Comments on: Behavior Problems

By: Hannah

Hannah — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:03:58 +0000

Hi, I just can’t seem to find out how to treat this. I have a five year old dog who about a year ago started taking stuff outside. Shoes, trash, face wash from the bathroom, books, bags, pillows, towels, blankets, anything she can get her hands on. I rarely ever catch her in the act, and I rarely ever see her carry anything in her mouth. I don’t know what to do! What do you recommend?

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:26:38 +0000

hi my name is Amber and I have a 5 year old Rottweiler.
Im not sure if you would know, but im having a dilemma with my dog.
I moved into a new house about a year ago, and the place is surrounded by hot wire fences. My dog has hit the fence many times and is scared to death of the yard now. She knows the fence is out there but doesnt seem to realize that the shock fence is only where the fence is. She refuses to go more than 3 or 4 steps off the porch to go to the bathroom unless i make her. Shes to the point where she will go to the bathroom in the house because shes so scared. Shes almost 5 years old and has never had any problems like this and Im just looking for advice. I’ve tried walking her into the yard far from the fence and laying with her and petting her and telling her its okay but as soon as i stop petting her she immeadiatly runs back to the house.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

By: Kathy Collins

Kathy Collins — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:12:11 +0000

I have a 10 month old Malamute puppy who is very afraid of people, and has been since I got her at 8 weeks old. She is especially afraid of my boyfriend, who came to live with us when she was just 3 months old. He is a very nice person and would never hurt a fly – well, maybe a fly. However, his movements are abrupt and he has never been patient enough to follow my instructions, or instructions I’ve found online that explain how to get a fearful dog to accept you. By now, it’s almost a phobia for her. She is still afraid of other people, but not as much as him. The only person she trusts is me, and it took two weeks to get her to trust me when she was a baby. When I tried to get her near other people, she would do submissive urination every single time. She seems to be very slowly getting less fearful, but she would never let anyone pet her. With me, she is over exuberant and jumps on me. She’s a very strong dog, and I’m pretty sure she won’t let a behaviorist near her, either. I’m going to try your suggestions to keep her from jumping on me, as I’m getting torn up! It’s embarrassing to go to work with scratches on me. She loves other dogs, but doesn’t want to get anywhere near the owners. She loves treats, but of course they don’t work when she’s terrified. I’m planning to get her a playmate that is much more outgoing, in the hopes that it will help shore up her confidence. Any advice you can give me would be deeply appreciated.

By: becca

becca — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:05:16 +0000

My dog seems to be over protective of me when there is a raised voice in the house and only to meneven if it is not the man who is yelling. We seem to have calmed him and have started crate training him which has been highly effective. He has also bit when I tried to hold him back. A few weeks ago, he was elevated and we calmed him and timed him out for a few minutes, which seems to be working. I’d also like to mention he listens very well and he is passive in every other way. Although what we’ve been trying seems to be wortking well. is there anything else you can reccomend?

By: Andy Chicago

Andy Chicago — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:17:06 +0000

Hello,

I looked through your articles and many other sites and couldn’t find what I’m looking for. I have an almost 5 year old standard poodle that I take to the dog park as often as I can on weekends. About a month ago he approached a tall, thin gentleman and attempted to lift his leg on him. Today he did the same to another gentleman, also tall and thin, only this time he did urinate on him. I don’t understand this behavior at all. My dog has a wonderful temperament with humans and dogs. I adopted him from am loving family about 2 years ago. I have adopted abused and neglected standard poocles in the past and they have never displayed this behavior. Do you have any insight or recommendations you can give me? If it helps, both of the gentlemen have the same height/body type as his previous owner/guardian.

By: Corey Taylor

Corey Taylor — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:24:09 +0000

My 9 year old rottie / coonhound mix chews on my fiancee’s clothes. I realize that the quick fix is to make sure that her clothes are not left on the floor, but I am hoping that there may be a way to stop the chewing so that, should something be left there accidentally, she doesn’t see this as an invitation to destroy it. This behavior seems to only happen at night. Is this a dominance issue? Is the dog trying to send my wife-to-be a message? If that is the case, how long should it last? We have lived together for about 7 months now, and it is still going on.

Thank you for any help

By: Colette

Colette — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:23:33 +0000

My dog, a lhasa apso is two and a half years old and we have had him since he was 7 weeks old. Within a matter of weeks he was toilet trained. Recently he has periodically started doing his business in the house and I am getting so frustrated as to know why this is happening. Can you please offer any advice.

Many thanks.

By: Aaron Kelsey

Aaron Kelsey — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:02:42 +0000

How do I get my 3-year-old lab mix to come when I call after he gets out of the fenced yard?

By: Aaron Kelsey

Aaron Kelsey — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:59:48 +0000

My 3-year-old chocolate lab mix will jump our fence (we have a 4-ft fence, but lots of snow). When I go out to get him back in, he comes just within reach then runs again, or barks like we are playing. He will do this for hours, then I give up and just hope he doesn’t get hurt or picked up (we live in town). Is he too old to train to come when I want him to?