The Teenage Stage Omg - Help!

[Loreley]

Hi All

Its been quite a few years since we have had a pup in the house and now have a 7 month old rescue foster girl. First up I'd like to say she is adorable, smart, funny and all the good things.

but...

She is driving us nuts !!

We've had her for a month now and while she has settled well, she is totally feral is the best way I can put it.

She's destruction on 4 legs, she steals things right in front of us and refuses to come when called. The backyard is soon becoming a wasteland (which I did expect) but didn't anticipate that I would have to toddler proof the whole house.

I know this is a stage and we are continuing with her basic training, but how do you stop the chewing??? She gets bones, kongs and anything else that I can think of for her chewing but also destroys toys with such abandon that we'll go broke before we satisfy her urge to chew.

We have now started walking her now that she is strong enough and that's a whole other ball game

Any and all suggestions would be so gratefully received.

[Tralee]

Mouth stimulation is essential for all dogs.

Devise a planned program to have the pup chew in a manner that is more controlled and less destructive.

A designated duration of time each day spent in mouth stimulation and supervised non-chewing.

Time spent in a crate without anything to chew as well.

Time spent in a crate only with suitable things to chew as well.

Mouth stimulation should be encouraged, so reward and reinforce constructive chewing and admonish and prevent destructive chewing.

Good Luck

[LisaCC]

Agree with what Tralee has said, but just some hints for cheap toys that can be destroyed. Cardboard boxes! Stuff them inside each other, stuff them with news paper, scatter food through it, chuck it on the grass and let her go nuts. After she destroys it she'll then have to scavenge around for bits of dropped food :)

[Loreley]

thanks guys, we've started teaching her to swap because she takes stuff and not only dangles it in front of us and runs away but destroys it in the process.

I cringe at the swap to be honest, my daughter's dog really likes this game so much that she would swap when we were not in the room, so we would come into the bathroom or kitchen and find her most treasured possession (ball) in the middle of the floor, then the hunt was on to see what on earth she swapped it for

Will start loading up the cardboard boxes etc and get her some bigger bones too

We might survive this yet :laugh:

Edited September 7, 2013 by Loreley

[Loreley]

just a quick update, oh she just loves 2 litre coke bottles, has dragged them around the backyard for weeks now lol (much less mess than the cardboard boxes) but she gets those too. got myself a 'home alone' bungee for her she just loves that too

swap and fetch are slow going but she is finally getting the hang of the game, rather than her rules for it :laugh:

[BlackJaq]

I would consider leaving a drag rope on the dog when you are there to supervise so you can catch her if she does not want to be caught. Having a dog that does not want to be caught, especially if she steals things and then teases you with them, is a pain in the a**, to put it mildly. Making the dog think you can get her anyway any time you like will help put a stop to it much quicker.

Obviously you never call the dog and then punish it after reeling it in, you want her to want to come to you, afterall, but some dogs just like the thrill of being just out of reach. If you can catch her anyway, the game will quickly become less fun for her.

Dogs may also learn to steal things in order to have them swapped for goodies. Not really an ideal way to stop them stealing things in the long term if the dog is clever, in my opinion.

Edited September 30, 2013 by BlackJaq

[Guest hankodie]

I completely 100% agree with what BlackJaq said about the chasing, my frenchie used to steal things and run away when she was a puppy, I made the mistake of chasing after her - BIG NO NO. This "catch me if you can" game has become a hugely rewarding practice to her and I don't think I'll ever 100% train her not to run away. She thinks it's way too much fun :laugh: even if I just stand still and ignore her with my arms crossed swearing under my breath

[julesluvscavs]

Even tho my 10 month old is going through the teenager stage or i refer to it as the toddler stage and is active in so many ways but thankfully she hasn't really chewed up a lot of things or gone feral in any way, not yet anyway *touch wood* lol Ive read all the puppy horror stories . Shes a puppy still and does silly puppy things of course ;-)

[Nushie]

Jager will still occassionally steal things like bottle caps etc and it took us a while to teach him "give" cause my boyfriend used to play chasing with him so he would think it was all a big game. So i started to trade treats. If he took something or was chewing something he shouldnt, i would walk away and generally he would follow me so that i would play with him so i would go and get a treat or two and ask him to "give" and offer him the treat. Then grab what he was chewing and give him something that he can chew on - bone etc.

Now he will drop whatever he has when asked to "give" and i still give him a treat. Even if i dont have treats with me, i will go and get one for him. I would rather that then him take off and choke on something he shouldnt have in the first place.

If your dog doesnt come when called and they have something they shouldnt, put the treats in a contained and shake it, they soon learn that that sound means treats and will run a mile to get back for one.

[Steph M]

Rosie is a bowerbird too. I find bras and shoes and socks and letters everywhere, god does she love letters!

She will do it in front of you but try to be sneaky. The only success we've had so far is baby gating off one half of the house. Haha. I just try give her minimal things to steal and lots she can. Seems to be the best thing so far is just preventing access to things. Not always an option, I know.

Cardboard boxes are amazing! Coke bottles too loud for her, but we're working on 'give' with her too.

Gus has a really good 'give', even if that's dropping it and running off to get in more trouble...haha.

I feel your pain, we have two teenagers now! With the recall might it be worth treating her every time she comes to you inside from a close distance and giving her a cue and working up to outside and a bigger distance? Start with baby steps but if she learns every time she comes to you she gets a treat or a click or praise and a cuddle perhaps that'll override the thrill of being a monkey over time.

[Beckybecbec]

I'm sure my neighbours loooove watching me daily recalling the pups hoping they'll return with my bra or socks or unidies. Laziness means we throw our dirty washing in the bathtub... my little red devil has now learnt to jump in and find the best buried treasure! :laugh:

[aliwake]

Ah, we use our bath for shoe storage... He hasn't made it in yet though. I'm constantly relieved he underestimates his jumping ability!

[Lasareina]

I'm glad my pups aren't the only ones going through this stage! We just had to replace all their water containers with terracotta pots because they were chewing them to bits. They also went through a stage of stealing all my bras which they thankfully seem to be tired of

The latest thing is the clam shell I got to leave in their yard while we are at work since it has gotten so hot already... it now has about 90% of the edge chewed off after 2 days. Lucky I got the cheap one from bunnings!

They seem to have gotten a lot better with stealing random stuff and now are only chewing when left alone during the day- obviously a boredom thing for them