Happy day Alfie can stay

First topic message reminder :

Hi All,

Just wanted to thank each and everyone of you for all your advice (i know ive been a bit of a pain on here lol) but due to circumstances out of my control I am regrettable re homing my little Alfie. As you can imagine I am absolutely devastated but wish him a long and happy life.

Ive enjoyed tak=lking with all of you - thank you x

I have not read the previous posts. But all I will say is that if my housemate don't like the dog I would be getting rid of the housemate or getting my own house. It is very likely that your dog would be pts purely because there are no more homes left!!!

At night you mean Matt? Yes I could put the crate in my room thats not a problem. I still cant get over the fact we had no accidents last night

Yep at night Ellie, he needs your guidance. He won't work this out on his own. Put the crate in your room and if he leaves it either take him outside to the toilet or see will he go back in, but don't force him in.

Crates should never been seen as punishment. A crate to a dog is what your bedroom is to you, your space.

Ok - regardless of whether he will go in it, I take it that it is still best to get up in the night to take him out?

EllieSmith wrote:She cant coep with all the mess and the smell of him

Hi Ellie, I've just come upon this post too, you've stated that the only two reasons your house mate wants to get rid of him is the mess - so its up to you to stay on top of it and clean as much as you can. I live with my mum, she had a problem with the mess too so I always make sure I clean as I go and stay on top of it.

Regarding his smell,this is such an easy fix, wash him with a decent shampoo and better yet, go and buy some spray on perfume for him, the pet shop next to you will have this and you get hypoallergenic ones which won't affect his coat.

Regarding the chewing, I found that chew spray didn't work for me whatsoever but the two things that have are white vinegar and vicks rub on. I'd try them two first instead of spending alot of money on chew spray.

These are all easy fix problems, nothing major, sometimes Zeus turns into a maniac at home, running around, banging into things, making a mess etc, but take him on a long walk or even play a bit of tug of war with him, Zeus is knackered after tug of war and sleeps like a baby for a good few hours.

If you love him as much as you say you do, go out of your way to do these things. I work full time and still manage to make time for Zeus, you say you'd die for him, then prove it. He deserves more.

EllieSmith wrote:Ok - regardless of whether he will go in it, I take it that it is still best to get up in the night to take him out?

It DEF is. Infact, it's the MOST important thing. The crate is an aid to help your training, but the training itself is still what gets results.

Can you close your bedroom door at night? Then if he gets up at least he will be in your room and won't get a chance to vandalise the house. There is also a lot more chance of you hearing him getting up and waking yourself to get him out.

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you Marie - thats lovely. Update to you all (even the ones who hate me right now) I have just spoke with Erika calmly and told her I WILL sort this and that I will make us all happy again, shes just got to trust me. and she said Ok. So thank you everyone for all the support - this has honestly been one of the worst days of my life.

Matt - So do you suggest me still keeping him in the kitchen and just leaving the crate in there with him with his blankets etc? Should I take away his bed?

Just to be clear, I don't hate you. I don't know enough about you as a person to hate you. I simply don't like people giving up on dogs so easy like you had this morning.

The fact you have now tried to make another go at it and found a conclusion which does not involve Alfie going back into a rescue home says a lot and I am happy for you both.

Ellie just remember for everyone negative comment there are at least a dozen healthy,caring,understanding and supportive people waiting to help you through this

goldie87 wrote:

EllieSmith wrote:She cant coep with all the mess and the smell of him

Hi Ellie, I've just come upon this post too, you've stated that the only two reasons your house mate wants to get rid of him is the mess - so its up to you to stay on top of it and clean as much as you can. I live with my mum, she had a problem with the mess too so I always make sure I clean as I go and stay on top of it.

Regarding his smell,this is such an easy fix, wash him with a decent shampoo and better yet, go and buy some spray on perfume for him, the pet shop next to you will have this and you get hypoallergenic ones which won't affect his coat.

Regarding the chewing, I found that chew spray didn't work for me whatsoever but the two things that have are white vinegar and vicks rub on. I'd try them two first instead of spending alot of money on chew spray.

These are all easy fix problems, nothing major, sometimes Zeus turns into a maniac at home, running around, banging into things, making a mess etc, but take him on a long walk or even play a bit of tug of war with him, Zeus is knackered after tug of war and sleeps like a baby for a good few hours.

If you love him as much as you say you do, go out of your way to do these things. I work full time and still manage to make time for Zeus, you say you'd die for him, then prove it. He deserves more.

Thank you - I have already got the spray but if this doesnt work I will use vinegar. Its very difficult to get to Alfie to play with toys however, last night (he has a rope with plastic sausages on it) I was running around like a maniac with it and for the first time ever, he played with it, even did a bit of tug of war. So this was a little breakthrough also

I read through your other post as well and this one. I don't want to be harsh and I'm not going to be, I'm just going to say what I see here.

I see someone who has rescued a dog who doesn't have the patience, time or space to home him/dedicate to him and should never have rescued him in the first place. The problems seemed to have started when he was left all day on his own, while I understand that work is essential, I myself work, but should you really have rehomed Alfie knowing that he will be left for long periods at a time? Staffies love company, they love to be around people so you would have needed to go and walk him during the day as well to break up the day and let him have some contact with someone other than the walls of your house. No wonder he was destroying things, he's bored out of his brain and not exercised enough. Staffies need stimulation, they are an intelligent breed I know this isn't helping so I'm not going to bang on about it but it just makes me so sad when people think they are doing the right thing but haven't really thought things through and asked themselves have they got enough time to devote to a dog. I'm lucky enough to have a friend who takes Axl all day but had I not had him I would never have got a dog, ever.

I hope my tone isn't rude or disrespectful its not meant that way and sometimes words come across harsher through lack of expressions as you would see if I was speaking to you face to face.

Just one more thing, if someone told me to get rid of Axl I would fight tooth and nail to keep him and in the end I'd probably go and find somewhere else to live if that didn't work out... I'm someone who would do anything for my dog.

I'm just heartbroken for Alfie, he deserves better, dogs are a gift, they love you unconditionally and without restrictions and it pains me to see them wronged over and over again by the human race.

dave742 wrote:Ellie just remember for everyone negative comment there are at least a dozen healthy,caring,understanding and supportive people waiting to help you through this

I know, and it does mean a lot. I just wish everyone cared as much as you all do about little Alfie

EllieSmith wrote:
Thank you - I have already got the spray but if this doesnt work I will use vinegar. Its very difficult to get to Alfie to play with toys however, last night (he has a rope with plastic sausages on it) I was running around like a maniac with it and for the first time ever, he played with it, even did a bit of tug of war. So this was a little breakthrough also

Alfie sounds similar to Zeus, Zeus won't play with toys by himself, you have to entice him into playing with you. I always pretend that I'm going to give the toy to him and then take it away from him. The first few times he acts as if he doesn't care, but almost 99% of the time, he'll give in and start playing with me. Make him want the toy, don't expect him to want it. If there laying around all day he wont be interested in them. Secondly, give him a good selection of toys to play with. The rope toy I use only comes out when we play tug of war, he instantly goes for that because he rarely sees it, and when he does see it, he wants it. Don't keep all of them out at the same time.

Another good one is the Stagbar, Zeus is sometimes chewing on his for an hour or two, there are times he's not bothered about it but I've done what some users have suggested on here and soaked it in warm water, put peanut butter in it, etc. Once hes been chewing on that for a while, hes knackered. Its up to you to tire him out, Staffies are highly energetic dogs and you have to take that energy out of them. Once they're tired, they're the perfect dog, loving, cute an adorable. You're house mate will see this. She probably only sees him when hes a maniac, which is why she doesn't like him. My mum was like this too, so was my sister, as soon as they seen him when he was tired, and he wanted to lie with them and wanted them to hug him etc, they fell in love.

Debs01 wrote:I read through your other post as well and this one. I don't want to be harsh and I'm not going to be, I'm just going to say what I see here.

I see someone who has rescued a dog who doesn't have the patience, time or space to home him/dedicate to him and should never have rescued him in the first place. The problems seemed to have started when he was left all day on his own, while I understand that work is essential, I myself work, but should you really have rehomed Alfie knowing that he will be left for long periods at a time? Staffies love company, they love to be around people so you would have needed to go and walk him during the day as well to break up the day and let him have some contact with someone other than the walls of your house. No wonder he was destroying things, he's bored out of his brain and not exercised enough. Staffies need stimulation, they are an intelligent breed I know this isn't helping so I'm not going to bang on about it but it just makes me so sad when people think they are doing the right thing but haven't really thought things through and asked themselves have they got enough time to devote to a dog. I'm lucky enough to have a friend who takes Axl all day but had I not had him I would never have got a dog, ever.

I hope my tone isn't rude or disrespectful its not meant that way and sometimes words come across harsher through lack of expressions as you would see if I was speaking to you face to face.

Just one more thing, if someone told me to get rid of Axl I would fight tooth and nail to keep him and in the end I'd probably go and find somewhere else to live if that didn't work out... I'm someone who would do anything for my dog.

I'm just heartbroken for Alfie, he deserves better, dogs are a gift, they love you unconditionally and without restrictions and it pains me to see them wronged over and over again by the human race.

When I got alfie from his previous owner I told her we worked - I made a big point of expressing this but she told me he would be absolutely fine. Had I known that everything she told me was a pack of lies I wouldnt have taken him. However, I have and here we are. Beside from the fact he is chewing I believe he has a much better life than he did with his previous home.

Just a quick question, how long are you going to put him in a crate for? If its longer than a few hours, if I were you, I wouldn't put him in a crate I'd go for the outdoor kennel

Also, is it possible to get a dog walker in during the day? I know not everyone can afford one so I'm not going to bash you for saying know I just wondered if that's an option? I know some dog walkers will do deals if they are booked regularly and it might do Alfie some good to have a walk during the day to break it up.

Also, I just read above you've managed to convince your roommate to give you some more time I just wanted to say I'm glad you carried on fighting for him I read your reply to my post, thanks for explaining, you're probably right he probably is better off with you in that case!

"know" is "no" by the way being a bit dim today with the spelling

I'm glad you can see now that there are solutions, you will see a huge difference once you get him into a routine and I'm sure things will settle down. In regards to him smelling the best thing to do is give him a bath now, wash his bedding and then as tempting as it is try and let his natural oils come back into his coat (ie. don't wash him for about 6 months after the initial pamper-sesh). This will stop him smelling as his own skin and hair regulates itself. Its so tempting to keep washing them but when people ask why our dogs don't smell I tell them I think over-washing can be a big problem.

Thanks everyone. I will have to look into the dog walker (ie how far my money will stretch lol) Well Alfie stays in the kitchen at the moment, I was going to keep him in there with his crate in there so he has the option to go in and out of it? Do you think this is a good idea?

EllieSmith wrote:Thanks everyone. I will have to look into the dog walker (ie how far my money will stretch lol) Well Alfie stays in the kitchen at the moment, I was going to keep him in there with his crate in there so he has the option to go in and out of it? Do you think this is a good idea?

I do personally, as long as the door isn't closed. However, bare in mind the crate alone won't stop accidents. You will still have to get up at night for a while as we chatted about before. The spray will help with the chewing. Dog walkers are totally great if possible.

All in all, job done! (just gotta keep at it)

I have to bath mine once a month, he starts to reek if I don't and his coat feels dirty but I do walk him through woods and fields in the rain, other than his bath he gets sprayed anwith grooming spray and brushed through once a week, I know it's probably too much but who wants a stinky dog

MatLogan wrote:

EllieSmith wrote:Thanks everyone. I will have to look into the dog walker (ie how far my money will stretch lol) Well Alfie stays in the kitchen at the moment, I was going to keep him in there with his crate in there so he has the option to go in and out of it? Do you think this is a good idea?

I do personally, as long as the door isn't closed. However, bare in mind the crate alone won't stop accidents. You will still have to get up at night for a while as we chatted about before. The spray will help with the chewing. Dog walkers are totally great if possible.

All in all, job done! (just gotta keep at it)

To add, I still firmly believe put the crate in your room at night. It then means you can deal with the problem yourself and save your room mate from the drama.

EllieSmith wrote:Thanks everyone. I will have to look into the dog walker (ie how far my money will stretch lol) Well Alfie stays in the kitchen at the moment, I was going to keep him in there with his crate in there so he has the option to go in and out of it? Do you think this is a good idea?

Yep, that's fine. Zeus's crate is in my kitchen too. Although he doesn't spend his whole day in the kitchen, there are times where we leave him in there for 3/4 hours with the door open, so he can walk around if he wants, play with toys, or simply have a nap in his crate.

As stated in the previous posts, just make sure you don't use his crate as a form of punishment. I always give Zeus a treat when he goes into his cage or when I want him to go into it, so he sees it as a happy place. Now, he'll go in there himself because he finds it comfortable, even if he has access to the living room.

Because it's winter, we've covered the back and sides of his crate with a fleece throwover I got for a tenner, when I put him to sleep at night, I get another blanket and cover the front too so its completely pitch black in there. He seems to love it and I guess it gives him a 'den' like feeling which all dogs love.

I will do that then Matt. I will look around at the weekend for a crate for him and will get up in the night - I know he can do it. And tomorrow, the smelly mutt is having a bath, may be a struggle with just me doing it but im sure it will be...eventfull lol

EllieSmith wrote:I will do that then Matt. I will look around at the weekend for a crate for him and will get up in the night - I know he can do it. And tomorrow, the smelly mutt is having a bath, may be a struggle with just me doing it but im sure it will be...eventfull lol

Good stuff. Glad to hear you are getting things sorted. Keep us updated!

goldie87 wrote:

EllieSmith wrote:Thanks everyone. I will have to look into the dog walker (ie how far my money will stretch lol) Well Alfie stays in the kitchen at the moment, I was going to keep him in there with his crate in there so he has the option to go in and out of it? Do you think this is a good idea?

Yep, that's fine. Zeus's crate is in my kitchen too. Although he doesn't spend his whole day in the kitchen, there are times where we leave him in there for 3/4 hours with the door open, so he can walk around if he wants, play with toys, or simply have a nap in his crate.

As stated in the previous posts, just make sure you don't use his crate as a form of punishment. I always give Zeus a treat when he goes into his cage or when I want him to go into it, so he sees it as a happy place. Now, he'll go in there himself because he finds it comfortable, even if he has access to the living room.

Because it's winter, we've covered the back and sides of his crate with a fleece throwover I got for a tenner, when I put him to sleep at night, I get another blanket and cover the front too so its completely pitch black in there. He seems to love it and I guess it gives him a 'den' like feeling which all dogs love.

He is only in the kitchen because he is not yet toilet trained - once i have cracked this he can be trsuted more (as long as the chewing stops also) but I will definitely do this

EllieSmith wrote:
He is only in the kitchen because he is not yet toilet trained - once i have cracked this he can be trsuted more (as long as the chewing stops also) but I will definitely do this

Yep that makes sense, Zeus turned 1 on Sunday and I still don't trust him in the living room by himself, give him the chance and he'll be at the pillows on the sofa and anything else he can get his hands on in a second, so its all a work in progress.

I might be repeating what you already know but just remember, if Alfie has an accident where he shouldnt, simply ignore him, don't tell him off. When he does it in the correct place, then give him lots of fuss and a treat.

When I first got Zeus, I literally took him out every half an hour for a wee or poo. most of the time he didn't do nothing, so I let him back in and ignored him. When he did actually go for a wee or poo, I made alot of fuss and always gave him a treat (and still do), he was soon toilet trained using that technique.

Don't get into the habit of washing too often it's not good for their skin.

goldie87 wrote:

EllieSmith wrote:
He is only in the kitchen because he is not yet toilet trained - once i have cracked this he can be trsuted more (as long as the chewing stops also) but I will definitely do this

Yep that makes sense, Zeus turned 1 on Sunday and I still don't trust him in the living room by himself, give him the chance and he'll be at the pillows on the sofa and anything else he can get his hands on in a second, so its all a work in progress.

I might be repeating what you already know but just remember, if Alfie has an accident where he shouldnt, simply ignore him, don't tell him off. When he does it in the correct place, then give him lots of fuss and a treat.

When I first got Zeus, I literally took him out every half an hour for a wee or poo. most of the time he didn't do nothing, so I let him back in and ignored him. When he did actually go for a wee or poo, I made alot of fuss and always gave him a treat (and still do), he was soon toilet trained using that technique.

When he does have an accident i never ever tell him off - erika seems to think i should but i know this wont work. I just clean it up without any fuss. When he does go out side he gets a big fuss and a treat - he has now learnt that he will get one if he goes out. He does still have accidents however

EllieSmith wrote:
When he does have an accident i never ever tell him off - erika seems to think i should but i know this wont work. I just clean it up without any fuss. When he does go out side he gets a big fuss and a treat - he has now learnt that he will get one if he goes out. He does still have accidents however

You're definatly doing the right thing then. Zeus has the odd accident now and again, like I said, he's just turned 1 on Sunday and in the past 4 months say, he has wee'd once on the sofa and once in the kitchen.

goldie87 wrote:

EllieSmith wrote:
When he does have an accident i never ever tell him off - erika seems to think i should but i know this wont work. I just clean it up without any fuss. When he does go out side he gets a big fuss and a treat - he has now learnt that he will get one if he goes out. He does still have accidents however

You're definatly doing the right thing then. Zeus has the odd accident now and again, like I said, he's just turned 1 on Sunday and in the past 4 months say, he has wee'd once on the sofa and once in the kitchen.

So does Loki. Extremely rarely, just when he's playing and he forgets he needs to go or he can't be bothered to stop playing in order to go.

Glad to hear you're able to give it a proper go Alfie will learn, of course.

The first few weeks with a dog are by far the most difficult. He's been with u for just a few weeks, he still needs time to settle down.

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you Marie - thats lovely. Update to you all (even the ones who hate me right now) I have just spoke with Erika calmly and told her I WILL sort this and that I will make us all happy again, shes just got to trust me. and she said Ok. So thank you everyone for all the support - this has honestly been one of the worst days of my life.

Matt - So do you suggest me still keeping him in the kitchen and just leaving the crate in there with him with his blankets etc? Should I take away his bed?

We don't hate you! I think you're handling this well, and it's looking like you might be rewarded by being able to keep your little Alfie!

EllieSmith wrote:

Thank you - I have already got the spray but if this doesnt work I will use vinegar. Its very difficult to get to Alfie to play with toys however, last night (he has a rope with plastic sausages on it) I was running around like a maniac with it and for the first time ever, he played with it, even did a bit of tug of war. So this was a little breakthrough also

Aww, Dempsey has that toy! It's great fun!

EllieSmith wrote:I will do that then Matt. I will look around at the weekend for a crate for him and will get up in the night - I know he can do it. And tomorrow, the smelly mutt is having a bath, may be a struggle with just me doing it but im sure it will be...eventfull lol

Heh heh. Good luck with that!

Thank you everyone. And I apologise if I upset some people today - wasnt my intentions

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you everyone. And I apologise if I upset some people today - wasnt my intentions

Dont Worry, we all get wound up over our dogs.

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you everyone. And I apologise if I upset some people today - wasnt my intentions

It wasn't you that upset anyone, negativity wasn't directed towards you it was just that we see this all too often and its upsetting to a group of dog lovers that the only one who will suffer from you not researching is Alfie. I think you are on the right track, try and stay positive and don't expect miracles overnight.

Thanks guys I do understand. What an awful day. I have a massive headache, puffy eyes and dying to get home to my little man

Take some painkillers and take it easy. ><

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you everyone. And I apologise if I upset some people today - wasnt my intentions

I hadn't seen this thread until just now. I don't think you need to apologies to anyone. Infact I think some people were too harsh with you but then again too many Staffies end up in rescues or worse PTS and lets face it we wouldn't be on this board if we weren't passionate about our breed. However, it sounds like you believed you had no other option and I cannot imagine how painful that must have felt.

My friend uses a dog walker , I have just asked her and she pays £7 per day for one hr . That hr can be used for one constant walk or for example 40mins walk and 20mins cuddle / play. Hopefully this is something you could afford and will be available where you live.

Seems that I've missed a-lot not being on the last day. I'm glad that you get to keep to Alfie

I've not read the whole thread, but without causing offence your housemate sounds like a total c***!

There is no-one that would make me re-home my dogs - they would end up being the ones booted out on their arses!

I have mu own opinion on how i feel BUT we are hear to help and advice.

i think i would be inclined to re think this. sit down and speak to your house mate, give him or her options on a way you can go forward. the smell is easily eliminated, dont keep him cooped up in the same room, the chewing is a sign of bordem, crate training helped eliminate this to an extent and also helped with toilet training. Search the forum and internet for activities for when he alone and also for when you go walkies etc. Has your friend had any input with alfie as if she hasnt bonded a little then this may be a big factor and she may just see him as a pain! have you focused on any part of the positives with him to her?

This must be hard and if he already been rehomed before then i think you need to take stock and start again.

Make a little plan sit down and discuss, as its the same with children as much as they can grate on us we can not just re home them when the going gets tough. I have to put time into my little biy to show him the rights and wrongs in life and i also do this with tyke.

Alfie is probably a very confused dog and all he needs is time as this wnt be worked out in a week this will take time BUT in the long run, this would be worth it!!

please keep us updated either way

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you Marie - thats lovely. Update to you all (even the ones who hate me right now) I have just spoke with Erika calmly and told her I WILL sort this and that I will make us all happy again, shes just got to trust me. and she said Ok. So thank you everyone for all the support - this has honestly been one of the worst days of my life.

Matt - So do you suggest me still keeping him in the kitchen and just leaving the crate in there with him with his blankets etc? Should I take away his bed?

I am so happy to hear this!
Make sure you use the next few days to make a positive change!
I would try doubling his exercise if you can for these days to see if that makes a difference in his behaviour along with all the other things that has been suggested. Ideally you want him to b tired enough to sleep all day when you are at work!

Thanks everyone. I have contacted our dog trainer and asked her to come over a soon as possible so she can help me find some activities for alfie and to advise me if im going wrong anywhere. Im waiting to hear back from her but im just so relieved i have a chance to prove alfie can be the dog i know he can

I am going to get up earlier to hive him a longer walk in the morning to aee if this takes away some of his pent up energy

EllieSmith wrote:Thank you everyone. And I apologise if I upset some people today - wasnt my intentions

We all know it was never your intention to either upset us (we're pretty thick skinned anyway!) or to hurt Alfie. Sometimes it's very difficult to get a point across without sounding judgemental or harsh, and if any of us sounded that way (and I know I did) then we're also sorry.

The main thing is that you, Erika and Alfie stay together and learn to live in harmony.

Good luck, and please believe me when I say that we're all here to try and help in any way that we can.

EllieSmith wrote:Hi All,

Just wanted to thank each and everyone of you for all your advice (i know ive been a bit of a pain on here lol) but due to circumstances out of my control I am regrettable re homing my little Alfie. As you can imagine I am absolutely devastated but wish him a long and happy life.

Ive enjoyed tak=lking with all of you - thank you x

I have just spent the past half hour reading through this thread and keep coming back to your original message. If I was going to rehome Lily (which I wouldn't) I would be too ashamed to tell everyone. I certainly wouldn't announce it on the forum, you know how passionate we owners are about our dogs and you were hardly likely to get a "never mind" from us were you? I think this was a cry for help - and you have had lots of really good and valuable advice from all the experienced owners - as well as an ear bashing, but that may have been your wake up call. You only knew the problems but you didn't know the solutions and you were really struggling. But now that people have given you support and offered advice I hope you feel uplifted and able to keep trying.

I have had dogs in the past (always until they crossed the bridge) but I always wanted a Staffie, I spent 6 months or more before I got Lily researching the breed, finding out all about them, I bought books and looked on the internet so I was totally prepared when I got 2 year old Lily from the rescue 10 months ago - NOT!!! Staffies are like no other dog I have had. They grunt, they fart and stink, they are stubborn, they are a condensed ball of muscle that is sometimes impossible to move, and they have a mind of their own - and I can't count the number of times I have ended up in A&E becasue I didn't get out of the way quick enough But they are also very sensitive and highly intelligent and will give you unconditional love for ever and ever. Five weeks is not long, he hasn't even settled in yet so patience will be needed for some testing times to come. There will be times when you feel you would do anything for him and also times when you could tear your hair out in frustration. He is still a youngster so I think you will have many more frustrating times to come but you will be rewarded. You will make progress very slowly but it will come, and then you build on that bit by bit and when you look back you will see how far you have come. Sometimes if I am struggling I look at the advice on here and think "ah yes, that makes sense". So good luck and stay positive and I hope you win over your thoughtless house mate.

EllieSmith wrote:

Debs01 wrote:I read through your other post as well and this one. I don't want to be harsh and I'm not going to be, I'm just going to say what I see here.

I see someone who has rescued a dog who doesn't have the patience, time or space to home him/dedicate to him and should never have rescued him in the first place. The problems seemed to have started when he was left all day on his own, while I understand that work is essential, I myself work, but should you really have rehomed Alfie knowing that he will be left for long periods at a time? Staffies love company, they love to be around people so you would have needed to go and walk him during the day as well to break up the day and let him have some contact with someone other than the walls of your house. No wonder he was destroying things, he's bored out of his brain and not exercised enough. Staffies need stimulation, they are an intelligent breed I know this isn't helping so I'm not going to bang on about it but it just makes me so sad when people think they are doing the right thing but haven't really thought things through and asked themselves have they got enough time to devote to a dog. I'm lucky enough to have a friend who takes Axl all day but had I not had him I would never have got a dog, ever.

I hope my tone isn't rude or disrespectful its not meant that way and sometimes words come across harsher through lack of expressions as you would see if I was speaking to you face to face.

Just one more thing, if someone told me to get rid of Axl I would fight tooth and nail to keep him and in the end I'd probably go and find somewhere else to live if that didn't work out... I'm someone who would do anything for my dog.

I'm just heartbroken for Alfie, he deserves better, dogs are a gift, they love you unconditionally and without restrictions and it pains me to see them wronged over and over again by the human race.

When I got alfie from his previous owner I told her we worked - I made a big point of expressing this but she told me he would be absolutely fine. Had I known that everything she told me was a pack of lies I wouldnt have taken him. However, I have and here we are. Beside from the fact he is chewing I believe he has a much better life than he did with his previous home.

She could have lied to you or it could also be that he is now at a new place and is confused and has therefor developed these behaviour.
Either way I don't agree with the post that people working full time can't have a dog/staffie because they love company. Yes in an ideal world we would all be able to organise to be home all day with our dogs, but unfortunately for most people that is not possible and if these people could not have a dog then there would be even more dogs in rescue looking for a home. You just have to make the most out of the time before/after work and weekends.

Also in terms of the smell, my dog is indoors all the time (no back yard) and also sleeps in my bed so I wash her every second week and she hardly has any smell to her at all. I think diet can influence this as well, so make sure he is fed fresh meat or a high quality dry food

I've been reading through this post and just really want to say good luck I really hope everything works out for you. Daisy has been with me for 5 months now (from a rescue) and while her behaviour is generally pretty dam good and touch wood we've been accident free for nearly 2 months!! But has had a lot of health problems, and I've basically spent all this time nursing her back to health!! We are getting there now and all the hard work, upset and expense has been soooo worth it, I absolutely love her to bits and would never be without her, she makes me so happy. Anyway all I'm really trying to say is when you take on a dog it's a huge commitment and you'll face problems, whatever form they take but you just have to work through it and when you get there you don't regret a thing. If you want it enough you'll get there!! I'm still new to the forum and still finding my feet but will keep checking on your progress, I really really hope you can work things out, stick with it and stick to your guns with your housemate!! Anyway I better go, daisy is getting jealous and throwing all my cushions on the floor!!

Please get this sorted and listen to the advice you have

EllieSmith wrote:I am going to get up earlier to hive him a longer walk in the morning to aee if this takes away some of his pent up energy

Kenny is very high energy, he needs his long walks, but sometimes they need mental execise. Maybe you could play some games, get him thinking. I have 3 cups, hide a treat under one of them, see if he can find the right cup, if he does reward him. I also bought a horse whip, not to whip him, (Flirt pole) . I tied a rag to the end and just whip it about. It gets them jumping around like a lune and uses so much energy. and keeps him nice and toned