Brisbane Dog Behaviourists - Desperately Need Help!

[Latoya]

Hi All,

My name is Latoya and I am new to this all and wanted to ask you all for some opinions!! I'll tell you a bit about myself.. I own a 2 year old staffordshire bullterrier (male) and recently bought a red 8 week old female staffordshire bullterrier. My male dog has had run of me since I bought him. I got him after my previous staffy was hit by a car. I probably jumped in to quick to buying another one and didn't do all my research. He is a papered boy and had a rough nature as a pup when I first visited him and I thought it was cute. Two years down the track nothing has changed. The previous staffs I had owned were very calm and relaxed. This one on the other hand is very hyper. I have spent countless nights outside until daylight because he is running around the yard barking when it is raining or because something has startled him. I visited with two trainers this week and both said they can't change his temperament and he is basically a teenage boy running on hormones and whilst they can help him in terms of training me and him with things such as stay sit etc, they can't change his temperament and he will always be like this. Both actually told me he looked like he had speed in his eyes. I have had vets suggest I put him on vallium etc but I do not want to do this. His problems are, mouthing, scratching, jumping, barking.. nothing excessive, but all quite annoying, you can't hang washing without having him jump all over you. He goes for runs daily as walking doesn't seem to do much..I just have just a few questions:

- Can anyone recommend a dog trainer in Brisbane?

- Has anyone owned a dog they cannot allow around children, if so what have you done? ( I just worry that because he's so rough I could not allow him around my future children)

- Has anyone heard of adaptil? It's a collar that let's off hormones a mother would for her pup and is meant to calm dogs down- I have just ordered it..

I am really inexperienced with all of this and know that it's my own fault that he is not properly trained and I am the one who really needs the training. Any advice would be treaty appreciated!!!!

thanks for taking the time to read!!

[persephone]

Hi :)

You sound as if you have a handful of dog there .

running/walking is good for health ..but 'work'/using the brain helps a LOT to keep dogs happy and relaxed.

If you and your dog don't have much in the way of daily brainwork sessions ..or he has not many interactive toys ...it might be an idea to start :)

Just be VERY careful of thenew little one You are , I guess keeping them separated when unsupervised ? baby bones break so easily .... and bad habits are learned VERY fast

Dogs who carry on outside at night are often helped by consistency and training to have their beds inside or in a lockable kennel /shed, etc . because they cannot see/hear as much, and IF they know the rules,are well exercised, fed, warm and secure, it is mostly easier for them to just relax .

JANE HARPER is one name I remember in your area ... click HERE to get to her website , and I hope things work out .

[FalconRange]

Jane Harper is a behaviourist who comes highly recommended by Brisbane DOLers. Her website is here: http://www.dogsontrack.com.au/index.htm

RSPCA QLD also has a behaviour hotline that is apparently quite good also if you have questions you'd like to discuss over the phone.

Best of luck for the future.

[Latoya]

Thank you both!!

Do you have any suggestions of great work/brain activities for when I'm at work? I'm a school teacher and currently on school holidays and had hoped using this two weeks that the dogs would be fine with each other but my Male staffy is still unfortunately being a bit to rough.. and yes I sit outside and supervise always when she's out with him:)

Currently he has the usual, kong toys, an aussie dog pull toy that has a bungee and hangs from the roof, i have a sand pit I bury things in, I give him large bones, i fill ice cream containers up with pigs ears and freeze the whole container, I fill coke bottles with liver bits and food.. and then of course his favourite, squeaky toys. Have you got any suggestions of brain toys i could give him?

Thank you for the Jane contact I will ring her tomorrow!!

[Kavik]

I would suggest training sessions when you are home to tire him out so that he is happy to relax when you are working :)

This can be obedience exercises, or tricks, or a wide range of things, but certainly some self control work would be beneficial in your case.

Also, if he has a lot of drive, finding a way to give that drive some outlet would help. Tug is generally the preferred play method for this - it can help with giving an outlet, also if you teach it correctly it can help with self control and be used as a reward for training exercises.

Training sessions should be short and fun - less than 5 mins!

[Cosmolo]

Just to add to what everyone else said-

While you can't change his temperament, you can change many of his problematic behaviours that you have mentioned.

And i have a friend who recently used the adaptil collar with good results on a very difficult dog. Worth a try.

[Guest lavendergirl]

Sorry I may have missed it - is the dog desexed?

[Latoya]

Hi Lavendergirl,

No he's not desexed, he's booked in to get it done in the next few weeks.. Does it make a difference to how a male dog behaves?

[wherezaball]

As others have said you cant change his temperament but you can change his behaviour through training (both you and him), management of him and his environment and mental and physical exercise.

I would be crate training him so you can have him inside and learning to settle, rather than outside barking at the rain. Feeding his ALL of his food in KONG and similar toys. have you tried the KONG Wobbler for dry food only. It's great for longer lasting activity/work at feed time.

all that said and done you may find his behaviour is on the abnormal side of what is considered normal. Please don't take offence at this, it happens very often many dogs who display excessively abnormal behaviors and require the help of medication to help them learn more appropriate behaviours. Much like people do. Though valium may not be the correct drug in his case. I would recommend a consult with Dr Cam Day www.pethealth.com.au who is a veterinary behaviourist in Brisbane. As he is a behaviour specialist AND a vet he can look at your dog from both sides and help you with a thorough behaviour modification program which may or may not include the help of medication.

You really need to do the hard yards now, otherwise your new puppy is going to copy the same behaviour as your adult dog. I would be crate training the puppy NOW so you can give them some separate time from each other and hence less opportunity to learn the stuff you don't want. It also gives you a chance to train the puppy in good manners behaviours NOW before bad habits are learned.

another good information site is www.drsophiayin.com she is also a veterinary behaviourist with awesome behaviour help as well. I can thoroughly recommend her Perfect Puppy in 7 days book as well.

Good luck!

[Latoya]

I had never thought to put all of his food into a Kong. He loves the wobbler! One of the only items to survive his chewing.. even the new pup has figured it out and loves it also.

I will look into the crate training as it sounds like a good idea and several people have suggested it. Thanks I appreciate your advice and will take him to Dr Cam as I was beginning to feel like I had created the temperament somehow. When my staff turned 1 the breeder offered to take him back and rehome him and give me another puppy from a future litter due to his temperament but of course I had fallen in love with him and she has been very supportive in helping me to find other avenues to help him

I felt disheartened after a brisbane based behaviourist on Wednesday who owns kennels and also breeds suggested I rehome him to a backyard breeder before I desex him as once I desex him he is no longer of any value to anyone. Which of course annoyed me as he is not a vicious dog and he does not need rehoming it's just he and I both need training. This behaviourist takes the dogs from 1-4 weeks and trains them on his property.

I contacted Jane Harper and she is coming out on Tuesday and beginning a 6 week training programme with me and the dog.

Thanks heaps for all the advice!

[huski]

I felt disheartened after a brisbane based behaviourist on Wednesday who owns kennels and also breeds suggested I rehome him to a backyard breeder before I desex him as once I desex him he is no longer of any value to anyone.

:eek: That is horrifying!!!

PS, good luck with Jane. She's a lovely lady and a super trainer :)

Edited July 7, 2012 by huski

[persephone]

I felt disheartened after a brisbane based behaviourist on Wednesday who owns kennels and also breeds suggested I rehome him to a backyard breeder before I desex him as once I desex him he is no longer of any value to anyone.

I feel more than disheartened !

Edited July 7, 2012 by persephone

[Latoya]

Oh I felt furious at him, considering he considers himself a reputable ethical breeder - to recommend me to rehome him to a byb was horrifying!! He went on to say many other horrible things that disgusted me and I would certainly never recommend anyone to buy puppies from him if this was the advice he was handing out to me! Sorry I should clarify I was disheartened because I felt like maybe no behaviourist would help me with my staffy, but as my partner had said to me, that's only one persons opinion and their are lots of other people to try!

[wherezaball]

I had never thought to put all of his food into a Kong. He loves the wobbler! One of the only items to survive his chewing.. even the new pup has figured it out and loves it also.

I will look into the crate training as it sounds like a good idea and several people have suggested it. Thanks I appreciate your advice and will take him to Dr Cam as I was beginning to feel like I had created the temperament somehow. When my staff turned 1 the breeder offered to take him back and rehome him and give me another puppy from a future litter due to his temperament but of course I had fallen in love with him and she has been very supportive in helping me to find other avenues to help him

I felt disheartened after a brisbane based behaviourist on Wednesday who owns kennels and also breeds suggested I rehome him to a backyard breeder before I desex him as once I desex him he is no longer of any value to anyone. Which of course annoyed me as he is not a vicious dog and he does not need rehoming it's just he and I both need training. This behaviourist takes the dogs from 1-4 weeks and trains them on his property.

I contacted Jane Harper and she is coming out on Tuesday and beginning a 6 week training programme with me and the dog.

Thanks heaps for all the advice!

Yep I would invest in about 6 of the Black KONG Extremes (toughest ones) and have them made up in the fridge. Build up your dogs ability to get the food out and freeze them. They last heaps longer.

PM me your email address and I will send you a great KONG stuffing handout and boredom buster ideas.

As for the so called breeder...

[Guest lavendergirl]

As others have said you cant change his temperament but you can change his behaviour through training (both you and him), management of him and his environment and mental and physical exercise.

I would be crate training him so you can have him inside and learning to settle, rather than outside barking at the rain. Feeding his ALL of his food in KONG and similar toys. have you tried the KONG Wobbler for dry food only. It's great for longer lasting activity/work at feed time.

all that said and done you may find his behaviour is on the abnormal side of what is considered normal. Please don't take offence at this, it happens very often many dogs who display excessively abnormal behaviors and require the help of medication to help them learn more appropriate behaviours. Much like people do. Though valium may not be the correct drug in his case. I would recommend a consult with Dr Cam Day www.pethealth.com.au who is a veterinary behaviourist in Brisbane. As he is a behaviour specialist AND a vet he can look at your dog from both sides and help you with a thorough behaviour modification program which may or may not include the help of medication.

You really need to do the hard yards now, otherwise your new puppy is going to copy the same behaviour as your adult dog. I would be crate training the puppy NOW so you can give them some separate time from each other and hence less opportunity to learn the stuff you don't want. It also gives you a chance to train the puppy in good manners behaviours NOW before bad habits are learned.

another good information site is www.drsophiayin.com she is also a veterinary behaviourist with awesome behaviour help as well. I can thoroughly recommend her Perfect Puppy in 7 days book as well.

Good luck!

This website is well worth a look for behavioural problems. I always like it when professionals are generous with helpful information. :)

[zeebie]

Enrol in a reputable dog obedience school and start now, should have been doing this from 16 weeks old, it sounds like this dog is the ALPHA dog in the house whereas you should be

Not sure where you live in Brisbane but I can highly recommend a couple of dog training /obedience clubs via PM if you require on Northside and southside.

My neighbour had the exact same problem with her staffy and when they moved in did exactly same thing bought a 2nd dog "for company" for the crazy boy, this turned all wrong now they have 2 crazies, so with some advice from me they took both off to be desexed and also to obedience and now the girl is doing really well at agility and the boy (who was the worst offender) is walked twice a day, goes to classes and works like a trooper with all the other dogs whereas in beginning was fear aggressive toward them now has the biggest 'smile on his face' lots tail wagging etc.

Their inital problem was letting dog sleep on their bed, trying to keep it from barking by giving treats and rewarding so the poor dog had no pack structure and no boundaries, now it has both it is a calmer, happier dog and a complete trun around from the 2yr old crazy that moved in a year ago.

As for kids you may need to have an enclosure or gated area where kids and dogs can look but not touch if he does not settle. Don't make the same mistake with your little girl, get her to puppy class now and start modelling desired behaviour as you will find his behaviour will deterioate as she gets older due to the competitive nature wanting your attention could lead to bigger problems.