Dog Problem

[mywayorcyway]

Small threadjack, but two thumbs up to those of you who either kennel your dog or keep him/her inside during the day. As someone who works from home and am absolutely drained from listening to dogs bark non-stop throughout the day while all of the owners are at their day jobs, huge props from me.

If the kennel thing doesn't work out, please send it to me. Four of them, if you can spare it. I'd be happy to leave them on the doorstep of my various neighbors. Friendly reminders to knock it off aren't doing the trick.

 

[Clonefan32]

I had this issue with one of my dogs. She never got completely over it. After several years she was still hesitant to go outside and when she did she would just barely get outside, do her business and want back in. Even without the collar on. Sorry, don't have an answer for you.

I feel terrible about the whole thing. I read the directions and I set the shock to the appropriate level given his size and activity level. I'd walked him around the boundary a few times and it appeared he understood where he couldn't go, but not quite to the point where I was comfortable having him out there without the collar on. He saw me and my daughter out beyond the area and came over at a full sprint, forgetting all about the boundary. I can't get him outside hardly at all now, and when he is outside he's basically afraid to move anywhere...

 

[cyrocksmypants]

I'd consider little by little letting him have more access to the house when gone. If he's 9 years old, he should be mature enough where he's not going to destroy the house if you're gone. Anxiety can cause that, but that's why you have to do it little by little, starting in places tougher to damage. My do has all access to the house and he's fine. I always left the tv on for him to, to help soothe anxiety, but a radio could probably work as well.

 

[Clonefan32]

I've heard people having great luck with some of the anti-anxiety products put out for dogs. I believe there are drops and also some kind of "mist" that puts off a pheromone that eases dog's anxiety. We have a dog that hates storms and are considering looking into it.

 

[DurangoCy]

My co-worker brought her dog in to work today, which she has spent exactly zero time training to date, the dog is now 2 years old. The dog has raced up and down the hall constantly, destroyed several garbage cans, spent 30 minutes barking on the deck, and is now scratching at the door.

Co-worker is likely on a long lunch. I hate her.

That is all.

 

[Clonefan32]

My co-worker brought her dog in to work today, which she has spent exactly zero time training to date, the dog is now 2 years old. The dog has raced up and down the hall constantly, destroyed several garbage cans, spent 30 minutes barking on the deck, and is now scratching at the door.

Co-worker is likely on a long lunch. I hate her.

That is all.

Where in the hell do you work?

 

[enisthemenace]

My co-worker brought her dog in to work today, which she has spent exactly zero time training to date, the dog is now 2 years old. The dog has raced up and down the hall constantly, destroyed several garbage cans, spent 30 minutes barking on the deck, and is now scratching at the door.

Co-worker is likely on a long lunch. I hate her.

That is all.

I laughed. Loud. :smile:

 

[DurangoCy]

Where in the hell do you work?

It's a small engineering office with and open floor plan and a little deck for lunches, clients, dogs, etc.

 

[tm3308]

Interesting problem. My parents' dogs haven't had much of an issue, but we've always let them have the run of the place for as long as I can remember. That's changed recently, since my parents just totally remodeled the upstairs and put in hardwood floors. They can still roam free in our basement and have to stay down there when we let them in, but two of them won't go into the living room upstairs, anyway, because of the floors.

Before the remodel, the dogs often stayed inside over night. We had a couple of those dog beds in the living room, and they were always pretty good about using those at night (although our little one would sometimes move to the couch, the heeler always stayed in her bed). The dog we had before these three would sleep on a little mattress about 2x3 feet right by my parents' bed, and he never strayed from there at night other than to get some food/water from his bowls.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Our pup has a blanket over her kennel too. Seems to help. I also run the tv between when I go to work and when my wife gets up, which seems to keep her from yapping sometimes.

 

[Three4Cy]

I have an issue with my dog, and I'm not sure of the best route to take.

First, the dog:

- he's a black lab-boarder collie mix
- he's 9 years old
- both my wife and I work
- he has been in a kennel while we are at work since he was a puppy
- he has never had an issue

Now, the problem and why I'm worried about it.

We are in the process of moving. During that process, we have been staging our current home a bit, and part of this included moving his kennel to the unfinished basement. We used to have it in the dining room, which is on the main level.

Before the kennel move, he was always just a tad reluctant to go in, but once there, he was fine until we got home. Now, he fights being put in the kennel, and it is apparent he is fighting (and winning, I might add) the kennel all day. He has completely destroyed his very sturdy, heavily metal wired kennel, breaking wires off the welds, pushing them out and doing everything he can to break the hinges. It's obvious he doesn't want to be down there, for whatever reason, but I don't know what else to do.

We have a fenced in back yard, but I can't put him back there because he will either jump the fence or dig under it. We have a garage, but it's detached so it would get very hot there during the day (not the last few days, but still), and I don't feel like I can put him back in the dining room, because of the possibility of the house being shown.

Again, it's obvious he doesn't like the move from one room in our house to another, which now makes me concerned about our move to the new home, which is in a few weeks. This will be a 100% new environment for him.

Have any of you dealt with this before? What should I try?

Call your realtor (assuming your are using one) and tell them until you move out, not to show your house during the hours you and your wife and gone at work. Your realtor just adds a note in the MLS that states this so when another realtor pulls your house to show a client, they see it. By doing this, if there is a showing in the evening, you can move the kennel out of the dining room and leave with your dog. If you move the kennel to the basement, just make sure you do it so he doesn't see it. If he sees it, he may think he's going back down there and you may never get him in the kennel again.

You can move the dog kennel back to the dining room during the day without having to worry about someone looking at your house. It will put your dog and you at ease before he does something to hurt himself trying to break out of the kennel while you have it in the basement.

 

[Dopey]

We let our ridiculously irresponsible dog roam in the garage while we're gone. She's never had an accident or destroyed anything in there for whatever reason.

 

[temperflare]

I have an issue with my dog, and I'm not sure of the best route to take.

First, the dog:

- he's a black lab-boarder collie mix
- he's 9 years old
- both my wife and I work
- he has been in a kennel while we are at work since he was a puppy
- he has never had an issue

Now, the problem and why I'm worried about it.

We are in the process of moving. During that process, we have been staging our current home a bit, and part of this included moving his kennel to the unfinished basement. We used to have it in the dining room, which is on the main level.

Before the kennel move, he was always just a tad reluctant to go in, but once there, he was fine until we got home. Now, he fights being put in the kennel, and it is apparent he is fighting (and winning, I might add) the kennel all day. He has completely destroyed his very sturdy, heavily metal wired kennel, breaking wires off the welds, pushing them out and doing everything he can to break the hinges. It's obvious he doesn't want to be down there, for whatever reason, but I don't know what else to do.

We have a fenced in back yard, but I can't put him back there because he will either jump the fence or dig under it. We have a garage, but it's detached so it would get very hot there during the day (not the last few days, but still), and I don't feel like I can put him back in the dining room, because of the possibility of the house being shown.

Again, it's obvious he doesn't like the move from one room in our house to another, which now makes me concerned about our move to the new home, which is in a few weeks. This will be a 100% new environment for him.

Have any of you dealt with this before? What should I try?

Not trying to be a jerk, but why have a dog that is a mix of very active breeds if you are just going to keep it kenneled for 8+ hours a day? Why have a dog at all?

Anyway, maybe your dog thinks being in a kennel sucks enough without having to now be kenneled AND in the basement too. Just a thought. Should probably consider doggie daycare or find someone who can take him for the day for the next few weeks. Good luck with the move.

 

[enisthemenace]

Not trying to be a jerk, but why have a dog that is a mix of very active breeds if you are just going to keep it kenneled for 8+ hours a day? Why have a dog at all?

Anyway, maybe your dog thinks being in a kennel sucks enough without having to now be kenneled AND in the basement too. Just a thought. Should probably consider doggie daycare or find someone who can take him for the day for the next few weeks. Good luck with the move.

Trust me, it's not ideal for anyone. I know he doesn't like it and I don't either. It makes my wife and me sick to our stomachs knowing he's having an issue, and I realize he would probably be better suited on a farm or something, but things happen.

Anyway, I appreciate all of the advice from everyone kind enough to offer. I definitely have some ideas.

 

[iahawkhunter]

I feel terrible about the whole thing. I read the directions and I set the shock to the appropriate level given his size and activity level. I'd walked him around the boundary a few times and it appeared he understood where he couldn't go, but not quite to the point where I was comfortable having him out there without the collar on. He saw me and my daughter out beyond the area and came over at a full sprint, forgetting all about the boundary. I can't get him outside hardly at all now, and when he is outside he's basically afraid to move anywhere...

Have you marked the fence boundary with small survey flags? My parents did that and the visual cue helped their dog learn where the boundary was. Plus, it had the added benefit of fooling the dog if she went where she wasn't supposed to. Putting a flag on the couch immediately kept her off the furniture since she associates the flags with a shock.

 

[Clonefan32]

Have you marked the fence boundary with small survey flags? My parents did that and the visual cue helped their dog learn where the boundary was. Plus, it had the added benefit of fooling the dog if she went where she wasn't supposed to. Putting a flag on the couch immediately kept her off the furniture since she associates the flags with a shock.

I need to do that, I'm just worried the damage is done at this point.

 

[enisthemenace]

Update. We decided to give him full access to the house today. It's a risky move, but we had done this in the past for quite a while, until he got into something he shouldn't have (my fault for leaving it out). Without going into details, for his safety, we put him back in the kennel during the day when that happened.

Well, we "dog proofed" a bit, and just let him go. Now, we'll see how he does with himself. Might be looking at a 100% carpet credit for any potential new resident :smile:

 

[carvers4math]

Update. We decided to give him full access to the house today. It's a risky move, but we had done this in the past for quite a while, until he got into something he shouldn't have (my fault for leaving it out). Without going into details, for his safety, we put him back in the kennel during the day when that happened.

Well, we "dog proofed" a bit, and just let him go. Now, we'll see how he does with himself. Might be looking at a 100% carpet credit for any potential new resident :smile:

Fingers crossed. Dogs were never a problem, our old cat had a penchant for unrolling toilet paper, but easy enough to close the door.

 

[RynoISU]

Sorry to jack your thread, but we're having some issues with our dog as well. She is also a 9 year old lab/border collie mix, who has had the luxury of a fenced yard for most of her life, up until we moved last month. We have been trying to train her to stay in the yard, and use a tether as much as possible, but she still gets away every once in a while. Since she is older, she doesn't go far, but I know it is probably ******* off our new neighbors. A privacy fence is really not an option, and we are looking into an electric fence, but we're not sure how a 9 year old dog will handle it. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Three4Cy]

Update. We decided to give him full access to the house today. It's a risky move, but we had done this in the past for quite a while, until he got into something he shouldn't have (my fault for leaving it out). Without going into details, for his safety, we put him back in the kennel during the day when that happened.

Well, we "dog proofed" a bit, and just let him go. Now, we'll see how he does with himself. Might be looking at a 100% carpet credit for any potential new resident :smile:

I would let your realtor know you've done this, so they can add it to your listing in the MLS if you are letting them show the house during times when you and your wife are at work. They can put a note in the listing that there is dog in the house that is loose, and to make sure they are shutting doors when going in and out. The last thing you would want is someone leaving the door wide open and have your dog take off outside because a potential buyer was checking out your back yard.