Guest donatella Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I've just made contact with one in Brisbane about my still Destructo doggy and wondered what the process actually was (she will only bark his head off if he tries to come near her)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I've just made contact with one in Brisbane about my still Destructo doggy and wondered what the process actually was (she will only bark his head off if he tries to come near her)? This is really an impossible question to answer as every trainer has different methods to deal with different behaviours. Did you ask the trainer about your problem and get an idea of the kind of methods they use before you booked them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I haven't booked them yet, ive only emailed the only pet behaviorist I could find in Brisbane, well actually I filled out there online form. I might not need to book them yet I guess but we've tried everything, and she's still destructive. The thing that did it for me though is she's at mums this week while I'm away (and she loves my mums house, big yard and 3 dogs to play with) she's been destroying things there now as well. Can't be boredom as mums home, she has playmates and a big garden, much more to do then my house so if she's tearing things up there I think I need professional help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I haven't booked them yet, ive only emailed the only pet behaviorist I could find in Brisbane, well actually I filled out there online form. I might not need to book them yet I guess but we've tried everything, and she's still destructive. The thing that did it for me though is she's at mums this week while I'm away (and she loves my mums house, big yard and 3 dogs to play with) she's been destroying things there now as well. Can't be boredom as mums home, she has playmates and a big garden, much more to do then my house so if she's tearing things up there I think I need professional help! She doesn't need a behaviourist, she needs a dog run. (And quite possibly more training, exercise and metal stimulation). Confine her to a smaller area with things she CAN destroy. In the house crate or pen the dog when you can't supervise her. Perhaps I should show you what my 6 month old Mali can do to a backyard if left to her own devices for half an hour. A dog run, bone, a few toys, a paddle pool and a cardboard box to mangle (along with an hour out tracking beforehand) does wonders for everyone's sanity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Play mates and a big yard aren't enough for a lot of dogs. Is she getting other daily exercise like long walks or runs? What mental stimulation does she get in the way of training, games and interactive toys? A few months ago I posted a thread in the puppy section asking for tips thinking it was just a puppy stage and tried everything suggested to me. We learnt more tricks, I bought a clicker and aimed to stimulate her brain more thinking she would grow out of it. She's now 11 months and has no beds left and I still have chew marks in all my nice new things. I am at the stage whereby I'm willing to seek the advice of a professional as she's a smart little thing, has cupboardsful of toys I rotate the only thing I don't have is puzzle games but seeing as she isn't food orientated (well maybe cheese and ham would keep her interested), I never bothered trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 And when you read behaviorists 'what we do' digging, chewing and destructive behavior are in their skill lists so I'm willing to give them a try as they obviously deal with it a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) And when you read behaviorists 'what we do' digging, chewing and destructive behavior are in their skill lists so I'm willing to give them a try as they obviously deal with it a lot Of course they do. Plenty of bored dogs and working breeds living in suburbia with numpty owners. That may not be the case with your dog but it is how many 'behaviourists' make a living... Isn't Jane Harper in QLD? I'd give her a call. *ETA http://www.dogsontrack.com.au/index.htm Edited March 12, 2012 by SecretKei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellnme Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Donatella, how was your dog when you had the little foster dog recently. Did that help at all, or was it just the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Doesn't explain my little lapdog who has someone home probably 5 days out of 7 (we're shift workers), but she could very well still be bored and need more stimulation. Agility maybe? Lol Yes Jane has been recommended to me (she'll probably tell me all the above for $200 but at least I tried right?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Donatella, how was your dog when you had the little foster dog recently. Did that help at all, or was it just the same? She was better, but still naughty. She destroyed bed number 2 and they both went on shoe and under heists. I'd also come home to all the tea towels pulled off the oven and strewn through the lounge and when it rained they both enjoyed a good old dig in the mud (but that's just a dog thing I'm sure). It was like double trouble ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Are you still doing training with her? If she is an active dog with an active mind, they don't 'grow out' of being smart, active dogs, and still need training and stimulation as adults. If you think you have taught all the tricks you can, have you proofed them? Will she do them well with distractions, with you in different body positions, voice only? Even with your basic commands of sit, drop, stand, see what happens if you lie down and give the commands - will she still do them as well and fast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 With her tricks I find she gets bored of them easy. Like when you try to do something with a 2 year old and you have their attention for about 10mins then they're bored and walk off and find something else to do. She also pre-empts me, I taught roll over after after drop so I say sit, she sits, drops, then rolls over, thinking that's the sequence im going for (because it's the sequence she learnt it in). Then gets bored of it after a few minutes and walks off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I would only train in very small bursts - just a couple of minutes. And with her pre-empting - she has learned to anticipate what you want. My oldest dog does this too sometimes, because I didn't know better when I trained her. You can fix this, do them separately and do not ask for them in the order you know she will try. If she does it anyway, don't reward her for it, get her to do the one you asked. So it sounds like there is plenty for you to do training wise, lots of proofing of tricks for a start. Also relationship building exercises are fantastic! At the moment this is what I spend most of my training time doing, even though I compete. Arousal level and focus is the key. I do a lot of games where he chases me, and use a lot of opposition reflex to help build drive and excitement for working with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panzer Attack! Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 A lot of small dogs don't grow out of the puppy stages if they are intelligent (uh, basically what Kavik said). If i don't put enough effort into Scooter he will go on a rampage. He gets bored super quickly with tricks too, you need to think outside the square a little. If she's pre-empting you, then she's learned one long trick, not several little tricks. You need to break them up and mess the order around. Scooter used to pre-empt me but doesn't anymore because he genuinely doesn't know what order tricks are coming in. Don't do agility if you are considering it just to stop her destructiveness, it won't. You need to work on counter behaviours. Try Crate Games. Teach her a command for relaxing (for us, it's 'go to mat', and he will sit there and eventually calm down - it's early days yet). i'll hide some of his toys around the house so when i get home i'll tell him to 'get it' and instead of jumping all over me like an idiot, he's off looking for a toy (leaving my other dog to jump all over me LOL). Think of all the things you want her doing, and write down a list of her undesirable behaviours. Then have a SERIOUS think about how you can counter them - each dog is different and no one is going to be able to advise you on your exact situation over the internet. i will say this tho - if she's destroying beds, you need to either get her tougher ones or crate her with some old blankets. That is, unless you want to keep wasting your money on them. And if you've got teeth marks in all your new stuff, why are you leaving them where she can get them? Took me a laptop charger and a pair of headphones to figure that one out. He's still obsessed with shoes, so i keep them locked away. i find that giving him a frozen chicken neck every day and leaving his everlasting treat ball out REALLY helps, because he's ALWAYS got the correct thing to chew available and doesn't need to resort to chewing naughty things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I think some of the suggestions Kavik gave will help. Also try and never leave anything where she can get it. My Mosley is 3 now and will still chew on things, so we just have to make sure there's nothing he can get to if he's going to be left alone, especially underwear/shoes. :laugh: The buggers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I also agree with SK - why let her have free run of the house if she is being destructive? I would consider a pen to or containing her to one smaller area when you are out. I will be bringing a working line pup home when I get my next pup and she won't have free run of the house at all to help prevent unwanted behaviours and destruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Doesn't explain my little lapdog who has someone home probably 5 days out of 7 (we're shift workers), but she could very well still be bored and need more stimulation. Agility maybe? Lol Yes Jane has been recommended to me (she'll probably tell me all the above for $200 but at least I tried right?) Donatella, how was your dog when you had the little foster dog recently. Did that help at all, or was it just the same? She was better, but still naughty. She destroyed bed number 2 and they both went on shoe and under heists. I'd also come home to all the tea towels pulled off the oven and strewn through the lounge and when it rained they both enjoyed a good old dig in the mud (but that's just a dog thing I'm sure). It was like double trouble ;) Okay, not trying to be nasty but why does she have access to those things? Why not keep tea towels and underwear out of reach? Shut the bedroom door, gate off the kitchen? I can never understand why people will moan about their dogs being destructive when the answer may be as simple as supervision, picking up your stuff, confinement when needed or even whacking up a gate and shutting a few doors. Of course you do get dogs that will eat their way through gyprock and welded mesh given the chance. But what you're describing sounds like normal dog behaviour to me... By all means contact a behaviourist but personally I don't think she needs it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 She only gets to my good things when I am home aka been out the night before, kicked my heels off in my room and awoken to a crunch crunch sound of her sitting next to my bed chewing them smiling at me almost to say wake up and get up. Otherwise all things off value are ALWAYS locked away, but there are a few slip ups. She doesn't get access to rooms when I'm not home just the tiled area and vertical blinds up on the table. Tv cords are unplugged and put up high. I'd say she's just as, if not more destructive when we're home!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 If pups are allowed to access and chew things that are not theirs they will continue to do it because it is what they know. If you don't want your belongings destroyed then pick them up, shut the doors, put baby gates on. When you are not home only allow access to her toys and a safe area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 What is she allowed to chew? How much mental stimulation does she get? She has learnt that you being home = you not bring as cautious with your things = more things to chew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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