My little ones name is Ben. Lately he has been................well for lack of better wording...AWFUL! I am beginning to feel a little discouraged with his behaivor and I realized this morning that I have become bitter and resentful. I took a deep breath this morning and am now trying to figure out how to correct the problem. A little background on Ben: He is up to date on all shots but is not yet neutered. He is 10 months old short haired chocolate (not sure if that matters). He has turned to grabbing family belongings and dragging them under my bed and chewing them to shreds. It took awhile to figure this out. We had problems finding shoes. I finally looked under my bed and found a graveyard of all of our missing things. I'm talking about close to $600-700 worth of things demolished. :( He is very hyper but go outside and plays often. Sometimes he plays outdoors alone, sometimes with my 4 children and other times with me. He stays in his crate when we leave the house due to his chewing but is never there longer than 2-3 hours at a time. He is potty trained downstairs but we have had to make upstairs off limits. It's odd but he will wait patiently by the back door and go outside to do his "business" but if he spends even 30 seconds upstairs he will pee and poop immediately. It infuriates me so it is known to him that he cannot go and he never even tries. If he's playing with the kids and running through the house with them and they suddenly run upstairs he stops short and stays at the bottom for them to come back.
Another issue (and this one has become a huge one for this family). He is TERRIBLE when we have company over. T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E.!!! He will jump, scratch, run between their feet and tripping them and squeel, and whine to get their attention. If they sit he is right up in their face and just nuts. We have told him no firmly, continued to redirect him and crated him or sent him outdoors if the weather is ok for a little while to give our guest some peace. I have noticed that people immediately cringe now with his behaivor and it's embarrasing and frustrating that he isn't learning. I have been working with him non stop for 10 months and I don't understand why he isn't getting better. Also, if the front door opens, he bolts. And it's like pulling teeth to chase him down. He will zig zag, run in circles and hop around. He is completely disobedient and I'm very angry about this!!!
I'm worried about his behaivor. He was a great dog when from birth-5 months old. The last 5 months have honestly just been a nightmare. Is this terrible twos? How do I handle or cope with this? I'm just not doing well right now and I'm very unappy with this situation and have found my anxiety level is out the roof. I need advice and help.
All puppies and young dogs like to chew. You need to provide them with something to chew on. Our lil girl used to chew on the furniture. When I started buyinlg ham bones ( specifically for dogs) the chewing on the furniture stopped. Doxies have a lot of energy and are very much 'people' dogs. All 4 of my lil dogs go crazy when people come over, wanting to be petted and loved on. Personally it doesnt bother me and the rare occasion when some one comes over that seems to mind I will leave them in the laundry room( the dogs not the guest). You might try teaching him to lay down beside you and stay when guest come over. He doesnt sound like a terrible dog to me. Just give him something to chew on and try keeping other things that he likes to chew picked up for awhile. You might also consider obedience classes. If you have a local Petco try looking for one there.
He is really still just a baby and yes kinda like the terrible 2's! LOL Does he have lots of his own toys that he is allowed to chew on? I bought cheap toys by the bagfuls when my doxie was a puppy to keep him occupied, much better a dollar store toy than your $60 shoes. Be Patient with him and consistant, Doxies can be very hardheaded! Good Luck...He is very cute!!!
Your baby is very cute!
When my doxies were little we kept the bed room doors closed, and our shoes picked up. We bought a product at the pet store and Walmart even carries some...Bitter Apple, or Sour Grape. Anything that they chewed on, (ex. coffee table) we misted with that bitter apple, and scolded the doxies...With negative and positive reinforcement they learned.
We we have company, we pick up our girls and hold them, or they sit by our side. I know some people crate theirs, or put them in another room...there are a variety of ways to handle the doxies behavior with company.
We've never had the problem with them bolting out the door...This could be a very dangerous problem, and I know that a lot of people have it. We always tell ours, back and stay...and they usually just scoot back, and sit down. Once Dottie stepped out onto the porch, and my husband scolded her, she pouted for days.
I agree obedience training would help..but persistence on your part, and lots of positive reinforcement will one day produce a very loving, and obedient Doxie.
Oh wow, the terrible twos.....You really just have to be patient and like someone said obedience training would probably be great for him and you. I still have problems with mine, I think doxies are high strung, and have this need to be forever loved by their people. Mine do know when they are bad, but they just can't seem to help themselves, lol. It sounds like you are doing a great job.....look into the training classes and maybe some agility training training too...if that is something you're interested in. It definitely sounds like he has the energy for it. Good luck hon!
I am so sorry that you are so frustrated with you little one. He's simply adorable. Doxies are very hardheaded and stubborned. The will push you in hoping you will give in(god knows I've learned that one real quick). As far as chewing...Jasmine never really had that problem, of course I had lots of toys for her already and that helped ALOT!!. They also have a lot of energy and need to be walked daily, just playing in the yard doesn't cut it. Take him for long walks when the weather allows you too, it will help run out some of his energy. As far as him bolting out the door....that is so dangerous. Before I open the door I always tell Jasmine "no" and to "stay". Over time she has learned but for now I would just pick him up since he's so young. Where your guest are concerned, I would just keep him by your side when you have company or like one of the other ladies said take him to another room. Jasmine is such a mommy's girl that she always crawled on my lap and just laid there. I even took her to my sisters wedding and didn't have any problems out of her. I would also suggest obedience training. Now that didn't work with Jasmine but it might with yours. The only thing I would say is start now before he gets older and the problems get worse. I wish you the best of luck and don't give up...in the end it will worth it!!!!
Your guy is a teenager,lucky you.The other ladies are right about training classes.Maybe he needs to know that you are the pack leader/boss and not him.With my dogs,they are not allowed to just walk out the door,they are carried out and it is always the same door.I also carry them back into the house.They are not perfect by anymeans but they do know what sit,stay,off,back,and leave it mean.I would like to get them to learn that barking is not acceptable but so far no luck.Keep working with him and don't give up,he will get it one day.
Ben is So adorable!! I had a silver dapple doxie named Dusty that chewed thru the arms of 3 of our couches. It stopped when he was about a year and a half old, but it sure did tick me off when he was doing it! Being patient isn't always easy, but you have to be. I wish you lots of luck! :)
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- Kool_Aide
on Feb. 7, 2011 at 10:13 AM