The trouble with Gaston...

Hi all,

Thanks again for the warm welcome in the Newbie thread. Just after some advice and tips regarding training.

I've had Gaston (male one year old Staffie cross) since he was 8 weeks. He was taken away from him Mum quite early which seems to have left him quite "clingy".

If I'm home with him, he pees and poos on the balcony and behaves himself but if I leave the flat or shut him in the kitchen or living room, he makes a mess everywhere and is very destructive (he chewed the door off the washing machine and ate a whole is a wooden cupboard!) It's got to the stage where I have to shut him in his crate overnight and if I have to pop out otherwise I come back to devastation and half a day of cleaning!! I work from home so I never have to leave him for long but I'd like him to be able to have a bit more freedom.

He whines a lot if I leave him out on the baclony at all or if I shut him in his crate during the day. I can't leave him to bark and whine because I have dreadful neighbours who are itching to complain about noise. When I go away on work trips (around every two months) he stays in kennels for a few days. It would be great to be able to leave him at home with my partner (who works 6 hours a day) and know that he could be left for that long without causing mess and trouble! I do have a dog walker who takes him out on the occasions that I can't or if I'm only away for a day. I'd like to deal with the issues though rather than just find ways to tiptoe around them.

He pulls a lot on the lead when we go for walks. He has a lot of energy and loves to be off the lead to run. His recall is excellent. He is very friendly but a bit over-enthusiasic and jumps up at people if they give him any attention! He runs to other dogs and does get very excited but is learning to leave them alone if they don't want to play.

Just to clarify, he is in very good health, gets plenty of exercise (in total around 3.5hours a day) and mental stimulation, and is very much loved but not overly "pampered" and we have set boundries (he eats after us and he isn't allowed on the sofa or in the bedroom), he does currently get shut in his crate overnight and if I need to go out but isn't suffering abuse with this as I never leave him for long.

I've been looking at sending him away for residential "bootcamp" style training. Does anyone have any thoughts/recommendations/experience of this that they could share with me? I know many people don't like the idea but I am struggling with him. I've tried a few trainers and behaviourists but none of their techniques seem to have made a difference.

Sorry if that's all a bit thrown together and hard to read. If you've read it all, thanks for your patience and if you have any advice for me then it would be very gratefully received.

Sharpy x

https://i.servimg.com/u/f31/17/81/99/08/sdc17011.jpg

Ok where to start:

What is he fed and how often?
With regard to the peeing indoors, do you punish him, or just clear it up and say nothing?
Does he have plenty of chew toys , things like kongs are very good for chewers.
Does he have a harness or just a collar when on walks. A gentle leader type collar may be a good idea?
Have you tried taking him to training lessons with other dogs present?

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for your reply. I've recently changed his food to James Wellbeloved and he gets fed twice a day - around 7.30am and 5.30pm.

When he pees indoors, it's never when I'm around so I don't make a fuss and tell him off for it. I just clean it up. I worry he won't know what I'm telling him off for if he's done it half an hour before I see it. (One trainer that I booked told me to punish him by rubbing his face in it, even if he did it ages before I found it. I wasn't comfortable with that so I didn't have any further sessions with her!)

I've found it difficult to find toys that he can't destroy but he has a kong which I fill and leave in his crate with him if I'm going out and he has a rope toy and a leather belt (with the buckle cut off).

I was using a gentle leader but now I just use a collar and lead as I really want him to learn to walk nicely on it rather than just not be able to pull.

I've not taken him to training classes with other dogs but will have a look in my area (Brighton) if you think this would benefit his problems?

The James Wellbeloved is a good food and if he is OK eating it stay with it.

You cannot punish a dog later for doing something and you shouldn't punish him for peeing indoors anyway (rubbing the nose in very bad advice, you did the right thing in not using that behaviourist again) just clean up and carry on as normal.

Have you tried freezing his kong then giving it to him, this makes it more challenging and lasts longer.

The training classes may well be an idea for him to socialise with other dogs and you may learn something too.

Freezing the Kong sounds like a good tip. Do you think if I leave him with more things that he finds exciting, he'll be too distracted to whine and make a mess everywhere and chew everything?
He does like to chew but I think it seems more a rebellious act than a teething/habitual thing as he tends to go for things that aren't his toys.

I'll look into the group training classes. It might help him to be a bit less excited by everything!

Does he have a good walk and play before he is left alone? He may tend to rest more if he is tired out.

If he has a good walk before being left alone he will be okay. Suki used to be destructive as well. We just left her alone for 10 minutes and than 15 and built up from there.

I do try to give him a good off lead run before I leave him. I think maybe I'm worrying a bit too much about leaving him because of how he has been. I'll try to build up the time I leave him for, as suggested, and have a bit more faith in him!

With regards to residential training programmes, could anyone advise me on those or share any thoughts or experiences of them?

Thank you so much for the help so far!

Also try not to make a fuss when you leave the house because it will cause him to become more anxious.