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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Sept 14, 2006 11:25:02 GMT -5
Ok, I feel like the worst greyhound owner now..first tiggers agression and now this... Abby had decided she hates us, or so I think... She has started chewing the walls, the furnature, everything in site.... but thats not the worst... her new favorite thing is pooping on my carpet and dragging it around the house... today she pooped in my work shoes... she gets on the counters and eats all the food in site, but won't touch her dog food... we try and hide the food but that little sneak can open cupboards... its not bordom I dont think cos she is only home alone for two hours, three max a day, she gets at least 5 walks a day with one being a good hour or so.... She gets two runs at Grandma's backyard a week, she goes camping on weekends with free run of the deck and trailor... I had her at my mother-in-laws place and she was a completly different dog... she was happy, well behaved... but she was without Tigger..... is it possible she just doesn't like living with us and Tigger? I am really at the end of my options with her, we have tried it all, locking her in her kenel when no one is home... she gets out... gating her out of the kitchen... she gets the gates down.... I dont know what to do! mY poor carpet cant take anymore abuse, and neither can my appartment.... She growls and bites poor tigger... his one ear was raw from her chewing it... Is it possible I have a broken dog??? She loved my sister-in-laws Lab so its not like she doesn't like other dogs... We've house trained her three times now... she's good for about two weeks and it starts again.... We have had her checked and she is a healthy dog too........ I really dont know what to do.. I dont want to think it but I think she may need to go back to Bill......
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Post by greytfriend on Sept 14, 2006 13:53:38 GMT -5
No advice here, just lots and lots of big, BIG HUGS.
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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Sept 14, 2006 16:10:25 GMT -5
i called my mom today and she told me to wait a little while longer until we get our own house and see if she does better there... so i am hoping!
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Post by ontariogreys on Sept 15, 2006 8:40:00 GMT -5
Is she fairly new to the home ?
and how old is she ?
My first impression is that she is anxious and on the young side,
Maya went thru about a year of chewing stuff up due to anxiety this was how she worked off stress, it took her quite a while to become comfortable in the home, if you are scolding her after the fact, example when you come home and see the mess, it only causes the anxiety to become worse because she has no idea why she is being scolded, other than knowing that when you arrive home are displeased with her , so each time you leave she starts to stress and worry about you coming back and going to scold her, so she tries to calm herself by chewing on things. pooping can also be a result of anxiety, high levels of stress will cause their bowels/bladder to release involuntarily. I went thru a lot of bitter apple spraying stuff she was chewing that I did not want her chewing on, and gave her things to shred and chew example newspapers, old phone books, a large thick bone, (rawhides and bully sticks supervised) it is important to provide outlets for stress, I also expanded her space very slowly since her favorite and hiding room was my bedroom that is where I started crating her, later switched the crate for an expen, the babygated her in the bedroom later bedroom and hall and then she graduated to having the living room as well.
Maya because of her fearfulness did not like being outside, once she because more comfortable with being out in the yard and starting running around she started relaxing more, if she does not get her daily run now, I have noticed she is more antsy, Callie also seemed to need daily runs to be more relaxed, so if you can find somewhere nearby where you can let her run, you might find that will help her calm down more.
If you have the blackcoated wire crate from Midwest, you may need to zip tie the sections together with the exception for the door, use a few carbiners or leash snaps to close the door securely center top and bottom and a couple on the sides, if she is chewing on the bars put her kennel muzzle on so she is not recking her teeth or breaking the wires of the crate, if she is young she probably has not had a lot of crating experience, 2 hours of crate time in not overly long, also use the crate to feed her her meals, so she does not learn to associate the crate only with your going away. don't try expanding her space until she has learned to settle down in the crate, and only enlarge the space bit by bit, when it comes to expanding you may need 2 babygates one on top of the other, and place a couple of chairs on the otherside with the backsides against the gate, so it looks inpenetrable to her, it may help discourage the knocking down the gate if it appears harder to bypass, keep your comings and going very low keyed, as though it is the most normal boring thing in the world.
Only correct bad behaviour when she is actually doing it, it makes it easier for her to make the connection that what she is doing is wrong, for example if she is gnawing on a piece of furniture scold her when she is in the act(if she is turning a deaf ear to you get an empty pop can and put pennies in a shake it when she is doing something wrong, then give her something more appropriate to chew on, if you don't catch her and find it later it is too late for the reprimand instead spray some bitter apple in that area, so if she sttempts again unnoticed she will get a yucky taste in her mouth for the effort re apply every couple of days
Could it be play behaviour?
My bridge girl Callie used to play pretty rough with Sunny, she use to chase him, nip him, playgrowl at him , bump or body slam him etc. She was not being mean, she just was pestering him because she wanted him to run with her, muzzling both when they went outside in the yard protected his hide from being torn by her playful nips and also protected her if Sunny got too annoyed with her
For foodstuff hide it in the oven or in the microwave, keep the kitchen counter tops bare of delightful goodies and will attract her, buy child safety catches for the cupboards, she will eventually lose interest when she realizes the is nothing to get at, If you went for a walk and spotted a $500 bill laying in the grass you are going to pick it up, there is no way are you going to just walk by and leave it because you know the next person that comes by will claim it and you would likely look around to see if there is more laying around, she is no different, for her food is just like that $500 bill just laying in the grass, if it is there and available it's finders keepers. You are not likely going to be able to train her not to take so your best defence is to make sure no food stuff is in her reach and available
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Post by jiffer on Sept 15, 2006 12:26:49 GMT -5
I think you need to have a chat with Bill.
I agree that this sounds like puppy behaviour and, yes, even boredom. Atlas (age 7) chews wood things if he gets bored and they "fall" into his mouth. Orion loves to eat plastic... especially their toy box (don't worry, I threw it out and bought a soft, material one).
The pooping could be because she's upset about something or she's not getting enough time outside to alleviate herself. So a few questions for you: Is she on a routine? Changes in her routine could upset her (Echo gets quite ticked at us if we go out on a weeknight; usually pillows will be thrown about and she will be a bit aloof with us for an hour or so after we return home) You mention that she gets 5 walks a day (one long one); how long are the shorter ones? Is she having BMs on the shorter ones? (ie: Orion will have a BM on all four of our outings while Atlas may have only 2 a day)
ETA: You aren't the worst GH owner!! You can't say that. Each dog is different, each presents it's own challenges. Some are just a little more difficult than others.
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Post by GreyPoopon on Sept 16, 2006 20:57:35 GMT -5
ontariogreys and jiffer have provided a lot of good advice. The only thing I'd like to add is that sometimes obedience training can help, because it gives the dog something to think about. If you haven't yet, start teaching Abby commands like down and sit. If you can, take her to obedience classes. It not only will help you teach her, it will give you another resource for answers about how to work with her.
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Post by samrob on Sept 17, 2006 9:24:01 GMT -5
We have a counter surfer too. We use tin pie plates, when Hotwire puts his paws on the counter, he hits the pie plates and scares himself off the counter. Is this separation anxiety stuff, or is she doing this while you are home too? We are just getting over some very similar problems with the destructive behavior. I feel the pain!
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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Sept 17, 2006 12:24:22 GMT -5
we tried the pie plates and I think Abby enjoys the noise.... she'll knock them just to hear a crash... The only change in thier routine is that I have added an extra walk in before I leave for work. We had her at the trailor all weekend and no messes. I am starting to think she doesn't like the appartment..
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