becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) Some of you may know that we adopted Asha, a Staffy X rescue about 2 months ago. Asha has now well and truly settled into her new home and has been getting up to no good! She LOVES to find socks, take them out to the backyard and either chew or bury them. Her latest effort was to dig under the house and escape from the back yard to our front yard. Our front yard is totally enclosed by fence luckily. We already had Charche our almost 2 year old Stafford who we now know is an angel! He had the choice of being inside or outside (dog door) as he never chewed a thing. He also never dug the garden. We tested this out with Asha and she had a little taste of the couch so they are now both confined to the backyard with access to the laundry during the day. I cant even leave a bed in there as she chewed that to pieces. I then tried putting a blanket down on the ground and that was pulled through the dog door and half buried. Anyway my question is - How do I discipline/train her when Im not there to catch her in the act? I should add that we have Asha proofed the areas where she can dig out now. Here is the cheeky muffin for those of you who havent seen the trillion pics I post of her. Butter wouldnt melt huh? Edited February 16, 2010 by becandcharch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Supervise, supervise, supervise. And if there is a particular thing (like the socks) that is the target, then the onus is on YOU to ensure that the target isn't accessible. It's all part of management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Anyway my question is - How do I discipline/train her when Im not there to catch her in the act? You can't. All you can do is remove the temptation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keshwar Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Some of you may know that we adopted Asha, a Staffy X rescue about 2 months ago. Asha has now well and truly settled into her new home and has been getting up to no good! She LOVES to find socks, take them out to the backyard and either chew or bury them. Her latest effort was to dig under the house and escape from the back yard to our front yard. Our front yard is totally enclosed by fence luckily. We already had Charche our almost 2 year old Stafford who we now know is an angel! He had the choice of being inside or outside (dog door) as he never chewed a thing. He also never dug the garden. We tested this out with Asha and she had a little taste of the couch so they are now both confined to the backyard with access to the laundry during the day. I cant even leave a bed in there as she chewed that to pieces. I then tried putting a blanket down on the ground and that was pulled through the dog door and half buried. Anyway my question is - How do I discipline/train her when Im not there to catch her in the act? I should add that we have Asha proofed the areas where she can dig out now. You can't. If you don't catch her in the act she will associate the punishment with either you or with what she was doing when you punished her. Easiest way of dealing with the sock problem is to make sure she can't get any socks. If you find her with a sock, roll up a newspaper and whack yourself over the head with it several times. This will help you remember to put away the socks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Thanks I would love for there to come a day where they can both have access to the house but not sure she can be trusted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Easiest way of dealing with the sock problem is to make sure she can't get any socks. If you find her with a sock, roll up a newspaper and whack yourself over the head with it several times. This will help you remember to put away the socks. I hope she finds one of my husbands socks so I can do it to him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 If you find her with a sock, roll up a newspaper and whack yourself over the head with it several times. This will help you remember to put away the socks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 There isn't much you can do apart from ensuring that you leave nothing outside that you don't want chewed. It would be a good idea to give her things that she can chew, toys, old shoes or even bones if you're sure they won't fight over them. As to the socks, make sure you put them away and she won't find them Does she get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation when you're home? Taking her for a run in the morning and giving her a short training session will tire her out a bit and may make her more inclined to lie around during the day. Also don't compare her to your other dog, all dogs are different and from what I've heard of Staffords and their crosses Asha is probably the more normal of the two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) There isn't much you can do apart from ensuring that you leave nothing outside that you don't want chewed. It would be a good idea to give her things that she can chew, toys, old shoes or even bones if you're sure they won't fight over them. As to the socks, make sure you put them away and she won't find them Does she get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation when you're home? Taking her for a run in the morning and giving her a short training session will tire her out a bit and may make her more inclined to lie around during the day. Also don't compare her to your other dog, all dogs are different and from what I've heard of Staffords and their crosses Asha is probably the more normal of the two Yup I take both of them out for about 45 mins in the morning. We go to the off lead park where they chase and play flat stick. We do obedience with her in the afternoons so maybe mixing it up with mornings will help. They also have soccer balls, kongs, ropes etc to play with during the day. I imagine they would be fine with bones but I prefer not to leave that to chance. They are totally knackered by the time we get home from work so I know they are playing quite a bit. When she is a little older my husband will be able to take her running with him in the mornings also. Edited February 16, 2010 by becandcharch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7464 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Supervise, anticipate, redirect and act to remove problem before it occurs. I also used to say "uhah" to Cody but I don't really say it anymore because he's pretty close to perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keshwar Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 There isn't much you can do apart from ensuring that you leave nothing outside that you don't want chewed. It would be a good idea to give her things that she can chew, toys, old shoes or even bones if you're sure they won't fight over them. As to the socks, make sure you put them away and she won't find them Does she get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation when you're home? Taking her for a run in the morning and giving her a short training session will tire her out a bit and may make her more inclined to lie around during the day. Also don't compare her to your other dog, all dogs are different and from what I've heard of Staffords and their crosses Asha is probably the more normal of the two The problem with old shoes is that most dogs can't distinguish between old and new shoes - a shoe is a shoe as far as they are concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Supervise, anticipate, redirect and act to remove problem before it occurs. I also used to say "uhah" to Cody but I don't really say it anymore because he's pretty close to perfect. Thanks Nic. When we are there she is perfect! It has amazed us how quickly she has responded to training. Sit, drop, stay and recall are no problem. Its when we are at work that the shenanigans start! We will see how we go now that she cant get out and temptations are removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Thanks I would love for there to come a day where they can both have access to the house but not sure she can be trusted. I think a lot of people will disagree with me but this is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. I had a dinner party on Saturday night and someone commented on how well behaved my dogs were. They said that, if their dog was as well behaved, they'd be allowed inside more often. My response that mine have been allowed inside (even unsupervised!) from Day 1. Being left alone in the house wasn't an exicting adventure - it was 100% normal. Of course, I have always made sure that everything is put away - even wires if yours is prone to that. The only thing of value that has been destroyed (my Blackberry) was eaten when I was at home. My fault for leaving it within a puppy's reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Easiest way of dealing with the sock problem is to make sure she can't get any socks. If you find her with a sock, roll up a newspaper and whack yourself over the head with it several times. This will help you remember to put away the socks. I hope she finds one of my husbands socks so I can do it to him :D Wonder if that will work with my OH who leaves his socks out too We're lucky ours don't get buried they just get left under a particular plant! We are slowly remembering to leave things out of his way.. eg thongs were in my room, no touching for 3 weeks. They were in the lounge no more than 2 minutes (and I'd turned my back) and as was the usual habit, the left one was out under the plant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Is she only a puppy? I've found that most digging and chewing occurs in the first year or so and then they start to grow out of it. Also what is she crossed with, if she has kelpie or some other working breed in the mix she may need a job to do and training her in agility or flyball may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Becandcharch, Im sorry to break this to you but Charche is the broken one. :D I do think my first ever post on DOL was pleading for help after my previous dog destroyed my fairly new couch :D . Yes she was a Staffy X . She never grew out of being destructive despite getting an enormous amount of exercise and training. It was just in her nature. Our yard resembled a barren bombsite and we learnt to never EVER leave her alone with anything chewable when we went out. After the aforementioned couch incident, she was not left home alone inside again. You get used to it. Oh and we never were able to catch her in the act because, like Asha, when we were home she was an angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) Miranda she will be 12 months this month (werent given a dob) I have no idea what she is crossed with but suspected Shepherd or Kelpie. She is bloody fast and I know she would love flyball. We would need to work on her coordination skills as she is pretty clumsy! Deelee I know! VERY out of character for a Stafford huh? Edited February 16, 2010 by becandcharch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Thanks I would love for there to come a day where they can both have access to the house but not sure she can be trusted. I think a lot of people will disagree with me but this is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. I had a dinner party on Saturday night and someone commented on how well behaved my dogs were. They said that, if their dog was as well behaved, they'd be allowed inside more often. My response that mine have been allowed inside (even unsupervised!) from Day 1. Being left alone in the house wasn't an exicting adventure - it was 100% normal. Of course, I have always made sure that everything is put away - even wires if yours is prone to that. The only thing of value that has been destroyed (my Blackberry) was eaten when I was at home. My fault for leaving it within a puppy's reach. Charch was allowed in the house day dot too but having a rescue dog you dont know what their circumstances were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The problem with old shoes is that most dogs can't distinguish between old and new shoes - a shoe is a shoe as far as they are concerned. That's utter rubbish. Howard can definitely spot the new shoes.. its all he seemed to munch on when I was stupid enough to leave them out. That dog should be awarded for his contribution to the Australian footwear industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becandcharch Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 The problem with old shoes is that most dogs can't distinguish between old and new shoes - a shoe is a shoe as far as they are concerned. That's utter rubbish. Howard can definitely spot the new shoes.. its all he seemed to munch on when I was stupid enough to leave them out. That dog should be awarded for his contribution to the Australian footwear industry. :D The really advanced ones can not only detect the new shoes but also the most expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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