Frustrated - Advice Please!
Submitted by mackNme on October 28, 2011 - 10:09amIt's been a while since I've posted. We have had our English Bulldog, Mack, for 8 months now. He will be 1 year on November 18th.
We always felt that his chewing was due to being a puppy. That he would eventually stop. We have given him numerous toys of his own plus many bones in different shapes and sizes. Kongs as well. He still chews every thing, including our furniture, shoes and the kids toys. He also has another terrible habit, which has caused us to keep a gate up so he can't get into the kids room. He pee's on their bed. Even if the gate is down for a minute, he will jump on their bed and pee. We steam cleaned it numerous times and then just recently tossed the mattress and invested in a new one for them. Naturally, we have not taken the gate down. But, he even chews the darn gate! He is house broken - ONLY pees on their bed! He also jumps up on people, all the time. If family comes to visit, no matter how many times he is pushed down, he continues to jump up. We rarley ever have friends come over... I know he would have to be locked up if we did because he just won't stop jumping up.
He was neutered at 6 months. Is healthy and happy.
You likely want to know what training techniques we have tried. At first we only used verbal punishment and then gave him HIS toy or HIS bone, saying GOOD BOY, in exchange for the show or toy. After months of this not working - AT ALL - we bought a choke chain. When he was doing some thing bad, we would say "NO and pull on it". This also didn't work whether it was him chewing or jumping. I admit, I started to raise my voice more and more and on occasion gave him a smack on the bum which he never did seem to feel.
I hate to admit it, but he simply seems stupid. He just doesn't "get it". I have used simple SMALL words when trying to train him. NO is some thing he hears ALL THE TIME now because he is always doing some thing wrong. He doesn't chew his toys. He gets the kids toys, our shows, the remote controls, dishes, dining room table chair legs, couch and chair corners, etc and chews those instead. And when I yell "NO MACK!" he stops... for a few minutes... and then right back to it.
It is becoming very frustrating. Our furniture looks terrible!! He has chewed the legs on our dining room chairs so many of them cannot be used. He cannot sleep with the kids at night because he pees on their bed. And because we won't let him in with them (even though it's been MONTHS since we have) he whines at their door and chews on the gate. We will be onto gate number THREE this weekend.
We don't want to keep him locked up. Even at night we try to let him roam free. Even when we are gone (which is very rarley since I am a stay at home mom). Normally some one is ALWAYS with him. We even take him in the car with us when we go out many times.
The strangest thing is... we taught him to sit and give "five" in about ten minutes. So, I am not sure I can say he is stupid when he can figure that out. He is very stubborn and nothing seems to be working to stop his chewing! I can live with the peeing on the bed, we will just keep a gate up. But, we are at our witts end with him chewing the furniture and the kids belongings. It's not right that they have to keep their toys in their bedroom when they have always been able to play in the main part of the house. And even if they put their toys on a table or my computer desk, Mack gets them off!
PLEASE... ADVICE... I don't want to seem like a bad owner. We have truly tried. I just don't know what to do any more.
Thank you in advance.
Cait
I know your frustration
We are dealing with some of the issues because our little guy is almost 14 wks. I don't know if this will work for a bulldog, but this trick has worked for our cat who got on countertops. I would take a large piece of cardboard and put double sided tape on it. Lay it on your bed tape side up so that when your dog jumps on the bed, the tape sticks to his feet. Its an uncomfortable feeling and he'll soon learn that the bed isn't a pleasant place to be. Someone else might have some better advice, but this worked great on our cats.
But for the jumping up, we are teaching Jack to sit when he approaches someone and when he does, he gets a treat. I am also not allowing anyone to play games with him that involves him jumping in the air. For the chewing, we are using Bitter Apple spray. Its a spray that taste bitter and you spray it on the things you don't want chewed. I have found that you have to spray the item frequently because once dry, doesn't have the same effect. I've sprayed my kids' shoes when they go out to play to keep Jack from biting the feet. When he is in our house, we keep him confined to a small area where we can constantly supervise. We'll spray items in that area each time Jack is taken there. We also have a spray bottle of water that we use when Jack is getting ready to bite/chew something he isn't supposed to. Good luck! I've had a great dane and english mastiff and they were no where near as tough to train as Jack.
Nakina
Crate training --
I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but when a dog is that destructive, he hasnt 'earned' the trust to be unsupervised. (All night long especially)
That should solve some of the destructive chewing issues (when you arent there to see him doing it, because if he is left alone and 'gets away' with it, then it must be ok - Now why is mommy yelling at me now, when I've been chewing this chair all night?)
Now the jumping, I have to admit, we havent broken Gizmo of that, UNLESS we put her Harness on her - its really like a light switch for her, we put her harness on, and she just totally stops the jumping and plays easier with the grandkids. After about 5-10 minutes we take it off of her, and she is USUALLY better... when she isnt, the harness goes back on her - She also acts this way when we put on her Football jersey - Something about the snug feeling I guess.
Peeing on the kids bed... that sounds like a Territorial thing to me, 'Marking his territory - trying to dominate the kids maybe?) I'm not a dog expert or behavior specialist though.
Last steps taken May 26, 2014 -- Been rolling along ever since . . . .
Very often
Chewing can be a sign of stress and/or boredom. In your case, he's also "learned" to chew on stuff - it's very rewarding (to him).
I would try a few things. First off, exercise the crap out of him. A tired dog is a happy dog. It doesn't necessarily have to be vigorous physical exercise, either. Anyone who has done obedience with their dogs can tell you that 5-10 minutes of obedience can be very tiring for some of our dogs! lol Look into classes that you and Mack can attend. Something that will be fun for the both of you.
Secondly, I wouldn't hesitate to crate him - especially at night. The peeing on the beds, the chewing of furniture... is it more fair to yell at him and tell him "No!" all the time than to give him his own room with appropriate chewies? Crating over night won't kill him. I also make a point of crating my guys during the day for nap time. That way, they don't feel "abandoned" since I'm still in the house (totally ignoring them! lol). Feeding in the crate teaches that good things happen there. Be very careful of crate pads or beddies - he may chew and/or pee on them. It won't harm him if he sleeps on the crate bottom.
Lynn will have good stuff to tell you. I would also contact a trainer in your area. This is more than a "simple fix" issue. But, in all fairness to Mack (who sounds like a very intelligent guy), he hasn't been shown the proper behavior in terms that he can understand. He's gotten too many rewards for the "bad" stuff (in our opinions - not his!) and obviously doesn't understand all the hullabaloo.
Good luck with him!
Olivia
agree with the others ESP about CRATING him
why are you giving him the chance to get into things? You're setting him up for failure. He also needs training classes as it seems you are losing your patience to work with him. And I FULLY AGREE about exercising him. If they don't get exercise they need to chew no matter how old they are.
Excellent Post
Olivia!
Your dog isn't stupid. He's very smart..
He's a puppy and he has lots of energy to burn! Your biggest problem is that he is not stupid. Stupid dogs are easy. He is probably very intelligent. Most difficult dogs are very smart. They need to be kept busy or they will "entertain" themselves with whatever seems like fun or gets your attention.. be it negative or positive. Sign up for training classes- obedience, agility, or Rally-O. He will love it and it will help you bond with him.
You need to redirect his attention BEFORE he does something bad. Telling him "NO!" does not tell him what he should be doing. Give him jobs to keep him busy. Play "find it!" Smart dogs catch onto that game real fast and they love looking for something you have hidden. Buy a cookie dispensing ball and feed him his meals in it. He will love rolling a ball around that spills out his kibble and it will keep him busy AND wear him out.
A trainer might have suggestions about the jumping and peeing. Until you figure that out I would just put him in another room with a stuffed kong when people come over and I would make the bedroom wing of the house off limits rather than just trying to block the kids bedroom doors. If you don't have a crate, buy one and put him in it at night and when you leave. Do not give him access to the whole house. There is too much tempting stuff to get into to.
I would get a trainer ASAP. You have lost your patience and he
is old enough to have established these habits as a normal day. Crate training is a must- one that is large enough for him to be comfortable in. Nylabones, antlers- I freeze canned dog food in my kong so it last longer. Exercise.,.. Remember any attention to a dog whether it is positive or negative they find rewarding. So even though you think you are scolding him he is actually getting the attention that he is craving. Keep a leash on him when people are over-make him sit and ask them to ignore him until he calms down. No eye contact or petting until he sits to be petted. It takes time and a lot of work to break these established habits. Patience and positive reinforcement training will get better results than being harsh and yelling. Good luck. They are stubborn but smart. You have to set rules and boundaries for them -the same as you do for your kids. They are dogs and they do not know what our expectations are of them until we show them.
He isn't stupid
but probably just as frustrated as you are. I strongly recommend that you contact a trainer, one that uses positive training methods. Sounds like somewhere, somehow there has been a disconnect in communication, you all need to take a deep breath, step back and start from scratch. Getting an outsider to help can get all of you back on track. In the meantime, you have to crate him when you can't supervise 100%. Exercise also works wonders, playing outside, long walks etc.,
Good luck
Lynn King CPDT-KA
I have the same exact issue with my puppy
I totally know what you are going through. We could probably compare pictures of our furniture! OMG my chair legs, looks like we own a beaver. I never crated my older bully (Jackson) and he is such a good boy! The younger one, Bean is a terror! He chews everything. I know we should crate him, I keep telling my husband, but he feels bad that one would be crated and not the other. He still pees in the house too, which crating would help also. I need to convince the hubby to crate him. He has ruined a lot of stuff. I just thought the more dogs you had, the worse they got, so I never wanted number 3!
I will have to convince the hubby to crate and training classes. He just thinks I don't like Bean as much as I do Jackson and it's my way of punishing him.
Crate Training May Help
I have to say, crate training the dog at night and when you are away may be the best solution for a while. When my bulldog puppy was around 4 months we started leaving him out when we were gone for 4 hours plus but we came home to destroyed shoes a few times. I kept telling myself not to give the dog the chance to fail and that it is partly my fault since I left shoes out for him to be able to do that. I am a firm believer that crate training all dogs is one of the best ways to get your dog potty trained and also it gives him some time to work out the separation anxiety that causes much of the destructive tendancies when you are away.
So back into the crate he would go when ever unsupervised. It worked like a charm and we now can leave him out for 8 hours if we need to in the house and he only chews or plays with his toys. I'm not sure at what age this would become ineffective but it may be worth a shot.
For the jumping up on people, knee the dog so he falls when ever he jumps. A trainer told me to do this with a labrador I had years ago and it worked well. You don't want to hurt the dog but you want them to know that when he jumps that he can expect an uncomfortable knee to the chest that may knock him over.
And you are right, bulldogs are not stupid at all. He knows exactly what he's doing and maybe a dog behaviorist wouldn't be a bad idea.
Good luck!
Andrew Arnold