I do miss puppy breath, one of my fave smells. I do miss the fuzzy fat belly, the cutest face they give when they know they have done something wrong and the face when they have done something right, holding them in your lap. Ahhhh I miss having a puppy.
I dont miss chewing & potty training. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 8:35 AMI guess this guy was just too happy to be out of the shelter because potty training has been waaay too easy (know wood).
He stopped going in his crate in a day and a half.
Whines at the door to go out.
Only pees inside if I'm totally ignoring him and don't see him sniffing.
People keep asking when he's going back, since he's a foster. I always say "never" with my fosters. They make so much progress at my house, and after having a pup (or two) for a month, I can't bear to think of them sitting in a cage, lonely and sad and not getting to go to the park. I'm just a softy like that.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 3:49 PMOh, Great! My "dirty old man" Loki has taught him to hump.
Loki only humps other dogs, but Bo has made humping motions on me while I'm sitting on the couch. UUUUUGGGGHHH!
I usually grab him ample scruff and pull him off the couch.
Then I caught him trying to hump the arm of the couch today. -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 6:46 PMHumping is mostly a sign of dominance. If your dog is humping you, it's trying to be in control. When Pip tried humping me as a pup, I would turn the table, press my hand onto his withers, and gently put pressure on his back with my forearm. Not enough to force him down, just enough to let him know, that I'm the one on top.
Your new dog is trying to find his place in the pack. Don't ever let your dog try to hump you. Resting an arm on his back occasionally lets him know that you are leader, not him.
Sometimes, just for fun, I will pull the pretend hump on Pip, just to keep the pecking order established...I'll put my arm over his back, and tousle him, then gently push him over a bit so he lays down on his side, then rolls onto his back. He gets lots of tummy rubs and praise for showing submission and not being alpha. It's all done in a loving, playful manner, but the message gets across.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 10:19 AM -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 10:59 AMMolly,
If you haven't read or watched any of Cesar Milan's videos or books - I highly suggest it.
Not that he is the be all, end all to dog psychology and training...but he really puts things into
perspective about always taking the stance of being the pack leader, being calm assertive and in
control. I got the Cesar's Way Book and it is hard to put down - A really interesting good read. The guy
came over here illegally, with no money, not knowing English and is not a multi-millionaire... He has
the amazing ability to run with like 35 dogs up in the Santa Monica Mtns - all off leash - and is able to
control them, b/c they seem his as their leader.
Don't let your dog hump - that is one thing I really hate about dogs and won't tolerate.
Your puppy is absolutely beautiful - the eyes are amazing.... -
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 11:01 AMOk I definitely need another cup of coffee... Jeez.
It -should have- read like this :
with no money, not knowing English and is NOW a multi-millionaire... He has the amazing ability, to run with like 35 dogs up in the Santa Monica Mtns - all off leash - and is able to control them, b/c they SEE his as their leader.
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Re: Labasaurus Rex!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 8:17 PMI have GREAT luck w/dogs at the off-leash hiking park. They seem to stay with us. I also gravitate towards a great pack...............
Loki is 7 and I don't know how to stop him humping other dogs at this point.
Cesar is great! He is so good at retraining the people.............
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