Dog question....

[ikojo]

My roommate has a dog that has been chewing and destroying his things. Needless to say he does not take this well AT ALL. I have offered to pay for obedience school but he will not hear of it and tells me to drop it.

So, outside of obedience classes, which the roommate will NOT entertain, what can I do to help the dog stop the chewing?

The dog is a little over a year old.

[Eureka]

1. Is it the classes he is against, or the obedience?

If it's obedience in general then you will have to rely on time to take care of it, and you'll soon have bigger problems to worry about anyway. Young dogs chew stuff, that's just the way it is.

The easiest way is to get the dog something of it's own that it is allowed to chew and chastise it for chewing anything other than that. The trick is, don't make the dog's chew toy anything like what you have in the house, as a young dog won't know the difference (eg, if you give the dog an old shoe to chew it probably won't differentiate between the old shoe and a new shoe)

Or, put tabasco or chilli on the stuff you don't want chewed (works until the dogs develop a taste for tabasco, won't work if you feed the dog spicy left overs, which ours love)

[ikojo]

2. He's opposed to me offering any suggestions

on how to get the dog to stop chewing. He said he does not believe in obedience classes. He's very frugal and was against taking the dog to obedience classes even when I offered to pay for it all (this is no way shape or form my dog).

He disciplines the dog which upsets me and I let him know it. Anything I do would have to be clandestine as he told me not to have anything to do with the dog.

He said that if I pursued it he would take the dog to the shelter.

[Kali]

3. He sounds manipulative and abusive

Might be for the best if he took the dog to a shelter. At least it might have a chance of getting a responsible human.

Roomate? Your place too - may be his dog but you are living with it too.

[ikojo]

5. What I don't understand is that what upset him

is when I asked if the dog chewed when he was living with his mom. The answer was yes. I then asked if he disciplined the dog then and the answer was yes. After that I said, well if the dog was disciplined when you lived at home and he continues to chew here then obviously the method of disciplining the dog is not working, so why expect results when it is not working?

I looked up chewing on the Internet and found sites that said dogs chew if they are experiencing separation anxiety. I think this dog does have separation anxiety. As soon as my roommate leaves the apartment the dog starts crying.

The same site said there are classes to deal with this. I offered to pay for the classes and was told rather sternly to drop it.

[freestyle]

39. Why does this man have a dog?

He does not sound like a responsible pet owner. If the dog still has the temperament to be adoptable, another home might be best. Dogs have certain basic tendencies. In puppies chewing is one of them. They need appropriate outlets.

In a later post, you mention separation anxiety. If the roommate spends a lot of time with the dog, and returns fairly predictably, this will diminish. Dogs do not like their routines disrupted, and are extremely social animals. They need at least a few hours of people time each day, and time with other dogs is critical for proper socialization as well.

[LeftyMom]

4. It sounds like your roommate is the problem

He's not willing to train his dog but he is willing to take him to a shelter? :wtf:

I advocate a rolled-up newspaper. Whack your roommate with it until he shows some sense or you feel better.

[ikojo]

6. I think he was playing me when threatening to take

the dog to the shelter. I think he paid for the dog so I don't really think he'd take it to a shelter. If he did take it to the shelter he would totally blame me because I did not "drop it" as ordered.

[LeftyMom]

7. Is he this much of an ass about other things

or is it just the dog?

[ikojo]

11. He's pretty strong willed and when we have

differing opinions (as in choice) he does not want to discuss anything. I believe in talking about issues but he does not. He does not believe in therapy at all, I guess he sees obedience training as dog therapy and thinks he can discipline the dog as people did when he was a kid.


I asked him what would he do if his kid wet the bed...would he hang the sheet outside the window to embarrass the kid, hoping the behavior would stop because the kid was embarrassed? He then said, "this is just a dog!"

[haydukelives]

15. LOL

What she said
You could also use your shoe

[henslee]

8. Here's the deal... First off, does the dog have a large variety of

toys? Not just tennis balls but a rope toy, some rawhide bones... a rubber ball with a bell in it is a fave. Rotate them. Put some away for a while and then bring it back into rotation. Dogs live for variety. Your dog will chew toys and not furniture. Putting some Bitter Apple (a bad tasting spray) on furniture will be a deterent. Is dog walked 3x a day? It should be, even if those walks are short. Letting a dog out in the backyard should not be a regular thing. Quality time with owner is what dogs live for. Walks teach them social skills. A doggy training class -- one in which you show up Sunday along with other owners and their dogs for a few hours is awesome. Teaches your dog how to get along with others. And remember, a tired dog is a happy dog.

[ikojo]

13. The dog has two toys, that I bought...one is plastic

and the other is a plush toy with a squeaky thing inside of it. I inquired as to whether a toy is placed in the kennel when the dog is put in for the day and was told yes. I can't remember whether there wsa a toy in there tonight when I got home.

[henslee]

22. Kennel????

[ikojo]

23. Dog crate....also called a

kennel.

[RebelOne]

37. Only two toys? Poor doggie. Buy him more toys.

He's probably bored with only two toys. I buy my doggie a new toy at least every couple of weeks.

[flvegan]

9. Congrats on having a big puppy!! They chew.

You/he need to redirect and correct this habit. When he's doing something wrong, correct with a "No!" and redirect by giving him a toy that's appropriate.

Repeat until learned.

BTW, is the doggie neutered? Makes them less manic, too.

[ikojo]

16. The dog is not neutered....another subject

that the roommate will not entertain. Claims he wants to breed the dog, probably in hopes of making money.

[Scout1071]

18. That is a huge part of the problem.

Especially if he's not getting enough exercise.

Please get that dog fixed ASAP.

[ikojo]

20. He's not my dog and trust me this is a

ROOMMATE situation not a romantic situation. We share expenses and that is it. He will NOT get the dog neutered.

[flvegan]

21. As I'm sure the dog is a Westminster blue ribbon winner

Your roommate should think again. If he wants to make money breeding dogs, he has a ton of competition in the puppy mill industry.

Cripes...we kill 7 million a year because of a lack of homes and folks continue to breed them.

*shakes head*

Nothing against you, of course.

[henslee]

24. He's a dumbshit. When you factor in the cost and time of having a litter,

there is virtually no return. There is no reason to breed a pound dog. If you really respect a breed, you dont dilute the bloodlines. This guy sounds like an immature dick and probably a lost cause. Next case.

[ikojo]

25. This is not a pound dog but a

purebred dog.

[henslee]

27. Still... purebred/AKC are a dime a dozen. Unless you are really

up on all the finer points of breeding, eye color, shape, coat, headsize, and all that crap, I doubt you have a dog really worth breeding.

[Scout1071]

10. Here's how you put a stop to it -

Exercise. Pure and simple. A bored dog is a destructive dog.

Also, plenty of things to chew on. Is he/she still a puppy? I would suggest a kong bone that you can shove treats inside. It's better than rawhides and they really have to chew for a while to get them out.

Those two things will do the trick. If do those and still catch him, shake a can of coins loudly and tell him "no!" You never have to hit a dog. A can of change will work perfectly. It startles them and they immediately stop the behavior.

Oh yea - one final thing - clean up! If you want to keep something, don't leave it where the dog can get it.

My boxer still gets my attention by dragging my shoes around when I'm not home. Bottom line is that I gave him the opportunity by leaving them out....and not excercising him before I left the house.

That's how you put an end to that nonsense.

If all else fails, kennel train the dog. It's quite humane and they will eventually come to love the kennel space as their own private space.

[ikojo]

12. The dog is already kept in a kennel while both of

us are at work. I have no idea when the dog did his most recent deed, but he was disciplined for it tonight.

[Scout1071]

14. Does the dog get walked as soon as someone gets home?

That is a must for any puppy. What kind of dog?

[ikojo]

19. He's a small dog and I take him out of the kennel

as soon as I get home (well I did up to today. I was told not to have anything to do with the dog tonight). He does not take well to a leash so he is not walked for a long period of time. I am not sure how long a walk he could handle because he is quite small.

[henslee]

29. What in tarnatin is a one year old dog doing in a crate all day????

[ikojo]

32. He's not really potty trained. If left out

during the day he will go inside.

[GrumpyGreg]

30. God almighty,I feel sorry for the dog. n/t

[LeftyMom]

33. Okay first things first

The dog needs excercise. He's going to need to be leash trained and get regular practice. Any other formal training is going to be dependent on some leash manners.

[ikojo]

I tried putting a leash on him (I even bought the leash)

but the dog twists and stuff when it is on his collar. I am concerned that he could throw out his back so I've not really pursued the leash thing. It is one of those retractable leashes.

[LeftyMom]

36. Oh yeah

He'll be a little jerk the first few times you put a leash on, that's pretty much a given. I'd try putting it on, then loving on him until he calms down and taking it off a few times to get him used to it before you do any walking at all. I'd also start with a regular leash rather than the retractible dealie.

Of course my dog skills are way rusty (we can't have 'em where I live) so getting a good book (suggestions from the peanut gallery?) might not be a bad idea if your roommate won't do anything proactive.

[ikojo]

35. Deleting a duplicate post

[henslee]

26. Your suggestions are same as mine. You are brilliant.

[NV Whino]

17. Get rid of the roommate

Keep the dog and try all of the above methods of training.

[henslee]

28. Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner.

[ikojo]

31. Unfortunately I cannot afford that at the moment.

I really need what he contributes to rent.

[Corgigal]

34. all good suggestions

I have two younger dogs. My one year old male we run at 7 o'clock. Full out for a few minutes and then a few minute walk. When he gets back in he knows it's bedtime and I throw in a rawhide chew toy into his crate. It settles him down and wears him out in those last few minutes. He asleep in 10 minutes. Baron doesn't chew anything outside of his toys.

Our puppy, 6 months old, will chew paper and loves it. We pick it up and if we leave something out..our bad. We also give her a chew toy or rawhide when she is crated for the night. We allow her the chew time because it's needed at her age.

Pick up some rawhides. See if it helps,just mention it's a treat for the pup. Good luck

[ernstbass]

40. Careful with the rawhide - they can choke to death

Beef marrow bones are good. there is a ball w/ an opening that you put dry food in. the dog then has to manipulate the ball by rolling it to get the food out. That would keep him busy. also a brisk walk before your roommate leaves or just playing w/ him inside before leaving may help. Sounds like the dog isn't getting enough attention9n.

[freestyle]

38. Lots of chew toys, bad tasting spray, supervision, separation

We recently got a dog, and dogs like to chew. You can't stop it, nor should you. You can only channel it. The first thing is to have a wide variety of toys for the dog to play with and chew on. This way, you can redirect the dog to something appropriate. There are sprays that really taste bad and may deter some dogs. Some digs will simply lick the spray off and go right on chewing. You have to watch the dog, so you can substitute when needed. You also need a place to put the dog, such as a crate or his own room when you can't supervise or are just worn out.

Also, training can help. Even if your friend does not want to go to classes, there are lots of books. Dogs learn simple commands fairly quickly with positive reinforcement. Also, like people, they don't like haveing something taken away with nothing in return. Dogs are great, but they are also a commitment. Good luck.

[seemunkee]

41. Try this training

Dale Sturtevant's "Dissing Your Dog: How To Train Your Puppy with Mockery and Verbal Humiliation."
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/01/01gdissing.phtml

Actually it would probably work better on the roommate.

The dog need training a schedule and some activity. What kind is it? Some breeds take are more couch potatoes than others.
How many hours a day is it in the kennel? Is it let out as soon as someone comes home?

[ikojo]

45. To answer your questions....

1. The dog is a miniature dachshund and oh so adorable.

2. Since my roommate doesn't have to be at work until 9AM I assume the dog is in the kennel from around 815 or so until I get home around 445PM.

3. I get home first and yes I take him out as soon as I get home. Tonight I let him run, run, run for approx 15 minutes.

I am a cat person. I've had a cat for 15 years. I dog sit dogs but have not had a dog as a pet in my whole adult life.

[China_cat]

42. Crate him when he can't be supervised.

And not putting some basic manners on any dog is a form of abuse. (Please stop using the word discipline when what you mean is punish...they are two totally different things)

I take it that if he won't train, he also doesn't vaccinate or provide vet care? If that's the case he's probably liable for penalties for not getting rabies vaccination at the minimum.

Anyone who can say 'it's just a dog' doesn't deserve to have one.

Oh, and you might ask him if he's going to replace anything of YOURS that the dog chews.

[skygazer]

43. I assume you're talking about the roommate

The dog is the least of the OP's problems.

[China_cat]

44. While that would be an optimal solution

crating the dog would save him from the roommate's wrath.

[sbj405]

46. Forget neutering the dog, neuter the roommate

If this is how the dog is treated, the thought of this person ever being responsible for another human being is alarming.

If the dog is destroying your stuff then I think you have every right to discuss and make suggestions to your roommate. But I think the best thing you could do is to search for a new roommate. Current one sounds immature, irresponsible, and inconsiderate.

[ikojo]

47. Believe it or not he's in his 40s.

I once asked him if he was raised to be a prince and he laughed and said that his sister once remarked that he could do no wrong in the eyes of his mom.

The thing is that when people meet him they love him. He has this hair trigger temper. If he could get help with that then he'd be a great person.

[Beaverhausen]

48. Your roommate should not have ANY pets

he is way too irresponsible. No obedience classes AND he wants to breed the dog? Does he have any idea how many unwanted dogs are euthanized every year?

Dogs aren't really ever bad...it's the owners who don't bother to train and spay/neuter their pets.


That being said...you have to get more toys for the dog to play with.