Good Dog Gone Bad!

First topic message reminder :

chase has just turned a year and a month, and all previous training seems to have gone out the window!

His pulling on the lead again...jumping all over the place and whining...ALOT.

Up until now his been a great dog, minus a couple of bad days here and there (but what dog doesn't have those days)

But lately he has been unbearable...really testing everyones patience...

I know people say dogs go through a "teenage phase" but i have no idea what to do about it!

He really is turning into a menace! And i really dont know what to do!

He gets a lot of exercise and has toys to play with, but he seems bored all the time...

Has anyone got any advice on dealing with a teenage dog?! I really need the help!

Try using scent discrimination - it's fun for the dog, and will make him use his brain.

1. Get a large piece of plain material & cut it into 6 sections of about 12" square-ish. Then wash them thoroughly.
2. When dry, put them in a plastic bag without touching them (use gloves or tongs) & take them into your garden, or a room without your dog being present. Using the tongs/gloves place 5 of the pieces of cloth flat on the floor, about 3 or 4 feet apart & then take the last piece of cloth out. Rub the last piece against your hands/skin and then place that on the floor as well.
3. Bring in your dog on a lead & make him sit. Loosely place your hand over his nose & say "seek", then lead him to each piece of cloth, still saying "seek" and let him sniff but not touch. When you get to the one that you rubbed your hands on, and he sniffs it, say "Good Boy!" & let him pick it up - loads of praise.

Eventually you'll be able to sit him, give him the scent & send him to search for your scent. Then you can experiment with someone else's scent on some cloths, or even different items (washed first to remove scent), one of which you have handled.

after this mornings walk/training his been sleeping like a baby, for the first time in quite a while.

Even though i always take him to the park for an hour, sometimes i cant let him off as he just runs off to see other dogs, and his been snapped at quite a few times, usually by old women with small dogs, that then call him the aggressive one. His not aggressive at all, i think his just a bit too in your face for some dogs.

And the amount of people that pick up their dogs when they see him comming! Once they do that its impossible to get him back. Its crazy how many people over the park wont let their dogs interact with other dogs at all.

Just a quick update.

Been walking chase in the mornings before uni, when i get home, and again before bed.

And i can see improvements already, small improvements, but improvements none the less.

Thanks for all the good advice lady's and gents.

Glad to hear somethings working. But like they always say a tried dog is a happy and well behaved dog

Sounds like he's high energy that's why he's constant whining he has to loose his energy .
You say you walk him 45 min in the morning but does he run during these walks so when you get home he's really tired .
Or does he just walk beside you ?
Be patient and like others say back to basic

glad to hear things are getting better for you

danny wrote:Sounds like he's high energy that's why he's constant whining he has to loose his energy .
You say you walk him 45 min in the morning but does he run during these walks so when you get home he's really tired .
Or does he just walk beside you ?
Be patient and like others say back to basic

I think your right, his just a high energy dog.

The morning walk is usually down to the park for some time off the lead, sometimes when i have really early starts at uni, its just a walk round a couple of blocks. But im slowly getting use to the REALLY early mornings, and making an effort to get to the park every morning.

I think i have to adjust to it as much as he does! But its making a difference so ill keep it up. Its not always easy to get up when its still dark outside and absolutely freezing!

acidrane13 wrote: Its crazy how many people over the park wont let their dogs interact with other dogs at all.

I'm afraid I'm one of those people! You see I know that Dempsey isn't always good with other dogs so I avoid them! Yes, he plays with dogs I know, but I don't always see them every day. I take no chances and keep away/put him on lead.

acidrane13 wrote: Its not always easy to get up when its still dark outside and absolutely freezing!

Tell me about it! My oh is on permanent early shifts so he's up at 4am every morning & I get up with him!

I think keeping your dog away from other dogs when your know thers a chance there could be a problem is the responsible thing to do, but some of the people over the park i go to have ther dogs off lead, and when chase is off the lead he goes over, sniffs around them and says hello as dogs do, and people shew him away like his about to attack (even though he shows absolutely sign of aggression) And when i go over to get him i get the old "you shouldn't have dogs like that off the lead"

If he was a dangerous dog, he wouldn't be off the lead in the first place. I spose its just something you learn to live with when you have particular breeds. I got the same thing with my old dog jenson, he was a boxer and people looked at him like he was a lion or something.

well done on the progress, hopefully the rest of the family can see it too and giv you the time you need to get it right

ella wrote:

lynne wrote:We have having similar problems at the moment with Billy, we feed him raw and have heard that a high protein diet can make them hyper, can. Ask what did you change to, and which brand, cause I think we are going to try that with Billy, but no idea what t change it to

It's not the protein that makes them hyper, it's additives and fillers in cheaper foods that does, in general raw feeding is meant to calm down dogs, as there is no fillers.

I agree with the additives and fillers you speak of Ella but I also agree with Lynne. We found Milo got much more hyper and boisterous and challenging with a higher protein BARF diet in just a week! We reverted to more bones asnd a lot less protein and bingo we got our old (but yes NOT perfect!!) dog back!!

Just a quick update on Chase, he's being walked minimum 2hours a day now, most days its more like 2 one hour walks then a 45 min one at night before bed, he's a lot better, still snappy sometimes when he's told to do something he doesnt want to do, but it's a lot less frequent now.
We're putting a lot of it down to his age & just testing.
He's being walked on the extendable lead too so he's getting a lot more knackered over the park.
Just oooone question...How do you make something more fun to a dog than another dog??
We've literally tried everything. Treats, toys, squeaky toys, bending down & calling him in a high pitched 'fun' voice. & nothing.
It's not that we mind him going off to other dogs, he's not dangerous, just a lot of people are terrified of him & then pick the dogs up (which just makes everything worse) or give us a mouthful of abuse about 'dogs like that'

acidrane13 wrote:Just a quick update on Chase, he's being walked minimum 2hours a day now, most days its more like 2 one hour walks then a 45 min one at night before bed, he's a lot better, still snappy sometimes when he's told to do something he doesnt want to do, but it's a lot less frequent now.
We're putting a lot of it down to his age & just testing.
He's being walked on the extendable lead too so he's getting a lot more knackered over the park.
Just oooone question...How do you make something more fun to a dog than another dog??
We've literally tried everything. Treats, toys, squeaky toys, bending down & calling him in a high pitched 'fun' voice. & nothing.
It's not that we mind him going off to other dogs, he's not dangerous, just a lot of people are terrified of him & then pick the dogs up (which just makes everything worse) or give us a mouthful of abuse about 'dogs like that'

I usually shorten up the lead and talk to the handler to see if their dog is okay with other dogs. Haven't found a way to distract them other than that but talking to the handler works well to reassure everyone.

acidrane13 wrote:Just took chase for a jog, his absoloutly shattered. The plan is now to jog in the mornings before uni, walk him when i get home, then jog again in the evenings. The plan is to get him so tired he doesn't have the energy to misbehave!

Im sure all this exercise and the training will have some effect!

Ill give you an update tomorrow evening and let you know how it goes!

Wish me luck!

have you tried 2 stimulate his mind when he is out on a walk it maybe the case that he needs something to do other that just run around like chase a ball frizbie or something along those lines or maybe there is another dog in season in the area just some ideas hope you can get him sorted out

acidrane13 wrote:I think keeping your dog away from other dogs when your know thers a chance there could be a problem is the responsible thing to do, but some of the people over the park i go to have ther dogs off lead, and when chase is off the lead he goes over, sniffs around them and says hello as dogs do, and people shew him away like his about to attack (even though he shows absolutely sign of aggression) And when i go over to get him i get the old "you shouldn't have dogs like that off the lead"

If he was a dangerous dog, he wouldn't be off the lead in the first place. I spose its just something you learn to live with when you have particular breeds. I got the same thing with my old dog jenson, he was a boxer and people looked at him like he was a lion or something.

if you can get your dog into chaseing a ball or something like that then after time he will become more interested in the ball and less and less in other dogs it dose take some time but it has really worked for me as my boy was a real pain around other dogs when he was younger because he wanted to play but play like a staffie ruff and people just did not like it and i was always having to take him away even though he was never nasty it just never worked but now he dont even look at other dogs if his ball is there

I have found this topic very interesting and full of usefull ideas. I have had my 7 year old Staffie Toby, just over 3 months, from a rescue centre. He came from a violent home. He is a loveable dog, and generally well behaved. I like the 'mind game' ideas, as I have watched my Son ( who is 21 ), play a game with a hidden toy or treat in a closed hand, which Toby then sits and plays patiently for quite a while. He is otherwise a quite lively and attention demanding dog. We are going to try out the other games suggested as well.

ardvark wrote:

ella wrote:

lynne wrote:We have having similar problems at the moment with Billy, we feed him raw and have heard that a high protein diet can make them hyper, can. Ask what did you change to, and which brand, cause I think we are going to try that with Billy, but no idea what t change it to

It's not the protein that makes them hyper, it's additives and fillers in cheaper foods that does, in general raw feeding is meant to calm down dogs, as there is no fillers.

I agree with the additives and fillers you speak of Ella but I also agree with Lynne. We found Milo got much more hyper and boisterous and challenging with a higher protein BARF diet in just a week! We reverted to more bones asnd a lot less protein and bingo we got our old (but yes NOT perfect!!) dog back!!

I feed Dempsey quite a lot of green tripe, which seems to produce less hyperactivity. However, if they're getting the right amount of exercise, they will use up the excess energy anyway.

Since ive been walking him in the mornings and nights, his been really good, a little bit of a pain at times (as expected) but his improving a lot. His also eating a lot more, which i expect is due to all the exercise. And his starting to fill out. Probably a combination of the food and his age.

And the best thing is, thers been no more talk of having to get rid of him!!!

Happy days!

oh what fabulous news and well done you for sticking with it. am so pleased. keep at it and am sure in years to come you will look back on the early days and wonder where that "bad dog" went!

brilliant !