Question:
My nearly 11 month old puppy has recently (in the past few days) undergone some behavior changes. Yesterday, he chewed the corner off our coffee table--and went back and did it again after being corrected; and this morning he pooped on the floor. He's NEVER chewed furniture, and hasn't had any accidents in the house after his second week with us (he's a rescue dog, we've had him for 5 months, and can't figure out what breed he is--some paperwork says lab/border collie, some says pointer/shih-tzu). He's about 30 lbs, gets two 20-30 min walks/jogs plus playtime in the yard during the day, is crate trained, and responds well to obedience commands. We've recently started taking him to a state park where he plays with other dogs, and he goes to daycare if we're gone for the day. I have been home with him all summer.
Is this a phase? I've read that during puppy adolescence, dogs will 'challenge humans.' Is this what he's doing? Any insight is greatly appreciated...we want to stop this behavior ASAP!
Answer:
Your dog is going through adolescence. My experience is that dogs that age start to chew and chew and chew. One of my dogs chewed through an antique wood bed! You are right to correct the dog but make sure you provide the dog with something that is okay to chew. Kong toys are really great.
Also, any dog with border collie mix needs a ton of exercise -- more than a 20-30 min walk at a time. Up the walks to 45 min-1 hr each. It may sound oppressive for you but it will make a difference. Or spend more time at the park getting that dog tired. It sounds like you have many opportunities to do that already -- good for you for stimulating the dog in all those different avenues (even though I myself am not a fan of dog parks).
THe pooping could be related to a lot of things. Was the dog sick? If the poop looked normal, I wouldn't be surprised if the dog did it as retaliation for something -- i.e. not enough attention, exercise, etc. The more tired the dog is, the less likely it is to do this kind of thing.
Answer:
Thanks for your advice! I will definitely increase our walk times and see if that helps. He has a Kong and lots of chew toys, but perhaps it's time to mix them up a little and see if that'll distract him from the furniture? He's bright, so maybe he's bored with the toys he has? And I'll definitely keep him away from the antiques!
As for the pooping, he's definitely not sick. I guess it's in retaliation, although I didn't think dogs did that. It was raining really hard this morning, so I put off our usual walk for 30 mins to see if it would lighten up (he'd gone outside and peed already; hadn't eaten breakfast). Usually he alerts us when he needs to go out, but I guess he *really* wanted that walk right then! javascript:emoticon('')
We love our park. It's a state park, with 7-8 miles of walking trails, a stream and pond. The pond is doggie heaven--all types of people bring their pets to play, and everyone (dogs/humans) is very well behaved. It's the perfect spot for letting them play off leash, then walking the trails.
Answer:
The kong toys stuffed with treats are a good thing to keep him busy and mentally stimulated.
You know, I love dog parks when the people and dogs are well behaved. Usually the people are the ones who aren't well behaved! Glad you can get your dog some socialization and exercise where it is fun for him. Hikes with dogs are great -- all those smells!
Answer:
As HMZ stated to make sure your dog is given acceptable alternatives for chewing, be sure to give these at the appropriate times that willteach him the difference between what is good to chew and what is bad. When you catch him chewing bad items (furniture, etc..) give him a correction and then immediately give him an appropriate chew toy. When he takes it give him lots of praise. This will help him clearly identify that chewing furniture is bad, BUT chewing kong toy is good. I used this method with my little monsters (one was a pit bull) and it worked remarkably well.
Answer:
Make sure that you actually catch him chewing the furniture in order to correct him. They don't understand "after the fact".