Save The Yard And Here Comes Baby

[dammit]

I have 3 little terror dogs, (all small breed, 3kg aged 5, 7kg aged 4 and 12kg aged 3) fully grown, who are as good as gold and as naughty devils all at the same time.

We are about to move into a BRAND new house, which has just had nice new turf laid out the back, and I need to get the dogs behaving and not digging holes or tearing around the backyard.

I have monitored them in the past and they occasionally seem to dig when they are bored, but more the problem is that they see little lizards, and the like, which catch their eye, and they think they have gone 'under ground' so they dig a big hole looking for a lizard to play with! This may not be a huge problem in the new place because its mostly just turf and pebbles whereas other houses have been a bit more of a jungle, so hopefully there wont be any lizards.

They don't really get toys to occupy/distract them because one of the 3 is toy possessive, so ends up with a pile of 20 toys growling and the others get none.

We have kept them inside heaps during the day lately, because they bark a lot (they even bark when inside), the big one barks whenever we leave. but he doesn't do it as much if we leave them inside and the radio on for some reason. If we leave them inside in a room bigger than 5-7m2 they piddle and poo in the room! you wouldn't expect separation anxiety when he is left with 2 other dogs but thats what I think it is. So they either go in a large crate or a small room, which is not ideal because then they are confined and so full of energy when we get home etc and its not really fair on them but what else can we do when we have ran out of places to put them due to their behaviour?

So we are running out of places to put them,! but in the new place they are going to have to go outside because we wont be able to come home at lunch from work to let them out as its too far away. So we need to try and stop them barking during the day and destroying the yard and turf..any suggestions welcome!

The other thing is we have a baby on the way, and I'm starting to research and trying to work out how to train the dogs now, so that when the baby arrives they at least have some form of obedience, one of them is a real licker and the other is like a bull in a china shop. I heard if you play cd's with babies crying it gets the dogs used to it. I guess that will be a learning curve too

Sorry for a bit of a rant, just wanted to see if anyone had any quick tips or feedback to help get me started

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Lots going on here.

I'd prioritise. Turf can be relaid, babies are more serious. Before you move, think about how the new house will be set up for baby and don't allow the dogs to do anything that is incompatible with that in the new place. So, no going in the room that is set aside for the nursery for example. Moving is actually a good opportunity to press the reset button.

We have a resource guarder who can't be trusted when we are absent. So we separate the dogs so they can play with toys in our absence. I would consider putting dog runs in in your situation - that way they can have toys and your garden won't be under as much pressure.

Speaking of which, dogs means a race track and probably holes as well unless you fence off the bits of garden you want to preserve. As I think I've said before, I have seen one or two dog owners with beautiful gardens. I have seen many more with gardens that look like a moonscape or jungle or soft toy killing field. Ours looks like a golf course because I am paranoid about snakes and the dogs. If not for the dogs, I'd have a cottage garden full of interesting shrubs and ground cover.

Edit: Your dogs are about to go through significant upheavals with a new house and the baby - as are you. Don't be surprised if their behaviour gets harder and more challenging over this period. Things will be easier if you know ahead of time how you plan to deal with it.

Edited April 8, 2011 by SkySoaringMagpie

[fuzzy82]

You could always give them an appropriate place to dig, instead of trying to enforce 'no digging'. Make a sandpit, put lots of yummy treats in the sand and get in there and dig with them. You won't need to put treats in there all the time, chances are they will keep digging there because they sometimes find treats there, so it's worth it to keep checking.

Do they get any exercise and mental stimulation? That would help with destructive behaviour.

Edited April 9, 2011 by fuzzy82

[Jigsaw]

Some ideas for introducing baby here

Moving may increase their anxiety for a while. Make sure you have their mats, rugs, crates whatever readily available and set up when you first take the dogs to your new home. Having those things set up can help the dogs feel more settled. You might also want to look at getting some DAP diffusers to put around the house plus some DAP spray to put on their beds. Rescue remedy may help if they are a little anxious.

Regarding the yard and barking dogs. It might be an idea to introduce yourself to your neighbours and let them know that you have dogs that might bark and if they are barking too much to let you know. Are they food aggresssive? You could try some harder chews like pigs ears, tendons, whizzers for the dogs to chew on when you leave. This can sometimes help them settle. If your dog with the SA is bad you may need to seek further advice from a professional on some more effective methods to deal with it. I'd certainly be looking at whether you're fulfilling their exercise requirements both physical and mental as well.

[persephone]

May I suggest that you let us know where you are /will be , so we can recommend a GOOD professional who can work with you in person , and help you through what is going to be a trying time!

Having someone working with you at home will , I think, be the best way for you to get information and strategies to cope